rootworkAssumptions and questions
This is an evaluation build of Rootwork: a working front end with every module from the brief, running on sample data in your browser. This page says what's real, what's scripted, what we assumed, and what we'd like to decide together next.
Real, scripted, not yet built
Real in this build
- Every screen and control. 31 product screens across the member app and the admin console; nothing is a picture of a screen.
- One shared dataset. An order, match, report or request made in the app appears in admin, and admin actions reach the member's inbox.
- The design system, fonts, icons, photography and synthesised sound, all local. It opens with no internet.
- Unhappy paths: offline, first run, zero results, permission denied, declined card, removed content.
Scripted for the demo
- The AI garden designer returns three pre-written layouts. The reasoning shown is the reasoning a live model would be asked to give.
- Harvest forecasts use fixed figures per crop, not a trained model.
- BOM weather alerts, sign-in codes, payments and the map are simulated. Nothing is charged or sent.
- Demand numbers are seeded for CERES and scaled for the other five communities.
Not yet built
- Backend, accounts and payments. Real sign-in, PayID and card processing, payouts to growers.
- Native apps. The app is shown in a phone frame; it becomes iOS and Android apps in the build phase.
- Messaging between grower and collector beyond the handover code.
- Organiser tools beyond events and moderation (plot allocation, rosters, fees).
What we assumed
- Melbourne first, starting at CERESThe six communities are real Melbourne gardens used as a plausible launch set. None has been approached, and names would be confirmed with each.
- Pickup points, not home addressesAll handovers happen at garden sheds or Grow Free-style carts. It protects members and removes the biggest safety objection to a neighbourhood marketplace.
- Selling homegrown produce is allowed at small scaleWe show the Merri-bek rule for whole, uncut homegrown produce. Each council differs, so the rule shown would come from a per-council table checked by the client.
- Veg boxes pay growers 82%The remaining 18% covers packing volunteers, pickups, payment fees and the platform. Marketplace sales carry a 5% fee; gifts and swaps are free.
- Crews are partner businessesBuild and maintenance is done by vetted local businesses (named here as examples), booked through Rootwork with prices including GST.
- Admin is one network teamWith organisers moderating their own hubs first. Councils and funders would get a read-only food intelligence view.
Questions for our next call
- Who launches first?One community garden as a pilot, or several at once? Do you already have a partner garden?
- How much should money be involved?Is selling surplus core to the idea, or should the first release be gifts and swaps only, with veg boxes later?
- Who does the garden building?Your own team, partner crews, or a marketplace of independent gardeners?
- Who is the food intelligence for?Members, organisers, councils, food-relief charities? This decides how much of it is public.
- The AI tool:should it work from a photo of the space, a drawn plan, or both? Photo analysis changes the cost of the build.
- Sound and motion:the identity includes crop notes and a match chord. Keep it for launch, or keep it for the brand site and campaigns?
- Name:"Rootwork" is our working name. Do you have one, and do you need trademark and domain checks?
Built 26/09/2026. Sample data only; nothing leaves this browser. Use Reset demo in the bottom bar to restore the starting data.