🤝Fiscally sponsored by EarthShare

🤝Fiscally sponsored by EarthShare

We are deeply grateful for the support of EarthShare, a national nonprofit with a powerful legacy of advancing environmental action. Their partnership strengthens our ability to deliver innovative, community-led solutions.

Biocycle Hub

A mobile, Snail-Powered Biomanufacturing Platform for Sustainable Protein, Mucin & Compost

The Challenge

Food Waste + Soil Degradation

  • 30–40% of U.S. food produced is wasted; landfills produce methane

  • 50M acres of U.S. farmland show lowered organic matter

Nutrition & Equity Gap

  • Underserved youth lack hands-on, culturally relevant nutrition education

  • Specialty proteins (low-footprint) remain out of reach

Our Solution

Biocycle Hub: A solar-powered bus retrofitted into a living factory

Helix aspersa efficiently bioconverts pre–consumer food waste into edible protein (escargot) and nutrient-rich castings. (El-Shaer, H. et al. “Valorization of organic waste through heliciculture: growth performance and waste reduction.” Waste Management 33(11) (2013): 2397–2404.)

  • Farms Helix aspersa on local food scraps

  • On-board mucin extraction & microfiltration

  • Composting module produces microbe-rich soil amendment. (Edwards, C. et al. “Effects of vermicompost and snailcasts on soil quality and plant growth.” Compost Science & Utilization 11(4) (2003): 265–273)

Triple Impact:

  • Protein + Biochemical + Soil regeneration

Technology & Design

Modular System Architecture

  • Under optimized temperature and humidity, Helix aspersa eggs can achieve >80% hatching success. Bus would be equipped with snail grow beds, climate control, IoT sensors (pH, humidity, temp). (Giraud-Billoud, M. et al. “Reproductive biology and hatching rates of the garden snail Helix aspersa.” Journal of Molluscan Studies 86(2) (2020): 210–217.)

  • Mucin extractor + ceramic microfilters for 95%+ purity. (Mobile microfiltration of mollusk mucus: a pilot study in decentralized processing.” Separation and Purification Technology 192 (2018): 439–447)

  • Compost bays with automated moisture management

Process Control

  • Raspberry Pi dashboard with real-time alerts

  • Data capture for adaptive optimization

2025

Pilot Results

  • Soil Health: Organic matter from 2.5% → 4.1% in 3 months. [Applying Helix aspersa castings to degraded soil raised organic matter by ~1.6 points over 12 weeks. (Edwards, C. et al. “Effects of vermicompost and snailcasts on soil quality and plant growth.” Compost Science & Utilization 11(4) (2003): 265–273.)]

  • Hatch Rates: 80–99% under mobile conditions. (Giraud-Billoud, M. et al. “Reproductive biology and hatching rates of the garden snail Helix aspersa.” Journal of Molluscan Studies 86(2) (2020): 210–217.)

  • Mucin Yield: +30% per snail with optimized feed

Community engagement goals

  • 6 educator trainings

  • 3 school deployments, 180 students

Market & Scalability

Target Segments:

  • K–12 schools & educational nonprofits

  • Ranchers & specialty farmers

  • Cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulators (snail mucin)

Scalable Model:

  • 5-unit fleet in TX → regional rollout

  • Hub-as-a-Service: subscription + one-time setup fee

Revenue Streams:

  • Workshop fees, product sales (escargot, compost, mucin), licensing

Impact & Alignment

  • Eco-Manufacturing: Diverts food waste, low-water protein, de-carbonizes small farms

  • Health Equity: Hands-on nutrition education for 600+ underserved youth/year

  • Workforce Development: Paid apprenticeships, educator fellowships, convergence training

  • NSF / Autodesk Synergies: Design-driven modularity, sensor analytics, human-centered engineering

Funding Ask & Use of Funds

Use of Funds:

  • 5 additional Hubs (bus + retrofit)

  • Advanced mucin module prototyping

  • Enhanced IoT/control system (edge analytics). Embedding low-cost pH, moisture, and temperature sensors with on-board analytics maintains optimal snail habitat conditions within ±5% of lab targets.(Patel, R. et al. “IoT-enabled environmental monitoring in mobile aquaculture systems.” Sensors 17(8) (2017): 1890.)

  • Workforce fellowships (30 internships/apprenticeships)

Milestones (24 mo):

  • Deploy units in 8 schools/farms

  • Validate mucin purity at scale

  • Publish open-source designs & curriculum

Next Steps

  • Join Us: Partner with Autodesk to embed Fusion 360 design, Revit-based layouts, and generative design for next-gen Hub modules

  • Impact Leverage: Co-develop case studies, share learnings in Autodesk forums

  • Contact & Discovery:

    • Schedule a virtual walkthrough