Rai Matak Species Guide (English-Tetum)

An essential, offline field guide for the Rai Matak reforestation program in Timor-Leste.

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Project Overview

The Rai Matak Species Guide is a dedicated mobile application developed to support the field staff, botanists, and community partners involved in the Rai Matak reforestation efforts.

Designed specifically for the challenging remote environments of Timor-Leste, the app's core value is its complete offline functionality. It ensures that critical species identification, ecological data, and learning resources are accessible exactly when and where they are needed, regardless of internet connectivity.

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Rai Matak

Rai Matak translates to "Green Land" or "Lush Earth" in Tetum, reflecting the program's vital mission to restore Timor-Leste’s natural biodiversity and forest cover.

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Key Features

This application is built to be robust, intuitive, and highly functional in the field:

• Bilingual Support (English & Tetum):
  All content, navigation, and species descriptions are available in both English and Tetum, ensuring accessibility for all staff.

• 100% Offline Access:
  Once the app is downloaded, all species data, photos, and identification keys are stored locally. No internet connection is required for day-to-day operation.

• Species Identification:
  Detailed profiles for native and important endemic tree species relevant to the Rai Matak program.

• Rich Data Fields:
  Each species profile includes:

  • Common and scientific names
  • Tetum names (Naran Tetum)
  • Detailed photographs (leaves, bark, fruit, flowers)
  • Ecological notes (habitat, elevation, soil type)
  • Propagation and management advice

• Intuitive Search and Filtering:
  Quickly locate species by name, characteristic, or habitat type.

  Command Line Interface (CLI)

The project includes a Python CLI for exploring the species database.

Setup

python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate        # on Windows
pip install -r requirements.txt

# General help
python -m species_cli.cli --help

# List species
python -m species_cli.cli list-all --limit 20

# Search
python -m species_cli.cli search --habitat "coastal"
python -m species_cli.cli search --common-name "oak"

# Show details for one species
python -m species_cli.cli show "Acacia mangium"