How can I serve you?

What products do I offer?

I have written a few Cybertracker sequences for Android devices with GPS and camera. The apps currently available:

• A reserve management application with an emphasis on collecting spoor tracking data. Used for collecting the Farming with Predator project spoor tracking data. The latest version can be used to collect spoor pictures that can be used in Footprint Identification Technology (FIT) analysis.
• A full Farm management system based on the Nambian Agricultural Union (NLU) data requirements.
• A smaller and simpler Predator Management system that can be used among other things, to identify and record the species of predator that has killed a specific livestock animal, taking the farmer through the process step by step. Especially for farmers who want photographic proof of livestock losses to predators and to keep book of how many and where livestock have been killed.

I have also helped clients to develop tailored CyberTracker apps for their specific needs. Please contact me for training or support in using these tools.

Training

I serve by sharing my knowledge of nature and predation management:

• Wilderness Camps with training in various veld craft skills and following Jesus, together with one or more churches and partner organizations. Specifically, I wish to focus and city kids and street kids who would otherwise never get this opportunity.
• Farming with Nature workshops for farmer with the Cape Leopard Trust and other partners. Much of the workshop is based on my PhD work in Namibia and includes practical scenarios on identifying the predator responsible for killing livestock in a forensic investigation of the the kill site and carcass.
• Similar training on predator management and human-wildlife conflict is available to farmer's associations and conservancies. Depending on the time available this could include training to land managers on the ecological foundations of sustainable management and holistic conservation or regenerative farming, including things like grazing management, sustainable stocking rates and the role of various predators in the eco-system.
• I am also available to provide training in the use of existing Open Source software like Linux or specific software tools, like our CyberTracker applications.
• I have given training in tracking, training Livestock Guarding Dogs and using CyberTracker to "Eco-Rangers", who are basically livestock herders who record their own movements on the farm, as well as that of the livestock and any predator tracks they see. Similar training is available for farm labourers involved in protecting livestock from predators.

Consulting

As a consultant, I can provide solutions for specific software or ecological management requirements of clients. This could include:

• Solving a specific software or hardware design problem (using designs found in nature).
• I can help clients with old computers to redeploy them using Linux, thus reducing computer waste through reuse.
• I write software for clients who want software to solve specific issues in or improve the efficiency of their business processes on a contract basis. However, software development is not only or even primarily about writing code, but also about analysing the client requirements and finding how a computer can help to streamline and simplify their processes to be cheaper, more efficient and ultimately more profitable. As a computer scientist, knowing what a computer can do better than people and what not, is one of the most useful skills to help address these issues. This is true for both farming and other businesses. Not all IT companies or computer programmers even realize the need for this skill. For more on the methodology used for software development, follow this link...
• Farmers or conservancies wanting advice on specific predator problems not answered by our software tools, or on the details of implementing a certain method, can contact me for a consultation.
• Together with the Cape Leopard Trust and/or CapeNature, I am also available to visit farmers who had livestock losses to help identify the predator responsible and devise a plan to prevent further livestock losses. For this purpose, I currently have a Malinois dog in training, specifically to track and find the carcasses of killed livestock animals, so that camera traps can be set and the guilty party identified. This is an important first step to ensure that the appropriate mitigation method(s) will be implemented.
• I also do consulting work as subcontractor for other organizations like the Cape Leopard Trust or businesses or as joint ventures.

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