Blending technology, stewardship, and collaboration
As part of my ongoing tinkering with technology, I’ve been experimenting with a Raspberry Pi running a LAMP stack and hosting WordPress as a local web server. That small project sparked a bigger idea: what if we could blend my interest in technology with the practical, hands-on work we’re doing at Everett Acres?
We have a growing list of projects around the property—everything from clearing trees and building fences to organizing maintenance areas and prepping new spaces. With multiple people pitching in, I started thinking it would be helpful to have a shared system where we could see what needs to be done, track progress, and plan upcoming work. Something simple, collaborative, and built to grow with us.
The Idea
The goal is to create a property project management and task-tracking app—a digital hub for coordinating our work on Everett Acres. It would allow us to log projects, assign tasks, document progress, and even add new categories over time (like greenhouse maintenance, inventory tracking, or equipment care).
I started by exploring whether WordPress, which is already running on the Raspberry Pi, could handle the base functionality. It turns out it can—with a little creativity. WordPress is great for managing structured content, and its REST API makes it easy to connect to other applications.
That led to the idea of a hybrid solution:
- WordPress serves as the front-end and data layer, managing content, tasks, and user interactions.
- Flask, a lightweight Python framework, handles the application logic—things like automation, reporting, and possibly future integrations with sensors or notifications.
The Vision
This hybrid system would make it easy for our family and anyone helping on the property to use—whether from a desktop, iPad, or iPhone. Eventually, it could even extend to a dashboard kiosk in the shed, displaying current work orders, active projects, or maintenance reminders in real time.
Beyond being functional, this project is also about stewardship—finding intentional ways to care for the land, stay organized, and work together efficiently. It’s technology serving purpose, not the other way around.
Next Steps
The next phase is all about design. I’m sketching out how to structure zones, projects, and tasks, and how those pieces connect in a way that makes sense for everyday use. Once the framework is mapped out, I’ll start building and testing the early version on the Raspberry Pi.
This will likely evolve over time—starting simple and adding features as we discover new needs. The ultimate goal is a tool that grows with us, supports collaboration, and helps us manage Everett Acres with the same care we bring to the land itself.
Stay tuned…
I’ll continue documenting this process—both the technical build and the lessons learned along the way. Who knows—maybe this little Raspberry Pi experiment will become a full-fledged open-source project for others managing their own small farms or properties.
Leave a Reply