text:
Wikiversity:Bots/Status/Archive

This is the archive of bot status requests

User:Sebbot

 * Bot operator: User:Sebmol
 * Aim of the bot: undo vandalism, rename categories
 * Script used: w:WP:AWB
 * Already used on, with bot status: German Wikipedia

✅ Bot was flagged:

05:08, 3 October 2006 Cormaggio (Talk | contribs | block) granted bot status to User:Sebbot (I trust you Seb :-))

User:DraiconeBot
✅ sebmol ? 12:06, 31 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Bot operator: User:Draicone
 * Aim of the bot: Simplify common tasks, fetch data, update counts, remove categories etc.
 * Script used: Hmm... PHP? A mixture of w:WP:AWB, pywikipedia, PHP with snoopy, PHP using query.php, Manually operated using AJAXified query.php etc.
 * Already used on, with bot status: English Wikipedia, the now defunct MWT wiki

User:Wherebot

 * nomination for bot status. This bot from Wikipedia watches for copyright violations. An example of how this could work at Wikiversity is at User:Wherebot. --JWSchmidt 16:39, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm willing to put the bot on as soon as it is approved. Here is the info (below): -- Where 00:10, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

✅, assigning responsibility for the bot to User:JWSchmidt. sebmol ? 17:08, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Bot operator: w:User:Where
 * Aim of the bot: detect copyright violations
 * Script used: w:User:Wherebot
 * 'Already approved on the English Wikipedia

User:HagermanBot

 * Bot Operator: User:Hagerman
 * Aim of the bot: Automatically detects unsigned comments left on the talk namespaces as well as requested pages (indicated by placing the page in a special category). It places the template after the comment. If the user leaves 2 unsigned comments within a 24 hour period, the bot leaves a message on the users talk page with information on how to properly sign a comment.
 * Language used: Visual C# .NET
 * Already approved on the English Wikipedia See HagermanBot

Please run the bot without flag for a couple of days so we can get a picture of how it works. sebmol ? 11:00, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Ok, the bot is running. Please contact me if you have any questions. Best, Hagerman 23:42, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

✅ Granted bot status after test phase. sebmol ? 09:36, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

User:MichaelBillingtonBot

 * Bot Operator: User:MichaelBillington
 * Aim of the bot: Checks pages on the open proxy project for IPs which have been missed, then relists them on WV:OP for blocking. Also categorises subpages of the project and archives lists which contain only blocked IP addresses. (so it's really an all-round helper bot for the project)
 * Language used: Visual Basic
 * Already approved: English Wikipedia under the same name (though that bot runs different software)
 * I wrote this after I noticed I missed a large number of IP addresses on the first open proxy list (a thing best to avoid) Michael Billington (talk • contribs) 11:58, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

 * Additional feature. I would like to have this bot also approved to post RSS feeds for Wikiversity blogs if a template is present. Michael Billington (talk • contribs) 07:24, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Please run it without bot flag for about a week to test its abilities and check for bugs. sebmol ? 07:42, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

✅ Granted bot status after test phase. sebmol ? 19:26, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

User:ArchiveBot

 * Bot operator: User:Sebmol
 * Aim of the bot: automatic archiving
 * Script used: self-made
 * Already used on, with bot status: German Wikipedia, German Wikiversity

✅ Bot was flagged:

14:11, 25 March 2007 Sebmol (Talk | contribs | block) granted bot status to User:ArchiveBot (for testing purposes)

Commons Delinker
User:CommonsDelinker

✅ sebmol ? 20:07, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Crochet.david.bot
--Crochet.david.bot 19:03, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Bot operator: fr:Utilisateur:Crochet.david
 * Aim of the bot: interwiki
 * Script used: interwiki.py of pywikipedia
 * Already used on, with bot status: fr: and it:

✅ sebmol ? 20:07, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Mike's bot account
– MBA ( talk | block ) 15:43, 26 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Bot operator: Mike.lifeguard (at en.wb: b:User:Mike.lifeguard)
 * Aim of the bot: So far, adding/removing categories/templates per request from SB Johnny. Any other tasks that can be done with AWB can be requested. In the future, I can tag all untagged images and notify their uploaders.
 * Script used: AutoWikiBrowser
 * Already used on: en.wb, but without a bot flag. SB Johnny asked me to request a bot flag for en.wv

✅ sebmol ? 20:07, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

User:MichaelFreyTool
-- MichaelFrey 12:04, 27 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Bot operator: User:MichaelFrey
 * Aim of the bot: simple cleanup task, like resolve redirects
 * Script used: w:WP:AWB
 * Already used on, with bot status: de.wb and de.wv
 * This bot is running fine so far on de.WV (since it is just a piece of software and we know all Murphy's law: at least the edits I saw when asking the bot operator to do some changes). Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  22:43, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
 * ✅ Erkan Yilmaz uses the Wikiversity:Chat (try) 20:58, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

User:Computer
-- Cat chi? 17:42, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Bot operator: User:White Cat (Commons:User:White Cat) - En-N, Tr-4, Ja-1
 * List of botflags on other projects: Bot has a flag on wikimedia (meta,commons) wikipedia (ar, az, de, en, es, et, fr, is, ja, ku, nn, no, ru, sr, tr, uz, simple...) (See: m:User:White Cat)
 * Purpose: Interwiki linking, double redirect fixing, commons delinking (for cases where commonsdelinker fails)
 * Bot uses pywikipedia and AWB framework. Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  00:09, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

 * Anyway the projects where the bot is running seems quite impressive (though not each checked on the list from m:User:White Cat, e.g. also de.WV is listed, but the status not given there yet). Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  19:37, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Some feedback already at other Wikiversities about the request there:
 * Greek Wikiversity
 * French Wikiversity
 * German Wikiversity
 * Contributions at this Wikiversity to see how the bot is operating, Erkan Yilmaz Wikiversity:Chat  22:55, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

✅ --SB_Johnny | talk 10:53, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

ArthurBot

 * Contributions
 * Owner: Mercy
 * Language: pywikipedia
 * Functions: adding/correcting interwiki links
 * Flags: cs

Hi, ArthurBot is a global bot with over 330,000 contribs. It's going to add interwiki links to newly created Czech pages and categories. Best regards, --Mercy 10:14, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

✅  --mikeu talk 22:44, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

User:It (tagbot)

 * Bot Operator: [ user=undefined ]
 * Aim of the bot: tracks and catalogs future resources logged through the use of the Template:placeholder object, The "&..." pseudo-namespace and the Tag® gaming engine
 * Language used: XML/UML with definitions and stubs for Topic:Perl, Topic:Python, Topic:PHP, Topic:Smalltalk, &...
 * Under development: Proposed for use on any Topic:MediaWiki-driven site by the WikiaPerl group (Help Wanted).

I'm not sure I quite understand the purpose of this bot or how it works. Can you post a simple demonstration that does not rely on Wikia? Feel free to use the bot account for that. sebmol ? 07:44, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

❌ There has been no response to the questions about the function of this bot. --mikeu talk 02:33, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

User:Dinybot
Hello, I would like to ask for the bot flag for the Dinybot robot. It is a classical global automatic interwiki robot which operates at all Wikiversities. Demonstrative editations are available. Also specification in English is available. Simple specifiation follows:

 * Bot Operator: User:Martin Kozák
 * Aim of the Bot: Periodical automated completing and keeping of the interwiki links of all projects.
 * Language used: The Python
 * Script used: Python Wikipedia Robot Framework
 * Already used on:
 * Czech Wikipedia for automated typographic corrections, code cleanups and redirects replacing, (Lightweight MediaWiki Robot Framework, since 2006-05-11)
 * Czech Wikiquote for typographic correction, code cleanups and redirects replacing, (Lightweight MediaWiki Robot Framework, since November 2006)
 * Wikiquote projects for completing and keeping the interwiki links. (Python Wikipedia Robot Framework, since March 2007, in pending)

Thanks for Your complaisance.

--Martin Kozák 17:33, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

❌ This is a very old request, and it is not clear that the bot operator is still active. Please resubmit the request if you are still interested in running the bot. (and feel free to leave a note on the talk pages of the crats to insure a quicker response) --mikeu talk 02:33, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

✅ User:AdambroBot now has a bot flag. --mikeu talk 13:32, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Bot operator:
 * Automatic or manually assisted: Semi-automatic
 * Purpose of the bot: Re-categorisation, other similar maintenance tasks as required
 * Edit period(s): As required
 * Programming language(s) (and API) used: AutoWikiBrowser
 * Other projects that are already using this bot: I have bot flagged accounts for similar maintenance tasks on the English Wikipedia, Commons, Meta.
 * Additional information: I'm an administrator on the English Wikipedia, the English Wikinews, and the Wikimedia Commons projects. I also operate a bot which uses the pywikipedia to make regular fully automated edits to the English and Finnish Wikinews projects which have amassed about 50,000 edits. See also AdambroBot on other projects.

 * Bot operator:
 * Automatic or manually assisted: manually assisted
 * Purpose of the bot: maintenance tasks
 * Edit period(s): as needed
 * Programming language(s) (and API) used: pywikipedia
 * Other projects that are already using this bot: none
 * Additional information: will also be used to develop a learning project on using bots

 * ✅ After 6 weeks with no comments, I'm willing to flag for a trusted user. --SB_Johnny talk 00:23, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

 * Bot operator:
 * Automatic or manually assisted: Both.
 * Purpose of the bot: Cleaning the double redirections with the famous redirect.py.
 * Edit period(s): Every day.
 * Programming language(s) (and API) used: AWB, Pywikipedia.
 * Other projects that are already using this bot: Several
 * Additional information: If someone else absolutely wants to execute this script every day I'll stop this vote for my bot.

 * Requested test run of bot here. --mikeu talk 01:35, 13 August 2010 (UTC)
 * ✅ JackPotte 04:59, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

 * I've flagged JackBot. --mikeu talk 05:21, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

 * Bot operator:
 * Automatic or manually assisted: Automatic
 * Purpose of the bot: Creating and maintaining interwiki links.
 * Edit period(s): Lots of runs.
 * Programming language(s) (and API) used: Pywikipedia (interwiki.py)
 * Other projects that are already using this bot: Approved on Simple English Wikipedia. Requested on French, Italian, and English Wikipedias.
 * Additional information: I realize that there's already an awful lot of interwiki bots out there, but redundancy is never a bad idea, and one more can't hurt ;). I am an experienced bot operator, I am part of the Bot Approvals Group on enwp and operate three bots (DodoBot, MessageDeliveryBot, WelcomerBot) there, as well as DodoBot on Commons. - EdoDodo talk 09:34, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

 * Hello! Thank you for the offer to run a bot to help maintain wikiversity. As described in the Bots page I would like to request that you run a limited test (just once and without the bot flag) to demonstrate the work that your bot will perform. Please note the edit rate guidelines and the use of the MaxLag parameter. Let me know after you run the test. --mikeu talk 21:28, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Sample edit Thanks! - EdoDodo talk 18:36, 12 September 2010 (UTC)
 * ✅ --mikeu talk 01:08, 14 September 2010 (UTC)

--محمد الجداوي 11:41, 20 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Bot operator:
 * Automatic or manually assisted: Automatic
 * Purpose of the bot: Interwiki
 * Edit period(s): as needed
 * Programming language(s) (and API) used: Pywikibot
 * Other projects that are already using this bot: Global
 * Additional information:
 * bot status - does a good job at Wikipedia. However, I would suggest that the operator creates an English language talk page here or on meta, because it can be difficult for users whose language has a Roman script to use the arabic Wikipedia talk page due to the right-to-left typing. -- Simone 17:51, 20 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks. You can contact me on my talk page on meta.--محمد الجداوي 02:31, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

 * Question is this bot working on other WV projects currently? David.crochet's bot has been performing this task for several years now. --SB_Johnny talk 09:01, 1 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes; My bot has bot flag on arabic WV (Although there is not much to do there; As it's a new site). I really want to help here.--محمد الجداوي 11:59, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

 * - I'm noting that this bot was flagged on 21 other WMF wikis 18/11/2011. The question remains though what does it do better or worse than David.crochet's bot? -- Jtneill - Talk - c 00:35, 6 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I just want to run my interwiki bot here, I don't say i'm better or worth than anyone. You can test my edits.--محمد الجداوي 13:41, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

SB_Johnny suggested I be contacted about this and I don't know why. What do people still want to know before granting the bot flag? What concerns are there to discuss? -- dark lama  12:58, 24 November 2011 (UTC)
 * James and I don't know all that much about bots, so if you think the bot is fine, the bot is fine with me. Just looking for an expert nod. --SB_Johnny talk 18:17, 24 November 2011 (UTC)

❌ This very old request is now archived. Please resubmit if you are interested in using a bot to contribe to Wikiversity. --mikeu talk 07:16, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

 * Bot operator:
 * Automatic or manually assisted: Automatic
 * Purpose of the bot: Cleaning the sandbox
 * Edit period(s): I usually do this hourly, but as it has a much lower edit rate, I could change the frequency.
 * Programming language(s) (and API) used: Pywikipedia
 * Other projects that are already using this bot: enwiki, nlwiki, mediawikiwiki
 * Additional information: As stated above, I believe hourly checks for this task might be irrelevant. I could do it, though, or I could do it at less frequent intervals (best for you, the community to decide, I think?). Also, it would be nice to have a page with the content it should be reset with (protection would be good to prevent vandalism), or at least a confirmation of the text it should be replaced with.  Hazard-SJ  ±   23:13, 21 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Hello, and thank you for your offer to help maintain Wikiversity! I apologize for noticing this earlier. In the past I have run a bot to "rake" the sandbox once per week, but my bot is not currently editing this page. We do have a template at Please leave this line alone (sandbox heading) and you can see how it is used by viewing the wiki source at this revision: . A few questions:
 * Do you plan to use the bot for other tasks?
 * Are you interested in becoming active at any of the Wikiversity learning projects?
 * --mikeu talk 17:43, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

 * As for other tasks, not immediately, but I'd request here if I find something else that I could do with the bot. As for becoming active on Wikiversity, hmm ... not specifically. I edit on other wikis fairly actively, though. I'm a member of the SWMT (and am a global rollbacker, by extension), merely suggesting that I've had many crosswiki experiences. I run bots on other projects, including sandbots on three other wikis, so that should be okay.  Hazard-SJ  ±   01:52, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

❌ This very old request is now archived. Please resubmit if you are interested in using a bot to contribe to Wikiversity. --mikeu talk 07:17, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

 * Bot operator:
 * Automatic or manually assisted: Manually assisted for now.
 * Purpose of the bot: A variety of maintenance tasks, starting with identifying unlicensed files and adding notifications to the file and the user.
 * Edit period(s): As needed.
 * Programming language(s) (and API) used: Windows PowerShell
 * Other projects that are already using this bot: None
 * Additional information: Licensing information for contributed files is currently unmanaged. The scope of the problem is beyond the time and abilities of human efforts alone.  A bot is necessary to address the problem.  -- Dave Braunschweig (discuss • contribs) 11:42, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Hi Dave, Thankyou for your diligent attention to unlicensed image uploads etc. I've enabled this bot. Would you mind listing the specific actions it should perform on the bot's user page? Sincerely, James -- Jtneill - Talk - c 06:07, 10 November 2013 (UTC)
 * ✅ I'll also post an example on the MaintenanceBot talk page when it's ready.  Thanks!  -- Dave Braunschweig (discuss • contribs) 14:28, 10 November 2013 (UTC)

✅ This request was granted by User:Jtneill on 10 November 2013. --mikeu talk 07:20, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

RileyBot

 * Bot name:
 * Bot operator:
 * Automatic or manually assisted: Automatic
 * Purpose of the bot: Clean Sandbox as the bot tasked to due so hasn't done it in nearly a month
 * Edit period(s): Every six hours, or as otherwise requested
 * Programming language(s) (and API) used: Python, pywikipedia
 * Other projects that are already using this bot: amgwiki, commonswiki, enwiki, enwikiquote, enwikivoyage, eswikivoyage, frwiivoyage, hewikisource, sawiki, simplewiki, sourceswiki, thwiki, ttwiktionary
 * Additional information: Bot would delay if the page has been edited within an hour. -Riley Huntley (SWMT) 22:52, 4 February 2016 (UTC)

 * Hello, and thank you for offering to contribute to Wikiversity! Usually we leave these requests open for about a week in case the community has any questions. I don't expect any for a routine request like this. I was running the bot that watched the sandbox but I set it at a very slow clean of once per week. The more frequent clean with the delay you suggest sounds like a better method to prevent interruption of testing. I suspect most editors now test in the userspace sandbox in any case. I'll watch for comments here and check back in a little while. For now, go ahead and start the bot (w/o the flag) to make some periodic edits so I can see the revision history. --mikeu talk 03:00, 5 February 2016 (UTC)

 * Please also create User:RileyBot with info about the programming language and linking to the operator page. Include either User bot or add the bot userpage to Category:Wikiversity bots. --mikeu talk 03:06, 5 February 2016 (UTC)
 * ❌ - Very stale request. Requests made by mikeu were not act up (creating info), bot didn't run, and the owner of the request hasn't even commented on his/her own request. Please make a new request if you are still interested in your bot becoming an official, flagged bot here at Wikiversity... other than that, this request won't be accepted. ---Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 19:28, 20 November 2016 (UTC)

Texvc2LaTeXBot

 * Bot name:
 * Bot operator:
 * Automatic or manually assisted: automatic but closely monitored
 * Purpose of the bot: to replace deprecated syntax in the LaTex mathematical syntax
 * Edit period(s): A one off run affecting 2233 pages.
 * Programming language(s) (and API) used: python/piwikibot
 * Other projects that are already using this bot: enwiki, dewiki many other wiki across the whole of WikiMedia sites.
 * Additional information: All ready running on the English wikipedia at en:User:Texvc2LaTeXBot. Has sucessfully run on many other wikis, the update plan is described in mw:Extension:Math/Roadmap. The bot will apply 10 regexps replacing deprecated syntax inside  tags. The code has been tested to eliminate false positives. The bot is operated by Salix alba on English language wikis and meta:User:Debenben on German and other language wikis.

 * ✅ I set it for a one year expiry only due to the limited scope of the request but would be happy to extend it if you have further tasks in the future. --mikeu talk 23:26, 11 May 2019 (UTC)

DannyS712 bot

 * Bot name:
 * Bot operator:
 * Automatic or manually assisted: automatic (manually triggered)
 * Purpose of the bot: Tag pages that are uncategorized with Uncategorized
 * Edit period(s): One time run for 4000+ pages, then if needed will run on occasion (but rarely)
 * Programming language(s) (and API) used: AWB
 * Other projects that are already using this bot: No other wikis for this task, but lots of tasks on enwiki (and one on enwikibooks)
 * Additional information: Please ping when replying.

Thanks, --DannyS712 (discuss • contribs) 04:52, 12 September 2019 (UTC)

 * Please start a discussion in the Colloquium to confirm which pages should be tagged as Uncategorized. Looking at Special:UncategorizedPages, I don't see any problems tagging main space landing pages, but tagging subpages doesn't appear to add value. Perhaps they could be updated with, but the community should have an opportunity to discuss this first. Thanks! -- Dave Braunschweig (discuss • contribs) 15:01, 12 September 2019 (UTC)
 * I agree with Dave about the CourseCat for subpages and Uncategorized for top level pages. I'd like to hear what the community thinks is best. --mikeu talk 15:57, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

❌ due to lack of reply. --mikeu talk 22:24, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

Listeriabot

 * Bot name:
 * Bot operator: (Though  will supervise on this wiki)
 * Automatic or manually assisted: Automatic
 * Purpose of the bot: Formatting up wikitables based on sparql queries
 * Edit period(s): 1 week test, (if no problems, indefinitely)
 * Programming language(s) (and API) used:
 * Languages = Rust
 * API = https://www.wikidata.org/w/api.php
 * Repository = magnusmanske/listeria_rs)
 * Other projects that are already using this bot: commons, meta, wikidata, wikispecies, ,43 languages of wikipedia (incliuding english) - full list
 * Additional information: The bot creator isn't good at replying to talkpage comments or emails, but does seem to fix raised issues reasonably rapidly. My main discomfort is that I don't speak Rust, so can't directly troubleshoot any issues. I've tested the bot quite extensively on other wikis and have found it to be very reliable (at the very least, it has only ever edited pages with the  template, so there is minimal risk of disruption). My very minimal test here was to run this command on my sandbox which caused  to apply for an account, but it has not attempted to make an edit. T.Shafee(Evo﹠Evo)talk 11:13, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

Can we get a test of the bot here that we can see, or do we need to enable the bot flag first? -- Dave Braunschweig (discuss • contribs) 14:15, 24 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I think the bot flag needs to be applied for it to run a test. You can see a test case below:
 * Testcase on Wikiversity (click "Update now" to test)
 * Testcase on Meta (showing what the result should be)
 * T.Shafee(Evo﹠Evo)talk 22:31, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

User:ListeriaBot is now tagged as a bot with a one-week expiration. Please update here if the test is successful and you want to go ahead with indefinite bot status. -- Dave Braunschweig (discuss • contribs) 23:48, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

❌ due to no activity in over one year. This is done without prejudice and we welcome a new application to suggest improvements to Wikiversity. --mikeu talk 22:19, 1 June 2022 (UTC)

title: Wikiversity:Bots/Status/Archive


text:
Conservation Entrepreneurship/Business Plans/Ideas

Assignment three
Assignment THREE is to post an idea for a social enterprise that you are interested in. This is just a very preliminary brainstorm. It could be a new enterprise, or a new direction for an existing organization. Again it should be brief, but do explain why this idea is of interest to you. Be creative, this is just a brainstorm.Lynch 16:13, 11 January 2009 (UTC) Note- feel free to comment or discuss any of the other posts found on the discussion pageLynch 00:37, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

Responses are below:

Project Idea: I am interested in doing a project on specialty cacao production in Latin America. I have been getting increasingly interested in this sphere and am sending out feelers in the Chinantla area of Oaxaca where I have been doing my thesis work to work with producers in the area. There are a number of interesting things about specialty cacao production: 1. The prices paid for fine flavor cacao (that is either criollo or trinitario variety) is 3 times or more the global bulk price of cacao. 2. There is an unsatisfied demand for high quality cacao by gourmet chocolate markets (which are growing)and chocolatiers are very interested in forming direct marketing relationships 3. Cacao agroforestry systems have the potential to be highly diverse biologically and provide numerous goods and services in addition to cacao. 4. Criollo cacao, which is still very locally cultivated in Mexico and elsewhere is endangered by replacement by higher producing but inferior quality forestero variety cacao. 5. The potential for making a good story of criollo cacao, community conservation areas in the Chinantla, and a chocolate produced not only with local cacao but also with other local flavoring ingredients is very high. Check the following pages:

1. (http://www.globaldiversity.org.uk/regional_programmes/mesoamerica.html) This is the area where I have been working and could be the site for a cacao project

2. (http://www.bioversityinternational.org/news_and_events/news/article/article/gourmet-chocolates-to-boost-incomes-and-preserve-biodiversity/?tx_ttnews[backPid]=322&cHash=5195e794cb)  Article on the site of Bioversity about gourmet cacao to boost income and conservation.

3. (http://craftchocolatemakers.org/) A new organization of artisanal chocolate makers in the U.S. who proscribe to direct marketing and Slow Food's principals of "good, clean, and fair" Lichenology 17:01, 13 January 2009 (UTC)jay bost

I think there is an untapped market for ecotourism from the US and mainly western countries. The gay travel and tour market prefers to travel where other gay people are, and where they are likely to feel accepted. Many ecotourism destinations are the antithesis to this idea. But just as gay markets travel to London and Amsterdam in droves, I think they should go to Ecuador and Peru, too. So one idea I have is to create a business catering to gay ecotour excursions. Brian (why doesn't this sign it?)

Project name: Michoacan Author: 128.227.117.70 16:09, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

Project Idea: I have been interested in the idea of importing environmentally conscious products from the region of Michoacan, Mexico where I have been working. There are a number of resources and animals that they have been trying to protect from the Monarch Butterfly to orchids and traditional products (like embroidered clothes, etc.) that would be affordable and attractive to the American consumer. Particularly in the area where the Monarch Butterflies are, there are a number of value-added products that have been created and made but due to a lack of market access they have fallen to the way-side, leaving community members frustrated and struggling to find cash generating activities as well as relying on the land in unsustainable ways in order to subsist. I need to think it through a bit more but there is a store called Alternatives here in Gainesville that sells products with the same idea in mind. Whether it be to a sort of middle-man, a linkage or a non=profit of its own... These links talk about one of the founders of the efforts to help connect rural communities with resources and markets. I have also been working with him for the last 4 years. ~Miramanni

http://www.mexicandesign.com/_/car_dg.htm http://www.amoxtli.org/cuezali/blood.html http://www.lajornadamichoacan.com.mx/2008/09/26/index.php?section=opinion&article=002a1pol

Brian- If you look just below the buttons to save and post your entry there is a box that has in bold the words 'Insert' and 'Sign your name.' If you just click on the four ~'s next to 'sign you name' it will sign your name for you. Or you could probably type the four ~'s. Lynch 01:00, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Project idea: An idea that I have been toying with for a few years now with some friends is an NGO that acts as a media outlet for small communities in Ecuador. From the small amount of exploratory work I have done on the subject, this is not necessarily a new concept. I’ve researched and read about a few projects (see below for example) that have aimed to put cameras or camcorders into the hands of say, children or indigenous people. While this isn’t a new idea, I do feel that it is an underutilized tool in the non-profit sector. The basic idea is that the best stories, and the ones that carry the most meaning and really hit home, are those that are told by the people themselves. I know numerous people in a small community on the coast of Ecuador who would love to tell the story of how immigration is growing their community at too fast a pace for their liking; or a community in the lowlands who would love to share their story of deforestation and the misdoings of oil companies. For years indigenous peoples across Ecuador, and elsewhere, have wanted a voice that will be heard on a larger stage. An NGO that has the ability to offer a means to allow their voices to be heard would be, in my opinion, well taken. The videos or pictures taken would not only offer an outlet for the people, but also has the potential to be used as a tool to bring in funds for community projects etc.

Here’s an examples NGO: http://www.bridgesweb.org/ Lynch 01:35, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Human-wildlife conflict is a tremendous issue across the globe and especially in Africa where I do my research. When we visited rural communities this past summer one of the key issues we heard was that wildlife would come and raid crops or kill livestock but there was either no response by game guards or they came too late to be of any help. Also, most people complained that there was not adequate compensation for damages caused by wildlife. These factors reduce people’s tolerance of wildlife and increase the likelihood that local people will not engage in conservation behavior or will actively seek to hurt or kill animals. I would like to develop a project to address these issues. I am not sure as to what form of mitigation would be most effective. Efforts could be targeted at compensation such as developing better compensation for losses or incentives for practices that discourage wildlife from raiding crops and livestock. On the other hand, focus could go towards preventative measures such as a program tested in East Africa that used cell phones on to alert game guards when problem elephants approached farms. Many mitigation strategies have been tried so the trick will be in deciding what combination of efforts or what novel strategies will be most useful as well as sustainable and cost-effective. Kifaro50 06:08, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Project name: Pirarucu Fishery Enterprises Author: Emiliano 03:22, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

Project Description: Less than 20 years ago pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) status was critical and the species was considered critically endangered in the Amazon River basin. At that time fishery of pirarucu was banned by law in Brazil. This situation began to change in the turn of the millennium when scientists working side-by-side with local traditional fisherman developed a time and cost-efficient method of counting pirarucu that was also accurate and precise. For the application of the method the only pre-requisite was the participation of experienced fisherman. This tool allowed local communities to promptly estimate fishery stocks, hence evaluate and develop their conservation strategies. Soon enough, based on the counts, the Brazilian Government allowed the fishery of pirarucu to start at Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve and in subsequent years to expand to other areas of the basin. This was a very significant achievement to communities and pirarucu conservation because it empowered communities to land and natural resources and at the same time contributed to the conservation of pirarucu. This chance to empower people, however, was not developed to its full potential. I point out two major issues of concern: (i)The Harvest of a wildlife population has an intrinsic limit resulting from the carrying capacity of the environment (food, space, shelter, mates...). Human populations, on the other hand, tend to increase exponentially and readily outgrow natural resources, turning a sustainable harvest into overexploitation. (ii) Only a small portion of the revenue made by pirarucu fishery is passed on to the communities that work in the conservation of the species. This happens because although the communities have the right to exploration of the resource the production chain has not evolved from the old patronage system, still favoring the big fishery patrons in the big urban areas. To solve these social and environmental issues I am planning two enterprises. My first idea is to add value and decrease harvest of pirarucu through sportive fishery. Sportive fishery would have a much smaller harvest and the price per pirarucu could be greatly increased, making more revenue with less fish. The second would be to explore the pirarucu market and production line to revert the profit from fishery to communities, instead off patrons. This would be done by creating a social enterprise that would cut the middle man and allow local fisherman to sell their products directly to regional markets.

Project name: Iauaretê Project Author: Emiliano 05:51, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

Project Description: Like most extant large wild cat species in the world today, jaguar (Panthera onca) survival has three major obstacles: (1) destruction/fragmentation of habitat, (2) depletion of natural prey and (3) direct hunting. All of which are related to human activities. These obstacles are not trivial ones because they are connect with national and local economics. At a national scale the need for development pledged by governments calls for the expansion of cattle and soy bean plantations and the construction of all-weather highways that cut through forest. At local scale rural populations compete with jaguars for food and also kill jaguars directly. Jaguar kills are generally associated with depredation of livestock by jaguars which and consequent retaliation by villagers. In resume, jaguars have little to no economic value (or even a negative value in the case of the local villager who's cow was eaten by a jaguar) to countries or communities that would justify investing in stopping these activities. To change this scenario I propose a enterprise that would aggregate value to jaguar through tourism, making jaguars economically profitable for communities and at the same time empowering people to their local natural resources. ............

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license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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User:Onefinity

My name is Matthew Shapiro. I'm an educator and an advocate of the transformation of public education. I am interested in two possibilities there: a participatory redesign process that results in new systems capable of self-reflection, or a public conversation that results in a deschooling of society altogether.

title: User:Onefinity


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Conservation Entrepreneurship/Business Plans/Examples

Assignment one
Assignment one is for each student to review 2-3 business plans and write a 2 paragraph article about 1 of them. Your article should give a full citation of the business plan, 1 paragraph description and 1 paragraph of your reaction/observation to the business plan (what caught your attention). Be brief and to the point -- remember you are writing 1/8th of the article. Lynch 16:22, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

Post your responses by clicking on the 'discussion' tab at the top of this page. Note- feel free to comment or discuss any of the other posts found on the discussion pageLynch 00:37, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

Responses to this assignment are seen below:

Name of business plan: Airaware.org

Reviewer: Keeping the road safer and the Earth greener Amber Pitt, Jamie Cotta, Skya Murphy, Simone Athayde

This is a non-profit organization that plans to reduce fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions through the regular (and industry recommended)maintenance of appropriate tire pressure and community education programs. The idea is to make tire inflation convenient and part of the consumers' regular auto maintenance and part of their insurance plan so that the effort employed would be minimal and thus the incentives to participate greater. All profit would go to public awareness campaigns that promote more sustainable lifestyles in the U.S. as well as conserve energy and more efficient product use.

It directly approaches environmental questions and the idea of offering a free services to reach people and educate them in environmental issues by reinvesting in local education and awareness campaigns that can be tailored to local resources and needs. Whether it would have significant conservation impact is hard to say but certainly the statistics they cite for the impact that keeping tires properly inflated are directed more towards the need for inflated tires rather than the direct fuel efficiency and tire life benefits. I would say that there is good potential for replication since it would be associated with insurance company services instead of consumer maintenance so that it could be implemented across the country and without much effort on the part of the consumer. The "scaling up" of conservation impact would result (it would seem to me) more in the environmental education aspect of the non-profit through awareness building. It is hard to say how feasible it would be in the short time that I have had to review the plan but it seems that they covered all of the obvious and not so obvious bases. And since it has a practical use, multi-benefit potential and is environmentally as well as fiscally conscious, it would seem a venture worth investing in. I don’t feel qualified to say whether the marketing strategy is adequate. However, it appears to follow good marketing strategy and is certainly appealing. The competitive analysis was compelling with all of their figures and their method of “free advertising” (through the “attractive” decals) and addition of the element of “societal approval” with the expression of their participation in the service as a means of supporting efforts against global climate change. I would recommend it and I am curious to see what Bob has to say about it. Knowing that they won a University-wide award gives it a great deal of credibility. Batik Boutique Wendy-Lin Bartels, Diana Alvira, Anna Prizzia, Kendall Sanderson, Richard Wallace

Mission: Building capacity to ensure sustainable livelihoods for rural Zimbabwean women and artisans.

Batik is the art of creating colored patterns (traditionally geometric in design) on fabric using a combination of dyed and dye resistant areas (Batik Boutique 2003). Batik Boutique is a business that proposes to connect Zimbabwean artisan communities (designers, painters, and seamstresses) with each other and with the international free trade market. The business, which is a merging of an experienced batik marketer in the capital and a cooperative sewing club of rural Shona women, has arranged for 70% of the business shares to go to the sewing club and 30% to the experienced marketer. Rather than solely developing a tool to provide an income to these people however, Batik Boutique aims to teach skills that prove useful beyond this project. To do this Batik Boutique plans to connect its workforce with a university professor in the capital, who will teach basic business management, bookkeeping, marketing, and organizational skills. The final step proposed by Batik Boutique is to connect the organization and their products with the international free trade market though use of the World Wide Web.

Overall I think that this business proposal was well organized and well researched. In developing this business plan they took into account the social, economic, and cultural aspects that could potentially affect the success of such an international business. They clearly understood the trend of international trade and the free trade system, and the value of utilizing the World Wide Web. I do however feel that this business proposal follows in the footsteps of a multitude of past projects that attempt to introduce small artisan crafts to the international market. I imagine, and I could be wrong, that the business of selling handicrafts on the international market is tough due to factors such as competition and possibly low demand. The team who created Batik Boutique clearly saw this hurdle however, and believed that they could overcome it due to the craftsmanship and quality of their products. After going through the various sections of this project proposal, the point that resonates most with me is the fact that Batik Boutique aims to teach long term skills not just introduce a means to an income. If for example Batik Boutique fails to sell the minimum number of textiles on the international market and the company dissolves, the members of the community can still walk away with a useful set of business skills to apply elsewhere. Lynch 23:58, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

Osa Hike Project

The Osa Peninsula is comprised of much biodiversity, including tropical rainforest. This project is essentially a fundraiser with a business plan. As part of a strategy secure land in the Osa Biological Corridor, this group had the idea of recruiting hikers and sponsors for those hikers, in the name of conservation. Money raised would be put towards the social initiative of the Osa Biological Corridor Strategy. This hike itself would be a "cross peninsula" hike and would be publicized in Costa Rica and the US. It would provide a "combination of social engagement, recreational activities and the opportunity to help promote conservation..."

This business plan was more interesting to me because of the business idea itself is fleeting. Unlike an ecolodge, for example, and other business enterprises, this is a temporary engagement. Normally, are business plans developed for fundraisers? I think it must be useful.

Occasions Personal Event Planning Business Plan. Portland, Oregon. Available from:  Accessed January 13, 2009.

This business plan is for Occasions, The Event Planning Specialists, a small event planning organization based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1997 by two part-time event planners, Occasions has aspirations to expand to multiple locations across the Pacific Northwest. Maintaining a strong commitment to community participation, this business promises consistent exemplary results. Focusing on a range of clients from individuals to public and private organizations, Occasions emphasizes greater efficiency with superior quality to ease the burden of planning in a busy society. Occasions primarily serves an organizational and coordinating role and contracts out to local businesses for event components such as catering and music. For those who prefer to plan their own events but want help, Occasions also provides an array of resources such as step-by-step guides, event planning computer software, and “party packs” containing all of the things needed to host an event. This company shows strong business sense as well as devotion to their customers and is likely to go far.

Overall, I was very impressed with this business plan. It was very comprehensive, covering all aspects of the company, it’s goals, mission, background, and plan. The plan also featured a good combination of text, figures, and tables, clearly communicating key information in a way that was visually appealing. At the same time, the action-oriented vocabulary drew me in, making me want to be excited about the company’s goals and plan. In terms of content, I liked the strong emphasis on the company’s commitment to the community, such as dedicating ten hours a month to training students from the area in event planning and using local businesses that can produce quality products to promote economic growth. These efforts show a warm dedication that is often lacking in large impersonal businesses. One issue I had, however, is that while the company’s objectives and keys to success were clearly laid out, I did not see it stated what metrics would be used to evaluate when they had achieved them. I would like to see more clearly what qualifies as success.

-Tim

The Tanzania Shade Farmers' Association A Project of the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group

Mission: To improve livelihoods in nine rural villages in the East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania and create an economic incentive for the cessation of forest cutting and an increase in reforestation in the area.

The proposed mission is to be achieved through the formation of the Tanzania Shade Farmers' Association, a cooperative of growers focused on the shade crops cardamon, black pepper, cloves, and cinnamon. All of these crops are already grown in the area, but due to low prices owing to ineffective marketing, the intervention of middle men who keep large percentages, and highly variable quality (as well as overall low prices for these products in recent years), the price that farmers receive is much lower than what is possible for these farmers to receive through organization and capacity building. The promotion of these shade tolerant crops (and others including vanilla, medicinal species, and cacao) is attractive in both social and ecological terms because of the high biodiversity of the forests in the Eastern Usambara mountains and the vulnerability of non-forested cultivated areas to erosion due to high slope angles, and subsequent deterioration of water supplies and land fertility. Present low prices are encouraging the abandonment of shade farming of the above-mentioned crops and agroforestry systems in favor of forest clearing. Although the agroforestry systems in which these commodities are produced may not be as diverse as natural forest, they do allow for considerable biological conservation, erosion control, and land regeneration while also providing income. They also link the patches of officially protected forest in the area, forming corridors (increasingly viewed as of utmost importance). Prices 30-60% higher than those currently received by farmers are projected to be fairly easily obtainable by better quality control, elimination of middle men, value added processing by the cooperative, cooperative branding, and targeting of niche markets. Further value could be added by organic certification. The project proposes the creation of the farmers cooperative (to be governed democratically, composed of Tanzanian staff, and transparent) in collaboration with the local Tanzanian NGO Tanzania Forest Conservation Group. This NGO, along with technical supervisor, Theron Morgan-Brown, will seek funding (half grant and half loan) to organize farmers into the cooperative, train staff and farmers, make marketing connections, establish necessary infrastructure and facilitate organic certification. The ideal is that in five years the cooperative will be self-functioning in terms of technical knowledge, marketing capacities, income production, infrastructure, and staff, so that the NGO and technical adviser become obsolete.

This proposal is very interesting and strong in my view, partly owing to its diversity. Diversity in terms of crops, diversity in terms of stakeholders; a NGO, a foreign technical adviser (with experience and reputation in the area) and growers' cooperative, and diversity of its proposed funding; half through grants and half through a loan to be repaid during the first five years of the cooperative's functioning. Another strong point of the proposal is that is plays well on established players (farmers and an established local NGO) and crops (crops already familiar to growers). In essence the project proposes little new, but rather a betterment of current practices, and better organization/marketing, so that farmers can receive a higher percentage of the retail price for the very product that they are already producing. The higher prices thus achieved then create a feed back loop encouraging farmers to produce better quality (and the organization to target niche markets such as organic), thus further increasing farmer income. The emphasis on capacity building of community members and making the organization a local enterprise, democratically run with an effort to retain high levels of transparency and promote the involvement of both males and females is well-taken. The main potential problem I see with the project is whether farmers will see it as truly their own and be able to conquer the risks mentioned in the proposal such as corruption, lack of cooperation between farmers and/or communities, and the fracturing of the cooperative by opportunistic middle men. The project makes no mention of the idea for the cooperative having come from the communities themselves, though it does mention an interest expressed by farmers in informal discussions. But, of course, when proposed higher prices farmers will express interest. What is unclear is whether the work of cooperative organization will be embraced and sustainable. For me personally, this proposal is very interesting because I have thought of doing very similar work in Mexico, but have been unsure of how to organize it, how to channel funds, and how to compensate myself for work done. I really like the idea of an establish NGO being used to facilitate the establishment of the cooperative and channel the founding funds used in training and the emphasis of quickly making the cooperative self-sustaining and the technical supervisor and NGO obsolete. It seems very important to initiate and capacity build and then quickly let the organization take on a life of its own. In terms of transparency, I wonder whether the technical adviser's proposed salary of $191,000 during the first five years (75% of the proposed grant money) will be well taken by the local Tanzanian staff and the farmers themselves. I have begun to wrestle with this in my own thinking; what seems "fair" and reasonable (even necessary due to lifestyle) to us, may be very different than what seems fair and reasonable to project beneficiaries. How to deal with these differences of lifestyle and income and be fair to all? Lichenology 21:14, 26 January 2009 (UTC)jay


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Conservation Entrepreneurship/Definition/Social Entrepreneur Examples

Two good sources for learning about social entrepreneurs are:
 * http://www.schwabfound.org/sf/SocialEntrepreneurs/Profiles/index.htm
 * http://www.fastcompany.com/social/2008/index.html

Other famous social entrepreneurs are:
 * Muhammud Yunus of Grameen Bank (see Grameen Bank including the criticism piece at Wikipedia)
 * Bill Drayton of Ashoka Foundation
 * America Forward is a coalition of entrepreneurial non-profits.

Here is a case study that we looked at in class- The example of Julie Lewis and Deja Shoes (during and after):
 * http://pdf.wri.org/bell/tn_1-56973-139-x_teaching_note_english.pdf
 * http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/1997/03/03/smallb1.html?page=1

Note- feel free to comment or discuss any of the other posts found on the discussion page.Lynch 00:27, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

Assignment 2: Everyone post a 1-2 paragraph introduction to a Social Entrepreneur -- describe the person / enterprise and then make a brief analysis of the ""skills and characteristics"" that the person needed to bring to bear to be successful.

Heres my response to this assignment: Mark J. Plotkin, PhD can be described as an ethnobotanist, a college dropout, a once Harvard Museum of Zoology employee, a Harvard graduate, a Yale graduate, a Tufts graduate, and foremost as a social entrepreneur. Following years of education and exploration under the famous ethnobotanist Richard Schultes, Mark Plotkin founded the Amazon Conservation Team. The Amazon Conservation Team is an NGO that works at the nexus where the social and environmental realms converge. Mark Plotkin has been a fore-figure in the movement to incorporate socio-cultural needs, desires, and traditional knowledge in pursuit of biological conservation in the Amazon. For his PhD he worked in Suriname with the Tirio people, where he developed the ‘Shamans Apprentice’ program. The goals of this program were twofold: 1.) document and record the ethnobotanical knowledge of the Tirio, and 2.) reconnect the younger generation of Tirio with the traditions and knowledge held by community shamans. Since its inception the Amazon Conservation Team has expanded from Suriname to numerous South American countries, and has developed innovative programs that protect both cultural and biological diversity. In 2008, Mark Plotkin was named as one of the “Social Entrepreneurs of the Year” by the Skoll Foundation. Mark Plotkin has exhibited many skills or characteristics throughout his career that I relate to social entrepreneurism. While still at the age of an undergraduate student, Mark Plotkin showed independence and curiosity by joining an expedition to South America in pursuit of the Black Caiman (Melanosuchus niger). This independence and drive eventually lead him to the creation of the Amazon Conservation Team, a highly successful international NGO. Once his NGO was in full swing, Mark Plotkin was unafraid and quite bold to initiate innovative projects that were both untested and controversial. In the last few years alone, Mark initiated a project that put GPS units in the hands of indigenous communities in Brazil in order to map territories and areas important to the community. The result of this experiment proved to be highly effective in mapping and therefore protecting forested lands on one hand, and proved very upsetting on the other due to the fact that mapped areas conflicted with state, national, and/ or illegal development activities. Another characteristic that I see in Mark Plotkin that has likely had some part in his NGO’s success is his willingness to publicize and communicate his desires and goals. While Mark is probably more comfortable in the jungles of South America, he has never passed up the opportunity to throw a fundraiser, give a talk, interview, or film a movie. I see this as a vital characteristic for someone who wishes to advance their social or conservational goals and desires.

Related Links: Amazon Conservation Team: http://www.amazonteam.org/about.html Skoll Foundation: http://www.skollfoundation.orgLynch 00:36, 12 January 2009 (UTC)

Mark was at WWF when I first worked there, then moved to Conservation International with Russ Mittermeier where he was a key leader, before starting Amazon Conservation Team. Mark has the characteristic of being a great storyteller, both verbally and in pictures. WWF calendars often used Mark's pictures (Russ Mittermeier's too). Mark wrote a really excellent book, Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice. Rbusch 15:33, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

One of my favorite books! His other books are good as well, just not as exciting. Lynch 00:03, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Maria E. Ordonez grew up in then rural Guayaquil, Ecuador. Encroachment and urbanization soon happened where she lived. In response to the death of her natural world, Maria became a passionate environmentalist. She has always loved children and studied to become a teacher. While volunteering at a television studio, she realized the power of the media to educate. From this birthed the Fundacion Arcandina, Maria's production company dedicated to a show that teaches citizenship and environmental ethics to children via puppet show.

The skills Maria exhibits I believe are related to her success in social entrepreneurics are related to her passion. She was so affected by what happened in her community that she made an internal vow to change the world, any way she could. She also really loved children, so her adeptness at combining her passions was impressive. A humbleness was key to her success, too. She continued to volunteer her time and energy, reminding herself that the world changes one person at a time.

http://www.schwabfound.org/sf/SocialEntrepreneurs/Profiles/index.htm?sname=129160 http://www.arcandina.org/

Brian

Dan West was not looking to impact 45 million people when he began serving as a relief worker. The Indiana farmer volunteered during the Spanish Civil War handing out milk rations to children when he realized, These children don’t need a cup, they need a cow”. When he returned to the United States he founded Heifers for Relief with the goal of ending hunger through providing training and livestock to needy families. Today this organization has grown into Heifer International and has helped 45 million people in more than 50 countries. Supported by gifts from American individuals, Heifer International offers livestock as well as training in proper husbandry and sustainable farming practices to poor families in developing nations. The key feature of the organization is “Passing on the Gift” in which families that have received livestock are required to share the offspring of their animals and the training they have received with other farmers, creating “an expanding network of hope, dignity, and self-reliance”. For more information see.

Dan West was able to accomplish his goals first and foremost because of a desire to help others. His drive to serve others was not fulfilled by going and doing what many at the time would not, but rather he was not content with his efforts but sought ways to improve the system and then took efforts to put those into action. Another key aspect was his foresight to create a sustainable system through development of the “passing on the gift” concept whereby people not only are brought out of the trap of poverty but help their neighbors to improve their livelihoods as well. Patience and persistence were a final important trait for Dan’s success. Although he developed the idea of using livestock to end hunger in the 1930s the first shipment of cattle did not go out until 1944. During that time many people would have lost sight of their goals and been caught up in the demands of life but Dan remained resolute and his dedication over many years brought about an organization has a reach that likely far exceeds his original goals.

I noticed Heifer International in the list of social entrepreneurs on the Fast Company site and I was very excited because I have worked with campus organizations before to support this group, but I did not know much about them. It was very interesting learning more about the organization and their scope and methods. I especially like the passing the gift concept.

-Tim

I have long been interested in the Nobel Prize for peace winner in Africa, Wangari Maathai. She changed the way that agriculture and resource management was done in Kenya and this ballooned into an international organization that is trying to revolutionize the way agriculture conservation is practiced all over the world, taking into account sustainability, and reforestation. She reeducated the women of Kenya in tree planting and environmental conservation after being: "The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964). She subsequently earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1966). Professor Maathai pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi where she also taught veterinary anatomy. She became chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and an associate professor in 1976 and 1977 respectively. In both cases, she was the first woman to attain those positions in the region. "Professor Maathai was active in the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976-87 and was its chairman from 1981-87. In 1976, while she was serving the National Council of Women, Professor Maathai introduced the idea of community-based tree planting. She continued to develop this idea into a broad-based grassroots organization whose main focus is poverty reduction and environmental conservation through tree planting. With the organization which became known as the Green Belt Movement Professor Maathai has assisted women in planting more than 40 million trees on community lands including farms, schools and church compounds."

It seems to me that she is exemplary in terms of social impact and grassroots movements. While she is exceptional, I believe that the basic characteristics that she brings to the table that make her successful are- passion, intelligence, drive, charisma, stubbornness, empathy and a broader perspective of the issues that she was confronting.

EQUAL EXCHANGE Equal Exchange is a worker-owned, fair-trade, for-profit, social enterprise that began marketing coffee in the 80's and has since expanded into tea, chocolate, pecans, sugar, almonds, and cranberries. It was founded around 20 years ago by Rink Dickinson, Jonathan Rosenthal and Michael Rozyne, who met while working at a natural foods cooperative in New England and envisioned an enterprise embodying these principles: "* A social change organization that would help farmers and their families gain more control over       their economic futures.    * A group that would educate consumers about trade issues affecting farmers.    * A provider of high-quality foods that would nourish the body and the soul.    * A company that would be controlled by the people who did the actual work.    * A community of dedicated individuals who believed that honesty, respect, and mutual benefit are        integral to any worthwhile endeavor." The company began with a risk, all 3 quit their jobs and with a core group of investors and $100,000 the company began, which only became profitable after 3 years. They began trading coffee from Nicaragua during a US embargo of that country, thus from the get go demonstrating a kind of activist entrepreneurship and a mission to tell the story of marginalized producers (thus opening markets for these producers). Today the company employs 100 in the US and works with 30 plus producer groups around the world. On its website it lists these as its guiding principles: Our Guiding Principles * Trade directly with democratically organized small farmer cooperatives. * Facilitate access to credit for producer organizations. * Pay producers a guaranteed minimum price that provides a stable source of income as well as        improved social services. * Provide high quality food products. * Support sustainable farming practices. * Build a democratically-run cooperative workplace. * Develop more environmentally-sound business practices. The company also applies its principles of democratically run, cooperative workplaces to itself. It is a worker owned cooperative, based on one person - one vote, high transparency, and a 4:1 top:bottom pay ratio cap. Describing their organizational operations they write, "A worker co-op is not owned by outside shareholders or a small group of founders or partners but by all the employees in equal portions. Top level managers and entry-level employees alike own an identical share and receive an equal share of any profits or losses. These "worker-owners" both elect the Board of Directors and fill six of the nine Board seats. The Board in turn is responsible for hiring and supervising management. Consequently a circle is formed, as in American civic democracy, of everyone being accountable to someone else."

The company has been on the fore-front of the fair trade movement in the US particularly and in addition to supplying a product to consumers has engaged extensively in educating the public through campaigns and through forming alliances and economic endeavors with interfaith church groups, which both use Equal Exchange coffee and sell products. An estimated 10,000 congregations are part of this network.

Thus Equal Exchange has engaged a great deal in educating consumers as to the value, both social and environmental that their products embody, beyond their edible calories and flavors. The market for such ideal laden coffee was just awakening in the 80s when Equal Exchange was founded and they were able to ride the wave and promote its growth through education, as during the 80s and 90s and early 2000s this market showed extremely fast and consistent growth. The growth of the niche market for "responsibly" produced food only seems poised to continue to grow.

Fast Company which lists Equal Exchange on its list of 45 Social Entrepreneurs has this to say about the company: "The improbable company is alive and well. Equal Exchange has been profitable 18 of the last 19 years, has averaged 30% annual revenue growth, enjoys about $28 million in annual sales, and employs about 100 people in 6 states.

In 21 years Equal Exchange's impact amongst farmers has grown beyond coffee farmers in a few Central American nations. Today the company buys the coffee, tea, rooibos, cocoa, sugar, almonds and pecans from over 30 co-operatives in 19 countries on 4 continents. More than 90% of the crops are certified organic, and for coffee farmers alone the higher Fair Trade prices paid by Equal Exchange translated into $8 million in extra income between 2000 and 2006."

For more about its pioneering work, http://www.equalexchange.coop/not-business-as-usual Lichenology 18:21, 23 January 2009 (UTC)jay


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Talk:Conservation Entrepreneurship/Business Plans/Ideas

Testing discussion page.Lynch 16:49, 11 January 2009 (UTC)
 * It works.:-)--Juandev 21:35, 11 January 2009 (UTC)


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User:Ikm~enwikiversity

     Institut Kesenian Makassar

title: User:Ikm~enwikiversity


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User talk:Barta

 Hello Barta, and welcome to Wikiversity! If you need help, feel free to visit my talk page, or contact us and ask questions. After you leave a comment on a talk page, remember to sign and date; it helps everyone follow the threads of the discussion. The signature icon in the edit window makes it simple. To get started, you may

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Ancient architecture
Hello, I have seen you working on resources conected with the topic of Egyption architecture. Try to think about a category and place these resources there. Somethink like architecture, history or so. Thank you very much!--Juandev 21:41, 11 January 2009 (UTC)

Categories
Hi, I am replying to the categories you did. I think it is OK. My idea of categories is, that all pages conected with this project can be added to Category:Ancient Egyptian Monuments Project. And than this category will stay in category category:architecture, category:archeology, category:history. Which will make the category tree. But as I see you made the pages not subpages, so if you think there are pages which has educational value staying alone we might place there also those categories such as archeology, history and so on, staying together with the project category. Do you understand, what I mean? Please, reply here.--Juan de Vojníkov 19:12, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for your work and ideas. I like it. I think I understand what you're saying. I will keep this category tree format. I really liked having the category page creating a sort of index. Regards Barta 23:50, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Wikilinks are better than URLs
Hello, I can see your grate efforts in that project. But I would like to recomend you, to use internal links instad of external using URL. You can also link to Wikipedia using the prefix "w". Let me show you this example: ''Djoser was King of Upper and Lower Egypt in ca. 2680 BCE. Djoser was the first king of the 3rd dynasty. The construction and development of the pyramid complex is generally attributed to the architect Imhotep.'' Link to Imhotep is done via Imhotep. Less URL links, better Wikiversity performing. Thanks and a lot of stamina to continue in the project.--Juan de Vojníkov 19:58, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

 * Ah I see, I will fix that in the other links. Barta 23:50, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. I was fixing something, but there are many of them. Uf.--Juan de Vojníkov 23:52, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:Khasekhemwy-Seth-Horus001.png
Crochet.david 21:01, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for finding that error. I fixed it on the page Barta 00:09, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Can I make my account here? But what can I wrote here and how? I notice that you used pictures from wikipedia, here.--78.0.211.115 14:14, 8 June 2010 (UTC) - Mychele

title: User talk:Barta


text:
Egyptology/Monuments project

Introduction and Goals
This project is aimed at collecting factual information to support further research regarding the development and construction of the Egyptian pyramids. It will include topics on Hieroglyphs, sculptures, bas-reliefs and other interrelated artifacts. Preliminary discussions identified some topics that required further research required to put any theory on solid footing. This is our attempt to gather and organize data for possible later use.

Specific Topics

 * Timeline for development of pyramids and pyramid like structures – research indicates that before the great pyramids were built in Giza and even before the step pyramids of Saqqara were constructed, mound-like structures were constructed in Abydos. This timeline is an attempt to gain insight in the development of these fascinating structures.

 * Djoser's Step Pyramid in Saqqara – description of the pyramid and surrounding complex.

 * Old Kingdom Monuments Organized by Ruler – besides the pyramids it's interesting to see the number, type and geographical location of monuments throughout the old kingdom.

 * Early Dynastic Monuments The Old Kingdom usually starts with the fourth dynasty. The monuments from the very early dynastic period are similarly interesting. This page gives an overview of known monuments (mainly from Saqqara and Abydos)

 * Development of hieroglyphic writing – the discovery of early writing on labels in a pre-dynastic tomb in Hierakonpolis pushed back the development of Egyptian writing by many years. By comparing the oldest known writing with later versions, can we make any conjectures about the development and meaning of the hieroglyphs?

 * Miscellaneous Topics and their development – there are many secondary topics that may provide insight to the meanings behind Architectural Form. Here those topics can be examined. E.g. boatpits/burials, obelisks, statues, etc.

References and Sources
There are many books and articles covering the history of Ancient Egypt. This is not meant to be a complete bibliography, but merely a list of some of the most common books and articles we used in compiling the information on these pages.

Pyramids

 * Mark Lehner, The Complete Pyramids: Solving the Ancient Mysteries, 1997, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-05084-8
 * David O’Connor, Boat graves and pyramid origins: New discoveries at Abydos, Egypt, 1991, Expedition, Vol 3, nr 33, pg 5-17
 * Miroslav Verner, The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments, 1997, Grove Press., ISBN 0-8021-3935-3

Online:
 * List of pyramids from Waseda University

Hieroglyphics

 * Collier and Manley, How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphics, 1998, University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-23949-0
 * Richard H. Wilkinson, Reading Egyptian Art: A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Egyptian Painting and Sculpture, 1992, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 0-500-27751-6

Other

 * Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt: A Genealogical Sourcebook of the Pharaohs, 2004, Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0-500-05128-3
 * Corinna Rossi, Architecture and Mathematics in Ancient Egypt, 2004, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-82954-2
 * Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt, 2000, Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0-500-05100-3

title: Egyptology/Monuments project


text:
Timeline for development of pyramids and pyramid like structures

Quicklink: Return to Ancient Egyptian Monuments Project

Ptahhotep Enclosure
Ruler: unknown, possibly 2nd dynasty, possibly Peribsen or Sekhemib? Location: Saqqara Date: ca 2625? Dimensions: Materials used: mud brick? The Ptahhotep enclosure is located to the west of Djoser's step pyramid. It has been dated anywhere from the second to the early third dynasty. A large mudbrick structure is situated in the center, but the hello structure is not known.

Gisr el Mudir (Great Enclosure)
Ruler: Unknown (Possibly 2nd dynasty, Khasekhemwy?) Location: Saqqara Date: ca 2611 – 2584 BC Dimensions: the enclosure measures ca 350 X 650 m Materials used: ??

Large enclosure in Saqqara thought to possibly date to the time or Khasekhemwy. It may date to an even earlier time period. It is one of the largest monumental structures at Saqqara. No structure has been definitely located inside the enclosure, but granite and stone found in the north-west corner may indicate that a building once stood there.

link: Gisr el-mudir page at Saqqara online. The page includes a short description and an areal photograph.

Mound Burial of Khasekhemwy?
Ruler: Khasekhemwy Location: Abydos Date: ca 2611 - 2584 BC Dimensions: Materials used: mud brick

The last king of the 2nd dynasty was buried in Abydos and the remains of his burial complex shows evidence of the existence of a mound over the burial site. The mound consisted of sand and gravel covered by a mud brick layer. The mound was not buried as it was in earlier funerary monuments. The mound was part of a larger funerary monument enclosed by a large mud brick wall. This wall would have been about 5 meters thick and the remains stands some 11 meters tall even today.

Dynasty 3
Step pyramids were developed during this period. The capital of Egypt was likely in Memphis and the royal necropolis was situated in Saqqara. There were two different possiblities for constructing a pyramid like shape. The first method is to stack inscreasingly smaller square or rectangular shapes, thereby created a stepped core that could then be dressed is a layer of stone. Another technique is to create a solid core followed by accretions. Concentric shells of decreasing height would be angled against the core thereby creating a stepped center that could then be covered by a layer of stones. Both techniques were used in the history of the construction of pyramids.

Link: The Accretion Theory by Bonnie M. Sampsell.

Djoser's Pyramid (aka 'Step' Pyramid)
Ruler: Djoser (Horus name: Netjerikhet) Location: Saqqara Date: ca 2584 – 2565 BC Dimensions: Stage I (4-step pyramid) – base 71 meters X 71.5 meters; height 8.4 meters Stage II (6-step pyramid) – base 109 meters X 121 meters; height 62.5 meters Materials used: limestone Djoser – Horus name Netjerikhet – was likely the first king of the 3rd dynasty.

This famous complex in Saqqara was investigated by Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign, the Prussian General von Minutoli and John Perring. The first thorough excavation was conducted by Firth in the 1920s. Much of our present knowledge about Djoser's complex is due to Lauer however.

See also Djoser's Step Pyramid in Saqqara for a more detailed description of the pyramid complex.

Sekhemkhet's Step Pyramid

Ruler: Djoser-Ti (Horus name Sekhemkhet) Location: Saqqara Date: ca 2556 - 2550 BC Dimensions: ca 120 meters X 120 meters base with a height of 70 meters. The pyramid was only completed to a height of ca 8 meters. Materials used: Limestone (?)

According to Verner, mason's inscriptions on the perimeter wall include the name of the architect Imhotep, indicating that the man responsible for the design of Djoser's complex also designed Sekhemkhet's funerary complex. The complex was never finished, and the pyramid may have only been constructed up to a height of 26 feet. The size of the ground plan indicates the planned structure could have been as high as 210 feet.

According to Lehner the masons used "accretions leaning inwards at an angle of 15o with sloping courses of stone laid at right angles to the incline."

Link: Saqqara Online – Sekhemkhet Short description of the sire with an areal photograph.

The Layer Pyramid (Lepsius XIV)
Ruler: Possibly Khaba (or possibly Neferka) Location: Zawiyet el-Aryan Date: ca 2545 BC Dimensions: base of 84 meters X 84 meters, height ?? Materials used: ?? Possibly belonging to Khaba. This pyramid is situated in Zawiyet el-Aryan, located between Giza and Abusir. "The superstructure consist of 14 accretions leaning inwards against a central core" The pyramid was likely meant to be a 5-step pyramid. The name of King Khaba has been associated to this pyramid because the Horus name of the king was found on vases found in a nearby, associated mastaba. Lepsius only mentions it was poorly constructed.

Link: Pyramid of Khaba Short description with a photograph of the site.

Lepsius Pyramid No. I
Ruler: Unknown, possibly Huni. Location: Abu Rawash Date: end of 3rd dynasty (ca 2530 BC?) Dimensions: ?? Materials used: mudbricks

This strange monument is located in Abu Rawash, not too far from the pyramid of the 4th dynasty king Djedefre. It may be yet another step pyramid, but this is not certain. It is built on a rocky knoll. Lepsius describes it as being covered by a mudbrick pyramid shape and gave it the number I, hence the name Lepsius I. It is nonstandard to have a mudbrick pyramid. A passage opens up to a burial chamber and the general structure resembles a burial chamber in a 4th dynasty pyramid. Lepsius describes a brick wall 17 m high, and claims this was one of the largest pyramids and he estimates it must have been about 145 m high.

Small Step Pyramids
According Lehner and Verner 7 small provincial step pyramids have been found. They are relatively small in size, and seemingly were not constructed for the purpose of burial. Five of the pyramids are thought to possibly date to the reign of Huni who ruled at the end of the 3rd dynasty, while at least the pyramid at Seila may have been constructed during the reign of Snefru, the first king of the 4th dynasty.

Dynasty 4
True pyramids were first developed during the reign of Snefru and later perfected during the reigns of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. The dating for the rulers are taken from Dodson and Hilton. Information about the pyramids is taken from Verner and Lehner.

Pyramid of Meidum
Ancient name: The stable pyramid (?) Ruler: Snefru Location: Meidum Date: ca 2520 – 2505 BC and again in ca 2485 – 2470 BC Dimensions: The base measures 144 m, the height was 92 m Materials used:

Snefru was the first king of the 4th dynasty. It is not known who his parent were. It is thought that his Queen – Hetepheres I – may have been a daughter of the 3rd dynasty King Huni. Snefru moved the royal necropolis to Meidum at the beginning of his reign. In his 15th year he would move the necropolis to Dashur, but would return to Meidum at the end of his reign.

The core of the pyramid was built using the method of accretions. This is the part we see today. The pyramid of Meidum was the first – what we would call – true pyramids. I.e. it is no longer stepped in appearance, but has a flat surface.

On the east side of the pyramid a mortuary temple was constructed using limestone. To the south was a small satellite pyramid. Remains of an enclosure wall have been found, as well as a causeway. Associated with the pyramid complex is a (royal) cemetary including for instance the mastaba of the King's Son Nefermaat.

The Bent Pyramid
Ancient name: Snefru is shining (in the South) Ruler: Snefru Location: Dashur Date: ca 2505 – 2485 BC Dimensions: The base measures 189.45 m, the length of the sides at the bend is 123.58, height of the pyramid is 104.7 m (the lower part is 47.04 m) Materials used: A stone core with a Tura limestone casing

In his 15th year Snefru moves the royal necropolis from Meidum to Dashur. The Bent pyramid is the first of two pyramids constructed at that site. This pyramid seems to be the first to have been planned as a true pyramid from the outset. The name of the Bent pyramid refers to the fact that half way during the construction the angle of incline was changed from 60$$^o$$ to a little under 54$$^o$$. After reaching a height of 45 meters the angle of incline was further reduced to 45$$^o$$. The pyramid complex consists of a small chapel made of Tura limestone, which was later enlarged using mud bricks. A causeway stretches for 210 m and connects the pyramid with a valley temple. A small satellite pyramid was constructed to the south of the pyramid. The satellite pyramid was built with the new technique of laying courses horizontally. Lehner mentions that this meant the masons had to cut the slope of the pyramid into the casing stones. There is evidence of masons chipping off the sharp corners of the casing stones and the necessity of patches to mend these chipped edges.

The North or Red Pyramid
Ancient name:  Snefru Shines – North Pyramid Ruler: Snefru Location: Dashur Date: ca 2505 – 2485 BC Dimensions: base 220 m  220 m; height 104 m. Materials used: Tura stone was used for the foundation, the core was made of red limestone from nearby quarries, and the casing was made of Tura limestone.

In Snefru's 30th year the construction of the Red pyramid was initiated. It was planned as a true pyramid form the start and there are no adjustments to the slope like in the Bent pyramid. Not much of the casing remains and the red limestone core is what gives this pyramid its name.

The pyramid was completed before Snefru's death, but the same may not be true of the other components of the pyramid complex. The mortuary temples may have been unfinished, as was the causeway. The sattelite pyramid was likely never constructed at all. Remains of a perimeter wall have been found.

The complex may have been finished by Khufu, Snefru's successor. It is believed that Snefru may have been buried at the Red pyramid. Even though Snefru's Cult was located at the Valley Temple of the Bent Pyramid complex.

The Great Pyramid or Khufu's Pyramid
Ancient name:  Akhet-Khufu (The horizon (or spirit?) of Khufu) Ruler: Khufu Location: Giza Date: ca 2470 – 2447 BC Dimensions: base 230.4 m X 230.4 m; height 146.5 m Materials used: Limestone

Khufu was the son of King Snefru and Queen Hetepheres I. Khufu likely finished the pyramid complexes of his father at Dashur (and Meidum ?). Khufu moved the royal necropolis to Giza. There he ordered the construction of what is now called the Great Pyramid. Khufu may have abandoned Dashur because there was no room for a large scale pyramid complex, and because there was not enough limestone nearby for the construction of the complex.

Part of the core consisted of limestone blocks. Pink granite was used for the burial chamber. Pockets inside the core were filled with sand and gravel. The casing was created from white limestone excavated from the Muqattam range on the east bank of the Nile.

The pyramid complex includes three subsidiary pyramids, sometimes called Queen's pyramids. These smaller pyramids are sometimes lbeled as G Ia, G Ib and G Ic:
 * G Ia Pyramid of Queen Mother Hetepheres I?
 * The northern most queen's pyamid fas first thought to have belonged to Meritites. But on the basis of Lehner's work it is now believed that this pyramid was made for the Queen-Mother Hetepheres I. This pyramid came with a small mortuary temple and a boat pit. Only ruins remain of the temple and the no boat was fo in the pit. No sarcophagus was found in the pyramid. Funerary equipment for HEtepheres was found in G 7000X.
 * G Ib Pyramid of Queen Meritites?
 * This pyramid had a boat pit and a small mortuary temple. It is not known who this pyramid was meant for, but it is possible that the pyramid belonged to Queen Meritites.
 * G Ic Pyramid of Queen Henutsen?
 * This pyramid had no boat pit. It is thought to belong to Queen Henutsen. The mortuary temple may have been started as late as the reign of Shepseskaf. On a stela Henutsen is referred to as the Kings Daughter. It's not clear whose daughter she was. Some experts have pointed out that G Ic was not part of the original pyramid complex of Khufu (Janosi). It has been suggested that the pyramid was added during the reign of Khafre. Some have suggested (Stadelmann for instance) that Khafre is identical to Prince Khufukhaf I. If so, Khafre could have been a son of Khufu and Henutsen and he could have added his mother's pyramid to his father's complex.

Pyramid at Abu Rawash
Ancient name: Djedefre sehedu (Djedefre's starry sky) Ruler: Djedefre Location: Abu Rawash Date: ca 2447 – 2439 BC Dimensions: base 106 X 106 m; present height 11.4 m Materials used:

Djedefre moved his necropolis from Giza to Abu Rowash. It is not known why he moved away from the necropolis established by his father. The erection of the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure shows that there was room to build more pyramids when Djedefre ruled. Lepsius initially estimated the base of the pyramid to be 95 m, but more recent work has shown the pyramid had a base of about 106 m. The core of the pyramid was made of stone. Lepsius mentions a casing of granite at the bottom and Mokattem stone higher up.

Next to the main pyramid the remians of a smaller satellite pyramid have been found. It is not clear if this is a cult pyramid or the burial place of one of Djedefre's wives. Lepsius mentions the satellite pyramid (Lepsius III) and mentions that it is rather large. He estimated the base to be 60 m.

Unfinished Pyramid (Lepsius XIII)
Ruler: Baka? Location: Zawiyet el-Aryan Date: ca 2447 – 2439 BC Dimensions: the core was 180 X 180 m and the total base may have been 200 X 200 m Materials used: Stone (limestone?)

Lepsius described this pyramid and it's also known as Lepsius XIII. Lepsius estimated the base to be 180 m and he mentions an enclosure wall surrounding the pyramid. Some egyptologists have dated this pyramid to the 3rd dynasty (Nebka or Neferkare), but others (Lehner for instance) date the structure to the 4th dynasty. This later date is based on for instance the use of lage blocks in the burial chamber, and a north south oriented plan for the perimeter wall. The pyramid is unfinished and of the superstructure only a platform with some remains of the structure is preserved. The pyramid may have belonged to Baka, a son of Djedefre, who may have ruled briefly after his father.

Khafre's Pyramid
Ancient name: Wer Khafre (Great is Khafre) Ruler: Khafre Location: Giza Date: ca 2437 – 2414 BC Dimensions: base 215.25 X 215.25 m; height 143.5 m Materials used:

Khafre was a younger son of Khufu. Khafre may have been the son of Queen Meritites. He came to the throne after the death of his older brothers Kawab (who never ruled) and Djedefre. His brother Djedefre had moved the royal necropolis to Abu Roash, and Khafre moved it back to Giza where he constructed a pyramid next to the one made for his father Khufu.

The pyramid complex includes a mortuary temple, a valley temple, a causeway and the Sphinx. Next to the pyramid there is one subsidiary pyramid.

Subsidiary Pyramid – GII a It is not clear who was buried there. Sealings have been found of a King's eldest son of his body etc and the Horus name of Khafre.

Menkaure's Pyramid
Ancient name: Netjer er Menkaure Ruler: Menkaure Location: Giza Date: ca 2414 – 2396 BC Dimensions: base 104.6 X 104.6 m; height 66.45 m Materials used:

Menkaure's pyramid at Giza was called The Netjer-er-Menkaure which means "Menkaure is Divine". This pyramid is the smallest of the three pyramids at Giza.

Three subsidiary pyramids ("Queen's pyramids") These pyramids are sometimes labeled G-IIIa (East subsidiary pyramid), G-IIIb (Middle subsidiary pyramid) and G-IIIc (West subsidiary pyramid). In the chapel associated with G-IIIa a statue of a Queen was found. It is possible that these pyramids were meant for the Queens of Khafre. It may be that Queen Khamerernebti II was buried in one of the pyramids.

Mastabat el-Fara'un
The Purified Pyramid. Verner has the name of the monument written with a determinant that looks like a truncated pyramid. Ruler: Shepseskaf Location: South Saqqara Date: ca 2396 - 2392 BC Dimensions: Base 99.6 x 74.4 m Materials used:  A casing of Turo limestone encased the monument.

Shepseskaf broke with tradition and moved the necropolis to South Saqqara where he erected a Mastaba now called Mastabat Fara’un. In antiquity the structure was named Khebu-Shepseskhaf which means Shepseskhaf is purified.

Miroslav Verner mentions that "the entrance to the substructure resembles that of a pyramid more than that of a mastaba". Jequier suggested that the unusual shape of the tomb was a rejection of the pyramid (as a symbol of Re). There may have been an attempt to stop the increasing influence of the priesthood of Re. Several other egyptologists disagreed. Ricke stated that the obelisk was the symbol of Re, not the pyramid. He suggested the tomb was conceived as a "Buto type" tomb. Muller thought it resembled an enormous stone version of a hut hung with matting.

Stadelman at some point questioned why an archaic form of niches was used. This together with the fact that the tomb is not close to Giza, but actually closer to one of Snefru's pyramids. It has been suggested that Shepseskaf was the son of a secondary wife of Menkaure and tried to strengthen his claim on the throne by associating himself with the founder of the 4th dynasty. Another line of thought is that Shepseskaf finished the construction of Menkaure and this was a major drain on resources. A large infrastructure was necessary at Giza to complete Menkaure's pyramid and temple. The tomb of Shepseskaf was started at the Saqqara site, but could not use the full resources of the egyptian state because of the Giza building project that needed to be finished first. The similarities of the substructure of the Mastabat Fara'un to those of a pyramid could suggest that the tomb was meant to become a pyramid.

Link: Mastabat el-Fara'un page on Saqqara Online. According to this site the Mastabat el-Fara'un is a two step pyramid or even just a very large mastaba. The monument may have been made to resemble a Buto shrine.

Comments and Questions
Talk: Timeline for development of pyramids and pyramid like structures. Or click on discussion tab at the top of the page.