David Nordahl

David Nordahl

Team Culturing Information

last updated: 13. May, 2011

WHO are you?

• Name - David Nordahl

• Location (city, country) - Slaughterville, OK

• Contact Information (email, phone, Skype) - dnordahl (at) electricgreensolar (dot) com, 405-706-1683

• Introductory Video -

• Resume/CV - http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-nordahl/17/633/4b1

WHY are you motivated to support/develop this work?

• Do you endorse open source culture?

I'm a major proponent of the open source ideal and feel that it should be applied to all sectors of business and innovation. I feel that open source, non-hierarchical, employee owned, cooperative businesses are able to take over and dominate every sector of business and industry, and that it is up to each of us to take individual responsibility and make change happen.

• Why are you interested in collaborating with us?

Having set out about starting my own farm business, I experienced first hand the context your group is addressing. There is a total lack of medium scale, accessible, and affordable technology to support distributed and local food and economic systems. I haven't understood for many years why no one else seems to get it until I found your project.

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

Yes, the GVCS presents a means to bridge the gap from centralized, unlimited resource-based, unlimited growth and greed-based economics to a sustainable, community conscious, post-scarcity society.

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

Either for the project to get to the point where it can sustain my contribution as a entrepreneur and/or fabricator. Or for the project to present a solution that addresses an immediate need of my specific value-added farm.

• What are you missing in the project?

Basically I feel I need to get on site and get plugged into where things are currently at and see where my skill set and interests best fit at the moment.

• What are your suggestions for improvement of the project?

1. Some of the tools developed could use better promotion as far as what they actually do. A brief promotion video for each one would be helpful. For example: the tractor, the brick press, etc.. I've dug around a bit on the website, but don't really have a clear idea as far as what they do, what they require, how much they cost, how all that compares to what the current options are, etc. I don't really see how they meet my needs even as someone who owns a small farm. Does the tractor even accept 3 point attachments? If I have one, what would it enable me to do? Are people now using it to produce a living for themselves where they otherwise were not able to? Does the brick press produce musty/moldy sod house type structures or does it produce the same kind of bricks I'm used to seeing on houses and buildings?
2. In my experience and observation, new movements and trends often must appeal aesthetically as well as functionally to gain mass appeal and momentum. Combining form and function in all aspects will yield greater adoption and build faster momentum of the movement. Also it is important to find ways to communicate that there is clear fun to be had with your project and that it is not a strictly business endeavor.

WHAT

• List all of your skills in these areas: Communications - Organizational - Computer Support - Finances - Design - Natural Building - Electronics - Automation - Metallurgy - Engineering - Fabrication - Agriculture - Energy - Architecture - Video/Graphics/Art - PR/Marketing - Education - Construction - Industry - CNC - Chemistry - Product Design - Other

Experienced with all aspects of home construction and trades. Experienced at metal fabrication and trained at TIG welding. NABCEP certified as solar thermal and photovoltaic installer. Experience running a non-hierarchical, profitable small business. Know how to care for chickens, goats, and do basic gardening. Software engineer in former life, but not willing to do anymore work at a desk. Won awards in high school with pencil and CAD drafting, but my skills are out of date. I can visualize/organize/evaluate very large amounts of 3D and relational data.

• How have you already contributed to the project?

True fan for maybe a little less than a year. Promote and publicize to everyone I can think of through social media and one-on-one to get more people involved and aware of what is going on with the GVCS project.

HOW can you help?

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

Interested in organizing fabrication of projects which can financially sustain themselves. I'm interested in testing and helping to develop items which can help my farm to be more financially viable.

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

I don't really have that much free time to spare at this particular time unless it can provide a means to help fund my personal farm and net-zero energy home project(s).

• 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?

As an individual I generally budget around 100 to 250 a day for my skilled labor. With the rate depending on nature of work and if it is for a non-profit or for-profit organization or individual.

• Are you interested in Dedicated Project Visit?

I'm not likely to have that much free available time in the foreseeable future.

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

Depends on the cost of the equipment and if it can earn itself a payback in a current or feasible business model for my farm.

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Potentially remotely, and I see myself as potentially someone who could organize a combined fabrication effort based here in central Oklahoma. Solar is continuing to be a slow thing to catch on here in Oklahoma and has yet to provide any installer in this state a way to earn a living. So there is clear potential that I might come to rely on it as my primary livelihood if it can provide it.

• Are you interested in using the technologies that we are developing directly?

Yes

• 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.

I've got pretty deep roots in the ground on my own farm experiment at the moment.