Greens for Good

1. Design and prototype an open source, DIY plant protein extractor to bridge protein demand deficits at present or in catastrophes.

   • Optimized for extracting proteins from green leaves

   • Performant in at least 3 other important food processing functions. 

2. Evaluate its performance.

3. Dissemination of the device to local producers.

A modular, open-source, do-it-yourself (DIY) and scalable extruder that can be used to extract proteins and oil, mill corn, make pasta and chips, among other things. The device can be produced using locally available parts and materials in rural areas and villages across the developing world.

Higher objectives

• Ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all: All people at all times have access to sufficient quantities of affordable and safe food

• Shift to sustainable consumption patterns: Shift towards diets which are healthier, safer, and more climate- and nature-positive, the elimination of food waste, and circular food economies. This transformative shift must work in tandem with boosting the livelihoods, opportunities, and dignity of the most vulnerable.

• Build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stress: All people within a food system are empowered to prepare for, withstand, and recover from instability (including conflict, climate-related instability, and health-related instability such as pandemics)

In times of crisis, when industrial food supplies break down we can avoid famine by processing indigenous plants or byproducts of agricultural processes, which we see as a latent nutrient capacity. Our main objective is to provide a method to extract proteins from leafy biomass to bridge current protein demand deficits or during catastrophes. 

The best way to disseminate this food crisis solution is to embed the function of leaves protein extraction into a more generic food processing platform (hardware, device), designed to be easily extensible to address various labor intensive and repetitive food processing activities. The multi-functional character of the hardware solution and its utility in normal times increase its desirability. Thus, the device will be adopted and embedded into local communities for sustainable operations, carrying with it the function of leaf protein extraction, which constitutes a latent response capacity in case of a food shortage.

Past work on leaf concentrate has been based on a batch processing method, which involves the coagulation of fresh leaves juice, and uses separate devices for pressure extraction, thermal precipitation and separation. Leaf concentrate is essentially a curd, also known as leaf protein, leaf nutrient, and leaf extract. A pioneering organization is Leaf for Life. See video explaining the process. 

The extruder design pattern is already used with success to grind meat and grains, extract juice and oil, pattern (make pasta), etc. Moreover, all the steps involved in the leaf concentrate batch process can be reproduced with an extruder. Therefore, it is possible to have a leaf concentrate extrusion process, but what would be the optimal parameters and in what circumstances is this preferable to the batch process? 

Our goal is to turn the batch leaf concentrate process into a continuous sequential process, based on the extruder design pattern. The scale of this device is between DIY home and industrial, village scale. Our design will be easily replicable , using stock components and make minimal use of custom parts (unless they can be digitally fabricated with a RepRap class 3-D printer or CNC mill –e.g. limit to what is found in most fab labs and avoid high energy processes and a skilled machinist). It minimizes cost and complexity while keeping throughput high (continuous if possible).

Project nature

This is a sponsored project, i.e. an organization is paying us to do the work. 

Deliverables are open source with commercial rights granted. 

We can get more funding for this project. 

Economic model

Commons-based peer production, with spinoff ecosystems services as monetizing activities to insure the continuity of the project.

Purpose

An efficient process to extracts proteins from green leaves. Supply chain disruptions can lead to food shortages. In times of crisis, when access to protein-rich staples is cut, people can fall back on lower protein plants that are available in their immediate environment. The extractor can provide essential nutrition for up to village scale.

Project requirements

Need to be developed using only OS tools (e.g. OS CAD-like FreeCAD or OpenSCAD) and be digitally replicable (e.g. make the pulleys 3D printed primarily from a RepRap-class fused filament 3D printer) and only common cheap off-the-shelf components (e.g. cheap reliable electric motor).

Deliverable

Source code (CAD in native format and STL), full BOM (component, number, cost, and source), build instructions with pictures, operation/maintenance instructions, video of operation and prototype sent to the Project Sponsor

Other conditions

The Project Sponsor would retain first academic publication rights (with Sensorica co-authors if wanted). At the time of academic paper submission full open source documentation released to the world.

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• April 2023: development: Worm Screw Decanter Centrifuge V2 testing report

• Feb. 2003: capacity: Grant proposal sent to NGI Assure 

• 31 Dec 2022: organization - Spinof Decanter Centrifuge from Greens for Good. See separate page. 

• 14 Dec 2022: infrastructure development - Documentation standards for open source hardware

• August 2022: development - Worm screw Decanter Centrifuge V2 prototype and test. 

• July 2022: outreach - Social media push in relation with current funding efforts for G4G. See more on Capacity Building

• Jun - July 2022: funding -  Mirror.xyz campaign

• April 2022: web3 infrastructure development - Commons Stack Prize. 

• March 2022: funding - Gitcoin GR13 crowdfunding round, doc generalized in April for the Mirrox.xyz initiative. 

• February 2022: development - decanter centrifuge V1 test and report

• January 2022: development - decanter centrifuge V1 prototype

• September and December 2021: development - decanter centrifuge V1 design

• October: outreach and funding - forming the first Innovation coalition, first funding proposals submitted

• September 2021: 

  • outreach - New push for attracting mechanical engineering skills to the project / Engineers Without Borders,

  • process - First network consolidation: gathering support letters from partners.  

• August 2021: funding -  development funding initiative - going on through September and October. 

• July 19th: development - diving into design considerations with a groups of food processing scientists and engineers - see video.

• June 03 2021: development - starting Design phase, see presentation. 

• Rebranding the project: changed name from Leaves Blender to Greens for Good.

• development - Ending Design Considerations phase, slowly starting Design phase.

• funding - Writing funding proposal template (get more funding and accelerate the project)

• Rebranding the Leaves Blender project - to help, go here. See proposed names

• Monday April 19th 10am - Building understanding meeting - discuss findings during Internet mining, synthesize, define the scope of the project. See Doodle. See Meeting doc, see Presentation. 

• March 31 - Meeting with first tear Partners (users, dissemination of project deliverables)

• March 30: funding -  First funding payments were completed  

• March 23 - kick-start meeting; meeting agenda

• March 20: infrastructure - Created project dashboard.

• March 19: funding - Formalizing payment procedure with Sponsor.

• March 17 - We have crated an invoice for Sponsor. 

• Beginning March

  • • We worked out the budget.

    • We have built an initial core team for this project. The project is open, in the future core team will de defined by pas contributions. 

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• If you're new to the project see Onboarding document.