Jonathan Minchin

Team Culturing Information

last updated: 7. October, 2011

WHO are you?

• Name - Jonathan Minchin

• Location (city, country) - Barcelona, Spain and London, England

• Contact Information (email, phone, Skype) - Jonminchin (at) gmail (dot) com, Esp +34 633417217, UK+447780558571 Skype: Jonminchin

• Introductory Video -

• Resume/CV -

• Hobbies and Pastimes - Besides my Academic and Working career as an Architect and designer, I enjoy the outdoors very much. I have have been a volunteer on construction and conservation projects in South Africa, Central America and in London also. I am a Kung Fu instructor a drummer and amateur cartoon animator.

WHY are you motivated to support/develop this work?

• Do you endorse open source culture?

I believe that creativity, technology and production have always existed as part of a wider communication economy and infrastructure; for how can we ever progress or learn anything if we do not share what we know? The ideals and mechanisms of Open Source Culture are revolutionising the world of ideas by making knowledge accessible and appropriable for everyone. (D.I.T. and CC licenses etc.) Open source culture offers a powerful alternative to the static forces of ownership and centralised control: the prevailing mode of operation during the last industrial revolution. I endorse Open source culture as a facilitator of freedoms and capabilities and believe that the diversity of knowledge and solutions that are generated by openly sharing ideas helps to create an efficient and more sustainable way of life.

• Why are you interested in collaborating with us?

I am co-ordinating the development of an open collaboration platform to socialise design and production. The platform uses geolocations and design conditions to sense and track materials, services and solutions. It combines a common database of Open Source Hardware projects together with the online tools needed to take ideas from conception to construction. It is a social network for makers, innovators and educators. Besides sharing many of the same ideologies as OSE, I see that there is massive potential to collaborate and expand the GVCS through the development of the platform. As a social business and together with Practical Action UK, several FabLabs and a network of universities in Spain, Britain and Mexico. We are guided by humanitarian and sustainable development goals, for this reason I think the online tools and infrastructure we are developing could be bettered and attuned to the needs of the GVCS by collaborating with the OSE team.

• Are you interested in teaching about the GVCS?

Yes. Both teaching and learning about the GVCS and possibly constructing the set at the Green FabLab (Valldaura) in Barcelona Cataluña for educational purposes. Ultimately I intend to coordinate and integrate the GVCS into the curriculum of a Master program at the school. The FabLab team that is at Valldaura and the visiting students may also be able to collaborate, innovate and adapt the GVCS to their local conditions also. E and M learning classes will help to augment this process. : A (Global University Construction Set) ?

• Are you interested in economic relocalization possibilities arising from the GVCS?

Yes, any groups that try to create an alternative economic, land ownership and production strategy that brakes the ties of wage labour and form more robust local production system and economy has my vote. I am also interested in local currencies and bit coins as a way to generate sustainable economies without debt. I see that the GVCS has the potential to drive economic movement within a network of global villages and transition towns.

• Do you want to use the GVCS technologies yourself? Do you want to build them yourself?

Yes, If I had my own land I would. However the Permaculture course at Valldaura will make valuable use of the GVCS once the students had built them. I would like to learn more about machine construction and engineering skills you use. I am also intend to use the set with other NGO projects; this may include integrating the GVCS set into the Practical Action database and training their engineers.

• Are you interested in starting up enterprise using the GVCS technologies?

This is not a primary concern, however there will be many possibilities for facilitating others to startup enterprises using the GVCS and the skills bank of the platform.

• Are you interested in having the GVCS technologies fabricated by your local custom fabricator?

Yes, although I would much rather be part of a network of local custom fabricators.

• Are you interested in applying the GVCS to third world development? To redevelopment of crisis areas? To development of derelict areas in the developed world?

Having completed a masters in International Cooperation and Sustainable Emergency Architecture I would like use the GVCS in my projects. These might include projects in Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Morocco, South Africa, Cuba (These countries may prefer to be referred to as part o the 'Global South' rather than the third world) I feel that the GVCS is particularly well attuned to tackle real problems in these areas and should be considered for implementation in projects in all these areas, including the so called developed world or 'Global north'.

• Are you interested in starting up Industry 2.0 flexible fabrication enterprises for your local community, by drawing from a global repository of freely down-loadable designs and fabricating using open source fabrication equipment?

• Are you interested in the potential of the GVCS for developing local food systems?

• Are you interested in doing academic studies/papers, publishing books, or doing other analysis of our efforts?

• Are you interested in financial investment opportunities arising from our work?

• Are you interested in the distributive economic aspects of our work, and if so, how do you see this playing out?

• Are you interested in building renewable energy production facilities based on open hardware (solar concentrator electric, wind, biomass power)?

• Are you interested in building resilient communities based on access to the GVCS?

• Are you interested in creating a bug-out hut using GVCS technologies?

• How do you think that the GVCS can help alleviate the instabilities of global monetary systems?

• How do you think that the GVCS can address issues related to resource conflicts?

• How do you think that the GVCS can address issues of overpopulation?

• How do you think that the GVCS can address issues of resource depletion and environmental degradation?

• Do you have any other comments that you'd like to make?

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

• What are you missing in the project?

• What are your suggestions for improvement of the project?

WHAT

• What have you already contributed to the OSE project? (technical contributions, blogging about us, financial support, organizing events, translations, interviews, video editing, publications, publicity work, behind-the-scenes work, CAD work, wiki contributions, computer support, etc)

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HOW can you help?

• How are you interested in contributing to the work of GVCS development?

• Can you volunteer to work with us, and if so, how many hours per week?

• 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?

• Are you interested in Dedicated Project Visit?

• Are you interested in purchasing equipment from us to help bootstrap development?

• Are you interested in bidding for consulting/design/prototyping work?

• Are you a True Fan? If not, why not?

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

• Are you interested in being part of the world's first, open source, resilient community? The GVCS is the preparatory step for the OSE Village Experiment - a 2 year, immersion experiment (2013-2014) for testing whether a real, thriving, modern-day prototype community of 200 people can be built on 200 acres using local resources and open access to information? We are looking for approximately 200 people to fill a diverse array of roles, according to the Social Contract that is being developed. This may be the boldest social experiment on earth - a pioneering community whose goal is to extend the index of possibilities regarding harmonious existence of humans, ecology, and technology - as a beacon of light to benefit of all people on Earth.