A California nonprofit in formation
We help people find their way back to plants, through colleges, community programs, fairly paid local work, and technology that tells the truth.
Why we exist
Some people are sure they have a black thumb. Some were taught that soil is someone else’s work. Some are stuck between advice that contradicts itself and a plant that is quietly dying on the windowsill.
We think that gap is worth closing, one plant and one person at a time, and that closing it can create real, fairly paid work for people looking for a new path.
What we do
Pilot underway
Every plant from a college nursery can carry its story: who grew it, how to care for it here, and a way to keep asking. Teaching tools include a Leaf Lab, a soil texture triangle, a weather report and a crop-planning studio.
In design
Paid, local garden work for students, interns and people finding a new path through plants. Residents hire Ambassadors directly, and Ambassadors receive every dollar the client pays. We take no cut.
Starting
Learning alongside community programs and garden circles in North County San Diego, so the first plant someone grows comes with people who are glad to see them.
Live in beta
We build Pipling for the web, iPhone, Android, Apple Watch and TV. Its AI companion, Pip, shows where its answers come from, says when it isn’t sure, and never shames anyone for a plant that died.
Visit pipling.appHow we work
Honest over impressive
We cite sources and say “I’m not sure” when we aren’t.
No shame, ever
No streaks, no guilt. Every gardener has killed plants.
Local first
Advice for your soil, your sun and your season.
Fair pay, in the open
Full pay transparency. We take no cut of anyone’s wages.
With communities
Designed with colleges and community groups, not for them.
Our story
I spent nearly three decades building technology and leading engineering teams in Silicon Valley. The garden is where I found my footing again, and community college is where I’m relearning, as a beginner, what I forgot.
The Pipling Project is how I want to use what I know: to help people grow, and to create fairly paid work for people looking for a new path. We aren’t looking for investors. We’re looking for partners.
Mo Sedighi, founder
Where we are today
Get involved
Colleges and schools
Bring plant stories and teaching tools to your program.
Farms, nurseries and cities
Pilot plant tags, water-wise planting and community gardens.
Funders
Grants that put people to work and plants in the ground.
Mentors and volunteers
Gardeners, teachers and builders who want to help.