Source : https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2020/08/eye-catching-conservation-tool-protects-livestock--lions-and-liv

In fact, none of the 683 painted “eye-cows” were killed by ambush predators during the four-year study, while 15 (of 835) unpainted, and 4 (of 543) cross-painted cattle were killed.

From a theoretical perspective, these results are interesting. Although eye patterns are common in many animal groups, notably butterflies, fishes, amphibians, and birds, no mammals are known to have natural eye-shaped patterns that deter predation.

In fact, to our knowledge, our research is the first time that eye-spots have been shown to deter large mammalian predators.

Nevertheless, as part of an expanding non-lethal toolkit, we hope that this simple, low-cost approach could reduce the costs of coexistence for farmers.

Source : https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-10-23/nigeria-embraces-solar-energy-as-panels-become-popular-on-wedding-registries/

Hi everyone!

I'm an electrical engineering master's student at ETH Zürich, currently doing research on microgrids at Imperial College London.

Together with another student, I co-founded Shams, a Swiss non-profit initiative focused on bringing solar energy to vulnerable communities in Syria.

Our first project aims to provide reliable electricity to an orphanage housing approximately 60 children near Damascus.

We're designing a photovoltaic system with battery storage, with an initial concept of around 20–30 kWp of solar capacity and 60 kWh of battery storage.

The project goes beyond installing solar panels. We're also working on long-term maintenance, local technical support, system monitoring, and making the solution sustainable over time.

We are currently completing the preparation and fundraising stages, with installation planned for summer 2027.

I strongly believe decentralized renewable energy can make a real difference in regions with unreliable electricity infrastructure.

I'd love to hear from people who have worked on off-grid systems, community microgrids, or renewable energy projects in challenging environments.

What would you consider the biggest technical or operational risk for a project like this?

Our initiative: https://shamsolar.org

Happy to share more about the engineering behind it!

Over the past months of running simulations and building open-source blueprints for physical commons, we kept bumping into the exact same wall that seems to kill so many real-world intentional communities and solarpunk projects.

The first is the commercial debt trap. Almost every ecovillage starts with great mutual-aid intentions, but the moment they take out a traditional bank mortgage or land loan to buy property, the compound debt service starts ticking. Within five to ten years, the community is forced to act just like a private landlord—charging market fees, hosting boutique retreats, or pushing out low-income members just to keep the bank from foreclosing. You cannot build a decommodified commons on top of a debt instrument that demands infinite compound growth.

The second is what we call maker burnout. In open hardware and physical building, the technical documentation, zoning paperwork, and public storytelling eat up three times more hours than actually milling timber or wiring inverters. Projects like Open Source Ecology or early WikiHouse didn't fail on engineering; they stalled because the core builders got completely drained trying to be full-time video producers and community organizers on top of manual labor.

In our models, we tried to solve the land side by legally locking ground titles into un-mortgageable Community Land Trusts so housing costs drop to pure physical maintenance (just replacement shingles and plumbing). But the communication and documentation load remains brutal for small technical teams.

For people here who have worked on real intentional communities, ecovillages, or open-hardware tools: how have you navigated the commercial zoning and bank loan traps? And how do you keep the storytelling and public documentation alive without burning out the people actually turning the wrenches?

¡Hola a todos!

Cómo diseñé un sistema de cultivo aeropónico vertical para cultivar verduras en pisos pequeños (sin tierra ni líos)

Poder enfocarme en los problemas de sistemas verticales que ya existen y poder modificar y resolver estos problemas como perdida de agua o energía además de espacio y poder hacer que la experiencia de la auto sustentación sea real.

​Cultivar tus propios alimentos en un piso urbano suele chocar siempre con los mismos problemas: falta de espacio, suciedad de la tierra, riego constante y bajo rendimiento. Para intentar resolver esto, estuve investigando alternativas eficientes y me enfoqué en la aeroponía vertical indoor, una técnica donde las raíces de las plantas cuelgan en el aire y reciben nutrientes mediante una fina pulverización programada.

​El reto técnico y de diseño:

El objetivo principal era crear una torre de cultivo compacta que pudiera instalarse en la terraza, el salón o la cocina sin ocupar apenas metros cuadrados y que fuera extremadamente eficiente en el consumo de agua y energía.

​Durante el proceso de diseño y prototipado, tuve que enfrentarme a varios desafíos:

​Optimización del agua y nutrientes: A diferencia del cultivo tradicional o la hidroponía clásica, la aeroponía reduce el consumo de agua hasta en un 90-95%, pero requiere un control preciso de los ciclos de pulverización para que las raíces no se sequen.

​Geometría e iluminación: La disposición vertical de los alveolos de plantación permite maximizar el número de plántulas (como tomates cherry, aromáticas o lechugas) en un espacio vertical reducido, optimizando el uso de luz natural.

​Modularidad: El diseño está pensado con módulos apilables para que cualquiera pueda montarlo en casa sin necesidad de herramientas complejas.

​Actualmente tenemos un prototipo 100% funcional a prueba de cortes de energía salvando la siembra por 3- 5 días dependiendo de la temporada de verano o invierno.

¿Qué opinan del diseño?

Actualmente estoy cultivando lechugas, espinacas , apios y cilantro

I'd like to read others opinions on additive manufacturing in a solarpunk context.

I'm optimistic for the future of additive manufacturing techniques. I believe it poses an opportunity for decentralisation of manufacturing and small scale individually tailored solutions. We need to continue developing solutions for sustainable and eco-friendly filaments and recycling techniques. We also need more to see past 3d printing as a gimmick for throwaway plastic junk sold at market stalls.

OC : https://www.instagram.com/p/DehgkfQjAFU/

I am working two tech jobs and saving the money to buy land and pay for housing and solar panels.

My vision is to build close to self-sufficient eco-villages that grow cash crops and do light manufacturing to pay for the few things we want from the dying world- taxes on the land, q-tips, etc.

I hope we generate a lot of extra money that can finance additional eco-villages. No ownership to me - a virus that grows on the dying husk of our current system.

Anybody close to that, anybody else got money to pay for their part; I figure we should never borrow money from the old system and pay them interest for nothing.

I am looking at Arkansas, Missouri, Michigan, or Kentucky in first quarter 2029 - to outrun global warming and because of plentiful water. Hope Trump holds it together that long.

You gentlemen who think you have a mission
to purge us of the seven deadly sins,
should first sort out the basic food position,
then start your preaching - that's where it begins
You lot who preach restraint and watch your waist as well,
should learn for once the way the world is run:
However much you twist, whatever lies you tell,
food is the first thing morals follow on
So first make sure that those who now are starving
get proper helpings when we all start carving

Refrain:
What keeps mankind alive? The fact that millions
are daily tortured, stifled, punished, silenced, oppressed
Mankind can keep alive thanks to its brilliance
in keeping its humanity repressed

Chorus:
For once you must try not to shirk the facts
Mankind is kept alive by bestial acts

So the super broad vision is to help evolve our cities and communities to work in harmony with nature rather than decimate it. I’d like to specialize in sustainable architecture and I’m preparing to go back to college but was curious if anyone is actively doing this and had any tips for learning and working in this field?