There’s a pretty cool project by a student of the Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication in London* presented here at Ars Electronica.

Farmer Brown’s Journal, by Shan Yin Hung, is an online community aimed at the flattening of food supply chains. In Kent, the “garden of England”, local farmers’ markets are an example of decentralised food supply chains and the preservers of local tradition.

By providing an online space with direct communication between producers and consumers, Farmer Brown’s Journal tries to build links between local consumers, producers and the public. The goals are to help local producers/ farmers sell their produce outside the grip of supermarkets, give consumers real choice and understanding in what they buy, and help them find quality local produce. The data extracted from users will be visualised on a map of Kent as an indicator of the growth of community. The figures present the social relationship between the user and local markets; and also reveal the possibility of business.

The other project of the college shown here is the excellent GORI. My Node Garden.