This team from South Africa has designed a peer-to-peer networking app called HIPS whose algorithm mimics the way that large collectives in nature, such as a flock of birds or a school of fish, function. The goal is to enable small scale intensive food production systems by providing a dynamically-distributed, peer-to-peer tool to help manage and coordinate their efforts. First, the app will enable food producers to connect with other producers (permaculture, organic, biodynamic – urban or rural) to create a local swarm in which resources can be shared and local exchanges and transactions are conducted. Next, the app connects local swarms with each other to create a regional swarm and establish a produce hub. Finally, it records surplus produce for sale and, once sold, enables coordination with other swarms and members to facilitate distribution logistics. This software facilitates and optimises logistics, provides a medium for fair exchange of value, and provides incentives to food producers to employ best practices in a resilient, distributed value network comprised of collectives of autonomous food producers.
