Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I also ask same question as Dragon, what money for? If for beer rounds me happy pay, but where is the beer? How can you have an AP association without it?

I really like Kellen's points. Especially the one about how the founders cannot serve on the board for some time. It seems like the founders want to hold on to the organization for whatever reason. It should be explicit that no one owns it, especially the founders. They should put in language that the reins of power in the organization must be given up as soon as possible after the founding, I.e. The lifetime trustee thing is a poison pill. I have been listening the the History of Rome podcast for several weeks so politics and other topics like this one always seem to map to that haha.

Maybe it should just be called the Commericial Aquaponics Association and be done with it.

Rupert, I can definitely understand your confusion - I read it and now I'm so confused I'm not sure what was being said.



Dragon C, Sounds good, I think we should invite Abdul, he sounds thirsty.




We can call it the International Association of Beer Drinking Aquaponics Chums

I already joined an Australian aquaponics association about 5 years ago that had similar missions to this one... Never received a thing, never went anywhere, lost all my money, I think it was about $300...

Possibly. But I can think of a few alternative names:

• Local And Regional Drinkers And Sobriety Society
• Australian, Anglo And American Alcoholic Aquaponics Association
• Gathering Of Notable Aquaponic Drinkers Society

I'm sure there must be more along these lines.

Ha! Nice acronyms.

That last one sounds very much like the last attempt at this sort of thing, ganrad.

So this is the US association as we know it today?

Charlie, it is an international association but it seems that about 98% of the membership is in the US. There are only a hand full of members from outside of the US so far.

Organization and expansion have been very slow. I must admit that I haven't had much time or energy to put to organizing in my own region with my other job, moving and setting up the new farm. I expect one of the most important missions the association might have a hand in this year is getting food safety regulations to recognize aquaponics and the fish waste in the system as not being an automatic disqualification. Since without certain "food safety" certifications, there are many clients who can't buy from you (schools, many chain grocery stores, etc.)

Otherwise the Association (being still very young) is largely just a chance for a bunch of people to get together for a conference once a year meet each other and learn some things. Which is almost enough in my opinion.

Yea but the australian chapter, bit like the bandidos

Ya can always join up and get your own branch going if the current people in the chapter are not doing what you think they should. Complaining from the outside doesn't do much good.

Joining doesn't do any good either...

Well if you are not interested in what the association is doing and if you don't want to do anything with it, then you are right, no point in joining.

But if you want the association to do something in particular, the best bet to make it happen is to join, start a branch, get some funding from the association and "DO IT YOURSELF"

Otherwise you are just part of the "I have an idea committee" telling other people what you think they should do, and we know that only works if the other people happen to have the same Idea and think it's important enough for them to do. It isn't like the association is paying anyone a salary to do things. The dues are far to low for that.

TCLynx why would backyarders want to join an aquaponics association? fair enough its a way of promoting aquaponics for farming purposes but the majority of apers are diy backyarders. Don't get me wrong I do think associations do some good I'm actually in one but I see the benefits in the association I'm in it covers me for insurance purposes for my other hobby.

So I have to agree with eb here joining won't do me any good.

From what I can tell it should be called the Commercial Aquaponics Association, as the info necessary to do DIY AP is already available for free especially here on this forum, and to do backyard AP for my own consumption I don't need the FDA regulations to be changed. It is the commercial aspirants who need larger changes and $ and an organization to effect those changes. Or they are using the AP Assoc as a marketing pool for workshop attendees and to sell DVDs, and/or to legitimize their commercial startups.

The information wants to be free quote from Stewart Brand:
"On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other."