Get involved

See also: How to help

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.

Contact us

"True Fans" subscriptions

You can support us financially by subscribing to be a True Fan. The phrase 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.

Subscribe here:

Standard : $10.00USD - monthly Gold : $20.00USD - monthly Gold Extra : $30.00USD - monthly Platinum : $50.00USD - monthly Angel : $100.00USD - monthly

See our blog post on our steady growth.

Please spend time going through the Crash Course for those newly involved. Get caught up on OSE's work from the past four years before diving in to help us make this project real.

Develop the Wiki

This wiki is a means to share detailed information about Open Source Ecology, the Global Village Construction Set, and the work that is ongoing at Factor e Farm. 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

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

• Wiki Policy
• Wiki Reorganization 2011
• Forum Discussion
• Wiki Documentation Standards

To learn more about editing and formatting using MediaWiki, see:

• MediaWiki Help

Spread the Word

Getting the message out.

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 Marketing page. We are looking to build bridges with people that are interested in openfarmtech.org 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.
• 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 mailing list to receive updates about our current progress.
• Telling everyone you know about Open Source Ecology!

Collaborate

• Visit the pages listed at the page to get to know current collaboration ideas. Contact people listed here and create new pages in this category. See Develop the Wiki for information on getting a wiki user account.
• Build some of the machines yourself, test their performance and report back any difficulties or problems you faced while building and using them.

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 GVCS, 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 open source machines / tools, 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 Global Village Construction Set.
• Help us design a specific project or a sub-assembly of a project. We are currently requesting review and bids on our Specifications 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.

Collaborate on the Farm

Constructing a better future.

Before considering volunteering at the farm, please read the following:

• Read about what it's like at Factor e Farm.
• Factor e Farm Social Contract
• Factor e Farm's Rules of Conduct.

We are seeking individuals to come to Factor e Farm for one month project-based visits to help develop the GVCS 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.

Visit Factor e Farm

(last updated June 21, 2010) We extend an open invitation to visit Factor e Farm. We want to offer education, participation, and hands on experience to the interested and the curious. However, time spent giving tours to guests cuts into the time we need to achieve our facility goals. Because of this, we have starting asking a $50/hour facilities tour fee for any first-time visit. True Fans are not required to pay for tours, and we may make exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Fees are negotiable, but once an agreement has been made, they are non-refundable. We prefer that you do not visit on Sunday, which is our rest day. To set up a visit, please:

1. Email us with a proposed date and time:
   • To: OpenSourceEcology@gmail.com
   • Subject: {Your Name} {Visiting Factor e}
2. Tell us your reasons for visiting Factor e Farm, and what you would like to get out of the visit.
3. Download a copy of our liability release form, fill it out, sign it, and send a digital copy in an attachment to the above email. If you do not do this prior to visiting, you may sign it when you arrive.
4. Make your payment. Visitors must pre-pay, either by mail or by a one-time donation to our PayPal account, or pay another way

Note: We reserve the right to change these guidelines as our organization continues to develop. Check the 'last updated' date to determine the currency of this information.

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?

Higher Education

Liora and Andrew Langford from Gaia University, January 2010

We are looking for students at universities who are interested in further theoretical development of the open source economic development model:

1. Innovative business students to study the neo-commercialization model
2. Philosophy students to study the peer-to-peer economy model
3. Students of industrial, electrical, mechanical, and other engineering disciplines to explore developing open source technologies
4. Computer science students to develop of innovative software platforms for collaboration
5. Students of rural sociology, as this is a revolution of the countryside

Did the thing with Gaia University ever happen? I noticed they are offering post-Masters certificates. Does OSE want to encourage people to take advantage of Gaia's open courses to study some of the things proposed as potential doctorate programs?

University Gaia Ph.D programs

Negotiate independent study projects with students at colleges and universities? Is this still a potential reality?