Factor e Farm Community Standards

General Information

Welcome to Open Source Ecology Factor e Farm and the Hablab! The following information will help you prepare for your Dedicated Project Visit or Work Day event. The Hablab is a communal living facility, meaning that its operations, cleanliness, and environment is created by its inhabitants. To create a happy, healthy and efficient working environment, OSE Staff has established expectations and community standards of living for all inhabitants.

About Maysville, Missouri

Maysville is a small, rural town north of Kansas City, Missouri. Maysville has very basic conveniences such as a small grocery store, a Dollar General, a gas station, and a hardware store. Factor e Farm is located approximately 3 miles south of Maysville. For more information about Maysville, please see Maysville, MO City Data. Approximately 12 miles from Factor e Farm is Cameron, Missouri which has fast food options, a Wal-Mart, and hotels/motels.

DPV Expectations

Work Day

A regular work week at OSE is Mon-Fri, from 9:30am to 6:00pm, where 30 minutes is dedicated to lunch (40 hours per week). At times, OSE will host events on the weekends (typically on Saturdays) such as Design Sprints or Build-outs/production runs. Unless previously cleared with OSE Staff, all DPVs are expected to shift their schedule to include the weekend work. Compensatory time off will be granted to make up for the additional work day. Of course, some interns choose to work more than 40 hours per week to maximize their “experience” and exposure to different challenges while at FeF. That is to each person’s discretion.

As a DPV, you are expected to assist OSE reach internal organization goals, such as product development milestones. Tasks will be distributed via OSE Staff. Deviations from established tasks must be cleared with OSE Staff.

Collaboration vs Concensus

It is important to stay on task and not deviate from the task at hand. While collaboration is encouraged, concensus is not required to proceed with a design challenge. To maximize efficiency, OSE Staff may be directive when issuing tasks to ensure a proper design/build-out schedule is achieved. In other words, at times, you may be asked to "agree to disagree" on a particular issue.

Mail

During your DPV, you may receive mail via OSE’s FeF address. It is recommended to include “Open Source Ecology” in the “To” line with “ATTN:” to your name. Please use the following addresses, depending upon your chosen mail service carrier:

USPS: Open Source Ecology, ATTN: (your name), PO Box 442, Maysville, MO 64469

UPS/Fed Ex: Open Source Ecology, ATTN: (your name, 909 Willow Rd, Maysville, MO 64469

General Hazards

Wildlife

At times, various wildlife may be encountered to include snakes, spiders, raccoons, and deer. You can read about native Missouri snakes and reptiles here and native spiders here. As with many rural farms, mice are routinely found inside the Hablab. To combat mice, Hablab is home to Boots, FeF’s cat. In addition, standards of cleanliness and food storage rules must be followed to discourage mice habitation.

Workshop

Please review Factor e Farm Workshop Guidelines.

Weather

At times, Northern Missouri experiences inclement weather conditions. This includes, but is not limited to, extreme heat, winter weather conditions (snow/ice), tornadoes, thunderstorms, flooding, and earthquakes. The CDC offers instructions and guidance for inclement weather conditions and natural disasters at http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/.

Accommodations

The Hablab is a communal living facility to include a bathroom, shower, dining and living area. The OSE Office is also located in the Hablab. The Hablab is an early structure designed for communal living and built with the CEB Press. Though the Hablab is still undergoing some infrastructure changes, improvements and finishing, you will find your basic needs will be met.

Kitchen

The kitchen offers a range for cooking and a microwave. The kitchen also has most pots/pans, utensils, etc. needed for food preparation and eating. A full-size refrigerator will be available for food storage. In addition, each housemate will be assigned a cupboard to store dry food. All food should be stored in the kitchen cupboards or the refrigerator. The OSE staff is in the process of building the infrastructure to support a dishwasher.

Showers/toilet

During peak periods, a shower schedule may be posted allowing housemates 15 minutes each morning to use the shower facility. The shower/toilet facility is co-gender, both men and women use the same facility. When the toilet or showers are in use, please use the male/female sign on the door to indicate the sex of the person using the facilities.

WiFi

The Hablab and Workshop are wifi accessible. Wifi is offered free to DPVs and Work Day volunteers.

Living Quarters

Throughout the peak volunteer season, the Hablab may host up to 15 guests, which may require double occupancy in the bedrooms. As a DPV, you may be asked to share a room with another DPV.

Washer/Dryer

The OSE team is in the process of establishing the infrastructure to support a washer and dryer, free for Hablab use. A schedule for washer/dryer use will be posted. In addition, OSE offers laundry detergent for all users, but requests users donate 25 cents per load to help reimburse those costs.

Meals

OSE will contribute the food to cover 7 meals per week (dinner) during peak DPV season (3 June - 15 Aug 2013). Meals will be prepared by Hablab inhabitants on a rotating basis using easy-to-make recipes. Please note that OSE may not be able to accommodate a restrictive diet. ===Parking=== Parking is allowed in designated areas only. Currently, the official parking area for FeF is near the workshop. When unloading large items, parking is permitted near the Hablab, but vehicles must be returned to the designated parking area after loading/unloading is completed.

Visitors

All visitors to FeF must be coordinated with OSE Staff.

Smoking

Smoking is allowed in designated areas only. Use of a butt can, which is provided near the smoking area is mandatory. Smoking privileges may be revoked if cigarette butts are found on FeF grounds.

Shopping

For those housemates who do not have a vehicle, OSE will provide at least one grocery shopping trip per week. Reusable shopping bags are available for your convenience.

Phone service

Currently, OSE does not have a LAN line, and cell phone service is spotty. Use of a free, online service, such as Google voice, is recommended. OSE is in the process of establishing LAN line service.

House Rules

Hablab Cleanliness / Cleaning Standards.

Because of the rural, farm environment surrounding the Hablab, dust and dirt can quickly accumulate in the Hablab. To combat these issues, shoes shall not be worn in the Hablab. There is a shoe rack available for shoe storage and house slippers. Shoes stored at the shoe rack should be the shoes an inhabitant has chosen to wear for the day and should not be storage for ALL of one’s shoes.

Cleaning Schedule

A weekly cleaning schedule will be posted where cleaning tasks will rotate to each inhabitant. Every inhabitant is expected complete their task for the day. Tasks may include, but are not limited to vacuuming, dusting, cooking, cleaning of bathrooms, windows, etc. Inhabitants may choose to trade tasks with each other, but if a ===Personal Responsibilities=== Though the Hablab has a cleaning schedule, each inhabitant is expected to clean up after themselves, to include keeping their personal items “picked up.” Each inhabitant must also keep their room clean. Food may not be stored in an inhabitant’s room.

Kitchen Standards

Kitchen counters and the stove must be wiped down after use. The refrigerator should be kept free from spills. All dishes must be washed immediately after use or loaded in the dishwasher. Left over food shall not be washed down the sink. There is a compost bucket in the kitchen for left over food, coffee grounds, tea bags, fruit/vegetable debris, and brown papers (i.e. egg crate).

Bathroom Standards

All inhabitants are expected to wash their hands after using the facilities. Soap and hand towels are made available for your use.

The toilet

When using the toilet, be mindful of “spills and smudges.” Please clean up after yourself.

Showers

Please keep all toiletries in your toiletry bag. Do not leave products in the showers. Please hang wet towels in your room.

Recycling

Recycling bins are available for your use, to include bins for paper, metal, glass and plastics.

Trash

Please utilize the recycling containers to the maximum extent possible. If the trash can is full, please take out the trash and put a new bag in the trash bin. Overflowing trash will not be allowed.

Other Cleaning Considerations

===Personal Grooming=== As this is a communal environment, please adhere to regular hygiene standards. Between hot summer days and work in the shop, regular showers are imperative.

Laundry

A washer is currently available for your use in the Hablab. Infrastructure to support a dryer will be installed in June. Drying racks are also available for your use. Laundy days will rotate by room, where each room is designated a specific day for laundry. All rooms may do laundry on Saturday or Sunday. If you do not have a full load of clothes to wash, consider combining your clothes with another inhabitant’s clothes to save energy consumption.

Quiet Hours

Hablab quiet hours are Sun-Thurs from 11pm to 7am. Please be respectful during these periods and be sensitive to requests to be quiet.

Energy consumption

Please turn off lights and unplug appliances when not in use. At OSE, we are mindful of our energy footprint and wish to conserve energy when possible.

What to bring to FeF

• Bedding/pillow for a twin mattress (or sleeping bag)
• Towel/Wash Cloth (required)
• Personal Toiletries
• Shower Shoes (required)
• House Slippers (recommended, outdoor shoes are not worn in the Hablab)
• Personal Protective Equipment (note: all PPE, except for steel-toed boots, is provided)
• Water bottle (recommended)
• Rain resistant coat (recommended)
• Rain boots (recommended)
• Steel toed boots (required for the work shop)
• Laptop & scrolling mouse (scrolling required for Sketchup, if doing 3D modeling)
• Camera or phone with camera (recommended for documentation purposes)
• Laundry bag
• Flashlight
• Long pants