Volunteer at Factor e Farm

Our goal is to build the world's first replicable self sufficient post-industrial global village and evolve to freedom. In support of that goal, we need people that can integrate research and design and build the necessary technology as part of the Build a Village Project. Building the technology requires that people be on-site at Factor e Farm to build and use the fabrication tools.

What kind of volunteers are we looking for

• People to work on GVCS projects, and in particular, the Build a Village Program
• Organic farm volunteers for facility management, and food, energy, and housing provision.

Volunteer Development - Motivating Alignment and Collaboration of Volunteers

The first step in aligning a dedicated and voluntary team of developers is to recognize that such a team is available. Normally, the success of gathering collaboration is unquestioned, yet, in this case, it is instructive to raise the question whether such collaborators exist because we are looking for full commitment from unpaid individuals, and on top of that, for a project that is far beyond the norms of established society. To convince ourselves that such a team exists, we must prove:

  1. the endeavor has high value
  2. the value is practical or achievable
  3. volunteers can comprehend the value
  4. people without ego and angst exist in the population at large
  5. the value of the endeavor is so high that egoless people can shift their full attention to the endeavor. 

Note that we assume that the unpaid individuals - those, in particular, with full commitment - must qualify as what is best dubbed independently wealthy. These individuals are those who have free time because they do not have to work to make a living. These individuals could be ones who either have big savings, low expenditures, or both - such as monied individuals, voluntary simplicity followers, the unemployed, or those who do not have significant costs of living because of their particular situations.

1. High Value. We start with the stated goal as the definition of value: The approach of this project is to identify a small but comprehensive infrastructure base of robust, widely applicable solutions for living and working such that transforming the world is a byproduct. The intent is to produce a replicable business model for a number of successful and optimized enterprises, by which individuals may engage in right livelihood activity as defined in previous sections. This approach has clear value.

2. Practicality. A replicable business model for optimized enterprises is definitely achievable. We simply take existing enterprise models, work to optimize them, and release the knowhow in the open source to make it replicable. If the enterprise model is one that is successfully engaged by others, then it will be even more profitable if optimization adds further value. The key is to adapt progressive, ecological enterprise to the type of profit margins that are quite attractive to individuals, while ensuring that principles of right livelihood are followed. Specifically, the particular enterprises in the small but comprehensive infrastructure base must achieve a high Right Livelihood Selection Score in order to be included in the set of choices that collaborators agree to develop. This score automatically ensures the high potential impact for the transformative nature of enterprise deployment.

3. Understandability" - This is perhaps the most difficult point to prove, because understandability of this endeavor suffers from grave translatability issues due to the social conditioning of the population at large. It is difficult to convince people that an entirely different model of social organization which transcends centralization and top-down control - namely Right Livelihood - can be implemented, if the total force of social conditioning indicates to the contrary. It is required of the few people who are to understand this proposition that they are independent thinkers largely independent of the military industrial state. Some of these people still exist. These people need to be sufficiently connected to the land and nature in order to comprehend that right livelihood is a prerequisite for a harmonious, truthful way of living. Such individuals are the only ones who place sufficient priority to right livelihood that they would consider engaging in this project.

4. Ego and Angst - Even the people who understand this proposition as in point 3 will not truly understand it unless they conquer any ego and angst that stands in the way. This requires spiritual evolution on the part of the potential collaborator. There are many such individuals on planet Earth.

5. Full Attention - This is a hard requirement, but if people value the proposition sufficiently, the natural consequence is that they engage this proposition with full heart. The transformative potential is clear to such individuals, and they see that their own integrity leads them to promote the effort with their full energy.

What it's like at Factor e Farm

Learn about what it's like at Factor e Farm before you come.

We are on 30 acres in rural Missouri. We aim to meet and transcend Maslow's pyramid.

Shelter

• We are off grid with solar panels to charge a forklift battery - buildings are wired
• we have stoves in all buildings, a chainsaw, and woods nearby
• Building are waterproof, windproof, and some are insulated
• Earth bag hut
• Cordwood hut - ok insulation
• Hexayurt - uninsulated
• Solar Cubicle - $380 insulated housing unit built in one day
• CEB building and greenhouse - thermal mass retains heat
• Army tent
• We are building more to accommodate people.

Water

• Hand pump well
• Roof rain water catchment system on greenhouse, stored in barrels, siphoned out

Food

• 300 tree fruit, nut, and berry orchard
• Sweet potatoes
• Some canned food from the 2008 growing season
• Chickens - eggs, meat
• Goats - milk, meat
• We still have to buy some food
• Agricultural Permaculture tasks, landscaping, taking care of plants

Waste

• Humanure bucket with seat - emptied into compost
• Plants need water

Cleaning

• Will have hot water and shower soon with kitchen/workshop CEB building

Finances

• Finances are handled individually

Governance

• By consensus

Learning

• DSL internet connection
• Wireless router
• We can train others to use tools for production

Build technology for ecology to easily provide the above and replicate it at low cost for others

• The Global Village Construction Set

We are seeking interns for our research and development center to help develop open source self-sufficiency technology. This includes designing and implementing "permanent agriculture," agricultural machines, construction, and metalworking. We don't just make diagrams or theory, we make machines that help people achieve their dreams.

Videos of our work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV_-ZzYmo3A&feature=PlayList&p=E5373DEB6EC556F2&index=0&playnext=1

Ideally we are looking for:

   * Confident and highly dynamic self learners or researchers.
   * People motivated by innovation and change.
   * Able to take a project from concept drawing to real world implementation.
   * Excited by diversity of thought.
   * Comfortable in rural and rustic settings.
   * Willing team members, self starters, and project leaders. 

We are offering individuals short term or long term residencies for development of physical technology for the benefit of all people. Residency at Factor e Farm involves physical work, philosophical work, and community building work. Rustic and unique accommodations are available. Please contact us for more details.

Our research and development interests include but are not limited to:

   * Low Cost Housing built from local materials
   * Permanent Agriculture - food forests, orchards, CSA crops
   * DIY Agricultural tools and implements - tractor, spader, tiller, grain combine, hammer mill, hay baler
   * Low cost off grid energy systems - heat, hot water, lighting,
   * Low cost water systems - water wells, catchment systems
   * Metal work - melting, casting, cutting, forming, computer controlled manufacturing, whatever you desire 

These are elements of the Global Village Construction Set - everything needed to create advanced civilization on a small scale.

What we offer:

A place where you can put 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.

How to volunteer

Volunteers should email OpenSourceEcology@gmail.com. Also check out the Volunteer Application. We host Organic Farming Volunteers and Student Projects. See [1] for more info.

More about volunteering

Organizational_Strategy