Daniel Connell

Hi - 2026

I’m Daniel Connell, I run the OpenSourceLowTech YouTube channel and website, focused on practical, buildable systems people can actually use, adapt, or replicate. Things like energy, water, sanitation, communications, repair, and other low-cost solutions that work in real conditions.

The channel currently has around 139,000 subscribers, and the audience is there specifically for useful technical content of that kind.

I’m opening the channel up to organisations doing practical work in areas like field builds, deployment stories, tutorials, systems that solve real problems, local manufacturing, shelter, WASH, energy access, repair, resilience, and related real-world infrastructure.

If your organisation has finished video pieces, or wants to produce them, about practical work that fits the channel, I’d be very interested in featuring them.

This is not a sponsorship pitch or an attempt to sell you a service. I’m making the offer because I genuinely want to platform work of this kind, especially where it can spread useful methods, ideas, and examples to people who may be able to adapt or build on them elsewhere.

The arrangement I have in mind is:

You provide the finished video or videos.

I can advise on production beforehand if useful, including what tends to work for this audience in terms of framing, structure, clarity, pacing, and practical detail.

Where revenue is generated, we split it 50/50.

The main thing I care about is that the material is real, useful, and well suited to an audience interested in practical low-cost systems, open knowledge, and field-tested solutions.

Channel and site: https://www.youtube.com/@OpenSourceLowTech https://opensourcelowtech.org/

If that sounds relevant, send through anything you already have, or let me know what you may want to produce.

As I say, this is not a sales pitch. I like this kind of work and want it to reach more people. Having the channel there, I may as well make it as useful as I can.

Best,

Daniel Connell OpenSourceLowTech https://www.youtube.com/@OpenSourceLowTech https://opensourcelowtech.org/

Response

Published. No idea how many views it will get, the algorithm being as it is, but is the sort of thing the subscribers will probably enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qyH227i0gV4

Collab invite link: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCjvBN1r7UXXqmIbx_u7bIAw/collaboration/UCyjzaMkXTTp9P20UZbxDH6w

Any others you want to do similar, including longer form stuff, let me know.

Cheers,

Daniel.

Daniel Connell

Team Culturing Information

last updated: 2. July, 2011

WHO are you?

• Name - Daniel Connell

• Location (city, country) - Currently Leipzig, Germany, but this changes.

• Contact Information (email, phone, Skype) -

sugarandfat (at) gmail (dot) com
skype: sugarandfat

• Introductory Video - http://youtu.be/Tef0mSGE464

• Resume/CV -

WHY are you motivated to support/develop this work?

• Do you endorse open source culture?

Of course, it's not only currently the best way forward, it's possibly the only way forward.

• Why are you interested in collaborating with us?

I'm interested in collaborating with anyone who's doing good work and actually producing results.

• How do you think that the GVCS can address pressing world issues?

People need to be making their own things themselves, so designs and recipes need to be generated which can be easily followed and adapted by anyone anywhere. Improvements made then need to be fed back into the community.

• What should happen so that you become more involved with the project?

I'm currently pretty involved with this kind of stuff, becoming any more so might actually become a bit much...

• What are you missing in the project?

I haven't looked into it sufficiently deeply at this stage to say.It seems pretty comprehensive.

• What are your suggestions for improvement of the project?

As above. I guess it just needs to be picked up and run with, but that's not so much the responsibility of OSE as everyone else.

What are your skills?

• Communications - Scrap makable radio/wifi mesh dish: http://solarflower.blogspot.com/2011/07/chicken-mesh-and-plywood-radiowifi.html
• Organizational - Some experience in community collaboration, conflict resolution, working groups etc.
• Web Development - Basic web design skills.
• Video/Graphics/Art - Professional editing, 3D animation, photoshop.
• Natural Building - Basic cob building.
• Construction - Basic construction labouring, urban greenhouse design: http://urbangreenhouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/stick-fork-in-it-its-done.html
• Woodworking - Basic woodworking.
• CAD Design - Industrial level complex surface modelling, photogrammetry, surveying.
• Fabrication - Basic metal working.
• Energy - Tracking solar concentrator: http://solarflower.org , non electrical cooling system: http://urbangreenhouse.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html , currently designing for scrap makable horizontal axis wind turbine, non turbine wind strap, liquid piston magnetohydrodynamic steam generator.
• Chemistry - Basic materials science.
• Product Design - As with CAD Design.

HOW can you help?

• How do you want to contribute?

Lots. Locate and help set up living/working locations and project space, design and build open source technologies, contribute what designs I already have, help build national, regional and international networks, provide free workshops wherever I am in various approtech.

• Can you volunteer to work with us, and if so, how many hours per week? Or do you have a free timeframe (week, month)?

All day every day.

• Are you interested in working with us for pay? If so, what services can you offer, and what is your hourly or per-project rate?

My time can be considered freely available.

• Are you interested in a Dedicated Project Visit in OSE Communities in Europe? If so in which country?

All. I'll be visiting Millares in December, and likely be there full time at least January and February 2012.

• Are you interested in being part of one of the OSE communities in Europe? If so in which country?

Anywhere I am at the time.

• Are you interested in building GVCS or other Open Source Hardware equipment in Europe? If so which ones?

Looking to work on Solarfire, but other than that I will probably end up working on slightly lower tech solutions. ie things that can be made from old bikes and other scrap without welding or electronics. But I am certainly open to doing some work on the GVCS.

• Are you an OSE True Fan? If not, why not?

No money me.

• Would you like to see yourself working with us on a full-time basis?

That's the plan.

• Do you own land which could be of interest to us to develop an OSE Community or an Open Enterprise?

Nope.

Your Friends and Community

• What friends, people, communities and organizations do you know who are already doing valuable work for a better future? For example: open source hardware/software, sustainable agriculture, natural building, renewable energy, abundance based economies, local production or others?

I've worked and stayed on several communities of various kinds the last couple years; Christiania, Traumschule in Germany, Rainbow Valley, Tui and Riverside in New Zealand, The Hollies in Ireland, as well as a few hackerspaces and mensheds. Through this have met a large number of people doing work in food production, building, energy etc, as well as the day to day of living communally. I think there is quite a population out there waiting to be mobilised by a proactive and effective movement forward.

• What are the technological (machines, tools, structures, ...) and biological (people, animals, plants, ...) needs of your community so that it becomes self-sufficient locally and globally connected?

• Are your friends and community doing valuable work for a better future? How can they become more involved in this process and share more with everyone?

Everyone seems to be treading water, getting on with what they can. There's a general lack of innovation and proactive network building. I don't think people really know what to do, and since energy, food, communication etc is still cheaply available there isn't a massive impetus for radical reforms. These things remain a bit of a luxury or hobby. As of very recently tho it seems this is starting to change, and with effective examples to lead by I suspect a lot of people would come online very quickly.