“Farmville” – Growing Real Food

By Jami Scholl | October 21, 2011 | 4:49 am | Comments (2) |

Sierra and Fancy

I gave my first public Open Pitch tonight at the kick-off event for The Combine, a place for techies, creatives, bloggers and community that is happening here in Bloomington this weekend. It’s the first “elevator pitch” I have ever given, and yes, I was nervous.

I was the last to pitch, and the onlygirl,too. I didn’t win the award, which would have been REALLY cool to possibly work with the folks at SproutBox, but did do quite well in the voting, none-the-less. Because of the favorable outcome, I decided to give you all a little peek at a developing idea.

If, after reading about it you are interested in partnering in the development or know of someone who might be, then give me a shout via email, tweet, FB or whatever other means of communication you prefer. Meeting for tea is an option, too, if you are near to B-town!

Tomorrow is a full-day of speakers, and I am really looking forward to meeting more cool people doing some really cool stuff!

And now without further ado, get ready to catch – the pitch!

America is running out of farmers.

Fewer than 1% of Americans claim farming as an occupation; 40% of those are 55 years old or older. Even as the number of farmers has declined, local food markets are growing. The market for food sold directly to consumers by growers reached $1.2 billion in 2007. Ten years before, it was half that.

Meanwhile, many people have access to places where they can garden. Even very small spaces can be put to practical use, growing anything from food to medicinal herbs to wildlife habitat.

I propose the creation of a massively-multiplayer online game that uses quests and missions to teach basic food cultivation and organic farming skills, including management of soil, diseases, and insects; animal husbandry; and orcharding. The game will enable players to make connections with peers and mentors. It will also create local markets where players can distribute or sell their excess produce, and get credit for it online.

The data compiled by the game would be useful to city planners, food policy councils, and non-profit organizations for planning, while at the same time reconnecting kids and adults to nature in a very practical way. The diversification of communities’ knowledge bases will increase their resiliency in the face of change.

In other words, I propose an online game that helps people grow actual food, and helps communities increase the amount of food produced locally. The game would incentivize the acquisition of farm-based skills and knowledge with timely feedback for the player. This project addresses a growing market, and a growing social need, with social media.  Think Farmville — with real food.

I’ve prepared a pilot program in Bloomington called “Garden the City 2012,” involving 10 themed food gardens, which can be used as a “lab.” I have the knowledge of growing; I’m looking for game developers to get the online component off the ground. Thank you.

Comments (2) | | Categories: Business,Community Food Security,Garden the City 2012,Urban Agriculture | Tags: Education, Farmville, Garden the City 2012, Gardens, Urban Agriculture