>For a community "gardener" looking to establish a knowledge garden using Obsidian for organization and Seed Protocol with Arweave for permanent archival, here's a structured approach to implementation.
---
- Read more about PGKG in the context of local journalism here: [[Bridging Local Communities and Journalism Through Decentralized Knowledge Gardens]]
- Read more about PGKG here: [[The Public Goods Knowledge Gardens]]
- And explore why Hyperlocal Information Networks are so important here [[1.0 Introduction to Drowning By Design]]
---
## Initial Setup and Planning
1. **Define Knowledge Scope and Boundaries**
- Identify the specific community whose knowledge you aim to preserve (neighborhood, interest group, local government)
- Establish clear content parameters (types of information, time periods, topics)
- Create a taxonomy of key topics and relationships relevant to your community
2. **Technical Infrastructure Assembly**
- Install Obsidian as your primary knowledge organization tool
- Set up a dedicated vault structure for your knowledge garden
- Establish connection to Arweave through Seed Protocol (requires wallet setup)
- Configure necessary plugins for Obsidian that support networked thought
3. **Governance Structure Formation**
- Develop clear contribution guidelines and editorial standards
- Establish decision-making processes for content inclusion and organization
- Create roles for different types of contributors (editors, fact-checkers, technical maintainers)
- Document these governance procedures for transparency
## Content Collection and Processing
1. **Source Material Identification**
- Inventory existing community content (local podcasts, meeting recordings, newsletters)
- Identify key community voices who should be interviewed or documented
- Create a prioritization framework for processing based on value and urgency
5. **Knowledge Processing Workflow**
- Transform raw content through transcription and summarization
- Implement consistent metadata tagging across all content
- Establish clear linking practices to create connections between knowledge nodes
- Set up templates in Obsidian for consistent formatting of different content types
6. **AI-Assisted Enrichment**
- Use AI tools to generate initial transcripts from audio/video content
- Implement entity extraction to identify people, places, and concepts
- Create automated summarization workflows for lengthy content
- Develop fact-checking procedures for AI-generated content
## Decentralized Archival Process
1. **Obsidian-to-Arweave Pipeline**
- Establish a consistent export process from Obsidian to prepare for archival
- Configure Seed Protocol integration for permanent storage on Arweave
- Create verification procedures to ensure successful archival
- Implement versioning to track changes over time
8. **Metadata and Indexing**
- Develop comprehensive metadata standards to ensure searchability
- Create indexing structures that preserve relationships between content
- Implement tagging systems that connect to broader knowledge graphs
- Document all technical processes for future gardeners
## Community Engagement and Growth
1. **Onboarding Contributors**
- Create educational materials about the knowledge garden concept
- Develop simple contribution pathways for community members
- Build training modules for different roles in the garden maintenance
- Establish recognition systems for valuable contributions
10. **Sustainability Planning**
- Implement donation pathways to support ongoing archival costs
- Create transparent accounting for all garden-related expenses
- Develop succession planning for key garden maintenance roles
- Establish partnerships with aligned institutions for long-term support
## Technical Considerations for Implementation
The specific technical integration between Obsidian and Seed Protocol/Arweave would require:
- **Obsidian Export Formats**: Determining whether to use Markdown, HTML, or JSON for optimal preservation
- **Metadata Preservation**: Ensuring that the rich linking structure from Obsidian translates to the archived version
- **Storage Funding**: Managing the one-time Arweave storage payments through Seed Protocol
- **Access Controls**: Determining public vs. permissioned aspects of the knowledge garden
- **Verification Systems**: Creating processes to verify successful archival of content
By following these steps, a community gardener can transform ephemeral local knowledge into a structured, permanent, and accessible resource that preserves community wisdom while making it available for future generations.