The INCREDIBLE EDIBLE Manifesto
An Overshoot Action Plan Of True Regeneration For Local Communities
Table Of Contents
Construction & Remediation Materials
An Overview
The Beginnings
Bill Mollison "To empower the powerless and create a 'million villages' to replace nation-states is the only safe future for the preservation of the biosphere. Let interdependence and personal responsibility be our aims."
Before getting into the details contained in this document, it is important to stress that all items detailed in here can be enabled by a reasonably capable technology person or team, at little cost. Please feel free to reach out for more information; go2riamb at gmail.com, Signal mikebrunt or on Telegram @mikebrunt. There are three main parts to the Incredible Edible initiative.
A Fully Functional Seed Library system.
An Internal Value Exchange Cryptocurrency.
A Blockchain Based Governance System Aka Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)
Each part can be used individually or more powerfully as a complete system.
Thanks to the work done by the farmOS team and the On Chain Software team (via FREEOS and the DAOScape). Also our gratitude goes out to all involved in the creation and maintenance of Bitcoin which created and evolved the blockchain-based technologies, which are our bedrock. For those wishing to know more about the benefits of Bitcoin and its incredible, societal benefits; this is a great video to view. In short this is a totally viable ledger system with value-exchange and governance systems built-in.
“Ecological #overshoot is a phenomenon where the demands made on a natural ecosystem exceed its regenerative capacity. Overshoot occurs, when the demands made by humanity exceed what the biosphere of Earth can provide through its capacity for renewal.” We are in ecological #overshoot and #climate-change is simply a symptom of this. This whole project, is to evolve a complete and alternative ideology to the typical "developed economic model” which is destroying our biosphere. This model is dedicated to bringing us, enjoyably, in to a regenerative future without widespread inequalities.
For a good primer on #overshoot, this is a wonderful book to read “Overshoot - The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change”. Also, there is a wonderful audio overview by the late Michael Dowd; here.
It is important to enunciate the roots of our predicament, many nations on Earth are totally dependent on ongoing gross domestic product (GDP) growth. This is impossible for two main reasons. Firstly, the Earth is a planet of finite resources and Secondly any increasing GDP growth is driving overshoot and thereby, climate-change. The reasons for this myopic dependence on GDP growth is the staggering amounts of debt owed by pretty much every country on Earth.
The Incredible Edible Movement.
At the height of the Industrial Revolution in the UK, cotton weaving in the Northern areas of the UK was very prevalent. What many did not realize is that much of that cotton was coming from slave-labour in the United States on plantations. Once British Workers became aware of this, they decided to protest and in some ways, this and the US Civil War detrimentally impacted cotton weaving in England’s Northwest Counties and Towns. More information on this here.
This is the Town Hall in the town of Todmorden in the UK, one of many towns detrimentally impacted by the decline of cotton-weaving in Northern England. As a result, a group of town residents came together in 2007, to discuss, create and grow Incredible Edible Todmorden. “Incredible Edible Todmorden is a food-growing scheme that started in 2007 in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, UK. The project aims to bring people together through actions around local food and community allotments, helping to change behaviour towards the environment and build a kinder and more resilient world.” Thus was born the Incredible Edible movement, this is a stirring TED Talk on the events, topped off by such a pivotal statement “If you eat You’re In!”
Technology Topics
Part of our team works in technology with over 70 years collective experience there, spanning back to the pre-IBM PC days. The IBM PC was launched in 1981 “On August 12, 1981, “IBM officially announced the IBM PC at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. It was the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard.”
Technology, used beneficially, is a key part of creating inter-connected village-like communities which is our overall goal; our technology stack has the following key parts.
A Web-App based community growing and animal-husbandry App based on a Web 2.0 open-source suite which we call “Permaledger”.
An internal currency based on a Blockchain with no “gas-fees”.
A completely de-centralized Self-Governance system based on the principals of “Sortition”. This is a good short TED Talk on Sortition.
Communications - The LoRa Meshtastic T-BEAM devices are small battery powered devices that will mesh with other T-BEAM and send messages and other data from your phones, tablets and computers. They have been tested in Puerto Rico post hurricane effects. Here is video on the subject.
We will go into full details of this, in the following detailed sections comprising this Manifesto document.
Data Centre Energy Use
Currently there is a good deal of angst around the energy usage of data centres. This started via a certain amount of misinformation spread by the Traditional Financial Sector in relation to Bitcoin and Ethereum, or more pointedly the “proof-of-work” algorhythm. Subsequently, Ethereum moved off “proof-of-work” to “proof-of-stake”. This is a spoken-word piece created to amplify why this move for Ethereum was not such a good idea.
Now we also have artificial intelligence (AI) adding to these energy usage of data centres concerns. So lets look at some ideas to enable data-centres to transition to re-creators of positive energy. This is a link to this article.
Thoughts For Food
Our key #1 resource is a fairly large Seed Collection and a primary goal is to help as many communities as possible to create their own Seed Collections. Seeds, in fact, are our primary item of true value, more on this later. Here is a very detailed and practical guide to setting up seed gemination-propagation and food distribution systems.
There are three essential needs for many forms of life on Earth, including human-beings.
Air (Humans have around 3 minutes to live without it).
Food (Humans have around 3 weeks to live without it).
Water (Humans have around 3 days to live without it).
Of these three, we have the most control over our food supplies. For instance we cannot create a personal air supply without tanks to supply it, which are finite without refills and costly. In addition we do not have any effective control over precipitation and precipitation is the only true source of water. Rivers, lakes, reservoirs, aquifers etc are different forms of storage, which can and do fluctuate. We can add temporary storage for water and that is what it is, temporary.
With our food supplies, we do have control of any soils on lands we own or steward and can, quite easily, plant seeds, create food, eat food and save seeds; it is an exponential and circular process. Once again, we will go into great detail on these procedures in the main body of this document.
Preserving all foods, whether we grow them or not, is also a key need. Here is a chart which should also include using a Root Cellar.
Thank you for reading the overview, next we will get into more details on what we have discussed so far.
Growing Starts
This is a working model of our seed-germination platform; this table is 48ft x 3.5ft and currently has over 8,000 plant starts ready to transplant.
Construction & Remediation Materials
If we can grow and harvest locally grown construction materials, this gives one more rung of resilience. Hemp is what typically springs to mind here, hemp is an annual crop, needing to be planted on an annual basis. Willow, in particular is a wonderful resource, which is perennial and which grows in many places on Earth. Some Willow trees last to over 100 years of age and still produce harvestable and transplantable “rods”. By using willow for building garden structures and furniture, we virtually eliminate the use of plastics and dangerous metals from our growing areas. Our plans go far beyond the brilliance of using Willow in gardens only.
Here is an addendum to this Greenpaper where we specifically detail projected Willow growing yields.
Willow Garden structures at Eugene Backyard Farmer in Eugene OR…
Here we are planting Willow Rods into a small wetland area…
Willow also can perform as a fast-growing biomass which when combined with heat and power generation (CHP) gives us the benefit of a peaker-plant capability to back up Solar and Wind intermittences or to be a prime power resource.
Together, Hemp and Willow bring us so many benefits, here are some expanded details for Permaculture based environments.
Hemp
Hemp is an incredibly versatile plant with a wide range of beneficial uses, making it an excellent crop for permaculture projects and sustainable living practices. Here are some of the key benefits and uses of hemp:
Environmental Benefits:
Soil Health: Hemp has deep roots that help prevent soil erosion, break up compacted soil, and improve soil health through phytoremediation (removing toxins from the soil).
Low Water Usage: Compared to traditional crops like cotton, hemp requires significantly less water, making it a more sustainable option in water-scarce regions.
Pest Resistance: Hemp is naturally resistant to many pests, reducing the need for chemical pesticides.
Agricultural Benefits:
Crop Rotation: Hemp can be a valuable part of crop rotation systems, improving soil structure and fertility.
Biocontrol: Hemp can act as a natural deterrent for various pests and diseases, benefiting subsequent crops planted in the same fields.
Industrial Uses:
Fiber Production: Hemp fibers are strong and durable, used in textiles, clothing, ropes, and industrial materials.
Building Materials: Hemp can be used to make hempcrete, a lightweight, insulating, and breathable building material, as well as other construction and insulation materials.
Bioplastics: Hemp-based bioplastics are biodegradable and can be used to produce a variety of products, reducing dependency on fossil fuel-based plastics.
Nutritional Benefits:
Seeds: Hemp seeds are highly nutritious, rich in essential fatty acids (Omega-3 and Omega-6), protein, vitamins, and minerals. They can be eaten raw, ground into a meal, sprouted, or made into hemp milk.
Oil: Hemp oil, extracted from the seeds, is used in cooking, salads, and nutritional supplements.
Medicinal Uses:
CBD: Cannabidiol (CBD) derived from hemp is used for its potential health benefits, including reducing anxiety, pain relief, and anti-inflammatory properties, without the psychoactive effects associated with marijuana.
Cosmetics and Personal Care:
Hemp oil and extracts are used in a variety of skincare and personal care products, offering moisturizing, anti-aging, and soothing properties.
Paper Production:
Hemp can be used to make paper, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional wood-based paper, requiring fewer chemicals in processing and providing a faster growth cycle.
Energy Production:
Hemp biomass can be converted into biofuel, offering a renewable energy source that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The integration of hemp into permaculture systems can offer a multitude of environmental, economic, and social benefits, aligning well with the principles of sustainability, resource conservation, and ecological balance.
Willow
Willow trees are another versatile and beneficial plant that can play a significant role in permaculture systems and sustainable practices. Here are some of the key benefits and uses of willow:
Soil Erosion Control:
Willow roots are excellent at stabilizing soil and preventing erosion, particularly useful in riparian zones (areas near water bodies).
Water Management:
Willows are well-suited for wet areas and can be used to help manage waterlogged land or as part of constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment. They have a high transpiration rate, which can help reduce excess water in the soil.
Wildlife Habitat:
Willows provide important habitat, nesting sites, and food for a variety of wildlife, including birds, insects, and mammals, enhancing biodiversity.
Biomass Production:
Fast-growing willow species can be harvested for biomass fuel, offering a renewable energy source that can be used for heating or power generation.
Living Structures:
Willow branches are flexible and can easily root from cuttings, making them ideal for creating living fences, arbors, and other green structures that can provide privacy, windbreaks, and aesthetic value to a landscape.
Phytoremediation:
Similar to hemp, willows can be used in phytoremediation projects to clean contaminated soil or water, as they have the ability to absorb and accumulate heavy metals and other pollutants.
Medicinal Uses:
Willow bark contains salicin, a compound similar to aspirin, which has been used historically for pain relief and anti-inflammatory purposes.
Craft and Basketry:
The flexible stems of certain willow species are highly valued for craftwork, including basketry, furniture, and other woven items.
Pollinator Support:
Willow flowers are an early source of pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinators, supporting the ecosystem and contributing to the health of pollinating insects, which are crucial for food production.
Carbon Sequestration:
By growing quickly and having a dense biomass, willows can sequester carbon effectively, helping to mitigate climate change.
Integrating willows into a permaculture design offers multifunctional benefits, from enhancing the landscape and ecosystem to providing practical resources and materials. Their adaptability to different environments and uses makes them an invaluable component of sustainable and regenerative practices.
Biochar
Biochar is a highly beneficial material in permaculture and sustainable agriculture practices, celebrated for its myriad of environmental, agricultural, and climate mitigation virtues. Here's why biochar is so valuable:
Soil Health Improvement: Biochar is a stable, carbon-rich form of charcoal that can be added to soil. It improves soil health by increasing soil biodiversity, enhancing nutrient retention, and helping in the retention of water. This can lead to healthier plant growth and increased agricultural productivity.
Carbon Sequestration: Biochar contributes to carbon sequestration by trapping carbon in a stable form and preventing it from being released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. This process helps mitigate climate change by reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
Waste Reduction: Biochar is produced through the process of pyrolysis, which involves the thermal decomposition of organic material (such as agricultural waste, wood waste, or yard debris) in the absence of oxygen. This process converts waste materials into a useful product, reducing overall waste.
Reduction of Soil Emissions: By stabilizing nutrients and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers, biochar can lower the emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, from soil. This is crucial for climate change mitigation efforts.
Water Quality Improvement: Biochar can improve water quality by absorbing and retaining pollutants from water, such as heavy metals and other contaminants. This makes it valuable for use in water filtration systems and in reducing water pollution.
Enhanced Plant Growth: Biochar can increase plant growth by improving soil fertility and providing essential nutrients to plants. This is particularly beneficial in areas with poor or depleted soils.
Resilience to Climate Change: By improving water retention and nutrient availability in soil, biochar can make agricultural systems more resilient to climate change impacts, such as droughts and extreme weather events.
Economic Benefits: The production and use of biochar can provide economic benefits by creating new uses for agricultural and forestry wastes, generating income through improved crop yields, and potentially opening new markets for biochar products.
Energy Production: The process of creating biochar (pyrolysis) can also generate bioenergy in the form of syngas and bio-oil, which can be used as renewable energy sources.
Incorporating biochar into permaculture practices offers a holistic approach to sustainable agriculture, waste management, and climate change mitigation. It's a prime example of how permaculture seeks to design and implement systems that are sustainable and beneficial for the Earth.
Technologies Web 2.0, Web 3.0, Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies.
In this section, we will get fairly deeply detailed into technologies and how to use them. Ideally, the server could be a localized system and not part of large cloud-based deployments, this is a recommendation though and not a core need. We want to do this to give everyone the ability to replicate what we have done by their own efforts. At the same time, we are also here to help set this up with those out there wishing to create circular-economy-based food and living systems but without the technical resources to do so.
Permaledger Web 2.0 Application
Permaledger was created from the open-source project farmOS, and there is a Youtube video showing where Permaledger fits in, here.
Also there is more information on farmOS which can be found here. The farmOS application was created to be a complete management system to manage a single farm. A glance at the “Logs” section gives a good insight into what is covered in farmOS.
In order to create Permaledger we basically added a Parent hierarchy so that we could use the application for multiple properties; here is a screenshot of this.
In addition, we added the use of QR Codes for each planting/seeds we have in the system.
With the use of QR Codes in our Permaledger system, we can attach the QR Code to a seed packet or even a label on the crop, which after scanning, will take a user directly to the seed-crop detail page. Such a page will show all activities relative to the seed; typically as follows, for example. We are looking to use QR Codes for tracking in an upcoming Willow project in 2024.
Seeding - This is when the seed goes into the soil, in a tray, a pot, a bed (if planted directly.
Transplanting - After a seed has germinated in a tray or pot and is then transplanted into a bed, field etc.
Observation - Something notable happened.
Harvest - self-explanatory, when a plant is harvested.
The technological stack needed for farmOS is as follows:
Operating System
Linux O/S.
Windows Server OS.
Apple (using BSD-based core services).
Application Framework Support
Drupal version 7x or 8x (depending on the farmOS version).
Data Tier
Maria-DB, MySQL or PostgresSQL RDBM’S.
Web 2 Multi-Location Version *
Permaledger modifications and plantings-database copy.
QR Code Generator.
There are two options for using farmOS, self-installation, or using a version hosted by the farmOS team. Details on both these options can be found here. Under the Hosting option on the left panel.
*Please note that the Permaledger options and pre-installed data-seed-planting details are not included in either the self-installation or hosted offerings from the farmOS team. However, we can assist you, should you want to get a fully-fledged Permaledger system install.
Freeos Value Exchange & Governance Systems
Whilst the Web 2.0 FarmOS-Permaledger system has been evolving now for 5-6 years, Freeos and its systems were not publicly available when we launched Permaledger. However, internal ways to exchange value and an internal self-governance system are really key needs. This was actually highlighted in Bill Mollison’s 1980’s masterpiece “Permaculture, A Designers‘ Manual”. If we are to deal effectively with the effects of Overshoot, we will need completely self-contained local operating methodologies. “Freeos is an Economic System that gives access to an easily accessible, democratic, crypto income for everyone. Freeos is managed directly by the people, for the people.” There is a lot more information on Freeos here.
Freeos, from On Chain Software is using the Webauth Wallet from Proton, Proton being one of the blockchain-based technologies in the Freeos systems. Joining Freeos is very simple and covered in the link above; in the preceding paragraph.
Freeos supports FREEOS and FREEBI as “currencies/tokens” within the Freeos system, in addition Proton XPR and Circle’s USDC stable coin. Freeos users earn POINT for taking part in voting and other tasks as may be voted on and agreed to and POINT can be minted to FREEOS or FREEBI. The difference between FREEBI and FREEOS is that FREEOS is a classic cryptocurrency token which can be purchased on external cryptocurrency exchanges, whereas FREEBI is internal to the Freeos system.
The DAOScape
A DAO is a Distributed Autonomous Organization, here is a recently released Youtube video, from Jerome Kelsey, the co-creator of On Chain Software, explaining DAO’s and related concepts. The unique conceptaspect of The DAOScape from On Chain Software, is dedicated to the concept of a DAO of DAO’s. Where DAO’s, for any purpose, can be created via payment of a very small fee of around 4,500 XPR tokens (currently less than $5.00). Another concept enable by the On Chain Software system is the fact that a DAO can become part of another DAO; Here are some overall concepts.
We are also looking into bringing “Fractal Sortition” into the DAOScape system; here are some words from Jerome Kelsey on this. “Fractal Sortition” takes this democratic foundation and builds upon it and is inspired by the concept of Fractal Democracy. This method begins with randomly selecting candidates into small groups for governance roles from the DAO’s main members.
Through discussions and peer evaluations, each small group identifies and votes on the candidate best suited for the role.
If the role requires subject expertise, interview questions are provided for the group to cross-interview each other based on these questions to tease out expertise in this subject.” There are more details on this, here.
We are actually using the DAOScape to create and evolve our Overshoot.dao, shown above.
Anyone, with a Webauth wallet, can join and observe what is going on; they automatically become a Member. Guardians are those participants in the DAO who are able to vote on Proposals. Adding a new proposal has the following steps.
After selecting the + sign in the Proposals left menu item we get the screen above where we need to find and select a Contract to use. In this case the Contract is a Smart Contract which is part of the code-base of the DAOScape.
Here we are looking at the actions available in the permadao Smart Contract…
These are the actions available to the daoscapehub Smart Contract, as we can see they are different…
The Treasury
We can transfer FREEOS, XPR and USDC into and out of the OVERSHOOTDAO
We can transfer NFT’s into and out of the OVERSHOOTDAO
Value Exchange
The fair exchanging of value is a key need, indeed it is this requirement which drove the creation of currency and the overall concept of money. “Money is the actual value that is traded for goods and services, while currency is the paper money or coins that we carry around to make our day-to-day payments. Currency may act as a store of value and be traded between nations in foreign exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies.” At this stage, in 2023 the fiat-based monetary systems are in dire straits; let’s dig into this a little more with some key dates.
1945 - The Bretton-Woods agreement: Named after the location, Bretton-Woods in NH USA, this post-war agreement effectively made the US Dollar, the world-reserve currency, backed by gold. This latter point is key in fact and there is more information on the meeting itself and its results, here.
1971 Nixon Drops a Bombshell: This now seems to have been a terrible “temporary” mistake “President Richard Nixon’s actions in 1971 to end dollar convertibility to gold and implement wage/price controls were intended to address the international dilemma of a looming gold run and the domestic problem of inflation. The new economic policy marked the beginning of the end of the Bretton Woods international monetary system and temporarily halted inflation.” There is more information on this here.
There were some tremendous knock-on effects from the 1971 decision, largely speaking, the financial systems of many nations were relying on the US Dollar so when the US went off the Gold-Standard many other nations effectively did the same. This document is not meant to be a financial analysis document. However the concept of true value is important. Our core value standard will actually be a Seeds-Standard.
The photograph just above is from our Incredible Edible (Eugene) Seed Exchange. When these waterproof boxes are full they each contain 130 to 150 packets of seeds. We have tried various versions of storage and found this system to be the best so far. We also actually created a blog-piece on how we created our version of the Seed Collection and Seed Exchange here.