[P2P-F] an update on OSE

Thu Sep 15 17:12:26 CEST 2011

will appear on the blog: from Marcin,

  *Core Deliverables*

 At the present phase, our core deliverables are machine prototypes,
documentation (see CEB
Press<http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/CEB_Press/Manufacturing_Instructions>,
Power Cube<http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Power%20Cube/Manufacturing_Instructions>,
and Tractor<http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/LifeTrac/Manufacturing_Instructions>
as
examples), and distributive
enterprise<http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Distributive_Enterprise>business
models that anyone can access to bring wealth to their communities.
This year, will be delivering the OSE Christmas Gift to the
World<http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/OSE_Christmas_Gift_to_the_World_2011>:
4 full product releases (tractor, CEB press, soil pulverizer, Power Cube) by
this year's end, as well as full documentation – to make replication a
straightforward reality. You can read more points of the more general OSE
Platform on our wiki <http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/OSE_Platform>.

 We are beginning to demonstrate economic significance. To test the
significance of our tools, we not only develop them, but dogfood them, and
take them to market – as part of open business model development. Last year,
we cleared $3k. This year, we cleared $25k from our production run of
tractors and CEB presses, which we put back immediately into the operation
to bootstrap further development. Next year, we expect to clear $125-250k
from production.

 Of our core deliverables, the last step of distributive enterprise
development is entrepreneurship training. This relies on the availability of
both prototypes and crystal-clear documentation. Such training can be the
foundation for a post-scarcity
economy<http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Post-Scarcity>.

 Using existing technology, we believe firmly that it is possible to attain
a modern standard of living at 2 hours per day of labor - while remaining
completely within the limits of natural life support systems – while
avoiding geopolitical compromises. Our goal is to lead the creation *Technology
for the People* as a regenerative force for creating prosperity wherever
soil, sunshine, and water are found.

 *Growth*

 Since the TED Talk, this project has grown tremendously.

 We are committed to continuing on a smart and lean effort for changing the
world – without bloat that can spoil good ideas. We have built this project
on the open source approach. We went 100% to crowd
funding<http://blog.opensourceecology.org/2008/11/october-progress-report-major-success-in-crowd-funding/>in
2008 when our own resources ran dry, and started the 1000
True Fans Campaign <http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/True_Fans> in 2009.
The True Fans are donors who give donations from $10 to $100 per month for
24 months, and they have been the uninterrupted mainstay of our work. Read
what other True Fans are saying and
subscribe<http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/True_Fans>.
If you are a direct stakeholder who would like to see our results sooner
rather than later, you may want to consider a subscription.

.

This year, we have shown significant earnings for bootstrapping further
development. We also began to take tax deductible contributions through our
fiscal sponsor – though we are cautious about avoiding pitfalls of
institutionalization. We see the latter as a temporary step that can assist
in the emergence of the open source economy. We've also observed that very
few interests are opposed to the ideals of Open Source Ecology – as we are
positioning ourselves as an absolutely creative approach. Everybody knows
there are problems, and everybody wants solutions.

 We have also seen first evidence of independent replication. Currently,
there are 2 efforts in Texas building the CEB press, Power Cube, and
LifeTrac. We are working on perfecting our documentation. We have had
several fabricators-in-training at Factor e Farm who are interested in
starting their own productive enterprises in other locations. That's the
distributive economy at work.

 *Near-Term Goals*

 Our Phase 1 goal is completing the 50 GVCS prototypes and documentation by
year-end 2012, with about $4-5M of funding. Crowd funding, earnings, and the
non-profit sector are our 3 sources of support. Our metric of success is the
number of successful entrepreneurs that we help to train.

 Read the GVCS Rollout
Plan<http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/GVCS_Rollout_Plan>.
We've got a long way to go, and people say that we're crazy. We are
confident that the support is gaining epic proportions. The main challenge
remains the due diligence of. finding entrepreneurial, interdisciplinary,
boundary-crossing developers - with the skills and dedication to make this
ambitious project a success. With good project leaders, we can secure
resources. The basic process is producing concrete proposals for each of the
technologies. We encourage you to submit a nonexclusive proposal
bid<http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Proposal_Template>for our
review. If the due diligence is there, we will find a way to fund it
through our extensive network of supporters, especially the TED community.

 The problem is quite tractable – as we are not inventing anything new.
Therefore, this is a process which lends itself to massive parallel
development. The question is – does the world have the will to make this
happen. It's up to you to vote with your energy and contribute to the core
deliverables – we're an open source project.

 MID TERM GOALS

 January 1. 2013 will mark the kickoff of the social experiment which Michel
alluded to in the first paragraph. We will be testing whether it is possible
to create a materially-prosperous community, whether right here at Factor e
Farm or in the heart of Africa, on the scale of Dunbar's number in size -
that enjoys 1-2 hour per day work requirements to provide a modern standard
of living (including ability to trade) – via wise use of productive
technology - while at the same time avoiding contribution to geopolitical
compromises. We aim to generate data points on the above. These data points
will include: practical work requirements in hours; level of technology
achieved; level of specialization reqiured; ergonomic constraints;
sufficiency of local resources; happiness, satisfaction, and meaning found
in the population.

 NEXT STEPS

 So how do we get there? Our current strategy is building a solid team at
Factor e Farm to be able to manage a much greater, global, parallel
development effort. The on-site team is the agile development team which can
move forward both on the prototyping and organizational aspects.

 To do this, we are planning an ambitious construction plan this season. It
calls for the construction of 10 living units and a 5000 square foot
fabrication facility here at Factor E Farm. Tnis would finally bootstrap us
to the comfortable living and working environment for developers at Factor e
Farm. Infrastructure was a persistent issue throughout our history. We
started from raw land – and we continue as one of the world's few, if not
only, off-grid digital fabrication facilities. This is part of our
civilization reboot experiment. Historically, I prioritized getting on the
world map with open source hardware – because we did this all on a
$1.5k/month budget from True Fans and supporters (we are now over
$10k/month, with $4k from True Fans).

 DRASTIC IMPROVEMENT OF ACCESS TO NATURAL BUILDING

 As part of our development work – and to provide the much needed
infrastructure at Factor e Farm - we are putting the tractor, CEB press,
soil pulverizer, and Power Cube through the most rigorous field tests to
date. We’ve already achieved the highest brick pressing rates of any open
source model (16 bricks/minute, 5,000 bricks/day), and now we’re aiming to
complete the package - by achieving $5 per square foot construction costs,
while remaining within industry standard construction schedules. Our goal is
to improve dramatically upon the efficiency of natural building - far
surpassing the benchmarks of earthbag, cordwood, strawbale, cob, rammed
earth, adobe, earthship, and papercrete techniques, while keeping the
ecological footprint to bare minimums. We’ll publish a full energy
accounting report, including embodied energy estimates for materials and the
“joules per day” of both biological (slide: a human being) and
electromechanical systems (slide: of the tractor). .

 See a video of the proposed workshop and living units, and read more on the
wiki <http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/OSE_Shop_2011>:

 (video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSS8kuejE6k&feature=player_embedded)

 <iframe width="560" height="345" src="
http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZSS8kuejE6k" frameborder="0"
allowfullscreen></iframe>

 This will be a complete closure of taking this equipment from the drawing
board and first prototype almost 4 years
ago<http://blog.opensourceecology.org/2007/12/ceb-phase-1-done/>– to
full application towards accommodations for GVCS developers and
enrepreneurs-in-training. We plan on doing this at breakthrough cost and
spectacular ecological performance – while remaining within industry
standard construction schedules.

 In addition to the open source CEB press, tractor, soil pulverizer, and
power cube– we will use the first prototype of the open source dimensional
sawmill <http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Sawmill/Research_Development>,
open source tractor loader-mounted cement mixer, and square baler – to
provide construction materials from on-site feedstocks. This includes brick,
lumber, and hay-bale insulation – to deliver super-insulated housing at
$2/square foot<http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Hybrid_CEB-Straw_Superinsulated_Housing_Plans>for
construction materials. We will document this carefully.

 CHALLENGES

 We ran into a slight pickle, in that the $60k enabling construction grant
did not yet materialize. So we took to the crowds with an emergency recovery
plan <http://blog.opensourceecology.org/2011/09/recovery-plan/>, and have so
far raised about $18k (some of this is not shown in the ChipIn widget) in
under one week from dedicated supporters. We still have about a day left and
$2k to go to reach our goal of $20k, so if you are interested in us
succeeding, please chip in:

 <embed src="http://widget.chipin.com/widget/id/7394541eab8ad73d"
flashVars="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always"
wmode="transparent" width="234" height="60"></embed>

 CONCLUSION

It's not easy building the world's first open source village. Challenges
such as the one above need to be negotiated daily, and recovery plans are a
regular part of the game. See the Open Source
Ecologist<http://blog.opensourceecology.org/2011/08/video-the-open-source-ecologist/>for
an inside look from one day on the ground. Stay tuned for more
exciting
news.

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