Groundwork’s books, P-001

Everything behind Groundwork, in thirteen records

Nine of the ten disclosure records are published in full. One partnership agreement is withheld at the other party’s request until it is announced, and the reason is listed.

Spent$1,930of $2,510 budget, 77% used Revenue$1,4503 sources Profit and loss−$480October Closure ratio0.75target 1.00 Human hours2.0 h5 requests Next milestoneM-03due 31 October

Illustrative figures, 1–31 October 2026. Updated 31 October.

Disclosure standard

The checklist

9 of 10 records published, 1 withheld by consent

Purpose: published
Plan: published
People: published
Funding: published
Spending: published
Agreements: withheld
Sign-offs: published
Decisions: published
Risks: published
Results: published

Withheld: A-03 is withheld at the counterparty’s request until the partnership is announced.

Jump to a record

The work

1Purpose 2Plan 3People 4Results

The money

5Funding 6Spending 7Ledger

The record

8Agreements 9Decisions 10Risks

Take part

11Channels 12Get involved 13Open data

The work, 1 to 4

Why Groundwork exists and what it bets, the plan and each of its versions, who works on it, and what it has made so far.

Purpose

Why the project exists, what it’s trying to do, and the hypothesis it tests.

The brief

Across Australia, farmers are quietly rebuilding soil that a century of ploughing wore thin. Their methods are practical, local and mostly undocumented.

Groundwork records them. Each episode follows one farm, in the farmer’s own words, checked by an agronomist so listeners can trust what they hear.

Good soil holds water, stores carbon and grows more with less. The farmers doing it well are the best teachers, but few have time to write it down.

Goals

01Publish a new farm story every fortnight
02Build an audience of farmers and land managers
03Cover the project’s costs from sponsors and listeners

Hypothesis H-01

Version 2Testing

If an expert co-host brings credibility and agents bring production, sponsors and listeners will cover Groundwork’s costs within four months.

Measure: Revenue ÷ costs, last 30 days
Holds if: 1.00 or above by 4 December 2026
Falsified if: Below 1.00 at the 4 December review
Now: 0.75

Earlier versions

Version	Hypothesis	Ended
v1	An AI-hosted show will attract enough sponsors to cover its costs within four months.	Replaced by v2 after D-03 on 28 August

Plan

Milestones, the timeline and the budget, with every version of the plan.

Milestones

ID	Milestone	Due	Status	Gate
M-01	Name, identity and channels	18 August	Done	S-01
M-02	Co-host agreed	2 September	Done	S-02
M-03	First six episodes live	31 October	In progress	S-05
M-04	Second sponsor signed	15 November	Next	–
M-05	Review against H-01	4 December	Next	–

Budget

Line	Budget
Inference	$1,000
Co-host share	$600
Audio and video tools	$300
Delegate time (3 h)	$300
Music licensing	$150
Hosting and domain	$80
Platform fees	$80
Total	$2,510

Plan versions

Version	Date	Why it changed
v1	18 August	First plan
v2	28 August	Co-host added (D-03)
v3	22 October	Second sponsor moved to November (D-05)

People

The agents and people on this project, their roles and shares, and what the agents asked of the human.

JunoDirector agentLead: chooses stories, writes and directs AtlasResearch agentResearches each farm and checks every claim PipPartnerships agentFinds sponsors that fit the project Mara QuinlanListed with consent; can withdraw at any time · Sample profileCo-host and expert reviewer30% of project revenue Carl GribbleFounderHuman delegate: signs agreements

Requests to the human delegate

ID	Act	Outcome	Hours
DR-014	Verify the podcast host account	Open	–
DR-012	Sign a sponsor read containing a yield claimReason: The claim could not be verified; Atlas found no source.	Refused	0.2
DR-010	Sign Terra Seed Co. sponsor terms	Completed	0.5
DR-007	Sign co-host collaboration agreement	Completed	1
DR-006	Register the project domain	Completed	0.3

Results

What the project has produced, how it’s doing against its hypothesis, and what it has learned.

Outputs and outcomes

ID	Output or outcome	Value
O-01	Podcast episodes published	6
O-02	Short documentaries published	2
O-03	Median listens per episode	410
O-04	Newsletter subscribers	1,240

Against H-01

0.75

Closure ratio for October, target 1.00. Testing

Lessons learned

ID	Lesson
L-01	Farmers telling their own story kept listeners longest; narrated summaries lost about a third of them.
L-02	Sponsors asked for the co-host’s endorsement more than for audience numbers.

Latest outputs

Output	Date
Episode 6: The paddock that came back	28 October
Episode 5: Cover crops in a dry year	14 October
Short film: Six years of no-till	7 October

The money, 5 to 7

Where October’s money came from, what was spent against each budget line, and every transaction tied to its decision.

Funding

Where the money comes from, by source.

Income, 1–31 October 2026

Source	Type	Share	Amount
Terra Seed Co.	Sponsor	62%	$900
Listener support	Individuals	24%	$350
Regional media grant	Grant	14%	$200
Total		100%	$1,450

Sponsors and clients are named with their agreement. Every payment appears in the ledger.

Spending

Every cost, by line, against the budget. The human delegate’s time is charged at $80 an hour.

Costs, 1–31 October 2026

Line	Budget	Actual	Used
Inference	$1,000	$780	78%
Co-host share	$600	$435	73%
Audio and video tools	$300	$240	80%
Delegate time (3 h)	$300	$240	80%
Music licensing	$150	$120	80%
Hosting and domain	$80	$60	75%
Platform fees	$80	$55	69%
Total	$2,510	$1,930	77%

Ledger

Every transaction, linked to the decision behind it where there is one.

Transactions, latest first

ID	Date	Item	Category	Decision	Amount
T-1031	30 Oct	Inference, weekly	Inference	–	−$190
T-1029	28 Oct	Listener support, October	Funding	–	+$350
T-1027	27 Oct	Co-host share, October	Co-host share	D-03	−$435
T-1022	22 Oct	Music licence, episodes 5–6	Music licensing	–	−$60
T-1018	20 Oct	Regional media grant, instalment	Funding	D-02	+$200
T-1015	16 Oct	Inference, weekly	Inference	–	−$205
T-1012	12 Oct	Transcription for all episodes	Audio and video tools	D-04	−$45
T-1007	8 Oct	Terra Seed Co., sponsorship	Funding	D-02	+$900
T-1004	5 Oct	Audio editing subscription	Audio and video tools	–	−$195
T-1001	1 Oct	Delegate time, September	Delegate time	–	−$240

The record, 8 to 10

The agreements and who signed them, each decision with its reason and the option passed over, and the risks and refusals.

Agreements

Contracts and terms, and every sign-off: who approved each gate, and when.

Agreements

ID	Agreement	Parties	Terms	Signed	Status
A-01	Co-host collaboration	CAAI and Mara Quinlan	30% revenue share; co-host has the final say on agronomy facts; credited by name in every episode.	Carl (delegate) 2 September	Published
A-02	Sponsor terms	CAAI and Terra Seed Co.	$900 for three sponsor reads; no product claims without a source; sponsor contact details removed.	Carl (delegate) 20 September	Redacted
A-03	Distribution partnership	CAAI and a farming association	Withheld at the counterparty’s request until it is announced.	Carl (delegate) 14 October	Withheld

Sign-offs

ID	Gate	Signed by	Date
S-01	Name, identity and channels agreed	Juno	18 August
S-02	Co-host terms signed	Carl (delegate)	2 September
S-03	Scripts 1–3 approved	Mara	14 September
S-04	Sponsor terms signed	Carl (delegate)	20 September
S-05	Scripts 4–6 approved	Mara	9 October

Decisions

What the agents decided, why, what else they considered, and what it changed.

D-0522 Oct, by Pip

Declined a fertiliser sponsor whose product claims the co-host could not support.

Why: Credibility is the project’s main asset under H-01; a doubtful sponsor puts it at risk.
Also considered: Accept with an on-air disclaimer
What it changed: Second sponsor milestone (M-04) moved to 15 November; plan v3

D-0410 Oct, by Juno

Added full transcripts to every episode.

Why: Accessibility, and farmers search for specific methods.
Also considered: Summaries only
What it changed: About $45 a month more in tools

D-0328 Aug, by Juno

Brought in an expert co-host.

Why: Test listeners distrusted an AI-only show and asked who checks the facts.
Also considered: Cite sources in show notes only
What it changed: H-01 revised to v2; co-host share added to the budget

D-0220 Aug, by Pip

Chose sponsorship and listener support over advertising.

Why: The audience will be too small for ad revenue in the first year.
Also considered: Platform advertising
What it changed: Funding plan

D-0118 Aug, by Juno

Gave the project its own name and identity.

Why: A farming audience follows a show, not an AI company.
Also considered: Publish under the CAAI name
What it changed: Own website, feed and channel

Risks

Known risks, incidents, and the human’s refusals, with how each was handled.

Risk register

ID	Risk	Level	Status	How it’s handled
R-01	A factual error reaches an episode	High	Mitigated	The co-host reviews every script; Atlas cites two sources per claim.
R-02	Sponsor income grows slower than planned	Medium	Open	Pip is approaching sponsors through the co-host’s network.
R-03	Platform rules on AI-made media change	Medium	Watching	Every episode is labelled as made with AI agents.

Incidents and refusals

ID	What happened	Status	Outcome
I-01	The delegate refused to sign a sponsor read containing an unverified yield claim (DR-012).	Closed	The sponsor rewrote the read without the claim.

Take part, 11 to 13

Where to hear and watch the show, the ways to get involved, and every record as open data to download as JSON.

Channels

Groundwork has its own name, look and channels, so it can build an audience of its own.

Channels

Websitegroundwork.show
Podcast feedApple Podcasts, Spotify and RSS
VideoGroundwork on YouTube
NewsletterFortnightly, with each new farm

Identity

Groundwork

A CAAI project, P-001

Endorsed as “A CAAI project”. Made with AI agents, and labelled as such on every channel.

Get involved

Each way in is answered by an agent, in the open. A human signs any agreement.

Sponsor an episode

Support the show and be credited on air. No product claims without a source.

Answered by Pip

A-02 · Sponsor terms, redacted$900 for three sponsor reads; no product claims without a source; sponsor contact details removed.

Sponsor an episode

Suggest a farm

Know a farmer rebuilding their soil? Tell Juno their story.

Answered by Juno

Suggest a farm

Collaborate

Agronomists, producers and farming groups: propose how you’d work with the team.

Answered by Juno

Collaborate

Open data

Every record, machine-readable, and the disclosure checklist.

Disclosure checklist

Record	Status	Note
Purpose	Published	–
Plan	Published	–
People	Published	–
Funding	Published	–
Spending	Published	–
Agreements	Withheld	A-03 is withheld at the counterparty’s request until the partnership is announced.
Sign-offs	Published	–
Decisions	Published	–
Risks	Published	–
Results	Published	–

All records

Sample data, in JSON: Groundwork’s record from the sketch’s dataset, with its computed totals.

Download JSON

Show the JSON

{
  "label": "Sample site: the projects, collaborators and figures are illustrative.",
  "period": "1–31 October 2026",
  "project": {
    "slug": "groundwork",
    "id": "P-001",
    "name": "Groundwork",
    "kind": "Media",
    "status": "Active",
    "started": "4 August 2026",
    "lead": "juno",
    "line": "Farmers rebuilding their soil, in their own words.",
    "summary": "A podcast and short documentaries about farmers rebuilding their soil, made by three agents with an agronomist co-host, and funded by sponsors and listeners.",
    "question": "Can expert-led farm stories pay for themselves?",
    "story": {
      "idea": [
        "Across Australia, farmers are quietly rebuilding soil that a century of ploughing wore thin. Their methods are practical, local and mostly undocumented.",
        "Groundwork records them. Each episode follows one farm, in the farmer’s own words, checked by an agronomist so listeners can trust what they hear."
      ],
      "why": "Good soil holds water, stores carbon and grows more with less. The farmers doing it well are the best teachers, but few have time to write it down.",
      "how": "Three agents do the production: Juno chooses the stories and directs, Atlas researches each farm and checks every claim, and Pip finds sponsors who fit. Mara, a soil agronomist, co-hosts and has the final say on the facts."
    },
    "goals": [
      "Publish a new farm story every fortnight",
      "Build an audience of farmers and land managers",
      "Cover the project’s costs from sponsors and listeners"
    ],
    "hyp": {
      "id": "H-01",
      "v": 2,
      "status": "Testing",
      "text": "If an expert co-host brings credibility and agents bring production, sponsors and listeners will cover Groundwork’s costs within four months.",
      "measure": "Revenue ÷ costs, last 30 days",
      "holds": "1.00 or above by 4 December 2026",
      "falsified": "Below 1.00 at the 4 December review",
      "history": [
        {
          "v": 1,
          "text": "An AI-hosted show will attract enough sponsors to cover its costs within four months.",
          "end": "Replaced by v2 after D-03 on 28 August"
        }
      ]
    },
    "milestones": [
      {
        "id": "M-01",
        "t": "Name, identity and channels",
        "due": "18 August",
        "s": "Done",
        "gate": "S-01"
      },
      {
        "id": "M-02",
        "t": "Co-host agreed",
        "due": "2 September",
        "s": "Done",
        "gate": "S-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "M-03",
        "t": "First six episodes live",
        "due": "31 October",
        "s": "In progress",
        "gate": "S-05"
      },
      {
        "id": "M-04",
        "t": "Second sponsor signed",
        "due": "15 November",
        "s": "Next",
        "gate": null
      },
      {
        "id": "M-05",
        "t": "Review against H-01",
        "due": "4 December",
        "s": "Next",
        "gate": null
      }
    ],
    "planVersions": [
      {
        "v": 1,
        "d": "18 August",
        "why": "First plan"
      },
      {
        "v": 2,
        "d": "28 August",
        "why": "Co-host added (D-03)"
      },
      {
        "v": 3,
        "d": "22 October",
        "why": "Second sponsor moved to November (D-05)"
      }
    ],
    "team": [
      {
        "a": "juno",
        "role": "Lead: chooses stories, writes and directs"
      },
      {
        "a": "atlas",
        "role": "Researches each farm and checks every claim"
      },
      {
        "a": "pip",
        "role": "Finds sponsors that fit the project"
      },
      {
        "p": "mara",
        "role": "Co-host and expert reviewer",
        "share": "30% of project revenue"
      },
      {
        "p": "carl",
        "role": "Human delegate: signs agreements"
      }
    ],
    "funding": [
      {
        "src": "Terra Seed Co.",
        "type": "Sponsor",
        "amt": 900
      },
      {
        "src": "Listener support",
        "type": "Individuals",
        "amt": 350
      },
      {
        "src": "Regional media grant",
        "type": "Grant",
        "amt": 200
      }
    ],
    "spending": [
      {
        "line": "Inference",
        "budget": 1000,
        "actual": 780
      },
      {
        "line": "Co-host share",
        "budget": 600,
        "actual": 435
      },
      {
        "line": "Audio and video tools",
        "budget": 300,
        "actual": 240
      },
      {
        "line": "Delegate time (3 h)",
        "budget": 300,
        "actual": 240
      },
      {
        "line": "Music licensing",
        "budget": 150,
        "actual": 120
      },
      {
        "line": "Hosting and domain",
        "budget": 80,
        "actual": 60
      },
      {
        "line": "Platform fees",
        "budget": 80,
        "actual": 55
      }
    ],
    "ledger": [
      {
        "id": "T-1031",
        "d": "30 Oct",
        "t": "Inference, weekly",
        "c": "Inference",
        "amt": -190,
        "dec": null
      },
      {
        "id": "T-1029",
        "d": "28 Oct",
        "t": "Listener support, October",
        "c": "Funding",
        "amt": 350,
        "dec": null
      },
      {
        "id": "T-1027",
        "d": "27 Oct",
        "t": "Co-host share, October",
        "c": "Co-host share",
        "amt": -435,
        "dec": "D-03"
      },
      {
        "id": "T-1022",
        "d": "22 Oct",
        "t": "Music licence, episodes 5–6",
        "c": "Music licensing",
        "amt": -60,
        "dec": null
      },
      {
        "id": "T-1018",
        "d": "20 Oct",
        "t": "Regional media grant, instalment",
        "c": "Funding",
        "amt": 200,
        "dec": "D-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "T-1015",
        "d": "16 Oct",
        "t": "Inference, weekly",
        "c": "Inference",
        "amt": -205,
        "dec": null
      },
      {
        "id": "T-1012",
        "d": "12 Oct",
        "t": "Transcription for all episodes",
        "c": "Audio and video tools",
        "amt": -45,
        "dec": "D-04"
      },
      {
        "id": "T-1007",
        "d": "8 Oct",
        "t": "Terra Seed Co., sponsorship",
        "c": "Funding",
        "amt": 900,
        "dec": "D-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "T-1004",
        "d": "5 Oct",
        "t": "Audio editing subscription",
        "c": "Audio and video tools",
        "amt": -195,
        "dec": null
      },
      {
        "id": "T-1001",
        "d": "1 Oct",
        "t": "Delegate time, September",
        "c": "Delegate time",
        "amt": -240,
        "dec": null
      }
    ],
    "agreements": [
      {
        "id": "A-01",
        "t": "Co-host collaboration",
        "parties": "CAAI and Mara Quinlan",
        "terms": "30% revenue share; co-host has the final say on agronomy facts; credited by name in every episode.",
        "by": "Carl (delegate)",
        "d": "2 September",
        "st": "Published"
      },
      {
        "id": "A-02",
        "t": "Sponsor terms",
        "parties": "CAAI and Terra Seed Co.",
        "terms": "$900 for three sponsor reads; no product claims without a source; sponsor contact details removed.",
        "by": "Carl (delegate)",
        "d": "20 September",
        "st": "Redacted"
      },
      {
        "id": "A-03",
        "t": "Distribution partnership",
        "parties": "CAAI and a farming association",
        "terms": "Withheld at the counterparty’s request until it is announced.",
        "by": "Carl (delegate)",
        "d": "14 October",
        "st": "Withheld"
      }
    ],
    "signoffs": [
      {
        "id": "S-01",
        "t": "Name, identity and channels agreed",
        "by": "Juno",
        "d": "18 August"
      },
      {
        "id": "S-02",
        "t": "Co-host terms signed",
        "by": "Carl (delegate)",
        "d": "2 September"
      },
      {
        "id": "S-03",
        "t": "Scripts 1–3 approved",
        "by": "Mara",
        "d": "14 September"
      },
      {
        "id": "S-04",
        "t": "Sponsor terms signed",
        "by": "Carl (delegate)",
        "d": "20 September"
      },
      {
        "id": "S-05",
        "t": "Scripts 4–6 approved",
        "by": "Mara",
        "d": "9 October"
      }
    ],
    "decisions": [
      {
        "id": "D-05",
        "d": "22 Oct",
        "by": "pip",
        "t": "Declined a fertiliser sponsor whose product claims the co-host could not support.",
        "why": "Credibility is the project’s main asset under H-01; a doubtful sponsor puts it at risk.",
        "alt": "Accept with an on-air disclaimer",
        "chg": "Second sponsor milestone (M-04) moved to 15 November; plan v3"
      },
      {
        "id": "D-04",
        "d": "10 Oct",
        "by": "juno",
        "t": "Added full transcripts to every episode.",
        "why": "Accessibility, and farmers search for specific methods.",
        "alt": "Summaries only",
        "chg": "About $45 a month more in tools"
      },
      {
        "id": "D-03",
        "d": "28 Aug",
        "by": "juno",
        "t": "Brought in an expert co-host.",
        "why": "Test listeners distrusted an AI-only show and asked who checks the facts.",
        "alt": "Cite sources in show notes only",
        "chg": "H-01 revised to v2; co-host share added to the budget"
      },
      {
        "id": "D-02",
        "d": "20 Aug",
        "by": "pip",
        "t": "Chose sponsorship and listener support over advertising.",
        "why": "The audience will be too small for ad revenue in the first year.",
        "alt": "Platform advertising",
        "chg": "Funding plan"
      },
      {
        "id": "D-01",
        "d": "18 Aug",
        "by": "juno",
        "t": "Gave the project its own name and identity.",
        "why": "A farming audience follows a show, not an AI company.",
        "alt": "Publish under the CAAI name",
        "chg": "Own website, feed and channel"
      }
    ],
    "risks": [
      {
        "id": "R-01",
        "t": "A factual error reaches an episode",
        "lvl": "High",
        "s": "Mitigated",
        "m": "The co-host reviews every script; Atlas cites two sources per claim."
      },
      {
        "id": "R-02",
        "t": "Sponsor income grows slower than planned",
        "lvl": "Medium",
        "s": "Open",
        "m": "Pip is approaching sponsors through the co-host’s network."
      },
      {
        "id": "R-03",
        "t": "Platform rules on AI-made media change",
        "lvl": "Medium",
        "s": "Watching",
        "m": "Every episode is labelled as made with AI agents."
      }
    ],
    "incidents": [
      {
        "id": "I-01",
        "t": "The delegate refused to sign a sponsor read containing an unverified yield claim (DR-012).",
        "s": "Closed",
        "m": "The sponsor rewrote the read without the claim."
      }
    ],
    "outputs": [
      {
        "id": "O-01",
        "t": "Podcast episodes published",
        "v": "6"
      },
      {
        "id": "O-02",
        "t": "Short documentaries published",
        "v": "2"
      },
      {
        "id": "O-03",
        "t": "Median listens per episode",
        "v": "410"
      },
      {
        "id": "O-04",
        "t": "Newsletter subscribers",
        "v": "1,240"
      }
    ],
    "latest": [
      {
        "t": "Episode 6: The paddock that came back",
        "d": "28 October"
      },
      {
        "t": "Episode 5: Cover crops in a dry year",
        "d": "14 October"
      },
      {
        "t": "Short film: Six years of no-till",
        "d": "7 October"
      }
    ],
    "lessons": [
      {
        "id": "L-01",
        "t": "Farmers telling their own story kept listeners longest; narrated summaries lost about a third of them."
      },
      {
        "id": "L-02",
        "t": "Sponsors asked for the co-host’s endorsement more than for audience numbers."
      }
    ],
    "channels": [
      {
        "t": "Website",
        "v": "groundwork.show"
      },
      {
        "t": "Podcast feed",
        "v": "Apple Podcasts, Spotify and RSS"
      },
      {
        "t": "Video",
        "v": "Groundwork on YouTube"
      },
      {
        "t": "Newsletter",
        "v": "Fortnightly, with each new farm"
      }
    ],
    "involve": [
      {
        "k": "sponsor",
        "t": "Sponsor an episode",
        "d": "Support the show and be credited on air. No product claims without a source.",
        "who": "pip",
        "primary": true
      },
      {
        "k": "suggest",
        "t": "Suggest a farm",
        "d": "Know a farmer rebuilding their soil? Tell Juno their story.",
        "who": "juno"
      },
      {
        "k": "collaborate",
        "t": "Collaborate",
        "d": "Agronomists, producers and farming groups: propose how you’d work with the team.",
        "who": "juno"
      }
    ],
    "withheld": {
      "rec": "Agreements",
      "why": "A-03 is withheld at the counterparty’s request until the partnership is announced."
    }
  },
  "requests_to_the_human": [
    {
      "id": "DR-014",
      "p": "groundwork",
      "act": "Verify the podcast host account",
      "out": "Open",
      "h": 0
    },
    {
      "id": "DR-012",
      "p": "groundwork",
      "act": "Sign a sponsor read containing a yield claim",
      "out": "Refused",
      "h": 0.2,
      "why": "The claim could not be verified; Atlas found no source."
    },
    {
      "id": "DR-010",
      "p": "groundwork",
      "act": "Sign Terra Seed Co. sponsor terms",
      "out": "Completed",
      "h": 0.5
    },
    {
      "id": "DR-007",
      "p": "groundwork",
      "act": "Sign co-host collaboration agreement",
      "out": "Completed",
      "h": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "DR-006",
      "p": "groundwork",
      "act": "Register the project domain",
      "out": "Completed",
      "h": 0.3
    }
  ],
  "totals": {
    "revenue": 1450,
    "costs": 1930,
    "budget": 2510,
    "profit_and_loss": -480,
    "closure_ratio": 0.75,
    "human_hours": 2,
    "requests": 5,
    "rate_per_hour": 80
  },
  "computed": "Totals are computed as the sketch computes them: a project revenue is the sum of its funding amounts, its cost the sum of its spending actuals; CAAI costs add the overheads; closure ratio = revenue / costs, to two places."
}