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Use Case #4: Software-only, operator builds locally
Some operators don't need Manna to build anything. They already have the engineers, the welders and the local supply chain. What they're missing is the climate and process platform that goes on top.
01 · The pattern
An operator that already builds
This is a pattern Manna sees often — most recently with an established BSF operator in South America scaling from one production module to around ten.
They knew how to fabricate. What they wanted was Manna MIND, the climate and control software, plus the designs to build around it. So the delivery was software-only: Manna supplied MIND, the facility designs and bills of materials, the supplier links, and remote support. No containers and no hardware crossed an ocean.
02 · The core
Manna MIND is the brain, not the body
That works because Manna MIND is the brain, not the body. At the centre is the software; around it sit the sensors, a logic controller, a cloud connection and the dashboard — together, the MIND core. The controller switches locally sourced, off-the-shelf climate equipment — air conditioner, heater, humidifier, fans, lighting — so the hardware can be bought and assembled anywhere. Only that core and the software come from Manna. Everything around it — the space itself (a used shipping container, a panel-built room, a greenhouse), insulation, trays and the climate equipment — the operator sourced and built locally to Manna's bill of materials.
03 · The trade
Lowest CAPEX and local ownership
The trade they made: more engineering work on their side, in return for the lowest CAPEX and full local ownership. A standalone climatised module typically runs $8,500–$13,500; built locally with only the MIND core from Manna, it lands near the bottom of that range. No freight, no import lead times, and a design the operator can repeat for the next module, and the one after that. Each module processes roughly 10 tonnes of biowaste a month.
04 · The daily layer
Every module on one screen
The daily layer sits on top. Every locally built module reports into the Insect Farm Hub — climate and production data from all of them on one screen, reachable from a phone. The operator runs the whole operation. Manna is the software, the designs and the support network behind it.
05 · Three routes
Three ways to work with Manna
This is one of three ways to work with Manna. Turnkey, where Manna delivers a finished, MIND-powered module — mainly a shipping container — anywhere in the world. Software plus design, the path here: the MIND licence and the designs to build, with the operator fabricating the body locally. Or the MIND software licence on its own, run as-is or customized to an operator's own spaces and equipment. Which one fits depends on what a team can already do locally, and on the biowaste economics the site has to hit. For a team with real engineering capacity, software plus design is usually the cheapest way to scale — and the path that leaves the most in local hands.
06 · The question
Is the climate good enough?
If you already build, the question isn't whether you can make the boxes. It's whether the climate inside them is controlled well enough to run a business on.
Keep exploring
Related topics and pages
- Manna MIND (solution explainer) — the software this operator takes instead of a finished module
- Insect Farm Hub (solution explainer) — where the locally built modules report their climate and production data
- What Manna does: positioning and solutions — where software-only delivery sits among Manna's ways of working
Read next
- Manna MIND (solution explainer) — the climate and control software at the centre of a software-only delivery
- Insect Farm Hub (solution explainer) — the platform every locally built module reports into
- What Manna does: positioning and solutions — the delivery models this use case belongs to
- Facility Design & BOM (solution explainer) — the design package and bills of materials behind the local build
Next step
Compare the three ways to work with Manna
Software-only, software plus design or turnkey: the right fit depends on what a team can already do locally and on the biowaste economics the site has to hit.