Rastrum
Vision & Mission
Mission, problem statement, and why Oaxaca is the right place to start.
# Mission Statement
"Rastrum exists to make every living thing identifiable by anyone, anywhere — even without cell signal, even without formal training, even in the languages that field guides forgot."
Rastrum is a bridge between the naturalist's eye and the conservationist's database, built in the open so the data it generates belongs to the commons.
# The Problem
Tool fragmentation
PlantNet handles plants, Merlin handles birds, iNaturalist handles community curation — but no single platform unifies photo, audio, video, and ecological evidence into one workflow. Field workers juggle 3-4 apps per outing.
Offline gap
INEGI ENDUTIH 2024 reports only 62.5% internet connectivity in Oaxaca — the most biodiverse state in Mexico. Cloud-dependent tools leave 37.5% of users behind in exactly the places that matter most.
Language barriers
Most identification tools default to English or European languages. Mexico has 68 recognized linguistic groups — Zapoteco, Mixteco, Nahuatl, Maya, Tsotsil-Tseltal — with no tool that speaks their languages.
Training data bias
Most AI models are trained on North American and European specimens. Megadiverse Neotropical regions are critically underrepresented, leading to poor accuracy where it matters most.
No ecological evidence support
iNaturalist accepts track photos as images, but has no structured fields for substrate, stride length, or morphometrics. The most common evidence of large mammals — their tracks and scat — is treated as a second-class observation.
# Our Approach
Multi-modal ID — One UI for photo, audio, video, and ecological evidence (tracks, scat, burrows, nests)
AI ensemble — PlantNet + BirdNET + Claude Vision cascade for best-in-class accuracy across taxa
Offline-first — Full functionality via cached ONNX models and IndexedDB, sync when signal returns
Expert curation — Community validation with taxonomic badges, dispute resolution, and research-grade consensus
Conservation pipeline — Native Darwin Core export to GBIF, CONABIO SNIB, CONANP, and INAH
Indigenous data sovereignty — CARE principles, FPIC process, and community veto power over data sharing
# Why Oaxaca First
Oaxaca is the ideal proving ground — a megadiverse state where every challenge Rastrum solves is concentrated in one place.
Mega-diversity
12,500+ plant species, 736 bird species — 4th most biodiverse state globally
Indigenous languages
16 linguistic families, 1M+ Zapotec and Mixtec speakers
Community forestry
Ixtlán de Juárez model — FSC-certified forests with 75 camera traps and dedicated monitors
Anchor sites
Monte Albán, Yagul, Sierra de Juárez, Tehuacán-Cuicatlán biosphere
FAHHO partnership
Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca — highest strategic fit for launch partner
Research infrastructure
UNAM FES Iztacala, IPN CIIDIR Oaxaca, INECOL nearby