Backers Feedback

To Be Addressed

Here is a link to his crowdfunding outline: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10h02UrZwhbHd03y7F9js_upWVqD-kMWkRfJlwzaunK4/edit?usp=sharing

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Hi Marcin,

You should try contacting a moderator of a relevant subreddit. Subreddits that come to mind are: /r/Permies /r/homestead r/TinyHouses r/OffGridCabins

The only one, I have heard of, is Paul Wheaton (@paulwheaton12) moderator on /r/Permies. He has also had a few projects on Kickstarter (permaculture and rocket mass heaters).

You should try contacting him.

Sincerely,

Lars

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Elizabeta Zijlstra Jovanovska says: Hi Marcin, congrats on the super idea, I do hope the campaign succeeds! I am seriously considering using this model for our own house soon. I live in Europe (Macedonia), so sadly cannot benefit from the workshops you are giving - even the one in Belgium is out of reach for the moment. Maybe consider having a tour through more European cities - I am sure there will be enough interested people to cover the costs, if announced in time and at the right places (Permaculture conventions, ecology and eco-villages portals, Building with natural materials groups etc) If you need champions in Europe I volunteer to be one and help with that, if needed - would be my pleasure. Regarding the rewards, I would suggest you make the books and the materials more international - meaning, please include the metric measurements in the documentation, for easier understanding without the need of constant conversion. I found out about the campaign via facebook, and have immediately shared it with all my networks. Keep up the good work :)

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Bob Berkebile to me, Phaedra, Catarina Marcin and Catarina, My first thought is that you consider locating on the site with the tiny houses for veterans, which I have yet to see but it should simplify the code issues, and might make a larger connection for you nationally.

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Tom

I would add a set of blueprints for the aquaponics house with complete material list and detailed instructions on how to build one. Easily worth $50. Are you familiar with http://www.citrusinthesnow.com/geothermal-book.htm ? Im planning on buildling this style of greenhouse w/ aquapoincs at my home in the next 1 - 2 years. Any items and details you can share with me regarding your greenhouse would be most appreciated. Thanks! - Tom

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Brooke -

(1) Comment on adding clarity:

- It is unclear whether each donation tier includes the previous tiers or not. - The explanation about the tools (and where they come from) was not punchy enough for me. It didn't grab me, explain, and then move on quickly enough. - Also unclear whether these open source things would teach me to do electricity/plumbing or whether I'd need to contract that work out to someone else. Does this fixture stand entirely on its own? - Does the "participating in a building workshop" cover the cost of travel? Include either way ro else you'll have people thinking that you're going to fly them over.

(2) Parts that are compelling: Knowing that whatever happens, the results are open source so I can see the results. I am happy to see that it's not just one stand alone... here's a website as a deliverable but that it will sustain itself into the future by building a cadre of workers that can do this kind of work. It would be nice to see you also show that you are planning to market or have orders for these kinds of houses. That would demonstrate business model sustainability (not that that's what I'm backing).

(3) Media outlets... Big magazines = Dwell or Kinfolk

Best, Brooke

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Milton Dixon

I'm curious about code. Where is this actually buildable in the US? For example, could I build one in my county of Washtenaw, MI? Do the compressed blocks and raw materials meet the standards of the building industry?

I'd be nice if you could pack the kit in a semi and haul it to build wherever needed with local materials. If that worked could that be offered as some very high end reward? Could be a nice turnkey business: we show up and build your home for 1/2 the price out of local materials.

I'd like to see some designs for larger spaces, offices, workshops, dancehall/common space, community living or apartments. Those would really demonstrate how the toolkit is scalable.

Also, this gets me thinking about my own work in permaculture. What would the basic manual and or basic course contain to launch someone into a relationship with a place? What would give them the holistic worldview and design tools on top of the construction set and basic designs to transform any place (Nowhere, MO to Detroit, MI) into a real human settlement? Perhaps a future project someday.

I don't think I gave you any magic but I hope this helps you on your way!

Milton

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Matthew Read,

As far as the reward tiers go, generally straight forward. Do the higher tiers include the lower tiers, ie stickers, ebook, webinars? Do the webinars include downloads and materials? The Living Home Webinar tier is "All gone!" with only 1 backer. The final release of the ebook and crash course will be included with early release? Available to everyone?

My first few thoughts. I hope it helps. Good luck and keep it up! You'll make it!

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Chris Fremantle -

Hi

I suppose I have a book fetish - I would put the book in the ecoartscotland library - but I crawled up the rewards and thought that a t-shirt and some stickers would be cool. Not sure if there's anything else (but I didn't look higher up the scale).

Good luck - keep me posted - I'll happily share some more if reminded.

Chris

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Martin Stalnaker -

Hi Marcin, I'm primarily interested in DIY building and energy efficiency techniques. I'm located in the Houston area which has many days with high humidity and a heat index over 100 degrees. Air conditioning is a must. I saw very little/no info on your site about cooling and energy efficiency, which I think is important for a large portion of the southern US. I was in MO last week and I know it's an issue for you too during the summer.

I am in my mid 50's and am preparing for old age. I want to design and build a home I can live in that requires as little maintenance as possible. So while solar and wind electrical generation is admirable and something I would be interested in if I was in my 20's, $.08 per kWh with zero maintenance, repair and replacement headaches seems like the path of least resistance at a reasonable cost.

So I guess my suggestion to make your message appeal to a wider audience would be to offer more "mainstream" building techniques and alternatives. You could also reduce the number of reward offerings. Is was a bit overwhelming.

Best wishes, Martin Stalnaker

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Mark Moisette -

Hi Marcin,

Glad to be able to support such a fantastic project, spent a few hours yesterday looking over all the details provided here and on your site as well, very inspiring (to say the least)! I have been following OpenSourceEcology /the GVCS from afar for years, and this is fantastic!

Sorry in advance if anything I say has been said before, or if I missed something already included in the Kickstarter presentation /text or your site

The text is clear enough, despite the huge scope of the project, not much that could be improved except for these minor points perhaps: - some of the graphics are hard to read (blurry) like the '2 year roadmap' - missing link in the following text : 'Modular home addition, built in September 2014 (click for more info)' - perhaps add some graphs simplifying some of the more text heavy parts (turnkey, workshop types, etc) - a graph/grid/spreadsheet sorting the rewards by type would be hepful : 'physical rewards that can be sent anywhere' vs construction workshops vs webinars (there are a lot of them, so a bit hard to keep track when they are only organised by cost: I just realised there was a bigger webinar package that I missed)

Just a few random thoughts on rewards: - even if for a few Pledge levels it is made clear that they 'SHIPS TO: Anywhere in the world', if you can it would be good to clarify that some (workshops, 'build sessions') are US only/ local, or at the users cost to get there. Might be trivial, but I was trying to find a clear list of rewards accessible in Europe as well. - Workshops: this is also a bit related to the above, but is not something I believe you can do much about: I would have loved to participate in some of your other workshops (Diehard Package, CEB, heck, almost any of them) , but living in Europe, that does not seem possible at this stage. Do you think it would more will be put into place at some stage ? (There is a German OpenSourceEcology group, but they do not seem to be as developed as your 'HQ' just yet) - I know a few people (me included) who would sign up & pay without hesitation if these workshops were available nearby : I have been looking for these kinds of 'hand on' + open source & pratical means of learning how to build the tools and the end results in a collaborative manner for years!

I have been experimenting with combining 3d printing, wood working, aquaponics, automation and open source for years, but having the possibility of doing this with other people, in a much more intensive manner would be dream come true !

Media and communication : not sure I can help much on this: perhaps blogs & sites dealing with tiny/ off grid living, perhaps also on http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/ . I'll also ask around at work (Open source 3d printing company), they might know a few outlets.

In all cases , please keep up the great work, I hope the Kickstarter and OBI itself will be a big success !

Mark