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Open Source Ecology (OSE) International

OSE is a global movement and collaboratory. Our goal and current engagement is building the world's first replicable, open source, post-industrial village. The name refers to an ecology, or ecosystem, of open-source hardware that works as an ecological whole. However, the name implies much more than technology - for technology is merely a basis upon which social organization can happen, in harmony with its natural life support systems. The real issue then emerges - the possibility of unprecedented quality of life for all.

To build a post-industrial village, we are developing and testing the set of tools required to build such a village - the Global Village Construction Set. Land stewardship and local production via open source design and digital fabrication - founded on open sharing of information - are the key features of this adventure. Right livelihood and resolution of pressing world issues is the intended byproduct.

See an overview of progress in our ongoing social experiment - the Distillations video series - which covers progress up to the end of 2008.

Inventing a New Civilization on a Shoestring Budget

Say you want to build a village, enterprise, or for that matter - an entire civilization – because civilization is just a compilation of productive enterprises. Say you have only $10k in your pocket. You can begin to build your habitat with a CEB press of 3000 bricks per day production, and a sawmill with 3000 board feet per day of production – easily. You will need a tractor for earth moving and power. These 3 tools total $6500 for materials to build these tools from open soure plans. You can then build the entire technological infrastructure with a personal fabrication open source Fab Lab – with metal melting furnace, 3D printer, CNC machines, and circuit fabrication, for another $3500 in materials, for a total of $10k. You’ll have to learn the skill to build and operate the production machinery. We can teach you, and you can even propagate a 5-kingdom gene bank for an entire agricultural infrastructure – it’s on the house. You’ll just have to find yourself some land, sun, water, and scrap steel. What if this package could be self-replicating? Fab Lab and gene bank make it so. Now we’re talking.

An imaginary situation? Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but we’re taking the development of the above very seriously at Factor e Farm. See the Distillations videos. And if you are compelled to help - we started a request for proposals for the First World Conference on Open Source Ecology. Please consider applying.

If you can’t make it to the Conference, but would like to support this as a True Fan of this work, then subscribe to our campaign by going to our blog.

Factor e Farm

  • See our legacy webpage here.
  • Archives of some of our theory and history are here.

External Links

Videos

Highlights of our Work

Collaboration

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Recent Activity at Factor e Farm

Last updated 12/09

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