LOCAMAP - mapping local and direct food spots

Hey dear Edgeryders :slight_smile:,

I’m here today to introduce to you all my first project. Following a year of project thinking, insights modeling (hey @nadia), concepts testing in real life (at the Reef in Sidi Kaouiki, and in France), and writing articles linked to it on my blog, it is time now to engage the worldwide beta-test step of it.

This project is about food cycles, solutions for any of us to map or find local and direct fresh food supplies around. It is of course a map, but it’s definitely a little bit more than just that.

## LOCAMAP, a map for fresh and direct food diggers:
  • Fresh and Direct food Cycles:
    A sustainable because adaptative solution with positive effects on ecology, economy, and communities.
    These kind of food cycles are cutting down as much as possible any interference between the product and the kitchen. It is also about seasonnal productions, better quality of products (implying less quantities of them, and slower food consumption), using timeless agro-ecologic methods. It is about keeping it local, social, and human scaled.
    They also improve the creation of contributive communities, from the organisation to the distribution, empowering the link between farmers and consumers. It is about promoting a less-is-best lifestyle that fits and adapts faster and better to the needs of a community, on both rural and urban zones.

* **A Contributive Tool for Diggers:** This map is a tool made for those who think that local food and short-circuits are solutions for nowadays agro-emergencies. **It is made for those who wants to reduce the distance between the farm and the fork** as explained above. Its main goal is to be **an easy way to contribute to an harmonious way to eat fresh food**. We, as consumers, are or can be part of this positive model, We try these solutions, we adapt to them, we agree with the services they give. **Why shouldn't we share them?** Creating a map-based network for fresh and local food diggers, by the diggers themselves. Mapping the spots and places, sharing infos and intel about them, with anybody looking for the same solutions as we are. **A contributive and easy-to-use open source platform**. Making us able to know more about the places we live in, and what is happening on the other side of the world on the same topic, around the same ideas. Because **local is the new global** (ping @alberto ;) ) .

## NOW, how does it work ?

Locamap is based on OSM, and uses uMap (thanks to @hazem for the tip on this!) to explore and contribute to the database we’re going to share with each other. Here is what it’s wanting to be as a platform:
- contributive
- borderless and international
- non-commercial and non-promotionnal
- owned by none but the contributors
- anonymous

It is a map that wants to allow anybody to share or get places, adresses and services anonymously, anywhere.
Those places are (for now) classified as following:
- baskets (little assorment of fruits and vegetables distributed)
- urbangardens (where you can grow or get fruits or vegetables)
- cooperatives (locations owned by farmers or so)
- shops
- markets

Those places that we’re going to mark on the map, have to be essentially distributing local and short-circuit food. There is no way we want to see supermarkets with a small local food service there being pinted on the map… ahah

HOW can I contribute ?

Very easily indeed! You know places ans services around you? You have a computer or a smartphone?
Here are two ways to contribute to the map:

**_ON SMARTPHONE:_**

You just have to launch the page with the map in your browser of choice. The map is now in front of you and you can consult it, by cicking on the point already marked, and check details. You will also see that there is a bunch of buttons that can be used, here are those wich are going to make you a contributor:

1/ click on the pen on the corner up right, to access the edition menu
2/ click the first button, with the “map marker” form ; there, uMap asks you to pin the location of the spot on the map, just do it :slight_smile:
3/ a menu pops automaticaly: pick the kind of services you’re marking (urbangarden, basket, etc)
4/ write the name, and give a small and concise description of the service (in one parapgraph only)
5/ click on Save and be sure you’re deeply thanked for your contribution :smiley:

here is a gif of these steps:

**_ON A COMPUTER:_**

As the smartphone method relies on a internet page opened in a browser, the method is exactly the same on a computer, as you just need to open the same page in your browser, and follow the same steps.

Here is a gif for computer users:

SEMANTIC and DIVERSITY

As local food models are preserving the bio-diversity of plants, vegetables, fruits, all linked to specific terroirs and knowledges, it appears natural / logical for Locamap to share this preservation of diversity drive, and include this concepts in its core.
On the human and social aspect of such a thing, we all are coming from different places, cultures and terroirs. We sometimes are travellers, migrants, or deeply rooted in the same place for a life-long time. Whatever. We don’t cook things the same way, and we don’t name things the same way as well. And this is a precious diversity.
We need to preserve this, by completing the map in the local language and alphabet.
As you can see, the map shows international names for places and countries and cities… Let’s make this a whole workflow.

For instance, if @hazem marks some point in Egypt, let it be written in egyptian arabic. If he writes some in Germany, let them be written in german.
And for those of us that will be travelling there, let’s be curious and translate that by ourselves! :slight_smile:

Preservation of local food cycles is not an isolated stand. It shares many intersections with others, and shouldn’t let itself be driven out of a big-pictured and intersectionnal vision.

## MORE INFOS about this opened to all edgeryders beta-test:

3 weeks ago, I launched the first phase of the platform test, with french speaking people “recruited” via FB and Mastodon. We were 20 to be involved in the project during this time. 5-6 contributed, wich means 20-25% give or less.
I wanted to extend the test to a more wide and international community, and as Edgeryders has been related to this project somehow since this, it was a natural move for me to trust Edgeryders community in this process.

I’m planning on a month of test with you here, and see what we can do in that time.
By that I mean getting markers on the map of course, but also discussing the project form, governance, insights, and design. It can start from just pin a place on the map to share ideas about this grey style I’ve chosen for now, through thinking the governance or moderation model of such a contributive and libre tool.

## CONFIDENTIALITY and SHARING POLICIES:

Edgeryders is a public platform, where anybody is able to see this article, the links in it, and what is discussed. As I don’t have the permission to making this post a community-only reading, I trust you guys to not share it publicly on other platforms. We can of course discuss that point :wink:

Now, go! Looking forward to see the markers popping here and there on this grey map. Let's put some colors on it!

And definitely looking to read your comments and feedbacks on it as well!

Thank you!

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Excellent project. This link is to a site, not a map, but farm-to-fork has ben an important part of the local economy for years out here on the west coast of CA. (I thought it would have a map but they just list their places by sub-region.) When you drive around the region you often go by these places which also display a sign that signifies a kind of membership. I think that helps one get a sense of what that place is about by having that sign. It isn’t a situation where the map can get crowd sourced so it isn’t the same as what you are doing, but it’s worth a look anyway…

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@johncoate thank you John.
Feel free to add some spots then :wink:

Hello gregoire, really interesting technology, build with all the right values in mind.

I’m a shop owner in Brussels of Fermenthings (a place 100% dedicated to fermentation) and am continiously in search of better value network for my products.

At this point i’m preparing a new production line in a building in Brussels where i would like to implement every of those values that we share with every actor. We are trying to create a coop with most of the actors. Detailed info about it can be find here

We want to create a short circuit open market and production place. We have a brewer only selling at the place through his fermentation tanks (no extra waste created), we are working with a coop cargo bike company to look at best transport, are near the water to reinvigorate small scale water transport, have a direct trade coffee roaster, an educator in nature and food to teach new generations all the good practices and a fermentation proces line to work with all the excesses of the bio market and other producers.

I would like to see how i could implement such collective intelligence exercice into the framework. I know it looks like a commercial project, but it simply is an economical project to change the habits towards durable food consumption. If i can succeed at having people to live out of these good practices i would be happy.

Happy to hear your toughts about it

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Hello @yannick ,
Sorry for the long delay :slight_smile:
I think we should discuss all that in french, somewhere (on Riot maybe?).

but there we go:

Savoir d’où vient chaque ingrédient doit se faire d’une manière transparente. C’est pour ça que nous allons collaborer avec LOCAMAP.

LOCAMAP est une technologie en beta-test qui fait partie des recherches OPEN VILLAGE de Edgeryders. L’idée est de pouvoir localiser facilement les producteurs d’aliments comestibles, aussi petits soient-ils, sur un territoire urbain. Ce mapping qui est créé en ‘’crowd sourcing’’ pourra être utilisé pour mieux dynamiser l’apport des produits vers les consommateurs, sans devoir passer par des tierces personnes.

This extract from your doc says it all about LOCAMAP, and you actually understood the very meaning of my project BEFORE I even write about that aspect.

As your exemple shows, behind LOCAMAP map and referencing for consumers/diggers lies the ability for business creators to find locations, networks and hopefully people to work with.
From what i understood, you want LOCAMAP to be a tool to find products for your future collaborative hub place. That’s INDEED what LOCAMAP is about, and I’m reaaaaaaally happy you find it by yourself.
Yet, it is not the only possibility that this map could offer that way: Tourism (hello @nadia), commerce of course, and many other economic models could use the map as a tool.

But for that, we all need to reference the places where we find local and short-circtuit produced and distributed food on it. Because an empty map wont be that efficient as a tool…
:slight_smile:

Very nice project @gregoiremarty … On a wide scale, it can help identify the urban food deserts

Since you’re working on the topic, check if there something for you here https://www.digitalag4egypt.com/

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Hello and thank you @Heba for the link!
It’s super interesting, and Locamap could probably fit the plan I presume.
I’m going to dig deeper :slight_smile: Thank you!

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Hello Gregoire, had to work on some food related events and went to budapest for a beer festival, so didn’t have the time to come bact too you. Will be sending you a mail soon with more information and ideas. Working on the local distribution system at the moment.

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Hey. @yannick looking forward for cette connexion :boom::ok_hand:
J’attends ton mail avec impatience :smiley:

This article is a great piece of the puzzle I think

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Hello everybody!

After three months of beta-testing, here are the conclusions that I can take from opening Locamap to a close group on Mastodon, and to the Edgeryders platform:

MASTODON users:

the small group of 10 to 15 people that joined the test via Mastodon (and some on Facebook) were the ones who did put markers on the map. The amount of markers tripled in one month. Wich showed me the ability for this tool to be used easily by anybody, anywhere, anytime.
I did a few corrections though: added the https format to the adress of the map, to allow the geo-localisation in situation, corrected some paragraphs and formats…

And I also received some feedbacks that push me now into re-design the thing, esthetically speaking. I chose a very dark grey oriented design, and it seems that people don’t feel as confortable as I do with it. So… I’m in contact with somebody in order to make it look better. :slight_smile:

EDGERYDERS members:

There, I was quite surprised that nobody since early May this year added a single marker on the map. Surprised but not disappointed, of course we all have things to do, projects to run, … So, I’m here questioning what could possibly have restrain you guys on Locamap?

I wont let it down here though. I think the project itself could (help) generate discussions and projects just as @yannick and I had earlier.
I don’t know. I will figure some options, as good as I can, but if any of you have anything to share, just let me know, I’ll gladly discuss it !

NEXT MOVES:

So the next moves are simple:

  1. redesigning the whole thing: map background, logo and possibly the website that still is under construction.
  2. thinking and writing the wiki and the manifesto of Locamap.
  3. pushing it publically and possibly present it with a video or presentation of any kind.

Here again, ideas and feedbacks are welcome :wink:

Looking forward for your imputs guys,
Thank you!

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@gregoiremarty… It’s our loss! I was travelling almost all June, so grateful to @anique.yael for signaling what we’re missing out here.

Am looking at the work and it seems very promising… Will think of places - In Brussels I’ve been mentally mapping bioshops and local coops.

The challenge is to assess somehow how the map is being used. Even if you get the number of contributions and inputs into it - is there a strategy to monitor and encourage output ? (metrics/ measures for its practical usage?)

Well done, and again, my apologies for missing this post!

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hey @noemi , sorry for the delay… my last few weeks have all been about my wedding. I might be able to reply to your questions a little later in the summer.
Thank you for asking them btw :slight_smile:
cheers!

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@noemi finally replying to your message!

What comes next is mainly about design for now.
During the beta-test ran since may this year, I’ve been in contact with people about the map and the tools linked to it. Basically, the epicenter of their feedbacks is about the design: way too grey, too strong, it needs to be remodeled.
And regarding that specific work, a contact of mine, brilliant designer (and professor), will work on that side of the project.

Then, obviouly I’ll have to bring more effort into the platform of LOCAMAP. If the map (tool for the inputs) is hosted by OSM+uMap+Jawg, there is indeed a need for a website that allows to visit the map, understand the purpose (with a manifesto for instance), and maybe host a blog section… I don’t know yet.
One step at the time, I’m waiting september to move forward on the design and the rest will follow :slight_smile:

I definitely look forward for the map to be able to check the amount of contributions, or to tell the story of any partnership with local helpers/shops/coops etc. But I don’t see that part of the plan being an emergency. I could be wrong tho, the idea is to discuss :wink:

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I guess it’s a matter of finding a good context that can prompt motivation and time to put into developing it further. It also depends on how you see your current investment paying off, if you want to take it to a “finished” point or not. Ok, it will always be a work in progress but nonetheless…

My motivations for this project are:

  • standalone and self-developping tool for its free from centralized moderation
    meaning that I don’t wa,t it to depend on me
  • ability to give a big network of connections for localists-entrepreneurs that would eventually turn the data into their own (open source) business model

meaning if that cool can help anybody to launch a business upon the data collected and shared, may he/she feel free to do so, open-sourcely if possible (for the community to be able to copy and “paste” the model somewhere else

I might be, or not, in a near future or on a long term perspective, be part of the second point there. But who knows?

I love this idea, so much that I don’t want to trap it, and I don’t want to be trapped by it as well.

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Hey all,

Awesome mapping of local food here! I’ve been part of developing an Open Source tool for creating pre-sale farmers markets. If you are already creating food communities where you are, perhaps it can be a good tool to make sales and logistics easier for farmers.

The platform, Local Food Nodes, takes no fees on sales and supported only by donations (you have to give something, but how much is up to you). In the process of making it better suited for internationals (translations & currencies etc.) but it works as is and there is an app for android/iOS (called “Local Food App”) to make it easier to get mainstream adoption.

1 Like