"Ripe Near Me" website, does anyone use it? If not I recommend you take a look.

[Vanessa]

http://www.ripenear.me/

Put together by an Adelaide couple with the intention of people being able to share/sell excess produce and promote the whole “local” idea.

Although it was created in Adelaide it is able to be used anywhere in the world. The general idea is that people list (on the map) what they have available (or what they have found growing on the roadside, or on Public land), whether they want to sell it or give it away, and it then shows up on a map.

If you are looking to “buy” produce you can either look on the map what is near you or search through each item and find where it is growing.

I think it is a great idea, and as more people use it it will become more useful!!

[Mukluk]

What a great idea!!! Thank you for letting us know.

[Iduna]

I posted about this site a few months back in the thread to help people.

[Bel]

It’s a great idea Vanessa, and the site is quite ‘swish’. I do find it a bit sad, however, that a website is required to connect people to local produce rather than a sense of community and knowing your neighbours. It’s just the way things are now, I guess, but still sad…

[jaden62]

I’ve used it. At the old house, I gave away rhubarb and got a big bag of oranges in return. I don’t have anything to post on it at the moment, & I wish more people would get on it. It’s sort of like what we do at the garden swap up in Gawler.

[Vanessa]

Bel post=359661 wrote: It’s a great idea Vanessa, and the site is quite ‘swish’. I do find it a bit sad, however, that a website is required to connect people to local produce rather than a sense of community and knowing your neighbours. It’s just the way things are now, I guess, but still sad…

Yes it is sad that we need a website to connect us to local produce, but I guess that is the way we are going, at least it is one way of fighting the “globalisation” and “duopoly society” the big corporations would like us to head towards.

I have met Alistair who developed the site and I know that he is looking to expand it as well. We did talk about him wanting to developing part of the site around community shares (or the good old wording of “fruit and veg swap”) and was going to use our “Gawler Garden and Produce Swap” as a pilot project. I havent heard anything lately and not sure it that idea has changed with the Zero Waste Share’N’Save site coming online. http://www.sharensave.com.au/

[Vanessa]

I am in discussion with Alistair (the founder of the site) and he is looking at expanding the site (and doing some crowd funding so this can happen).

I am hoping he will stop by here and say hi, but he is wanting to find out what people want from the Ripe Near Me site.

So if you have any ideas, feel free to share them here

[Bel]

It’s great that someone is taking some initiative about this issue. I thought we might’ve had some nectarines to list as ours have all ripened in this heat, but we decided to dehydrate them instead as we eat a lot of dried fruit. We’re looking to get pigs down the track – I wonder if there is scope for people to list ‘windfall’ food that might not be so good for human consumption, but great for a range of livestock? I was thinking too, about the sort of potential trading for fruit that could occur. For example, lots of older people have big fruit trees that bear too much fruit than they can handle, and they are happy to share – maybe those people would like to swap for labour, like someone to prune their tree?

[Vanessa]

Bel, I think that is some great ideas.

Friends of mine who have pigs also have a neighbour who is a baker, he is absolutely delighted to get a delivery a week of “stale” bread for the pigs.

I had thought of listing “gardening materials” things like horse manure (lots in my area, but no one puts out signs, or bags it, but if your game enough to knock on a door with horses in their yard, and ask them, they will more than likely show you to their “poo pile” and say if “you want it take as much as you want”), sheep manure, chicken manure, (there are a few “gate side” places I know of which almost always have bags of poo with the “honesty tin” on the gate which, which if the facility was there could be listed as a “spotted” on the website), then there is things like fallen leaves, bamboo.

Lets hope it takes off

[slowlynow]

Great idea, really needs to be linked to a mobile app, so you could (with the gps’s help) simply turn it on and see what’s happening in a given radius of where you are currently located!

Damn, gave away my idea to make a squillion again 🙂

[Vanessa]

Thats a fantastic idea Slowlynow, when I was using it it did come up with a message about wanting to use my computers location, so not sure if this is half way there, I am sure in this day and age an “app” would be on the cards, but I am sure developing those is a lot of work even for an established site.

[Ashilleong]

We’re not growing yet, but this will definately be something we do when we are.

[kind_blogger]

Up until now, RipeNear.me has been funded out of the pockets of its founders, Alistair and Helena, whilst they have held day jobs. The site is free. Due to the popularity across the world (yup, it’s become a global thing; and it’s nominated for a few awards too!) and take it to the next level they are running a crowdfunding campaign. If you have a few bucks do make a pledge. I will be.

Disclaimer: I work for Pip Magazine who has provided one of the pledge rewards – a 1/2 page ad space in the next issue.

[Vanessa]

Thanks Kind Blogger,

If anyone is interested here is a link for more info on what they are crowdfunding for http://www.ripenear.me/blog/seed-funding-huge-harvest

And the actuall crowd funding page (this link is on the page above)http://startsomegood.com/ripenearme

[kind_blogger]

Thanks for including the link, Vanessa. I forgot it.

[Author]

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