Toitoi - Digital Agroecology Commons
An open-source network where farmers connect through questions, not data.
What makes Toitoi unique?
Toitoi is an experimental decentralized commons for agroecology.
Instead of collecting raw farm data on cloud platforms, Toitoi shares only questions generated from local observations.
A farmer notices something unusual in the field.
Edge AI transforms that observation into a sharable question.
Other farmers encounter similar questions, reinterpret them, and extend them into new lines of inquiry.
The result is not a centralized AI service, but a living network of agricultural curiosity.
- Demo web app: https://toitoi.cultivationdata.net/demo_app.html
Core ideas
- Edge AI first — AI runs locally on farmers' devices.
- Zero raw data sharing — sensor data and notes stay private.
- Questions over answers — uncertainty and discovery are treated as valuable knowledge.
- Decentralized by design — built on the Nostr protocol instead of centralized platforms.
- Open-source commons — anyone can inspect, fork, and build on the system.
How it works
- Edge AI analyzes local sensor data and observation notes.
- The device generates ecological questions from detected patterns.
- Only the generated questions are signed and published via Nostr (Kind: 1042).
- Questions connect across regions and gradually form a distributed knowledge ecology.
Why it is interesting
Most agricultural platforms aim to collect and optimize data centrally.
Toitoi explores the opposite direction:
- Can AI support farming without extracting farmers' data?
- Can unanswered questions become a commons?
- Can local ecological observations circulate globally without losing ownership?
- Can decentralized protocols support agricultural knowledge sharing?
Example questions
Rows left with legume weeds tend to have delayed aphid outbreaks. How do legumes and rhizosphere microbes influence pest resistance in nearby vegetables?
Crops grown after leaving residues on the soil surface developed shallow but wide root systems. How does undecomposed organic matter reshape underground fungal networks?
A fallow field suddenly shifted from grasses to aster-family plants. What invisible microbial transition might this vegetation change reflect?
Open Source
Toitoi is developed as open-source software (OSS).
Source code, protocol specifications, and APIs are publicly available on GitHub.
- GitHub Repository: https://github.com/nkkmd/Toitoi/
Public relay servers and API
The following endpoints are currently available as alpha network infrastructure.
Relay server
- wss://relay.toitoi.cultivationdata.net
API (reference)
- https://api.toitoi.cultivationdata.net
Administrator SNS accounts
- X: @nkkmd
- Bluesky: @cultivationdata.net
- Nostr: npub1keed853sty3zmautnrnhf64ta4ghcnky44jc7v7ym7qgnjm7am4qdk7kr6
Toitoi - Digital Agroecology Commons / "Letting Go of Technology in Agriculture" / cultivationdata.net