We are developing an innovative vermicomposter, a machine designed to convert organic waste into fertilizers. Help us build a future where organic waste is raw material for soil regeneration!
Eleven years ago we started vermicomposting: converting of organic matter, by earthworms, into vermicompost - three to seven times more powerful than compost from traditional composting!
We tried several vermicomposting techniques that proved to be physically demanding and inefficient, using organic waste that we collected in Lisbon. We improved our process, sold the vermicompost we were producing, and came to the conclusion that the logistics of waste and fertilizer transportation are expensive, inefficient and avoidable.
It was at this point that we had an epiphany: to create an innovative efficient automated vermicomposting machine, which allows the creation of local circular economies of organic matter.
We won the Food Circles Hackathon competition with this idea, and we headed to São Luís, Odemira, to create our automated vermicomposter. At the beginning of our adventure, we were winners of the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award - Odemira 2022 for entrepreneurial and creative idea.
The machine is under development and will be revolutionary, due to the following characteristics:
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Modular system: It is possible to combine several machines in series.
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Innovative vermicompost collection mechanism: Allows machine maintenance without interrupting production.
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Irrigation: Includes an irrigation system that guarantees optimal conditions with minimum water consumption.
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Intelligent control system: Sensors and controllers ensure optimized vermicomposting conditions.
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IoT (Internet of Things) HUMIVERSO user-machine interface: real-time monitoring makes it easier for the user to mix waste, as well as monitor vermicomposting.
We have validated that our technology works in practice (with blood, sweat and tears) and now all we need is to motorize the collection system (already designed), install the sensors (already chosen), and the user interface (already under development) .
We moved to Castelo Branco, where we opened a company and registered the brand. We intend to complete the prototype in this district, and start installing HUMIVERSO vermicomposters!
With your help, we will finish the prototype in 6 months! We already have an agreement to place the first HUMIVERSO vermicomposter, BETA version, in Idanha-a-Nova, in a regenerative agriculture project.
To date, we have invested around 16,100€: from our own pocket, selling vermicompost and worms (including at fairs!) and with prizes from competitions won. We got to this point with a lot of effort, and now we ask for your precious help!
We need your support to lease and equip a workshop, complete the development of the HUMIVERSO machine, and install the first vermicomposters.
Your contribution is fundamental to the success of HUMIVERSO! Join us on this mission to regenerate from organic waste! Don’t let waste be wasted, ending up in landfills, burning, or other end destinations that do not add value to our soils.
What came from the earth returns to the earth!
About the author
We are HUMIVERSO, a project created by two mechanical engineers, enthusiasts of energetical and environmental sustainability and ecology. We started vermicomposting as a hobby, which brought us closer to nature.
We started by buying worms online and doing vermicomposting in an abandoned warehouse. The hobby became more serious when we started selling the vermicompost we produced. We maintained this activity in parallel with our main activities (university and work). We accumulated many years of experience in vermicomposting, with various types of organic waste.
We reached a point in our lives where we had to decide between following a conventional career or taking a risk and going down this path, developing something that would solve the problems faced in vermicomposting.
Two years ago, with our savings, we headed to Alentejo, transformed an old goat shelter into our HUMIVERSO workshop, and lived in caravans with our 3D printer.
We sustained ourselves by working on the land, setting up irrigation systems, brushcutting vegetation, planting and fertilizing trees, grape harvesting, among others, and we invested our savings and time in the development of our HUMIVERSO machine.
We got our hands dirty with manure and metal shavings, and we will continue to get dirty.
Pedro Santos - No time for delays; hungry for the risk of the unknown and the sea; With my roots in Castelo Branco, I have the mission of leaving a legacy in my origins; master at cultivating meaningful and lasting relationships, transforming connections into mutual opportunities for growth and success; experience as a salesperson; assembly of test benches in refrigeration systems; vermicomposting course; fluent in Portuguese, Italian and English.
Rafael Crisóstomo - Critical and creative mind with a taste for identifying and overcoming challenges. I also really enjoy creating vegetable gardens with regenerative practices and vermicompost. I was a development researcher in the field of renewable energy. I am an expert in creating mechanisms and product development within the scope of mechanical projects and structures.I worked as a freelancer developing equipment for the aeronautical industry in the startup environment. I am Portuguese, German and fluent in English.
As a team we have celebrated successes, we have toasted to failures, we have fallen, and we have stood up. We have extensive combined experience: 11 years of vermicomposting; organic plant fertilization; design, plantation and maintenance of indigenous gardens and installation of irrigation systems.
On our journey, we had a lot of help and advice from people who, in some way, identified with us and our project. To all of them, a huge thank you, they are also the reason for HUMIVERSO's possibility of success.
What about you? Are you going to be the next HUMIVERSO promoter?
Budget and due dates
Net value: €10893.00
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Workshop lease (Castelo Branco) for one year:
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Estimated water and electricity expenses in the workshop:
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Workshop equipment (table metal saw, vertical drilling machine and consumables):
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Costs for prototype conclusion (mechanical components, sensors and controllers, transport, 3D printer filament, software):
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Components for the construction of HUMIVERSO, BETA version vermicomposters, transportation and installation:
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Dissemination and promotion of the HUMIVERSO project; content creation:
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If the values exceed the objective, we aim to:
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Increase investment in communication and marketing - digital network management.
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Travel expenses and participation in agricultural fairs in Portugal and Spain.
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Installation of more HUMIVERSO vermicomposters.
Deadlines:
August 2024: Installation of the first HUMIVERSO vermicomposter, BETA version in Idanha-a-Nova.
September 2024: Lease and workshop equipment. Continued development of the HUMIVERSO vermicomposter.
Until December 2024: Installation of two more HUMIVERSO vermicomposters BETA version.
February 2025: HUMIVERSO Vermicomposter completed.
It’s time to regenerate the soil from local organic waste!
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