The SymbioTotem is a synthesis of many ongoing initiatives of [Sympoiesis](http://sympoiesis.xyz/) - currently manifested as a "force field attracting like-hearted souls around interspecies synesthesia". Its deepest root, in plant and animal remote sensing work, is represented by the long-term personal inquiries of [Danilo Olivaz](https://experiment.com/users/ddanilo) and [Akash Kulgod](https://dognosis.tech/), who have first met in person at Zuzalu Montenegro (2023). In that same experience, a new creative frontier opened up via their participation in the Zuzalu's "Nature Hackathon": [the use of LLMs to serve as a voice for nonhuman entities](https://vimeo.com/826388549/settings), like rivers and other ecosystems.

[![Screen Shot 2024-01-28 at 6.20.25 PM](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/S1BjrSV9a.png)](https://vimeo.com/826388549?share=copy)

Since then we have been engaging with the development of a "Sensing A(I)vatar" for the "Rio Sagrado" (Sacred River), at the heart of the largest continuum of Atlantic forest in the world (Morrestes, PR, Brazil) - a act of activism, being done in opposition to a devastating railroad threat to that entire bioregion and its unmatched biodiversity.

In parallel to this, our [public facing interspecies experiences](https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/884014653) - as well as Zuzalu's iconic dome - have inspired the conceptualization of the SymbioDome - "a portable, dome-shaped multimedia installation that serves as both a projection screen and an interactive environmental sensor". In the last Zuzalu round, [we launched this idea]((https://builder.gitcoin.co/#/chains/1/registry/0x03506eD3f57892C85DB20C36846e9c808aFe9ef4/projects/856)) and raised roughly 34% of our budget, enabling prototyping - which in turn revealed that projection mapping's high cost and night-time dependency limit the project's application.

[![Screen Shot 2024-01-28 at 6.40.00 PM](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SJ0g5r45a.png)](http://sympoiesis.xyz/rio-sagrado/)



Furthermore, after being featured in a [short-film](https://vimeo.com/826388549/settings) and showcased at [the 2nd Rights of Nature Forum in Brazil](https://vimeo.com/826388549/settings), the Rio Sagrado's A(I)vatar [alpha version](http://sympoiesis.xyz/rio-sagrado/) (trained with 20+ scientific papers on the river's watershet) has indicated the greater relatability potential in non-computer mediated interfaces for such avatars, leading up to the ongoing crafting of a sculpture/totem to represent the Sacred River, in partnership with a local indigenous artist. The final version will be displayed to the public at the ["Salto do Sagrado"](https://www.google.com/maps/@-25.4806717,-48.8278999,14z?entry=ttu) visiting center, educating tourists as serving as scientific tool for the monitoring of the river's waters.

![photo_6147759193734626193_y](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/r1E0B4Vcp.jpg)

![photo_6147759193734626194_y](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/Sk1ZLNEcp.jpg)


Naturally, all of these feedback loops have led to the emergence of the SymbioTotem as presented here. If you may, a merging of the SymbioDome and the Sacred river iniatives. Needless to say, it can be applied to any other ecosystem/place.
