Get involved

We are looking for people of all kinds, in all places to contribute what they can to to this project. Please consider lending a hand. This page offers a summary of ways you can get involved with OSE. There is a number of hands-on opportunities outlined below.

Financial Donations
You can support us financially by subscribing as a.

This term comes from Kevin Kelly's influential essay "1000 True Fans", which suggested gathering True Fans who are willing to offer financial support as a way of funding free projects.

     

There are also other ways in which you can.

See our blog post on our steady growth.

Spread the Word
Our core message: "Creating tools for building modern off-grid resilient communities that can be reproduced by anyone at low cost."

You can help by:
 * Adding OSE as a friend on your social networking sites - see our facebook page, myspace page, twitter, and identi.ca.
 * Making contact with any of the groups listed on the page. We are looking to build bridges with people that are interested in OSE products. Find groups and people who could benefit from having access to our machines, but don't yet know about them. Report your efforts on Outreach 2010 or Outreach 2011.
 * Helping us make contact with specialists and experts who can aide us in broadening and improving our set of open source tools and technologies.
 * Contacting us about potential venues and opportunities to present the project to a new audience. We may be available to come and speak in your community / to your group / at your institution given the right circumstances.
 * Refer interested parties to join our low-traffic to receive updates about our current progress.
 * Telling everyone you know about Open Source Ecology and the Global Village Construction Set (GVCS)!

Develop the Wiki
This wiki is a means to share detailed information about, the , and the work that is ongoing at. The site is currently in the process of being reorganized to increase ease of access and to lay a firm foundation for the growth of the project. Helping with the wiki is a great way to contribute some of your time to furthering the goals of the OSE project. We are looking for volunteers to:
 * Give feedback on the accessibility of the site
 * Add relevant content
 * Help in the process of categorizing and organizing
 * See an up-to-date list of other tasks

To orient yourself to the standards and current projects of this wiki, please consult:
 * Forum Discussion
 * Forum Discussion
 * Forum Discussion
 * Forum Discussion

To learn more about editing and formatting using MediaWiki, see:
 * [wiki maintenance]

Further Collaboration
To collaborate further with us, first familiarize yourself with the project (see the top of this page). Then,

We have put together a Guide to OSE Projects that can help you figure out what project you might want to work on and figure out who to contact to participate.

Manage a Project
We are looking for online or full time on-site project managers to lead the development of tangible products to be deployed at Factor e Farm. At present, we have 3 projects being managed: the CEB, Sawmill, and Solar Turbine. Each project may be divided into sub-projects. For example, the Solar Turbine relies on the development of the steam engine, metal casting, open source lathe, and other sub-projects. If you are interested in leading the development of one of the components or sub-components of the, please let us know.

Share Your Expertise
If you are an expert in any of the many bodies of knowledge that relate to our project of creating, we would love help improving our designs. The more open source technologies and tools we have, the less we need to be locked to proprietary technologies, the closer we come to making our vision a reality. If you can help us design better tools, we would appreciate your input.

You can:
 * Review the plan and development process for the.
 * Help us design a specific project or a sub-assembly of a project. We are currently requesting review and bids on our for a number of projects.
 * Look at our list of subject areas in need of an expert to see if your expertise matches up with needs as we currently see them.
 * Send us a proposal for the development of a possible open source tool or technology to our project.

We're also looking for someone to:
 * Produce CAD drawings and fabrication drawings for the tractor, CEB press, Power Cube, and rototiller.
 * Help with project documentation and technical writing.
 * Volunteer to write grants for project proposals
 * Collaborate as a professional grantwriter for a percentage of the funds raised.

Get your university to collaborate
We are interested in collaborating with university teams to design and build the tools of the Global Village Construction Set. Students of engineering, agriculture and development studies have a great opportunity to undertake a meaningful project and help with the work we are doing. There are several ways university students can help -
 * Design, build and document one of the tools of the Global Village Construction Set (or propose and build a new tool we hadn't thought of)
 * Replicate one of the tools we have already designed, such as the LifeTrac tractor, or the Compressed Earth Block press
 * Help us build the documentation, such as drafting CAD files for the GVCS tools
 * Check the possible tasks for Universities.
 * Any other way you want to contribute!

If you are interested in collaborating, please post on the forum explaining your area of study, what projects you are undertaking in university, and how you would like to collaborate.

Collaborate on the Farm
Before considering volunteering at the farm, please read the following:


 * Read about what it's like at Factor e Farm.
 * Factor e Farm's.
 * Factor e Farm's.

We are seeking individuals to come to Factor e Farm for one month to help develop the  and the infrastructure at Factor e Farm. Proposals for projects are being accepted and reviewed. The suitability of proposals depends largely on a candidate's level of skill and experience. This is also our route for accepting new people for long-term stays as part of the Factor e Farm experiment.

Ideally we are looking for:


 * Confident and highly dynamic self learners and researchers.
 * Highly motivated innovators who are open to new ideas and excited by diversity of thought.
 * Developers who can take a project from concept drawing to real world implementation.
 * Those comfortable in rural and rustic settings.
 * Willing team members, self starters, and project leaders.

We are offering a place where you can put the philosophy of sustainability into action. We are a physical experiment in building a post industrial global village - a space for all people to learn and grow. Because of the diversity of our activities, we believe a Factor E experience can be exceptional and life-changing, but that doesn't mean it's for everyone. There are countless opportunities available in the realm of sustainability and justice. Look at: Wiserearth; Idealist; GrowFood; WWOOF; Growing Growers Kansas City.

For Technical Developers
If you would like to help bring this project to completion, we invite proactive collaboration on many fronts. First, see for a list of the 50 technologies that we are developing, for their product ecologies, and for general information about the development process. Second, read and re-read the, as these inform all of the technical, organizational, and community development around the project. Then, read about the technical development process at the GVCS Development Template, and the publishing standards for our results at the Product Template. The key page is the GVCS Tools Status - a GVCS master index for displaying the status and needs of each project, and see a simpler table at. If there is no entry for a given project and step, that indicates that no work has yet been done. Each entry in the table is hyperlinked so you can find out the status of each step, and the next steps and needs become transparent. At this stage, after general assessment of a given project, you are ready to contribute. Begin by filling out the survey according to the notes and instructions stated on that page. Then, contact the Project Manager for that project to see how exactly you can become involved, or, find out about if you would like become a project manager yourself. You can also see the GVCS Budget for a general description of the expected development and prototyping costs.

Success on the above requires that project managers are recruited for each of the 50 projects. It also depends on developing a corresponding organizational, web, and funding strategy. You can check our current Project needs.

For CAD Modelers and Drafters
Creating accurate models and drawings in CAD for the GVCS is critical in providing a level of detail of part design and assembly that is usually not available with other mediums such as video and descriptive text. These models and drawings provide a means of sharing information and collaborative design which is at the core of the Open Source Ecology philosophy.

If you would like to help with the modeling and drafting, head over to the CAD Team page.

For Organizational Developers
Organizational development involves all the supporting roles that lead to the 50/2/2 Apollo Program for the GVCS, and the positioning of the project as a world-class effort of improving the human condition. Organizational development involves the management, architecture, organiztional form, fundraising, marketing, PR, and other functions that this project needs to reach its goals.

Transparency should include disclosure of strategy, infrastructure, team, and other details that make development work possible.

See a list of Development Processes for inspiration on how to improve the success rate of your projects.

Organizational infrastructure includes organizational form, organizational architecture, process design, operations management, product management, resource development, donor relations, human resources, handling of finances, transparency, conflict resolution, media development, public relations, and other tasks that allow the technical development to flow smoothly. We are presently installing all of this infrastructure. At present, we are working on becoming an NGO or nonprofit, and we are defining the organizational architecture. On the resource development front, our first step is to install an instance of CiviCRM to handle contacts. To get involved, first fill out the survey. Then email our Operations Manager or Resource Developer to get involved. You can read about 50/2/2, our that is being developed to make this happen, the  to support the Organizational Infrastructure,  to facilitate development,  to communicate the work,  to handle entry-level discussion and to filter it into actual development progress, learn how to help OSE win. What else is missing here?

For Web Developers
The web infrastructure includes the main website, wiki, blog, forums, design repository, CiviCRM platform, and community portal. We are presently reworking all of this infrastructure. You can check our IT Tasks and help us.

Visit Factor e Farm


Please see Visit_Factor_e_Farm

Organic Farm Volunteers
Organic farm volunteers for facility management, and food, energy, and housing provision.

Is OSE still registered with WWOOF, etc.? Are there any differences in expectations for farm volunteers and those coming for month long project-based visits?

=How to sign up for an account on the wiki= See How to get an account on the wiki.