P2P Foundation Blog post

=September 14, 2011=

             <FONT SIZE=2>Global Village Construction Set: Open Source Blueprints for Civilization</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><B>Introduction</B></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>It has been years since my last update to the P2P community. You may be aware that 4 years ago, Michel Bauwens questioned whether we are the </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/marcin-jakubowskis-open-farm-the-most-important-social-experiment-in-the-world/2008/01/22"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>most important social experiment in the world</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>, and Steve Bosserman has reported on the </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/steve_bosserman/2008/02/09/giving_it_away_making_money.htm"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>economic ramifications of our work</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>. We've gotten more data points since then. As founder of </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>Open Source Ecology</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>, I would like to summarize our current status and near-term goals.</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>First, begin with my </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://www.ted.com/talks/marcin_jakubowski.html"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>TED Talk</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2> for an overview from earlier this year:</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>

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</FONT></FONT> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>Those are certainly ideas worth spreading, as in TED's logo – but what is the substance?</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><B>Core Deliverables</B></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>At the present phase, our core deliverables are machine prototypes, documentation (see </FONT></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal"> </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/CEB_Press/Manufacturing_Instructions"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>CEB Press</FONT></FONT></A><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">, </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Power%20Cube/Manufacturing_Instructions"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>Power Cube</FONT></FONT></A><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">, and </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/LifeTrac/Manufacturing_Instructions"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>Tractor</FONT></FONT></A><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal"> </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2> as examples), and </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Distributive_Enterprise"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>distributive enterprise</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2> business models that anyone can access to bring wealth to their communities. This year, will be delivering the </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/OSE_Christmas_Gift_to_the_World_2011"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>OSE Christmas Gift to the World</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>: 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 </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/OSE_Platform"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>OSE Platform on our wiki</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>.</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>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.</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>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 </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Post-Scarcity"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>post-scarcity economy</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>. </FONT></FONT> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>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. <FONT COLOR="#000000"><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Our goal is to lead the creation </SPAN></SPAN></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000"><I><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Technology for the People</SPAN></I></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000"><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal"> as a regenerative force for creating prosperity wherever soil, sunshine, and water are found. </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><B>Growth</B></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>Since the TED Talk, this project has grown tremendously. </FONT></FONT> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>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 </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://blog.opensourceecology.org/2008/11/october-progress-report-major-success-in-crowd-funding/"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>crowd funding</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2> in 2008 when our own resources ran dry, and started the </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/True_Fans"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>1000 True Fans Campaign</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2> 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. </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/True_Fans"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>Read what other True Fans are saying and subscribe</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>. If you are a direct stakeholder who would like to see our results sooner rather than later, you may want to consider a subscription.</FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>. </FONT></FONT> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>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.</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>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.</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><B>Near-Term Goals</B></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>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.</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=3><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>Read the </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/GVCS_Rollout_Plan"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>GVCS Rollout Plan</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>. 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 </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Proposal_Template"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>submit a nonexclusive proposal bid</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2> 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.</FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>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.</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>MID TERM GOALS</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <H3 CLASS="western" STYLE="margin-right: 0.23in; margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.05in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none"> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>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.</FONT></FONT></FONT></H3> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>NEXT STEPS</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>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.</FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>To do this, we are planning an ambitious construction plan this season. It calls for t<FONT COLOR="#000000"><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">he 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).</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>DRASTIC IMPROVEMENT OF ACCESS TO NATURAL BUILDING</FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>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). . </FONT></FONT></FONT> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="arial, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=2 STYLE="font-size: 9pt"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>See a video of the proposed workshop and living units, and </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/OSE_Shop_2011"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>read more on the wiki</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>:</FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">(video at </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSS8kuejE6k&amp;feature=player_embedded"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSS8kuejE6k&amp;feature=player_embedded</FONT></FONT></A><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">)</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <IMG SRC="MJ-P2P%20blog%20post%202_html_m1c15d118.png" NAME="graphics4" ALIGN=LEFT WIDTH=169 HEIGHT=124 BORDER=0><BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>

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

</FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="arial, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=2 STYLE="font-size: 9pt"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>This will be a complete closure of taking this equipment from the drawing board and </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://blog.opensourceecology.org/2007/12/ceb-phase-1-done/"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>first prototype almost 4 years ago</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2> – 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. </FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="arial, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=2 STYLE="font-size: 9pt"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>In addition to the open source CEB press, tractor, soil pulverizer, and power cube– we will use the first prototype of the </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Sawmill/Research_Development"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>open source dimensional sawmill</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>, 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 </FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Hybrid_CEB-Straw_Superinsulated_Housing_Plans"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>super-insulated housing at $2/square foot</FONT></FONT></A><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2> for construction materials. We will document this carefully.</FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>CHALLENGES</FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">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 </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://blog.opensourceecology.org/2011/09/recovery-plan/"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>emergency recovery plan</FONT></FONT></A><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">, 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:</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>

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<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2> <embed src="http://widget.chipin.com/widget/id/7394541eab8ad73d" flashVars="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" width="234" height="60">

</FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <BR> </P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"> <FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>CONCLUSION</FONT></FONT></FONT></P> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">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 </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><A HREF="http://blog.opensourceecology.org/2011/08/video-the-open-source-ecologist/"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2>Open Source Ecologist</FONT></FONT></A><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT FACE="Times, serif"><FONT SIZE=2><SPAN STYLE="font-style: normal"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal"> for an inside look from one day on the ground. Stay tuned for more exciting news.</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></P> </BODY> </HTML>