mateoclarke
commented
8 years ago Very cool project idea @Rogue-Aider! I added some labels to this proposal based on your responses (hope you don't mind). Feel free to update the description as you go along.
I really liked the link you shared with details about building a hardware sensor to monitor hive health. But that seemed kind of like a bonus feature. (including an image because it looks so cool)
What kind of help would you need getting this idea off the ground at the hackathon? Other bee keepers? Business/non-profit formation team? Web development? hardware hackers?
Rogue-Aider
ssharif1
danielhonker
Revision 4 - After even more great feedback from Austin beekeepers.
Short description of the idea (140 character tweet):
A mobile-friendly web app to help ATX beekeepers better manage their beehives = more healthy bees, local honey and ATX bee businesses.
What is your project concept or idea? What challenge or opportunity will it solve?
Austin's beekeepers need help managing their beehives to keep up with growing demand for healthy local honey, but existing beekeeping apps are either overwhelmingly complicated or missing the features ATX beekeepers need.
We like honey and we like local businesses, so if ATX beekeepers can improve how they manage beehives then we all get healthier bees, more great local honey, and more opportunities for ATX bee businesses.
That's why we want to make a simple mobile-friendly web app for both hobbyist and professional beekeepers to ID, map and take notes on their beehives.
Think of it as a Facebook/Twitter/Slack for beekeeping. Each bee yard has its own "page", and each beehive in that yard has its own "subpage". Beekeepers can name their yards and hives, mark their location on a map (in a private way, since a hives can be stolen just like cars!) and tag them with something like a QR code.
Each yard page and hive subpage can have a "news feed". Then beekepers can add simple time-stamped (or even location-stamped) notes in a simple way (remember they might be wearing protective clothes or have sticky fingers!), perhaps with a few big on-screen buttons. Maybe one button for a picture/video, one for a voice note and one for text. These can be built around keywords: for example "I #fed this beehive 1 gallon today" or "The #queen in the @ Bluebell Hive is laying eggs" or "The @ WillieNelson colony is #sick."
That way the beekeepers can keep track of what's happening (for example, they'll know that last time they checked the Red Hive at Smith Family Yard, the queen wasn't laying eggs) and search using keywords.
Who will benefit from your project? Describe the humans at the center of the problem - who are they?
How would they benefit? Can you tell their story?
Do you have photos of them? Or quotes?
With this kind of mobile-friendly web app our ATX beekeepers can grow their business and keep their bees healthy, while more people can have access to healthy local honey (at a more affordable price and reliable quality).
Quotes from Austin-area beekeepers (ongoing list): "The thing that stops me from being a good hive note taker is that when I am in the bee yard I have gloves on and bees everywhere and its not conducive for electronic note taking. As a beekeeper I need software I can speak to in the moment and that can also send me relevant info in regards to the specifics of what I tell it."
"[We need a] general campaign to plant pollinators plants and avoid excess pesticide use."
"I would be on a general map that indicated large areas such as East Austin or West Austin."
Issue area(s) relevant to your project idea:
[Look at the right sidebar :arrow_upper_right: ! Do you see the Labels? Pick a few]
What is the current state of your project idea? [Pick more labels :arrow_upper_right: ]
Tell us more about the current state of your project idea.
Do you have any links to text, mockups, code, or data?
I have a general idea of what this web app will look like and how it will function, and I'm working on a mockup of this. I'm getting a lot of feedback from local beekeepers about what they need and aren't getting. We have templates of open maps and ways for people to submit information about their beehives and bee populations.
Tell us about yourself.
What is your background? Why is this challenge important to you?
Are you representing a group in submitting this project idea?
My background is 6+ years working with commercial and nonprofit social enterprises in East Africa.
I learned beekeeping from beekeepers in Kajo Keji, South Sudan in East Africa - where every community has their own apiary, everyone eats local honey, and so both the people and the environment get a little health boost from this activity. I think we’re missing out on this benefit in Austin.