Last February 7, 2009, Team MangoCloud-Mindanao spearheaded by Mr. Art Esmeralda organized another FOSS for SME's gig held at the IT Lab of the University of Immaculate Conception Bankerohan Campus. The event showcased the following:
1. F/LOSS 101 by Rogie Masangkay
2. F/LOSS and the Economy by Holden Hao
3. Pentaho - Business Intelligence by Evamay Delarosa
4. WatchTower - GIS/SMS solution to Asset Management/Monitoring System by Eric Lozarita
5. Gimp+Inkscape+Scribus - Desktop Publishing solutions by Andrew Abogado
6. Weberp Accounting Software by Lesley Acibron & Suzette Balucanag
Below are the photos taken during the event.
Above: Mr. Rogie Masangkay
Below: Mr. Holden Hao
Above: Ms. Evamay Delarosa
Below: Mr. Eric Lozarita
Above: Mr. Andrew Abogado
Below: Suzette Balucanag and Lesley Acibron
Above: Lesley Acibron, Andrew Abogado, with Mr. Art Esmeralda
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Basic Earthworm Biology
Earthworms are nature's clean-up crew, aiding in the production of lush, humus-rich topsoil from spent plant and animal materials. These elegantly efficient organisms have been on earth for hundreds of thousands of years longer than humankind, largely untouched by evolution due to their nearly perfect adaptation to their role in nature.
Humankind has studied and learned to appreciate the talents of the earthworm, developing systems that capitalize on the natural role it plays in recycling organic matter back into humus. We now use earthworms for the remediation of organic “waste” materials, reducing the pressure on landfills and aiding in the regeneration of our valuable top soils.
When beginning a foray into the operation of worm driven organics systems it is important to be clear on the intended goal of the project. Worm systems are typically managed for one of three reasons; waste management, production of worm biomass, and production of castings. While worms are being grown, organic materials are being processed, and castings are being generated in all worm beds, management methods will vary to some degree depending on the focus of the system.
Vermicomposting is defined as the practice of using concentrations of earthworms to convert organic materials into usable vermicompost or worm castings. These systems focus on the waste material and managing it so that it can be successfully and efficiently processed in a worm system.
Castings production systems are worm-processing beds that use feedstocks specially blended so that castings have a specific nutrient value, chemical characteristic or cross section of microorganisms. The focus of these systems is on end product value.
Vermiculture systems focus on producing the maximum level of worm biomass possible in a given space.
The Amazing Earthworm
Researchers have identified and named more than 4400 distinct species of earthworm, each with unique physical and behavioral characteristics that distinguish them one from the other. These species have been grouped into three categories, endogeic, anecic and epigeic, descriptive of the area of the natural soil environment in which they are found and defined to some degree by environmental requirements and behaviors.
Anecic species, represented by the common nightcrawler (Lumbricus terrestris), build permanent vertical burrows that extend through the upper mineral soil layer, which can be as deep as 4-6 feet. These species coat their burrows with mucous that hardens to prevent collapse of the burrow, providing them a home to which they will always return and are able to reliably identify, even when surrounded by other worm burrows. When deprived of this burrow environment anecic worms will neither breed nor grow.
Anecic worms feed in decaying organic matter and are responsible for cycling huge volumes of organic surface debris into humus.
Endogeic species build extensive, largely horizontal burrow systems through all layers of the upper mineral soil. These worms rarely come to the surface, spending their lives deep in the soil where they feed on decayed organic matter and mineral soil particles. While most people believe all worms eat soil, it is only the epigeic species that actually feed on significant volumes of soil itself.
These worm species help to incorporate mineral matter into the topsoil layer as well as aerating and mixing the soil through their movement and feeding habits.
Epigeic earthworm species, represented by the common red worm (Eisenia fetida), are found in the natural environment in the upper topsoil layer where they feed in decaying organic matter. Epigeic worms build no permanent burrows, preferring the loose topsoil layer rich in organic matter to the deeper mineral soil environment. Even in nature these worms are found in highest concentrations in the forest duff layer or in naturally occurring drifts of leaves and organic debris rather than in soil. We can duplicate the preferred environment of these worm species in bin culture, and it is largely for this reason that it is epigeic worms only that are used in vermicomposting and vermiculture systems.
Oxygen Requirements
Earthworms are oxygen-breathing animals that absorb oxygen directly through their skin. Oxygen is dissolved into mucous coating the worm's skin and the dissolved oxygen passes through the skin and the walls of capillaries lacing the skin where it is picked up by hemoglobin in the worm blood and carried throughout the body.
Moisture Requirements
Moisture is critical to the survival of all earthworm species because it is moisture within the worm's body that gives it shape, enables it to move, and aids in the worm's ability to absorb oxygen. To facilitate the absorption of oxygen the skin is very thin and permeable, meaning that the moisture within the body cavity is easily evaporated off, particularly in dry environments. The moisture range for most worm species is from 60-85%, which ensure the worm can absorb as much moisture as may be lost.
Temperature Requirements
Specific temperature requirements and tolerances vary from species to species, though the ideal range for most epigeic worm species is between roughly 60-80° F. The worm's ability to tolerate temperatures outside of ideal is highly dependant on the level of moisture in the system, with hot, dry conditions being the most lethal combination.
Nutritional Requirements
Earthworms lack teeth and sufficient digestive enzymes of their own, relying instead on microorganisms to begin to rot and soften organic matter so it can be ingested, then relying on naturally occurring bacteria and fungi in their gut to digest their food. In the process of taking in this biologically active predigested organic matter the earthworm also ingests small particles of sand and soil, which lodge in their gizzard. As the organic matter and microbial life coating it move past this gizzard they are ground against the gritty particles lodged there and fragmented into smaller pieces, making them easier for the gut organisms to digest.
Researchers have recently learned that it is not from the organic matter itself, but from the bodies of the microbial life rotting the organic matter that epigeic earthworms derive the bulk of their most vital nutrients. Once thought to be detritus (debris) feeders, we now understand that the earthworm is actually a predator of microbial life, relying on microscopic bacteria, fungi, protozoa and algae as their major sources of nutrition. Thus, anything that will support microbial activity, that is, anything that rots, is potentially suitable food for earthworms. Materials that support the greatest level of earthworm activity are those that support the greatest and most diverse populations of microbial life.
PH Requirements
As microorganisms break down organic matter it goes through a series of naturally occurring changes in pH. Because earthworms thrive in environments rich in decaying organic matter they are adapted to tolerate these pH fluctuations with little or no change in their activity levels. In nature worms are found in environments with a pH range from 4-9, with processing and reproductive rates being no different at an acidic 4 than they are at an alkaline 9. In fact, all things being otherwise equal, earthworms actually prefer an environment with a pH of 5 to 5.5, contrary to the popular belief that they prefer a neutral pH.
With a pH tolerance this wide it is highly unusual for pH to be a limiting factor in any worm system. Further, the radical and artificial adjustment of the pH through the addition of buffering agents like lime can actually have a detrimental effect on the system. The organisms present in a given environment of organic debris are there because they are suited to that environment and whatever fluctuation may naturally occur through the process of decay. When the nature of the system is suddenly and radically altered it forces many of these organisms into dormancy and sometimes kills them outright, thus reducing the availability of nutrition to the worms and potentially slowing the processing rate of the organic matter.
The addition of lime to any worm system is generally discouraged except in those extremely rare circumstances where the pH has dropped well below the worms' level of tolerance.
Ultra-Violet Light Response
All earthworms are photophobic to some degree, meaning they react negatively to bright light. The severity of the reaction depends on the species of worm, how bright the light and the level of light to which the worm is accustomed. For example, earthworms accustomed to some light exposure will react less negatively to sudden bright light than will worms accustomed to complete darkness. Some species of worm react negatively to bright light but are actually attracted by dim light.
Earthworms sense light through photoreceptive organs along their back and on the prostomium (sensitive lobe of tissue overhanging the mouth that the worm uses to probe and sense its environment).
Reproduction
Earthworms are hermaphrodites, meaning each worm possesses both male and female reproductive organs. Some earthworm species can be self fertile, meaning they can fertilize their own ova to produce young, and some species are parthenogenic, meaning fertilization of the ova by sperm is not necessary to produce young. Most earthworm species, however, require that two worms exchange sperm in order to produce young.
When worms mate they lay side by side with their heads pointed in opposite directions, making close contact along the upper segments of their bodies. They excrete a mucous that coats both worms and binds them together, preventing them from being easily pulled apart and ensuring environmental conditions like rain or dew do not interfere with the exchange of sperm.
The worms exchange sperm, storing the received seed in a pore on the skin surface just above the clitellum (the differently colored or thickened band that encircles the worm body). Once they exchange sperm, a process that may take hours, the worms move apart and eject their own ova into a pore on their skin surface near the sperm pore. They secrete a thick mucous around the clitellum, which hardens on the outside but remains sticky underneath, forming a band out of which the worm backs, drawing the band over its head. As the band passes over the pores holding sperm and ova they are picked up and held on the sticky underside. Once the worm has backed completely out of the hardened mucous band the ends close forming a cocoon with sperm and ova inside where fertilization takes place. Each worm will continue to produce cocoons until they have used all of the sperm received from their mate.
The length of time it takes for the baby worms inside the cocoon to mature and “hatch” out, and the number of young in each cocoon depend on the worm species and environmental conditions.
Contrary to popular belief, worms are a closed species, meaning they can produce viable young only with sperm from members of their own species. They cannot be hybridized . In those rare circumstances when two worms from differing species have attempted to mate, the result was either no young being produced or, in rare circumstances, babies that were always sterile.
The worm cocoon is an incredibly tough structure, designed to protect the young inside from environmental extremes and even ingestion by other animals. Cocoons can be frozen, submerged in water for extended periods of time, dried and exposed to temperatures far in excess of what can be tolerated by adult worms without damage to the young worms inside. The cocoon can even be eaten by other animals, provided it can make it past the teeth, surviving the digestive process and passing out of the animals body in the manure! In areas of climatic extremes it's likely that the adult members of epigeic worm species do not survive, but the cocoons do, repopulating the environment when environmental conditions return to a range that can support worm activity.
Watch a flash movie of red worms mating........click here
Earthworm cocoons are easy to spot in the worm bed. They are roughly the size of a large grape seed and similarly shaped, with one end rounded and the other drawn out to a point. When first dropped from the body of the parent the cocoon is a creamy, pearlescent yellow, darkening to a cola brown as the young worms within mature and prepare to emerge.
Watch a flash movie of a red worm cocoon........click here
Watch a flash movie of a red worm Cocoon hatching........click here
Earthworm Species used in Vermiculture
While earthworm taxonomists have identified thousands of individual worm species, only six have been identified as useful in vermicomposting systems to date. These species were evaluated based on their ability to tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions and fluctuations, handling and disruption to the worm bed, and for their growth and breeding rate. Earthworm species with a short generation time, meaning a relatively short life span and rapid growth and reproductive rate, have been identified as most effective due in large part to the high concentration of juvenile worms present in their populations. Juvenile worms, like human teenagers, are voracious consumers, keeping the processing rate of the system high and ensuring an ongoing succession of young worms.
The growth and reproductive rates of each worm species listed below are the maximum identified under ideal conditions. These rates decline the further environmental conditions within the system shift from ideal.
Please note the Latin name of each earthworm species. Common names can be very misleading and often vary between different regions of the world and even regions within a country. It is very difficult to be sure which species of worm is being discussed unless the Latin name is being used. Professional worm growers should know and use the Latin names of the worms they culture.
Eisenia fetida* / Eisenia andreii
(common name, Red Worm)
There are two worm species listed here because in virtually all cultures of E. fetida, E. andreii is present. E. andreii so closely resembles E. fetida in behavior, environmental requirements, reproductive and growth rate, and appearance that the only way to distinguish between the two is through molecular scanning . There is no external difference between the two species. For all intents and purposes these worms can be considered identical. Eisenia fetida is generally the only worm mentioned because the two are so closely associated and because fetida is typically the more populous of the two.
Eisenia fetida/Eisenia andreii are the worm species identified as the most useful in vermicomposting systems and are the easiest to grow in high-density culture because they tolerate the widest range of environmental conditions and fluctuations, and handling and disruption to their environment of all species identified for this purpose. E. fetida/E. andreii are also common to virtually every landmass on earth, meaning there is no concern over importing potentially alien species to an environment where they might cause damage.
While this worm species is considered the premier worm for most applications, it is a small worm, not always suited for use as bait.
* Temperature range: Minimum; 38° F, maximum; 88° F, ideal range; 70° F-80° F.
* Reproductive rate: Approximately 10 young per worm per week under ideal conditions.
* Average number of young per cocoon: Approximately 3.
* Time to emergence from the cocoon: Approximately 30-75 days under ideal conditions.
* Time to sexual maturity: Approximately 85-150 days under ideal conditions.
*Note: The spelling ‘ fetida ' was changed a few years ago to ‘ foetida ' then subsequently changed back for reasons clear only to a few earthworm taxonomists. The different spellings do not denote different species. Information on this species can be found under both spellings, though the correct spelling is ‘ fetida '.
Eudrilus eugeniae
(common name, African nightcrawler)
This worm is a semi-tropical species, meaning it cannot easily tolerate cool temperatures and is usually grown indoors or under temperature controlled conditions in most areas of North America. E. eugeniae is a large species, well suited for use as a bait worm, but does not tolerate handling or disruption to its environment.
This species is used in some vermicomposting systems around the Mediterranean region and in some areas of eastern Asia.
* Temperature range: Minimum; 45° F, maximum; 90° F, ideal range; 70° F-80° F.
* Reproductive rate: Approximately 7 young per worm per week under ideal conditions.
* Average number of young per cocoon: Approximately 2.
* Time to emergence from the cocoon: Approximately 15-30 days under ideal conditions.
* Time to sexual maturity: Approximately 30-95 days under ideal conditions.
Amynthas gracilus
(common name, Alabama or Georgia jumper)
A. gracilus is another large worm species well suited for use as bait. It is also a tropical species with a poor tolerance for cold temperatures. This worm tolerates handling and disruption to the worm bed as well as does E. fetida and is generally considered an easy worm to culture provided appropriate temperatures can be maintained.
A. gracilus is used in a few vermicomposting systems in Malaysia and the Philippines.
* Temperature range: Minimum; 45° F, maximum; 90° F, ideal range; 70° F-80° F.
* Reproductive rate: Undetermined, though believed to be similar to E. eugeniae.
* Average number of young per cocoon: Undetermined, though believed to be similar to E. eugeniae .
* Time to emergence from the cocoon: Undetermined, though believed to be similar to E. eugeniae
* Time to sexual maturity: Undetermined, though believed to be similar to E. eugeniae
Perionyx excavatus
(common name, Indian Blue worm)
Perionyx excavatus is a beautiful worm with an iridescent blue or violet sheen to its skin clearly visible under bright light. It is a very small worm, poorly suited as fishing bait, but has an impressive growth and reproductive rate far in excess of the other species grown in bin culture.
This is another tropical worm species with a very poor tolerance for low temperatures, fluctuations in the bin environment, handling or disruption to the system. P. excavatus is often referred to as “the Traveler” for its tendency to leave the bin en masse for no apparent reason.
Due to it's temperamental nature this species is rarely used in vermicomposting systems in North America, though it is naturally occurring at low population levels in systems in contact with the soil in the southeastern US and most tropical regions of the world.
* Temperature range: Minimum; 45° F, maximum; 90° F, ideal range; 70° F-80° F.
* Reproductive rate: Approximately 19 young per worm per week under ideal conditions.
* Average number of young per cocoon: Approximately 1.
* Time to emergence from the cocoon: Approximately 15-21 days under ideal conditions.
*
Time to sexual maturity: Approximately 30-55 days under ideal conditions.
Eisenia hortensis
(European nightcrawler)
E. hortensis is a large worm species well suited for use as a bait worm. Its ideal temperature range is a bit cooler than is that of E. fetida and it requires higher moisture levels than do the other species tested for use in bin culture and vermicomposting, but the species tolerates handling and disruption to its environment, and environmental fluctuations very well.
Because this worm has a very low reproductive and growth rate, relatively speaking, it is considered the least desirable species of those tested for either bin culture or vermicomposting systems. It is used in a few vermiprocessing systems in Europe for the remediation of very wet organic materials.
* Temperature range: Minimum; 45° F, maximum; 85° F, ideal range; 55° F-65° F.
* Reproductive rate: Just under 2 young per worm per week under ideal conditions.
* Average number of young per cocoon: Approximately 1.
* Time to emergence from the cocoon: Approximately 40-125 days under ideal conditions.
* Time to sexual maturity: Approximately 55-85 days under ideal conditions.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
How to make Herbal Soap
Herbal Soap Making
What is Herbal Soap?
Herbal soap is a kind of soap mixed with natural ingredients, juice or extract and vitamins from medicinal plants.
How to Make Herbal Soap:
Utensils:
Plastic pail
Wooden ladle or bamboo stick
Glass or cup
Mortar and pestle
Cheese cloth or strainer
Knife
Chopping board
Cooking pot (preferably made of clay, enamel, stainless or glass)
Stove
Plastic molders
Akapulko and Guava Soap:
How to Prepare a Decoction:
1. Wash the leaves thoroughly and chop or cut in small pieces.
2. Measure 1 glass of chopped fresh leaves and 2 glasses of water.
3. Let it boil for 15 minutes (start timing when the water starts to boil).
4. After 15 minutes, remove from fire and strain in a cheesecloth. Set aside and let it cool.
Materials:
1 glass Caustic Soda (NaOH)
3 glasses Akapulko or Guava decoction, cooled
5 glasses cooking oil
coloring powder (optional)
Procedure:
1. Prepare the materials and the utensils needed.
2. Measure 1 glass of caustic soda and 3 glasses of Akapulko or Guava decoction and pour into a plastic pail.
3. Mix well by stirring continuously using a wooden ladle or bamboo stick. Use only one direction in mixing the mixture. Stir until the caustic soda is dissolved.
4. Pour 5 glasses cooking oil into the mixture.
5. Continue stirring until a consistency of a condensed milk is achieved.
6. Pour the soap mixture into desired plastic molders. Set aside and let it cool to harden.
7. After 4-5 hours, remove the soap from the molder.
8. Allow 30 days of ageing before packing. Label the soaps.
Indications:
Akapulko leaves - anti-fungal
Guava leaves - antiseptic for wounds
Kamias, Calamansi, Papaya, Cucumber and Radish Soaps
Materials:
1 glass Caustic Soda (NaOH)
3 glasses water
5 glasses cooking oil
1/2 glass juice or extract
Procedure:
1. Prepare the materials and the utensils needed.
2. Measure 1 glass of caustic soda and 3 glasses of water and pour into a plastic pail.
3. Mix well by stirring continuously using a wooden ladle or bamboo stick. Use only one direction in mixing the mixture. Stir until the caustic soda is dissolved.
4. Pour 5 glasses cooking oil into the mixture.
5. Continue stirring until a consistency of a condensed milk is achieved and add 1/2 glass of juice or extract.
6. Pour the soap mixture into desired plastic molders. Set aside and let it cool to harden.
7. After 4-5 hours, remove the soap from the molder.
8. Allow 30 days of ageing before packing. Label the soaps.
Indications:
Kamias - fruit extract or juice (bleaching soap)
Calamansi - fruit extract or juice (bleaching soap)
Cucumber - fruit extract or juice (moisturizer)
Papaya - extract from fresh leaves (bleaching/moisturi zer)
Radish - extract from the stem (moisturizer)
Reminder:
Caustic Soda can harm the skin upon contact. Wash immediately with vinegar or anything sour and then wash it with soap and water.
Caustic Soda is harmful to health and so, make the necessary precaution. Use mask and gloves to protect your body.
What is Herbal Soap?
Herbal soap is a kind of soap mixed with natural ingredients, juice or extract and vitamins from medicinal plants.
How to Make Herbal Soap:
Utensils:
Plastic pail
Wooden ladle or bamboo stick
Glass or cup
Mortar and pestle
Cheese cloth or strainer
Knife
Chopping board
Cooking pot (preferably made of clay, enamel, stainless or glass)
Stove
Plastic molders
Akapulko and Guava Soap:
How to Prepare a Decoction:
1. Wash the leaves thoroughly and chop or cut in small pieces.
2. Measure 1 glass of chopped fresh leaves and 2 glasses of water.
3. Let it boil for 15 minutes (start timing when the water starts to boil).
4. After 15 minutes, remove from fire and strain in a cheesecloth. Set aside and let it cool.
Materials:
1 glass Caustic Soda (NaOH)
3 glasses Akapulko or Guava decoction, cooled
5 glasses cooking oil
coloring powder (optional)
Procedure:
1. Prepare the materials and the utensils needed.
2. Measure 1 glass of caustic soda and 3 glasses of Akapulko or Guava decoction and pour into a plastic pail.
3. Mix well by stirring continuously using a wooden ladle or bamboo stick. Use only one direction in mixing the mixture. Stir until the caustic soda is dissolved.
4. Pour 5 glasses cooking oil into the mixture.
5. Continue stirring until a consistency of a condensed milk is achieved.
6. Pour the soap mixture into desired plastic molders. Set aside and let it cool to harden.
7. After 4-5 hours, remove the soap from the molder.
8. Allow 30 days of ageing before packing. Label the soaps.
Indications:
Akapulko leaves - anti-fungal
Guava leaves - antiseptic for wounds
Kamias, Calamansi, Papaya, Cucumber and Radish Soaps
Materials:
1 glass Caustic Soda (NaOH)
3 glasses water
5 glasses cooking oil
1/2 glass juice or extract
Procedure:
1. Prepare the materials and the utensils needed.
2. Measure 1 glass of caustic soda and 3 glasses of water and pour into a plastic pail.
3. Mix well by stirring continuously using a wooden ladle or bamboo stick. Use only one direction in mixing the mixture. Stir until the caustic soda is dissolved.
4. Pour 5 glasses cooking oil into the mixture.
5. Continue stirring until a consistency of a condensed milk is achieved and add 1/2 glass of juice or extract.
6. Pour the soap mixture into desired plastic molders. Set aside and let it cool to harden.
7. After 4-5 hours, remove the soap from the molder.
8. Allow 30 days of ageing before packing. Label the soaps.
Indications:
Kamias - fruit extract or juice (bleaching soap)
Calamansi - fruit extract or juice (bleaching soap)
Cucumber - fruit extract or juice (moisturizer)
Papaya - extract from fresh leaves (bleaching/moisturi zer)
Radish - extract from the stem (moisturizer)
Reminder:
Caustic Soda can harm the skin upon contact. Wash immediately with vinegar or anything sour and then wash it with soap and water.
Caustic Soda is harmful to health and so, make the necessary precaution. Use mask and gloves to protect your body.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Farming Related Websites
http://www.gov.ph/cat_agriculture/default.asp
Please follow this link above.
Please follow this link above.
Liquidware Antipasto
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Introducing the Open Source Hardware Central Bank
This blog post started with a cross-country driving trip, Zen and the Art of Open Source Hardware, and culminated with discussions during and especially after Justin's Open Source Economic Council (OSEC?). The list of people I interviewed and talked to about this is too long to list individually, so instead I'm going to throw credits to everyone who's been kind enough to help on a wiki soon. This coming weekend, Justin, Andrew, and I will be "launching" the Open Source Central Bank. This is the first in a series of blog posts describing it, and next week I'm headed up to MIT and Harvard to talk to some economists and business professors about how it will work. I'm excited!
Why does Open Source Hardware need a bank?
Because Open Source Hardware is different from Open Source Software. Software can be made with time, but hardware needs time and money. The same kind of "openness" principles from the Open Source Software "time economy" transition nicely to the Open Source Hardware-based "time economy," but they seem to get muddled in the OSHW "money economy." Need proof? Just try to answer any of these questions: who makes money from it, who funds it, why do they fund it, and who's helping to make it sustainable for the community? Open Source Hardware lacks a way for individuals to come together, make a cool project, and get something out of it - without taking a second and third mortgage on their houses!
Right now, the status quo, emerging trend for OSHW DIY'ers has been: build something, put up a bunch of money to build a few of them, if people like it, scale it up, raise money, realize you might lose all that money, charge a margin on top of it to cover your potential losses, start a small company to resell more, cross your fingers, maybe get lucky or maybe not. Setting up each little company takes an infrastructure investment like incorporation legal fees, Paypal transaction costs, and website hosting fees to name a few. For every small hardware project, there's a potential to have to pay upwards of 40-50% of the initial cost of the project again in just infrastructure fees - that's prohibitive and ridiculous for little guys like me.
I initially built the Illuminato with financial help from some friends, but mostly from a former mentor of mine who sponsored the project by helping to get scaling costs for the inventory. That worked the first time, but I've been stuck with a decision of how to fund it. If I only build 25 at a time, the cost will be around $50 apiece, which is just wrong. So I've been sitting here trying to figure out whether to take out a loan, pass the hat amongst friends, try to pitch it to a VC, or try something else? This is the OSHW "money problem" - how do you fund Open Source Hardware?
A vision for Open Source Hardware
Looking at Open Source Software, it's a thriving ecosystems of communities, projects, and contributors. There are a few companies, but they mostly offer "paid-for" services like consulting, tech support, or custom code/build-to-order functionality. I'd like the same for Open Source Hardware. I'd like the money problem to go away for small contributors like me and others. And I'd like to help guys like Chris and Mike and Mark and David and Jake build more cool stuff because it's fun.
I happen to believe that success for Open Source Hardware is not a distributed, highly-fragmented ecosystem with hundreds or thousands of individual companies, each structured around a single project. That seems wrong, and the transaction and infrastructure costs alone make that hard to stomach, let alone the time it takes to set all that up. I also don't believe that Open Source Hardware should ever be venture-backed. This is a controversial topic to some people. But speaking for myself (and quite a few others, apparently!), if I'm contributing my hard-earned time and money to projects and giving them away for the community benefit, I want to know, like Mark and Justin have taught me, that the community is reaping as close to 100% of the benefits. I don't believe in middle-men or intermediates just for the sake of it, or in speculators profiting off of my spare time. I get enough of that during my day job, so I want to eliminate that from my "spare time!"
Principles for the Open Source Hardware Bank
Justin, Andrew, and I have put together what we'd consider a beginner's set of principles for the Open Source Hardware, which the bank will operate under. Naturally, these are also on the wiki. These principles are described in terms of what we think Open Source Hardware needs to succeed:
A mechanism to:
A platform that:
People who:
What's the main issue the Bank is trying to solve?
Open Source Hardware has two main financial problems that the Open Source Bank will try to alleviate (in addition to a number of other tool-based problems, but others in the community are working on those thank goodness): "Throwaway Costs" and the "Quantity Monopoly." As if the current economy weren't bad enough already, both of these problems seriously hurt DIY'ers and potential Open Source builders who want to participate in the growing Open Source Hardware community.
Throwaway Costs - building physical hardware takes revisions. Early revisions have things wrong, like misplaced traces, wrongly sized solder pads, or just bad luck. In the OSS software world, when things go wrong, you just fix the code, hit compile again, and the only thing it really "costs" is your time finding and fixing the error. But in the OSHW hardware world, errors mean broken, non-functioning junk PCB's that cost money to make. And that means lost money. Who pays for this? Guys in college, or guys who just lost all their money in their houses can't afford to build 2, 4, or 6 revisions of hardware before it works!
The Quantity Monopoly - this is a term I'm giving to the fact that large companies, especially PCB houses and component suppliers, offer volume pricing discounts. Normally this is a good thing, but only if you're building 10,000's of finished products. In the DIY OSHW world, we're talking about building 1's to 10's to 25's at a time, and so the community gets burned every time by paying "quantity tax" to large suppliers. The has the side effect of pricing individual DIY builders out of many potential hardware developments, simply because they don't get cheap enough until you make 1,000's. It's a quantity monopoly, because there's only 1 quantity number that anyone wants to build: 100,000 of anything. This is a difficult topic, and in my interviews and conversations, I've found many people on both sides of the fence about this - some for, some against. The bottom line is: if stuff were cheaper, Chris, David, Mark, Mike, Omar, Justin, and I'd all personally be able to build and share more, so anything prohibiting this is what I'll call "bad."
The Solution: how the Bank will work
The Open Source Hardware Bank will work to eliminate the scaling and quantity pricing problem for OSHW projects by funding the build of 2x the quantity of any Open Source Hardware product. That means, if a project has found a way to find 10 potential buyers, the bank will put down the money needed to fund 10 more, for a total of 20 products. If a project has found 25 community members to buy in, the bank will fund another 25, to bring the total quantity down to 50. This should reduce the unit costs by around 10-30% of any hardware project, and in the case of the Illuminato, it'll reduce costs by almost 40%!
In return, anyone who pitches in money to the bank will get a modest and sustainable return on their investment, somewhere between 5-10%. Normally, this wouldn't be a huge amount, but given what I've learned about the "real" economy recently, 30-50% return on investment may never have really existed in the first place, let alone represented "sustainable growth." This money gets paid back and cashed out when the rest of the inventory is bought as a check that Justin, Andrew, or I write and sign personally.
So Andrew, Justin, and I will see to it that the Open Source Hardware Bank does not default, and each of us will guarantee every investment. Maybe you could call it AJMIC (instead of FDIC insured)! No one is trying to become a millionaire (without lots of hard work), a high paid investment banker (ugh), or Alan Greenspan (was he ever right about anything?). We're just trying to build a sustainable little financial institution to help Open Source Hardware DIY'ers. Consequently, we're also human and realize the limits of spare time, so no one's rushing out to build 50 projects, just 1 or 2 or 3 at a time will be perfectly fine, thank you!
The Open Source Hardware Bank is "Open Source"
The bank is funding Open Source Hardware, but it is also trying to be a step in the direction of Open Source Finance. As a result, the bank is also going to be "Open Source." It will run on a wiki, everything will be transparent, and it is open to anyone who'd like to join in any of the following roles:
Open Source Banker - these will be rotating positions, and Andrew, Justin, and I will do it first until it gets unsustainable and we need help (hint hint Mark and John)
Open Source Hardware Investor - by buying anywhere between $1,000 and $5,000 Open Source hardware T-bills
Open Source Economic Council - attending bi-monthly Open Source meetings (OSEC) in NYC and Boston to vote on what the bank will fund
If you're interested, or just think Justin, Andrew, and I are totally nuts, just send me an email! :) inthebitz at gmail... and in the meantime, every ridiculously crazy project needs a respectable logo, so here's one for the Open Source Bank:
Naturally, the text around the logo reads "Open Source Hardware" in ASCII, there's wreath of resistors representing overcoming resistance (buh dump chhhhh), and a course a fancy set of circuitry in the middle, and a hexadecimal base 16 set of stars around the center...
Here goes nothing!!!
Why does Open Source Hardware need a bank?
Because Open Source Hardware is different from Open Source Software. Software can be made with time, but hardware needs time and money. The same kind of "openness" principles from the Open Source Software "time economy" transition nicely to the Open Source Hardware-based "time economy," but they seem to get muddled in the OSHW "money economy." Need proof? Just try to answer any of these questions: who makes money from it, who funds it, why do they fund it, and who's helping to make it sustainable for the community? Open Source Hardware lacks a way for individuals to come together, make a cool project, and get something out of it - without taking a second and third mortgage on their houses!
Right now, the status quo, emerging trend for OSHW DIY'ers has been: build something, put up a bunch of money to build a few of them, if people like it, scale it up, raise money, realize you might lose all that money, charge a margin on top of it to cover your potential losses, start a small company to resell more, cross your fingers, maybe get lucky or maybe not. Setting up each little company takes an infrastructure investment like incorporation legal fees, Paypal transaction costs, and website hosting fees to name a few. For every small hardware project, there's a potential to have to pay upwards of 40-50% of the initial cost of the project again in just infrastructure fees - that's prohibitive and ridiculous for little guys like me.
I initially built the Illuminato with financial help from some friends, but mostly from a former mentor of mine who sponsored the project by helping to get scaling costs for the inventory. That worked the first time, but I've been stuck with a decision of how to fund it. If I only build 25 at a time, the cost will be around $50 apiece, which is just wrong. So I've been sitting here trying to figure out whether to take out a loan, pass the hat amongst friends, try to pitch it to a VC, or try something else? This is the OSHW "money problem" - how do you fund Open Source Hardware?
A vision for Open Source Hardware
Looking at Open Source Software, it's a thriving ecosystems of communities, projects, and contributors. There are a few companies, but they mostly offer "paid-for" services like consulting, tech support, or custom code/build-to-order functionality. I'd like the same for Open Source Hardware. I'd like the money problem to go away for small contributors like me and others. And I'd like to help guys like Chris and Mike and Mark and David and Jake build more cool stuff because it's fun.
I happen to believe that success for Open Source Hardware is not a distributed, highly-fragmented ecosystem with hundreds or thousands of individual companies, each structured around a single project. That seems wrong, and the transaction and infrastructure costs alone make that hard to stomach, let alone the time it takes to set all that up. I also don't believe that Open Source Hardware should ever be venture-backed. This is a controversial topic to some people. But speaking for myself (and quite a few others, apparently!), if I'm contributing my hard-earned time and money to projects and giving them away for the community benefit, I want to know, like Mark and Justin have taught me, that the community is reaping as close to 100% of the benefits. I don't believe in middle-men or intermediates just for the sake of it, or in speculators profiting off of my spare time. I get enough of that during my day job, so I want to eliminate that from my "spare time!"
Principles for the Open Source Hardware Bank
Justin, Andrew, and I have put together what we'd consider a beginner's set of principles for the Open Source Hardware, which the bank will operate under. Naturally, these are also on the wiki. These principles are described in terms of what we think Open Source Hardware needs to succeed:
A mechanism to:
- Reduce margins and share costs for the community
- Minimize the risk and opportunity cost of unsold inventory
- Provide incentives for Open Source projects to move to production without risks
- Allow the building and distribution of low-quantity, non-scalable products (e.g. niche applications that are potentially non-VC fundable, since "bad business idea" isn't the same as "bad hardware idea")
- Give rewards and profits back as close as possible to those who contributed
A platform that:
- Minimizes economic transaction costs to high-paid non-laborer economic types
- Reduces barriers to contribution
- Rewards innovation and encourages new ideas
- Encourages project-level (not necessarily company-level) competition
People who:
- Participate because they are getting as much or more out as they put in
- Do it not just to make money and profit off of others for free
- Have rare, valuable skills who volunteer their talents for recognition or fun
- Are willing to build a more sustainable hardware innovation system
- Are willing to teach others for the gratification of helping others learn new skills
What's the main issue the Bank is trying to solve?
Open Source Hardware has two main financial problems that the Open Source Bank will try to alleviate (in addition to a number of other tool-based problems, but others in the community are working on those thank goodness): "Throwaway Costs" and the "Quantity Monopoly." As if the current economy weren't bad enough already, both of these problems seriously hurt DIY'ers and potential Open Source builders who want to participate in the growing Open Source Hardware community.
Throwaway Costs - building physical hardware takes revisions. Early revisions have things wrong, like misplaced traces, wrongly sized solder pads, or just bad luck. In the OSS software world, when things go wrong, you just fix the code, hit compile again, and the only thing it really "costs" is your time finding and fixing the error. But in the OSHW hardware world, errors mean broken, non-functioning junk PCB's that cost money to make. And that means lost money. Who pays for this? Guys in college, or guys who just lost all their money in their houses can't afford to build 2, 4, or 6 revisions of hardware before it works!
The Quantity Monopoly - this is a term I'm giving to the fact that large companies, especially PCB houses and component suppliers, offer volume pricing discounts. Normally this is a good thing, but only if you're building 10,000's of finished products. In the DIY OSHW world, we're talking about building 1's to 10's to 25's at a time, and so the community gets burned every time by paying "quantity tax" to large suppliers. The has the side effect of pricing individual DIY builders out of many potential hardware developments, simply because they don't get cheap enough until you make 1,000's. It's a quantity monopoly, because there's only 1 quantity number that anyone wants to build: 100,000 of anything. This is a difficult topic, and in my interviews and conversations, I've found many people on both sides of the fence about this - some for, some against. The bottom line is: if stuff were cheaper, Chris, David, Mark, Mike, Omar, Justin, and I'd all personally be able to build and share more, so anything prohibiting this is what I'll call "bad."
The Solution: how the Bank will work
The Open Source Hardware Bank will work to eliminate the scaling and quantity pricing problem for OSHW projects by funding the build of 2x the quantity of any Open Source Hardware product. That means, if a project has found a way to find 10 potential buyers, the bank will put down the money needed to fund 10 more, for a total of 20 products. If a project has found 25 community members to buy in, the bank will fund another 25, to bring the total quantity down to 50. This should reduce the unit costs by around 10-30% of any hardware project, and in the case of the Illuminato, it'll reduce costs by almost 40%!
In return, anyone who pitches in money to the bank will get a modest and sustainable return on their investment, somewhere between 5-10%. Normally, this wouldn't be a huge amount, but given what I've learned about the "real" economy recently, 30-50% return on investment may never have really existed in the first place, let alone represented "sustainable growth." This money gets paid back and cashed out when the rest of the inventory is bought as a check that Justin, Andrew, or I write and sign personally.
So Andrew, Justin, and I will see to it that the Open Source Hardware Bank does not default, and each of us will guarantee every investment. Maybe you could call it AJMIC (instead of FDIC insured)! No one is trying to become a millionaire (without lots of hard work), a high paid investment banker (ugh), or Alan Greenspan (was he ever right about anything?). We're just trying to build a sustainable little financial institution to help Open Source Hardware DIY'ers. Consequently, we're also human and realize the limits of spare time, so no one's rushing out to build 50 projects, just 1 or 2 or 3 at a time will be perfectly fine, thank you!
The Open Source Hardware Bank is "Open Source"
The bank is funding Open Source Hardware, but it is also trying to be a step in the direction of Open Source Finance. As a result, the bank is also going to be "Open Source." It will run on a wiki, everything will be transparent, and it is open to anyone who'd like to join in any of the following roles:
Open Source Banker - these will be rotating positions, and Andrew, Justin, and I will do it first until it gets unsustainable and we need help (hint hint Mark and John)
Open Source Hardware Investor - by buying anywhere between $1,000 and $5,000 Open Source hardware T-bills
Open Source Economic Council - attending bi-monthly Open Source meetings (OSEC) in NYC and Boston to vote on what the bank will fund
If you're interested, or just think Justin, Andrew, and I are totally nuts, just send me an email! :) inthebitz at gmail... and in the meantime, every ridiculously crazy project needs a respectable logo, so here's one for the Open Source Bank:
Naturally, the text around the logo reads "Open Source Hardware" in ASCII, there's wreath of resistors representing overcoming resistance (buh dump chhhhh), and a course a fancy set of circuitry in the middle, and a hexadecimal base 16 set of stars around the center...
Here goes nothing!!!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Benefits of Malungay or kalugay in bicol.
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1. What is kalunggay or Moringa oleifera? Moringa oleifera Lam is the most widely cultivated species of the monogeneric family Moringaceae (order Brassicales), that includes 13 species of trees and shrubs distributed in sub-Himalayan ranges of India, Sri Lanka, North Eastern and South Western Africa, Madagascar and Arabia. Today it has become naturalized in many locations in the tropics and is widely cultivated in Africa, Ceylon, Thailand, Burma, Singapore, West Indies, Sri Lanka, India, Mexico, Malabar, Malaysia and the Philippines (Fahey, 2005). Moringa oleifera is considered one of the world’s most useful trees, as almost every part of the tree can be used for food, or has some other beneficial property. In the tropics it is used as foliage for livestock. It is an exceptionally nutritious vegetable tree with a variety of potential uses. The Moringa oleifera plants is absolutely power-packed with nutrients and minerals, including Calcium, Chloride, Chromium, Copper, Flourine, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium, Molybdenum, Phosphorus, Potassium, Osidum, Selenium, Sulfur and Zinc, Vitamins A, B, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, Folic Acid, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin K, and vitamin E. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2. What are the medicinal uses of Moringa? According to Fahey, J.W. (2005), the known medicinal uses/effects of all the parts of Moringa tree are: Anti-Bacterial • Infection • Urinary Tract Infection • Epstein-Bar Virus (EBV) • Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-1) • HIV AIDS • Helminthes • Trypanosomes • Bronchitis • External sores/Ulcers • Fever • Hepatic • Anti-Tumor • Prostate • Radio Protective • Anti-Anemic • Anti-Hypertensive • Diabetes/Hypogclycemia • Diuretic • Hypocholestemia • Thyroid • Hepatorenal • Colitis • Diarrhea • Dysentry • Ulcer/Gastritis • Rheumatism • Arthritis • Headache • Antioxidant • Carotenoids • Energy • Iron Deficiency • Protein, Vitamin/Mineral Deficiency • Lactation Enhancer • Antiseptic • Catarrh • Lactation • Scurvy and Tonic • Dental Caries/Toothache • Common cold • Snakebite • Scorpion bite • Digestive • Epilepsy • Hysteria • Antinutrietional factors • Abortifacient • Aphrodisiac • Birth control • Asthma • Cardiotonic • Flatulence • Anti-spasmodic • Rubefacient • Vesicant • Gout • Hepatamegaly • Low back/Kidney pain • Splenomegaly • Syphilis • Typhoid • Earache • Throat infection • Anthelmintic • Skin cancer • Joint pain • Warts • Goitrogen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3. What are the nutritional values of Moringa leaves? Nutritional analyses indicate that Moringa leaves contain a wealth of essential, disease-preventing nutrients. They even contain all of the essential amino acids, which is unusual for a plant source. Since the dried/powdered leaves are concentrated, they contain higher amounts of many of these nutrients, except vitamin C. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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4. How is moringa compared to common foods? The following figures show a comparison of the nutritional content of fresh Moringa leaves and dried Moringa leaves compared to common foods. All values are per 100 grams of edible portion. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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5. Do Moringa leaves have any negative side effects? Moringa leaves have not been found to be toxic. Very extensive health and safety studies conducted at the Noguchi Memorial Medical Research Centre in Ghana determined that Moringa leaf powder has no toxic elements. Absolutely no adverse side effects from even the most concentrated Moringa diet were observed. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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6. Is it safe to feed pregnant women and infants with Moringa leaf powder? In 1997-98, Alternative Action for African Development (AGADA) and Church World Service tested the ability of Moringa leaf powder to prevent or cure malnutrition in pregnant or breast-feeding women and their children in southwestern Senegal. Malnutrition was a major problem in this area, This test found the following effects to be common among subjects taking Moringa leaf powder: * Children maintained or increased their weight and improved overall health. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
‘Malunggay,' the miracle tree
Philippine Moringa News
‘Malunggay,' the miracle tree
Guests at the Kapihan sa Manila media forum last Monday were three presidents: Sen. Mar Roxas, president of the Liberal Party, Sen. Chiz Escudero, soon-to-be president of the Nationalist People's Coalition (the two are also among the frontrunners for the Philippine presidential derby next year), and former senator Joey Lina, president of the Manila Hotel and self-proclaimed president of the so-called "Malunggay Republic." I will discuss what Roxas and Escudero said at the Kapihan in a subsequent column and concentrate today on the "malunggay" ("marunggay" in the Ilocano language, horseradish tree in the United States), a common, easy-to-grow bantam-sized tree whose leaves and fruits are very nutritious and a common ingredient in many Filipino dishes.
The malunggay has so many uses that it is cultivated widely in India, Nicaragua and parts of Africa. If the coconut palm is "the tree of life," the malunggay can be called "the miracle tree." Fresh, dried or powdered, the leaves can be turned into almost anything edible. Aside from the usual ingredient in salads and viands, they can be turned into noodles, cookies, crostini, cupcake, munchkin, pastillas, patties, polvoron, pretzels, sugarbread, pan de sal, puto, cutchinta, bibingka, lugao and even ice cream. Dried and powdered, they can be used as tea or coffee. The brown seeds are a good source of biofuel.
If planted widely, the same way the Spanish colonialists encouraged Filipinos to plant coconuts, we would be freed of dependence on oil exporting countries by having enough biofuel from malunggay seeds, coconut oil, jatropha, and "alcogas," or alcohol-gas, from sugar cane. When the fossil fuels from under the desert sands run out, the present oil sheiks will have to import biofuel from tropical countries like the Philippines.
Malunggay is even better than jatropha, which is now being widely propagated for fuel oil. Like jatropha, malunggay grows on poor soil where no other crop will grow healthily. But jatropha has only one use, the oil from its seeds. Its seeds (they taste like peanuts) are poisonous. On the other hand, the leaves, fruits, and seeds of malunggay have many uses as food and are very nutritious. It contains vitamins A, B and C, and has more calcium, niacin, thiamin, phosphorus, ascorbic acid and iron than most vegetables. Nutrition experts say that 100 grams of malunggay leaves provide 75 calories of food energy, 6 grams of protein, 13 grams of carbohydrates, and 353 milligrams of calcium. Malunggay is a versatile and nutritious food. The leaves, flowers and fruits are commonly eaten as viand and green salad. They can be cooked with chicken, pork, beef, fish and beans. They can often replace any vegetable in any Filipino dish. Aside from the usual kitchen preparations, it can be prepared into various delicatessens. Lorna M. Valera of the Marcos State University has prepared a handbook with tested recipes that can help combat malnutrition among children. Ask for copies from the MSU, Malunggay Republic, and Bureau of Plant Industry. The malunggay grows abundantly in backyards and along farm fences, and requires little care. In fact, it can be used to reforest denuded areas. It can be propagated from seeds, tissue culture (26,000 plantlets can be produced from just one seed), and from cuttings. It is self-fertilizing and self-propagating. Rich in nitrogen, the leaves fertilize the soil. The brown, round seeds have "wings" or filaments. When the brown elongated fruits ripen and pop open, the seeds float away and germinate when they fall to the ground. Thus, when a colony of malunggay trees is established, they spread themselves, unaided, in the forest. What's more, its wood is soft. It is no good as lumber, charcoal or firewood. Thus, poachers will not bother to cut them like they do other trees. But they can gather the leaves and fruits anytime for food. We used to have three malunggay trees in our backyard in our compound in Malabon. Every time my auntie or sister had no vegetables to mix with the viands, they ask me to get some malunggay leaves to mix with the meat or fish. The malunggay can be grown in commercial quantities. They are planted only millimeters apart and while the trees are still small, the leaves are harvested by grass cutter, scythe or by hand like picking tea leaves. They do not like too much water so there is no danger of the malunggay robbing rice of hectarage. They thrive best in marginal soil where no other crops grow, of which we have millions of idle hectares. When grown from seeds-not from cuttings-malunggay trees hold the soil together. So they prevent soil erosion. Malunggay trees have typically white blossoms. But growers have already bred trees with red, fragrant blossoms. What's more, there are varieties whose leaves turn yellow. So imagine a hill or mountain reforested with malunggay. At certain times of the year, the hillsides would be yellow and red and suffused with fragrance from the leaves and blossoms. Interperse them with kakawati trees (also easy to grow and with pink flower like the famous Japanese cherry blossoms), and fire trees with their flaming red blossoms, and you will have countrysides afire with red, pink and yellow. They will be tourist attractions the same way Vermont, Massachusetts, and other New England States become tourist spots every autumn. The Malunggay Republic is a movement that propagates the use of malunggay. It is composed of government officials (Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Environment, etc.), businessmen, farmers, environmentalists, civil society. Sen. Loren Legarda, by the way, distributes malunggay seedlings, free, to those who ask for them.
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