# Field Discovery Method > [!quote] The differentiator, stated as a method > "The team is physically in the plantations, which almost no technology company is willing to be." The thesis was built on the ground, not at a desk. ## The corpus Nine recorded field conversations, **June–July 2025**, indexed and routed into three folders (Pitch Deck, Product Concept, Discoveries): | Date | Session | Who | What it produced | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 23 Jun | Brand and strategy | Staniz + designer | Rimau identity (tiger; forest green and orange), ICP definition, the silver-wave framing | | 26 Jun | Partnership and funding | Staniz + Fay (Agroputra) | Indonesian blockers, waste-to-PAO, co-build proposal | | 01 Jul | Value chain deep dive | Staniz + Fay, Bali | Full FFB→CPO→refinery teach-in, waste mapping, co-build structure | | 14 Jul | Plantation and milling guide | Aquainus + Staniz + Marc | Seeds, nursery, density, OER economics, MSPO size definitions, Lintramax pricing | | 15 Jul | Estate tour | Aquainus + team, field walk | Worker demographics and welfare, undocumented labour, herbicide ops, nursery pests | | 15 Jul | Weekly: wearables and ethics | Team | Worker safety framing, data-capture ethics, security and sabotage | | 16 Jul | Weekly: AI grading and OER | Team + mill staff | Grading process, OER loss points, automation debate — **compliance dashboard idea validated** | | 17 Jul | MSPO certification consultation | Team + estate sustainability staff | Three-month prep, document sorting as the bottleneck, Wild Asia fees, transparency paradox, MVP scope | | 17 Jul | Economics and tech, dinner | Team + Aquainus | Market sizing, Lintramax competitive analysis, LoRa traceability, exit strategy | The 17 July MSPO consultation is the session that set the direction. ## Why the method is the moat Every claim in the [[Rimau/The Legibility Thesis|positioning]] is traceable to a dated conversation, including the objections. That produces two assets a desk-researched competitor does not have: a **documented view of the ground-level user flow problem**, and credibility with the next operator in the room. ## What discovery invalidated > [!failure] Corrected assumptions — the most valuable output > 1. Compliance is **not** the manager's whole day. It spikes seasonally (three-month prep). The product must fit an episodic, deadline-driven workflow. > 2. Seed **brand** matters less than assumed; licensed **generation** matters more, and claimed yields are theoretical. > 3. **AI grading alone can double cost** rather than cut it if humans must still act. Identification first, actuation later. > 4. Burning cleared land is not merely discouraged, it is **criminal** — yet RSPO-certified estates reportedly still do it. Certification and reality diverge. > 5. The mapping and replanting software market is real but **episodic** (once per 25 years), not recurring SaaS. ## Open questions carried forward 1. Confirm true estate counts and MSPO coverage from **MPOB and MSPO official data**. 2. Understand **refinery operations** (acknowledged blind spot) before deciding whether traceability is enforced top-down. 3. Quantify **grading loss and rejection rates** with real mill data. 4. Define the **LoRa user flow**: who taps what, when, and what breaks in the rain. 5. Decide the **ethical and legal framework** for worker data capture before any wearable pilot. ## Related - [[Rimau MOC]] - [[Rimau/Palm Oil Value Chain Primer]] - [[Rimau/Plantation and Mill Economics]] - [[Rimau/Workforce and the Social Layer]] - [[Rimau/The Legibility Thesis]]