Getting Started with CVTas

Welcome! This guide will get you up and running with CVTas in under 10 minutes.

What is CVTas?

CVTas (Continuity Village Tasmania) helps evaluate properties and plan for long-term community resilience in Tasmania. It answers questions like:

  • Which properties are suitable for resilient communities? (scoring, affordability, comparison)
  • Can we feed ourselves? (food production planning, self-sufficiency forecasting)
  • What's our capital timeline? (affordability at different capital levels)
  • Which regions are best? (regional suitability scoring)

Quick Setup (10 minutes)

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.11+ - Download from https://www.python.org/downloads/
  • Git (optional) - For version control

Step 1: Install Python Dependencies (5 min)

Open your terminal (Git Bash, Command Prompt, or PowerShell) and run:

# Navigate to the CVTas directory
cd path/to/CVTas

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv

# Activate virtual environment
# On Windows (Git Bash):
source venv/Scripts/activate
# On Windows (Command Prompt):
venv\Scripts\activate.bat
# On Mac/Linux:
source venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies (this takes a few minutes)
pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 2: Set Up Database (2 min)

# Run database migrations
python manage.py migrate

# Create admin user (you'll be prompted for username, email, password)
python manage.py createsuperuser

Step 3: Start the Server (1 min)

python manage.py runserver

You should see:

Starting development server at http://127.0.0.1:8000/

Step 4: Open in Browser

Navigate to http://localhost:8000/ in your web browser.

You'll see the CVTas dashboard! 🎉

First Steps After Setup

1. Explore the Interface

  • Dashboard: http://localhost:8000/ - System overview
  • Properties: http://localhost:8000/properties/ - Browse and compare properties
  • Food Planning: http://localhost:8000/food/ - Plan food production
  • Capital Timeline: http://localhost:8000/capital/ - Affordability analysis
  • Regions: http://localhost:8000/regions/ - Regional scoring

2. Add Your First Property

Go to the Admin Panel: http://localhost:8000/admin/

  1. Login with the superuser credentials you created
  2. Click Properties → Add Property
  3. Fill in:
  4. UUID (e.g., "PROP001")
  5. Region (create a region first if needed)
  6. Price range (price_aud_low, price_aud_high)
  7. Land size
  8. Status (e.g., "Contender")
  9. Click Save

3. Score Your Property

Still in the admin panel:

  1. Click Property scores → Add Property score
  2. Select your property and an evaluator (create evaluator if needed)
  3. Enter scores for all 11 dimensions (0-100):
  4. Climate, Water, Soil, Infrastructure, Land Productivity
  5. Bushfire Risk, Flood Risk, Community, Strategic, Accessibility, Overall
  6. Click Save

Now go back to http://localhost:8000/properties/ and you'll see your property with its score!

4. Create a Food Production Plan

  1. Go to http://localhost:8000/food/create/
  2. Fill in:
  3. Plan name
  4. Target population (e.g., 10 people)
  5. Land available (e.g., 5 hectares)
  6. Planning horizon (e.g., 10 years)
  7. Select crops (check boxes for tree crops, annuals, livestock, etc.)
  8. Watch the live calorie calculator in the sidebar - it updates as you select crops!
  9. Adjust quantities to reach 100% self-sufficiency (green progress bar)
  10. Click Create Plan

The system will automatically generate a multi-year forecast showing when you reach self-sufficiency!

Tip: See the Food Planning Guide for detailed strategies and crop data.

Understanding the Data

Property Scoring (0-100 per dimension)

  • 70-100: Excellent (green)
  • 50-69: Adequate (yellow)
  • 0-49: Poor (red)

Properties are scored by multiple evaluators across 11 dimensions. The system averages scores to reduce bias.

Food Production

  • Target: 2,500 kcal/person/day (912,500 kcal/year)
  • Maturity Times:
  • Vegetables: Year 1
  • Chickens: Year 1
  • Fruit trees: Years 3-5
  • Nut trees: Years 5-7
  • Self-Sufficiency: Green = 100%+, Yellow = 50-99%, Red = <50%

Capital Planning

  • LVR: 55% maximum (45% deposit required)
  • Foreign Ownership: +8% stamp duty surcharge
  • Loan Terms: 10 years at 6.45% interest

Common Questions

Q: I see "No properties found" - is something broken? A: No! You just need to add properties via the admin panel first. See "Add Your First Property" above.

Q: Can I import bulk property data? A: Yes! Use the management command: python manage.py import_properties data/properties.csv

Q: How do I stop the server? A: Press Ctrl+C in the terminal where it's running.

Q: The page shows JSON errors or missing data. A: This is normal if you haven't added properties/regions/scores yet. The UI is working, it just needs data.

Q: Can I access this from another computer on my network? A: Yes! Run python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000 then access via http://[your-ip]:8000

Next Steps

  1. Read the Food Planning Guide: /docs/food-planning/ - Learn crop strategies and calorie math
  2. Read the User Guide: /docs/user-guide/ - Comprehensive feature documentation
  3. Add More Data: Properties, regions, food plans
  4. Try Property Comparison: Select 2-5 properties and compare side-by-side
  5. Experiment with Food Plans: Use the live calorie calculator to find the right crop mix
  6. Check the Criteria System: /criteria/ - Evaluate properties against 26 criteria

Getting Help

  • Full Documentation: See docs/USER_GUIDE.md
  • Technical Issues: Check the terminal for error messages
  • Feature Requests: Contact the project maintainer
  • Questions: admin@certesinstitute.org

Quick Command Reference

# Start server
python manage.py runserver

# Create superuser
python manage.py createsuperuser

# Run tests
pytest

# Check for issues
python manage.py check

# Import properties
python manage.py import_properties data/properties.csv

# Database migrations (if models change)
python manage.py makemigrations
python manage.py migrate

Welcome to CVTas. Let's build resilient communities together.

Current Version: 0.7.1 Last Updated: January 2026