Very interesting! Not something I can be involved with right now, but it resonates with a couple of ideas I've kicked around. Maybe they'll be useful?
1) what about (possibly automated) vertical farming? It sounds like there's a fair amount of research/discussion of that right now and could be a neat blend of technology/nature. I'd love to see open sourced versions of this technology; possibly with toolkits for anyone to setup on their own. Also, might in the long run give you higher ROI for given land/water resources.
2) I've often thought of setting up some kind of ranch where fellow developers could go for a bit when feeling burnt out; you join for free (or maybe a fee) for a month or so and grow your own food (or else grow food for the next wave of burnouts and eat that grown by the previous wave). Getting back to nature and doing some strenuous work could be a great way to get back in your normal groove, or to see if this is the life for you.
1) Vertical farming sounds great. It could help getting started a farm where land is expensive. I love the open sourcing idea.
2) I love this idea! It could be a way of providing additional income for the farm. Classic farms often offer vacations for families and kids, I guess this would be a similar idea, but for engineers.
While super cool, the vertical farming idea may take more up-front capital and effort. Maybe a phased approach: start with traditional farming subsidized by 2) and build up funds and resources to eventually setup 1)?
Anyone can work on the vertical farming ideas while they are there with the agreement that it's part of the project to released under Creative Commons (or similar license).
If we go with the idea some other commenter proposed of buying up a bunch of foreclosed properties in Detroit, at least some of that initial up-front capital and effort would be offset. You'd then just need to turn some abandoned factory or warehouse into a makeshift greenhouse.
1) what about (possibly automated) vertical farming? It sounds like there's a fair amount of research/discussion of that right now and could be a neat blend of technology/nature. I'd love to see open sourced versions of this technology; possibly with toolkits for anyone to setup on their own. Also, might in the long run give you higher ROI for given land/water resources.
2) I've often thought of setting up some kind of ranch where fellow developers could go for a bit when feeling burnt out; you join for free (or maybe a fee) for a month or so and grow your own food (or else grow food for the next wave of burnouts and eat that grown by the previous wave). Getting back to nature and doing some strenuous work could be a great way to get back in your normal groove, or to see if this is the life for you.