Thanks, Michel.<div><br></div><div>Destroke is when you take something designed in its capacity and functionality to fit one application or market then, remove some its features and reduce its capacity so it fits another application that requires less capacity or a market that demands a lower price. The same basic design and overall operation are retained and reused. The idea is that one gets to spread an investment already made much further, thereby generating even more profit because of less engineering and retooling expense. </div>
<div><br></div><div>The term relates, in part, to the U.S. auto industry during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s when manufacturers would take a basic engine block designed for high horsepower ratings and shorten the stroke (or travel) of the pistons by modifying the crankshaft throws and lengths of the connecting rods combined with changing the bore of cylinders to produce less horsepower. Therefore, they could amortize the original investment in the fundamental design of the engine block across much larger product volumes. Hence, the term "destroke." </div>
<div><br></div><div>Growing up during these times, we used to start with a cheaper destroked engine, mix and match components scavenged from the junk cars and an occasional new part, and bore out the cylinders to create a considerably more powerful engine for much less than the price of a one new. Of course, all that's past history now. In the states, "shade tree" mechanical skills, local machine shop know-how, and a blacksmith "can fix anything" attitude are long gone. When we talk about relocalization, we often mean a restoration of this kind of self-sufficiency or self-reliance--not as nostalgia about times past--but as a hedge against rampant, unchecked, and ultimately destructive globalization. But I digress...</div>
<div><br></div><div>Take care,</div><div><br></div><div>Steve B.</div><meta charset="utf-8"><meta charset="utf-8"><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 10:23 AM, Michel Bauwens <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:michelsub2004@gmail.com">michelsub2004@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">thanks steve, a great comment which I'll feature on the 22nd,<br><br>what does destroke mean?<div><div></div><div class="h5">
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 9:13 PM, Steve Bosserman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:steve.bosserman@gmail.com" target="_blank">steve.bosserman@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);padding-left:1ex">Hi Michel,<div><br></div><div>These articles have some truth, but they don't tell the whole story. For instance, here's a similar operation to what the Wake-Up World post highlights in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA area: <a href="http://www.growingpower.org/" target="_blank">http://www.growingpower.org/</a>. They have a spin-off facility that specializes in aquaculture: <a href="http://sweetwater-organic.com/" target="_blank">http://sweetwater-organic.com/</a>. They offer training programs to help people in communities across the U.S. setup their own food / composting / aquaculture systems. The founder of Growing Power, Will Allen, even won a MacArthur Foundation "genius award" to promote his program <a href="http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.4537249/k.29CA/Will_Allen.htm" target="_blank">http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.4537249/k.29CA/Will_Allen.htm</a>. And he was selected as one of Time Magazine's Top 100 influential people in the world for 2010 <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685_1984949_1985243,00.html" target="_blank">http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685_1984949_1985243,00.html</a>.</div>
<div><br></div><div>The problem is, as even Will Allen will say, that these food production systems require constant subsidy through gifts of time, materials, and money, grant funding, or high-end markets where clientele can afford to pay a premium for local food. In other words, they are not sustainable. Furthermore, they only provide a small percentage of the calorie requirements for the local populations they serve.</div>
<div><br></div><div>The answer rests in the community adopting a production-to-consumption local agriculture system rather than attempting to establish a sustainable food supply through production only. That means the entire value chain gets taken into consideration when designing the local system. And it means starting at the point of consumption, i.e., total number of affordable, accessible, and healthy calories required to sustain local community members, designing the system backwards to the points of production, and allocating the revenue from sales of calories to community members such that all participants in the value chain, i.e., preparation, processing, production, and distribution, can, at a minimum, cover their costs. Such a system is very different than a "destroked" global system which is what one has when only localizing production.</div>
<div><br></div><div>My opinion for what it's worth...</div><div><br></div><div>Steve B.<div><div></div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jul 15, 2011 at 8:47 AM, Michel Bauwens <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:michelsub2004@gmail.com" target="_blank">michelsub2004@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);padding-left:1ex"><a href="http://wakeup-world.com/2011/07/14/how-1-million-pounds-of-organic-food-can-be-produced-on-3-acres/" target="_blank">http://wakeup-world.com/2011/07/14/how-1-million-pounds-of-organic-food-can-be-produced-on-3-acres/</a><br>
<br>it would be great if someone more versed in agrifood production could look into this,<br>
<br>Michel<br clear="all"><font color="#888888"><br>-- <br>P2P Foundation: <a href="http://p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://p2pfoundation.net</a> - <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://blog.p2pfoundation.net</a> <br>
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</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>P2P Foundation: <a href="http://p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://p2pfoundation.net</a> - <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://blog.p2pfoundation.net</a> <br>
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