CEB Field Testing – Factor e Live – Episode 10

We are finally in the phase of field testing of the CEB press. We ran the CEB press successfully with our open source tractor, which we showed in Episode 8 of Factor e Live. Now it’s production time – pressing about eight thousand bricks – as the minimum goal for building living space behind our greenhouse.

We identified a good vein of clayey soil. It turns out that the tractor loader and rototiller work poorly in dense, compacted clay – the prime soil for CEB construction. So we are doing further improvements on LifeTrac. The first step is adding a smaller loader bucket – with a tooth bar for ripping into the soil. Second, we’ll add tire chains, and third, a backhoe for digging the soil – if the toothed bucket is inadequate.

This is the reality. The earth moving requirements are immense, and it requires serious equipment. The forecast shows sunny weather – after 3 days of rain. This may be one of our last chances to dig up mountains of soil – before winter colds arrive. We’ll see how it goes.

This is also the middle of our October funding cycle. We have collected a total of $1664 as of today – over half of our stated goal, with two weeks left to go. Regarding our plan, , we are just about on schedule. We got some tools: a miter saw for making trusses for our CEB construction, a large grinder for metal work, a table saw, and a number of power drills. We decided to convert one of our silos to a kitchen, and we still have to do a bathroom. We did well on recruiting – Alex and Bob are here, and it presently looks like two more people will arrive in a couple of weeks.

Please donate if you haven’t already to help us reach our goal. Remaining funds will cover primarily the costs of gravel, insulation, lumber, and roofing materials for the addition’s living roof. The less time we have to spend on fund-raising, the quicker we will complete the entire Global Village Construction Set. Please read more about Factor e Farm’s economic model, which we just posted today. Donate by clicking here.