diff --git a/deployment/geonode/README.md b/deployment/geonode/README.md
index ad09b5b..4a2a078 100644
--- a/deployment/geonode/README.md
+++ b/deployment/geonode/README.md
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ Helm Chart for Geonode
 
 | Key | Type | Default | Description |
 |-----|------|---------|-------------|
+
 | favicon | string | AAABAAMAEBAAAAEAIABoBA ... AAAA== | A base64 encoded favicon |
 | geonode.acme.email | string | `"support@example.com"` | the email to be used to gain certificates |
 | geonode.acme.enabled | bool | `false` | enables cert-manager to do ACME challenges (aka certificates via letsencrypt) |
diff --git a/deployment/geonode/templates/_helpers.tpl b/deployment/geonode/templates/_helpers.tpl
index 07f300e..cb7aad0 100644
--- a/deployment/geonode/templates/_helpers.tpl
+++ b/deployment/geonode/templates/_helpers.tpl
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@
 {{ .Release.Name }}-{{ .Values.nginx.pod_name }}
 {{- end -}}
 
+{{- define "pycsw_pod_name" -}}
+{{ .Release.Name }}-{{ .Values.pycsw.pod_name }}
+{{- end -}}
+
 
 
 # Database definitions
diff --git a/deployment/geonode/templates/geonode/geonode-deploy.yaml b/deployment/geonode/templates/geonode/geonode-deploy.yaml
index 13c48b6..2f21b56 100644
--- a/deployment/geonode/templates/geonode/geonode-deploy.yaml
+++ b/deployment/geonode/templates/geonode/geonode-deploy.yaml
@@ -49,10 +49,12 @@ spec:
         - tcp://{{ include "rabbit_host" .}}
 
       containers:
-      # This is the django app server
+      ##############
+      # django app #
+      ##############
       - name: {{ .Values.geonode.container_name }}
         image: "{{ .Values.geonode.image.name }}:{{ .Values.geonode.image.tag }}"
-
+        imagePullPolicy: {{ .Values.geonode.image.pullPolicy }}
         command:
         - bash
         - -c
@@ -147,6 +149,13 @@ spec:
           readOnly: true
         {{ end }}
 
+        livenessProbe:
+          httpGet:
+            path: /
+            port: 8001
+          initialDelaySeconds: 30
+          periodSeconds: 5
+
         resources:
           requests:
             memory: {{ .Values.geonode.resources.requests.memory }}
@@ -155,10 +164,12 @@ spec:
             memory: {{ .Values.geonode.resources.limits.memory }}
             cpu: {{ .Values.geonode.resources.limits.cpu }}
 
-      # Celery is the task worker
+      ##########
+      # Celery #
+      ##########
       - name: {{ .Values.geonode.celery.container_name }}
         image: "{{ .Values.geonode.image.name }}:{{ .Values.geonode.image.tag }}"
-
+        imagePullPolicy: {{ .Values.geonode.image.pullPolicy }}
         command:
         - bash
         - -c
diff --git a/deployment/geonode/templates/geonode/geonode-env.yaml b/deployment/geonode/templates/geonode/geonode-env.yaml
index 3ef02a2..e0bd452 100644
--- a/deployment/geonode/templates/geonode/geonode-env.yaml
+++ b/deployment/geonode/templates/geonode/geonode-env.yaml
@@ -127,6 +127,13 @@ data:
   LDAP_USER_ATTR_MAP_LAST_NAME: {{ .Values.geonode.ldap.attr_map_last_name | quote }}
   LDAP_USER_ATTR_MAP_EMAIL_ADDR: {{ .Values.geonode.ldap.attr_map_email_addr | quote }}
 
+  # Configure PYCSW
+  {{ if .Values.pycsw.enabled }}
+  CATALOGUE_ENGINE: geonode.catalogue.backends.pycsw_http
+  CATALOGUE_URL: "http://{{ include "pycsw_pod_name" . }}:{{ .Values.pycsw.port }}"
+  {{ else }}
+  CATALOGUE_ENGINE: geonode.catalogue.backends.pycsw_local
+  {{ end}}
   # OAuth2
   # TODO (mwall) implement OAUTH2
   OAUTH2_API_KEY: ""
diff --git a/deployment/geonode/templates/nginx/nginx-conf.yaml b/deployment/geonode/templates/nginx/nginx-conf.yaml
index ef679e9..95333b2 100644
--- a/deployment/geonode/templates/nginx/nginx-conf.yaml
+++ b/deployment/geonode/templates/nginx/nginx-conf.yaml
@@ -110,6 +110,34 @@ data:
         proxy_http_version 1.1;
       }
 
+      {{ if .Values.pycsw.enabled }}
+      # external PYCSW forward 
+      location {{ .Values.pycsw.endpoint }} {
+        client_max_body_size {{ .Values.nginx.maxClientBodySize }};
+
+        gzip_static always;
+        expires 30d;
+        access_log off;
+        add_header Pragma "public";
+        add_header Cache-Control "max-age=31536000, public";
+
+        # compression
+        gzip on;
+        gzip_types
+          text/xml
+          text/plain
+          application/xml
+          application/xml+rss
+          application/json;
+
+        proxy_pass http://{{ include "pycsw_pod_name" . }}:{{ .Values.pycsw.port }};
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+      }
+      {{ end }}
+
       location / {
         client_max_body_size {{ .Values.nginx.maxClientBodySize }};
 
diff --git a/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-cfg.yaml b/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-cfg.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ed5df0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-cfg.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+{{ if .Values.pycsw.enabled }}
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  name: {{ .Release.Name }}-pycsw-cfg
+  namespace: {{ .Release.Namespace }}
+data:
+  pycsw.cfg: |+
+    [server]
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.home }}    home={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.home }}{{ end }}
+        url={{ .Values.geonode.ingress.externalScheme}}://{{ .Values.geonode.ingress.externalDomain}}{{ .Values.pycsw.endpoint }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.mimetype }}    mimetype={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.mimetype }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.encoding }}    encoding={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.encoding }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.language }}    language={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.language }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.maxrecords }}    maxrecords={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.maxrecords }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.loglevel }}    loglevel={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.loglevel }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.logfile }}    logfile={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.logfile }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.ogc_schemas_base }}    ogc_schemas_base={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.ogc_schemas_base }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.federatedcatalogues }}    federatedcatalogues={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.federatedcatalogues }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.pretty_print }}    pretty_print={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.pretty_print }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.gzip_compresslevel }}    gzip_compresslevel={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.gzip_compresslevel }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.domainquerytype }}    domainquerytype={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.domainquerytype }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.domaincounts }}     domaincounts={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.domaincounts }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.spatial_ranking }}    spatial_ranking={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.spatial_ranking }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.profiles }}    profiles={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.profiles }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.workers }}    workers={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.workers }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.server.timeout }}    timeout={{ .Values.pycsw.config.server.timeout }}{{ end }}
+    [manager]
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.manager.transactions }}    transactions={{ .Values.pycsw.config.manager.transactions }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.manager.allowed_ips }}    allowed_ips={{ .Values.pycsw.config.manager.allowed_ips }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.manager.csw_harvest_pagesize }}    csw_harvest_pagesize={{ .Values.pycsw.config.manager.csw_harvest_pagesize }}{{ end }}
+    [metadata:main]
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_title }}    identification_title={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_title }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_abstract }}    identification_abstract={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_abstract }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_keywords }}    identification_keywords={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_keywords }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_keywords_type }}    identification_keywords_type={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_keywords_type }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_fees }}    identification_fees={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_fees }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_accessconstraints }}    identification_accessconstraints={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.identification_accessconstraints }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.provider_name }}    provider_name={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.provider_name }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.provider_url }}    provider_url={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.provider_url }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_name }}    contact_name={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_name }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_position }}    contact_position={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_position }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_address }}    contact_address={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_address }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_city }}    contact_city={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_city }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_stateorprovince }}    contact_stateorprovince={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_stateorprovince }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_postalcode }}    contact_postalcode={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_postalcode }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_country }}    contact_country={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_country }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_phone }}    contact_phone={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_phone }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_fax }}    contact_fax={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_fax }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_email }}    contact_email={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_email }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_url }}    contact_url={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_url }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_hours }}    contact_hours={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_hours }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_instructions }}    contact_instructions={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_instructions }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_role }}    contact_role={{ .Values.pycsw.config.metadata.contact_role }}{{ end }}
+    [repository]
+        database=${PYCSW_REPOSITORY_DATABASE_URI}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.repository.mappings }}    mappings={{ .Values.pycsw.config.repository.mappings }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.repository.table }}    table={{ .Values.pycsw.config.repository.table }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.repository.filter }}    filter={{ .Values.pycsw.config.repository.filter }}{{ end }}
+    [metadata:inspire]
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.enabled }}    enabled={{ .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.enabled }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.languages_supported }}    languages_supported={{ .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.languages_supported }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.default_language }}    default_language={{ .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.default_language }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.date }}    date={{ .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.date }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.gemet_keywords }}    gemet_keywords={{ .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.gemet_keywords }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.conformity_service }}    conformity_service={{ .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.conformity_service }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.contact_name }}    contact_name={{ .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.contact_name }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.contact_email }}    contact_email={{ .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.contact_email }}{{ end }}
+    {{ if .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.temp_extent }}    temp_extent={{ .Values.pycsw.config.inspire.temp_extent }}{{ end }}
+{{ end }}
diff --git a/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-deploy.yaml b/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-deploy.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..06bf1c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-deploy.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+{{ if .Values.pycsw.enabled }}
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: StatefulSet
+metadata:
+  name: "{{ include "pycsw_pod_name" . }}"
+  namespace: {{ .Release.Namespace }}
+spec:
+  replicas: {{ .Values.pycsw.replicaCount }}
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      org.geonode.instance: "{{ include "pycsw_pod_name" . }}"
+  serviceName: "{{ include "pycsw_pod_name" . }}"
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        org.geonode.instance: "{{ include "pycsw_pod_name" . }}"
+      annotations:
+        checksum/pycsw-env: {{ include (print $.Template.BasePath "/pycsw/pycsw-env.yaml") . | sha256sum }}
+        checksum/pycsw-cfg: {{ include (print $.Template.BasePath "/pycsw/pycsw-cfg.yaml") . | sha256sum }}
+        checksum/pycsw-mappings-py: {{ include (print $.Template.BasePath "/pycsw/pycsw-mappings-py.yaml") . | sha256sum }}
+    spec:
+      terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 3
+      initContainers:
+      # Wait for GeoNode to be up and running, else there can be a race conddition where pycsw creates the database table,
+      # and lets crash init process of geonode
+      - name: pycsw-wait-for-geonode
+        image: alpine/curl
+        imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
+        command: ["/bin/sh","-c"]
+        args: ['while [ $(curl -ksw "%{http_code}" "$GEONODE_ENDPOINT:8001" -o /dev/null) -ne 200 ]; do sleep 5; echo "health check failed . Waiting for GeoNode ($GEONODE_ENDPOINT:8001) ..."; done']
+        env:
+        - name: GEONODE_ENDPOINT
+          value: "{{ include "geonode_pod_name" . }}"
+
+      containers:
+      - name: {{ .Values.pycsw.container_name }}
+        image: "{{ .Values.pycsw.image.name }}:{{ .Values.pycsw.image.tag }}"
+        envFrom:
+          - configMapRef:
+              name: {{ include "pycsw_pod_name" . }}-env
+        env:
+        - name: PYCSW_SERVER_URL
+          value: "{{ .Values.geonode.ingress.externalDomain}}{{ .Values.pycsw.endpoint }}"
+        - name: GEONODE_DATABASE_PASSWORD
+          valueFrom:
+            secretKeyRef:
+              name:  {{ .Values.postgres.geonodedatabase }}.{{ include "postgres_pod_name" . }}.credentials.postgresql.acid.zalan.do
+              key: password
+        - name: PYCSW_REPOSITORY_DATABASE_URI
+          value: "postgresql://$(GEONODE_DATABASE):$(GEONODE_DATABASE_PASSWORD)@$(DATABASE_HOST):$(DATABASE_PORT)/$(GEONODE_DATABASE)"
+        ports:
+        - containerPort: {{ .Values.pycsw.port }}
+        volumeMounts:
+        - name: pycsw-cfg
+          mountPath: "/etc/pycsw/pycsw.cfg"
+          subPath: pycsw.cfg
+          readOnly: true
+        - name: pycsw-mappings-py
+          mountPath: {{ .Values.pycsw.config.repository.mappings }}
+          subPath: pycsw-mappings.py
+          readOnly: true
+        resources:
+          requests:
+            memory: {{ .Values.pycsw.resources.requests.memory }}
+            cpu: {{ .Values.pycsw.resources.requests.cpu }}
+          limits:
+            memory: {{ .Values.pycsw.resources.limits.memory }}
+            cpu: {{ .Values.pycsw.resources.limits.cpu }}
+        livenessProbe:
+          httpGet:
+            path: /
+            port: {{ .Values.pycsw.port }}
+          initialDelaySeconds: 3
+          periodSeconds: 10
+
+      volumes:
+      - name: pycsw-cfg
+        configMap:
+          name: {{ .Release.Name }}-pycsw-cfg
+          defaultMode: 0744
+          items:
+          - key: pycsw.cfg
+            path: "pycsw.cfg"
+      - name: pycsw-mappings-py
+        configMap:
+          name: {{ .Release.Name }}-pycsw-mappings-py
+          defaultMode: 0744
+          items:
+          - key: pycsw-mappings.py
+            path: "pycsw-mappings.py"
+{{ end }}
diff --git a/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-env.yaml b/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-env.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c1c38a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-env.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+{{ if .Values.pycsw.enabled }}
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  name: {{ include "pycsw_pod_name" . }}-env
+  namespace: {{ .Release.Namespace }}
+data:
+  # Database Settings
+  DATABASE_HOST: "{{ include "postgres_pod_name" . }}"
+  DATABASE_PORT: "{{ include "database_port" .}}"
+  GEONODE_DATABASE: {{ .Values.postgres.geonodedatabase | quote }}
+  GEONODE_DATABASE_SCHEMA: {{ .Values.postgres.schema }}
+{{ end }}
diff --git a/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-mappings-py.yaml b/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-mappings-py.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aeff0be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-mappings-py.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{{ if .Values.pycsw.enabled }}
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  name: {{ .Release.Name }}-pycsw-mappings-py
+  namespace: {{ .Release.Namespace }}
+data:
+  pycsw-mappings.py: {{- .Values.pycsw.mappings | toYaml | indent 1 }}
+{{ end }}
diff --git a/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-svc.yaml b/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-svc.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..009007d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/geonode/templates/pycsw/pycsw-svc.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+{{- if .Values.pycsw.enabled }}
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Service
+metadata:
+  name: "{{ include "pycsw_pod_name" . }}"
+  namespace: {{ .Release.Namespace }}
+spec:
+  selector:
+    org.geonode.instance: "{{ include "pycsw_pod_name" . }}"
+  ports:
+  - targetPort: 8000
+    port: {{ .Values.pycsw.port }}
+    name: pycsw
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/deployment/geonode/values.yaml b/deployment/geonode/values.yaml
index 9da2e8d..73d4715 100644
--- a/deployment/geonode/values.yaml
+++ b/deployment/geonode/values.yaml
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@ geonode:
     name: mwall2bitflow/geonode
     # -- tag of used geonode image
     tag: '4.1.x'
-
+    # -- geonode image pull policy
+    pullPolicy: IfNotPresent
   # -- additions to tasks.py init script, must be additional code written in python
   tasks_pre_script: |
     print("tasks_pre_script not defined ...")
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@ geonode:
     externalScheme: http
     # -- external ingress hostname 
     externalDomain: geonode
+
     # -- tls certificate for geonode ingress https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tls/managing-tls-in-a-cluster/ (for the use of cert-manager, configure the acme section properly). is used when geonode.ingress.externalScheme is set to https
     tlsSecret: geonode-tls-secret
 
@@ -123,7 +125,6 @@ geonode:
     debug_static: False
     # -- the settings module to load
     settings_module: geonode.settings
-
     # -- FREETEXT_KEYWORDS_READONLY Make Free-Text Keywords writable from users. Or read-only when set to False.
     freetext_keywords_readonly: false
     # -- OGC_REQUEST_TIMEOUT
@@ -325,14 +326,6 @@ geoserver:
       # -- limit cpu as in resource.requests.cpu (https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/manage-resources-containers/)
       cpu: 2
 
-# MEMCACHED CONFIGURATION
-# https://artifacthub.io/packages/helm/bitnami/memcached
-memcached:
-  # -- memcached replica. Loadbalanaced via kubernetes. (only one entry in django settings.py) im memcached is activated under geonode.memcached.enabled this takes place
-  architecture: high-availability
-  replicaCount: 1
-
-
 # CONFIGURATION FOR NGINX DEPLOYMENT
 # MAY MOVE TO CHART
 nginx:
@@ -362,9 +355,169 @@ nginx:
       # -- limit cpu as in resource.requests.cpu (https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/manage-resources-containers/)
       cpu: "800m"
 
+# -- pycsw integration is based on https://github.com/geopython/pycsw/blob/master/docker/kubernetes
+pycsw:
+  # -- enable single pycsw pod
+  enabled: True
+  # -- pycsw pod name
+  pod_name: pysw
+  # -- pycsw container replicas
+  replicaCount: 1
+  # -- pycsw container name
+  container_name: pycsw
+  image:
+    # -- pycsw docker image
+    name: geopython/pycsw
+    # -- pycsw docker image tag
+    tag: '2.6.1'
+  # -- pycsw endpoint port
+  port: 8000
+  # -- pycsw url below geonode.ingress.externalDomain
+  endpoint: /catalogue/csw
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      # -- requested memory as in resource.requests.memory (https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/manage-resources-containers/)
+      memory: "1Gi"
+      # -- requested cpu as in resource.requests.cpu (https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/manage-resources-containers/)
+      cpu: "500m"
+    limits:
+      # -- limits memory as in resource.limits.memory (https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/manage-resources-containers/)
+      memory: "1Gi"
+      # -- limit cpu as in resource.requests.cpu (https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/manage-resources-containers/)
+      cpu: "500m"
+  # copied from 4.1.x: https://github.com/GeoNode/geonode/blob/master/geonode/catalogue/backends/pycsw_local_mappings.py
+  # -- pycsw config file parameters, see docs: https://docs.pycsw.org/_/downloads/en/latest/pdf/
+  mappings: |-
+    MD_CORE_MODEL = {
+      "typename": "pycsw:CoreMetadata",
+      "outputschema": "http://pycsw.org/metadata",
+      "mappings": {
+          "pycsw:Identifier": "uuid",
+          "pycsw:Typename": "csw_typename",
+          "pycsw:Schema": "csw_schema",
+          "pycsw:MdSource": "csw_mdsource",
+          "pycsw:InsertDate": "csw_insert_date",
+          "pycsw:XML": "metadata_xml",
+          "pycsw:AnyText": "csw_anytext",
+          "pycsw:Language": "language",
+          "pycsw:Title": "title",
+          "pycsw:Abstract": "raw_abstract",
+          "pycsw:Keywords": "keyword_csv",
+          "pycsw:KeywordType": "keywordstype",
+          "pycsw:Format": "spatial_representation_type_string",
+          "pycsw:Source": "source",
+          "pycsw:Date": "date",
+          "pycsw:Modified": "date",
+          "pycsw:Type": "csw_type",
+          "pycsw:BoundingBox": "csw_wkt_geometry",
+          "pycsw:CRS": "csw_crs",
+          "pycsw:AlternateTitle": "alternate",
+          "pycsw:RevisionDate": "date",
+          "pycsw:CreationDate": "date",
+          "pycsw:PublicationDate": "date",
+          "pycsw:Organization": "organizationname",
+          "pycsw:OrganizationName": "organizationname",
+          "pycsw:SecurityConstraints": "securityconstraints",
+          "pycsw:ParentIdentifier": "parentidentifier",
+          "pycsw:TopicCategory": "topiccategory",
+          "pycsw:ResourceLanguage": "language",
+          "pycsw:GeographicDescriptionCode": "geodescode",
+          "pycsw:Denominator": "denominator",
+          "pycsw:DistanceValue": "distancevalue",
+          "pycsw:DistanceUOM": "distanceuom",
+          "pycsw:TempExtent_begin": "temporal_extent_start",
+          "pycsw:TempExtent_end": "temporal_extent_end",
+          "pycsw:ServiceType": "servicetype",
+          "pycsw:ServiceTypeVersion": "servicetypeversion",
+          "pycsw:Operation": "operation",
+          "pycsw:CouplingType": "couplingtype",
+          "pycsw:OperatesOn": "operateson",
+          "pycsw:OperatesOnIdentifier": "operatesonidentifier",
+          "pycsw:OperatesOnName": "operatesoname",
+          "pycsw:Degree": "degree",
+          "pycsw:AccessConstraints": "restriction_code",
+          "pycsw:OtherConstraints": "raw_constraints_other",
+          "pycsw:Classification": "classification",
+          "pycsw:ConditionApplyingToAccessAndUse": "conditionapplyingtoaccessanduse",
+          "pycsw:Lineage": "lineage",
+          "pycsw:ResponsiblePartyRole": "responsiblepartyrole",
+          "pycsw:SpecificationTitle": "specificationtitle",
+          "pycsw:SpecificationDate": "specificationdate",
+          "pycsw:SpecificationDateType": "specificationdatetype",
+          "pycsw:Creator": "creator",
+          "pycsw:Publisher": "publisher",
+          "pycsw:Contributor": "contributor",
+          "pycsw:Relation": "relation",
+          "pycsw:Links": "download_links",
+      },
+    }
+  config:
+    server:
+      home: /home/pycsw
+      mimetype: application/xml; charset=UTF-8
+      encoding: UTF-8
+      language: en-US
+      maxrecords: 10
+      profiles: apiso
+      # workers: 2
+      timeout: 30
+    manager:
+      transactions: "false"
+    metadata:
+      identification_title: GeoNode pycsw Geospatial Catalogue
+      identification_abstract: GeoNode-k8s pycsw Geospatial Catalogue
+      identification_keywords: catalogue,discovery,metadata, geonode
+      identification_keywords_type: theme
+      identification_fees: None
+      identification_accessconstraints: None
+      provider_name: GeoNode Kubernetes
+      provider_url: https://pycsw.org/
+      contact_name: Lastname, Firstname
+      contact_position: Position Title
+      contact_address: Mailing Address
+      contact_city: City
+      contact_stateorprovince: Administrative Area
+      contact_postalcode: Zip or Postal Code
+      contact_country: Country
+      contact_phone: +xx-xxx-xxx-xxxx
+      contact_fax: +xx-xxx-xxx-xxxx
+      contact_email: Email Address
+      contact_url: Contact URL
+      contact_hours: Hours of Service
+      contact_instructions: During hours of service.  Off on weekends.
+      contact_role: pointOfContact
+
+    repository:
+      table: base_resourcebase
+      mappings: /etc/pycsw/pycsw-mappings.py
+      # filter: type = 'http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Dataset'
+
+    inspire:
+      enabled: "true"
+      languages_supported: eng,gre
+      default_language: eng
+      date: YYYY-MM-DD
+      gemet_keywords: Utility and governmental services
+      conformity_service: notEvaluated
+      contact_name: Organization Name
+      contact_email: Email Address
+      temp_extent: YYYY-MM-DD/YYYY-MM-DD
+
+########################
+# CHART CONFIGURATIONS #
+########################
+
+# MEMCACHED CONFIGURATION
+# https://artifacthub.io/packages/helm/bitnami/memcached
+memcached:
+  # -- memcached replica. Loadbalanaced via kubernetes. (only one entry in django settings.py) im memcached is activated under geonode.memcached.enabled this takes place
+  architecture: high-availability
+  replicaCount: 1
+
 # -- VALUES DEFINITION https://github.com/bitnami/charts/blob/master/bitnami/rabbitmq/values.yaml
 rabbitmq:
   enabled: true
+  # -- rabbitmq raplica count
   replicaCount: 1
   auth:
     username: rabbituser
@@ -393,7 +546,6 @@ postgres:
   geonode_databasename_and_username: geonode
   # -- geoserver database name and username
   geodata_databasename_and_username: geodata
-
   # -- configuration for postgres operator database manifest
   operator_manifest:
     # -- pod name for postgres containers == teamID for mainifest
diff --git a/docs/pycsw.md b/docs/pycsw.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..42f6f37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/pycsw.md
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+External pyCSW 
+--------------
+
+GeoNode-k8s external pycsw container. This allows changes to pyCSW without having to change GeoNode codebase and allows scalability of the pyCSW service seperatly. The external pycsw service is by default enabled. To disable set: `.Values.pycsw.enabled = False`
+
+The pycsw configuration (pycsw.cfg) and mappings are defined in the values file: `[ .Values.pycsw.config , .Values.pycsw.mappings ]`
+
+The csw endpoint is default set to the one used within Geonode: `/catalogue/csw`
diff --git a/minikube-values.yaml b/minikube-values.yaml
index db4f0b3..798ede4 100644
--- a/minikube-values.yaml
+++ b/minikube-values.yaml
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@ geonode:
     email_verification: "False"
     authentication_method: username_email
 
+pycsw:
+  enabled: True
+
 postgres-operator-ui:
   enabled: False