How do you feed the incredible growing population of the planet? Is big, corporate agriculture the only answer? Not if you’re Richard Brion. Brion, Navy Vet started Revolution Agriculture to grow vegetables at the neighborhood level to feed the planet with fresh, local produce in an incredibly clever way. This Tacoma, Washington resident joined the Navy when his high school had an ROTC program. With family members in different branches of the military, Richard wanted off the peninsula he had always lived and see other parts of the world. He figured the Navy offered the most opportunity to see the “coolest stuff” and joined (our host, ex-Navy Vet Josh Carter wholeheartedly agrees). He began as in the cryptology program collecting intelligence and open-source material. He was stationed initially at Fort Gordon fresh out of high school and wound up putting in his four years before leaving. Richard actually was considering a longer career, but a big change in the Navy program post 911 put him in a difficult spot. He had to choose between becoming a linguist or leave. Since he discovered Navy linguists usually wind up in the windowless part of the ship wearing headphones and listening to radios, he opted for civilian life. After the Navy “curve ball”, Richard really had not prepared himself for the private sector. At first, he had a government contractor job that put him in Hawaii making more money, and three days before he was set to go, the program was cancelled. Kicking around with friends and family for awhile, he got a call from Blackwater for a counter-narcotics contract in Afghanistan and was doing the same Navy job but making much more money. He became the go-to guy who could source intelligence for most everything and moved up the ladder smoothly. He then became a consultant helping companies win government contracts is adept at contract trouble shooting. Tired of being a “hired gun”, Richard began exploring the premise of Revolution Agriculture. He saw from his past experience that farming, practices and food chain in Afghanistan was the prime root cause of problems there and decided that solving that problem was his life’s mission. Making more products available year round would give farmers better options than growing opium, the crux of the country’s violence. His ingenious methods only need minimal space and can utilize anyone’s back yard or even a parking space. People offering the space for growing can participate or be passive and can even participate in the revenue share. The concept is soil-focused containerize farming systems that can be dropped in almost anywhere and the software that holds the system together is most sophisticated. But it’s the determination and drive of Richard that holds everything together.
Veteran Founder Podcast with your hosts Josh Carter and Cynthia Kao
We record the Veteran Founder Podcast inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland.
Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil
Show logo was designed by Carolyn Main
Website was designed by Cameron Grimes
Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster
Theme music: Artist: Tipsy Track: Kadonka Album: Buzzz Courtesy of Ipecac Records
10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes