Dedicated Project Visits

Introduction

Dedicated Project Visits are volunteer, one-month long or longer, working visits to Factor e Farm where contributors help to move the Global Village Construction Set forward and get hands on training. Please read Factor e Farm Participation Standards for a broader overview of the expectations.

For an overview of our work, start with a 2 minute video

Global Village Construction Set in 2 Minutes from Open Source Ecology on Vimeo.

and a Marcin's TED Talk:

For further details on Dedicated Project Visits, see corresponding blog post.

The route to meaningful collaboration at Factor e Farm consists of month-long, project-based visits (Dedicated Project Visits, or DPVs). DPVs are a serious commitment to a program involving explicitly-stated goals of creating the world's first, replicable, resilient, post-scarcity community. This stated goal requires a dedicated, strategic effort, since the process involves winnowing and sifting from a large number of choices - to rebuild civilization from the bottom up.

Interested individuals are required to write a proposal, which is then reviewed together with the applicant, prior to the start of the visit. After a proposal is suitable to both sides, the individual then comes for the dedicated project visit. After a month's time, progress is reviewed, and results are published on the Factor e Farm weblog. If the results of the visit are satisfactory on both sides, the visitor may continue by producing another proposal for the next month's goals. This is also our route for accepting new people for long-term stays as part of the Factor e Farm experiment.

Project visits include technical developement of both technology, agroecology, and organizational development topics. A significant portion of the work at present revolves around the development of appropriate technology which facilitates agriculture, construction, energy, and other provision of needs from local resources. There is also significant work to be done in the areas of resource development, technical writing, and marketing. The suitability of proposals depends largely on a candidate's level of skill and experience.

The long-term goals of Factor e Farm is to complete the entire GVCS by year-end 2012, to build a first prototype community by year-end 2014, and to replicate the concept virally worldwide by year-end 2016. We see open source economic development as the next trillion dollar industry.

To orient yourself on our status, scan our Blog - where we report on our latest progress and accomplishments.

Documentation

Documentation is the key to successful open source projects. All visitors to Factor e Farm are required to bring a digital camera with them to document their work. They are also expected to blog about their progress on a regular basis, and contribute to this wiki with relevant content.

Proposal

A proposal detailing milestones and deliverables is to be submitted and made specific on a week by week basis.

Accommodations

Basic accomodations include shelter, shower, composting toilets, flush toilets, and kitchen. Participants are expected to follow Factor e Farm's Rules of Conduct, and to cover their own food expenses. No pets are allowed on premises because of our free-range fowl.

Proposal Outline

Proposals should follow standard formats. You may consider Open Source Agroecology, organizational development, or technology development pathways. A technology-related proposal should include, as relevant:

1. Abstract - One paragraph description of project and proposed goals.
2. Bill of Materials - components and parts needed, number needed, price, total price, and estimated total weight. This includes consumables. This is important for the project budget.
3. Procedure - This is the core of the proposal - a detailed description of how the proposed project is to be implemented. Details should be provided to the point that allows meaningful review.
4. Tooling and Infrastructure - This is a detailed description of the tools and infrastructure required to complete the project. Please include infrastructure items such as electricity requirements, space requirements, and and other details.
5. Contingencies - Brief discussion of 'Plan B' in case of catastrophic blocks on the intented project. This involves possible alternative paths to be pursued at Factor e Farm as part of the visit. This is to account for any unexpected events, such that a solution could be in the form of options such as taking on another project or leaving.
6. Blogging of the Proposal - Consistent with principles of open source development, and to foster accountability, participants are required to publish a weblog post regarding their visit and proposal prior to coming to Factor e Farm. This injects a large measure of accountability on both sides, in order to make such a commitment public. For this to be successful, both sides have to take the effort to learn as much as possible about each other - from the point of all details that affect project success. Furthermore, if needed, a crowd-funding button (see example) may be used at this time. Participants are expected to blog updates at least once per week, and especially their overall results prior to leaving Factor e Farm. If crowd funding is not relevant upon the beginning of the project, it may be used later, once some progress has been made on the project.

Upon arriving at Factor e Farm, we will produce a video and post it on the blog. This will be a short video (up to 5 minutes) in which the participant introduces themselves, their role in the project, and their intented results. This is, once more, along the lines of open source accountability and transparency.

Application and Participation Steps

These are the overall steps for a Dedicated Project Visit:

1. Initial Contact - Initial inquiries should follow suggested Initial DPV Request procedure. This helps the applicant to become fully informed about our development priorities, participation standards, and greater vision.
2. Preliminary Application - After initial contact, we request that applicants fill out the Preliminary Application in the next section. OSE staff reviews application.
3. Full Application - The full application includes an initial week-by-week proposal with milestones. For remote collaboration, we have Remote Collaboration Standards.
4. Preliminary DPV Interview - After receiving the Preliminary Application, OSE staff will conduct a short, initial interview, which will include initial discussion regarding the work proposal. Interview should take 15 minutes.
5. Proposal Development. Staff will review materials up to the preliminary interview, and may request that the applicant develop the work proposal further.
6. Second Interview. Successful candidates will be asked for a second interview with the respective project director. The second interview will focus on the work proposal to assess its soundness.
7. Participation Contract - OSE Staff will write a participation contract with the applicant based on the applicant's work plan, according to Contract Process. This contract will be reviewed by our Advisory Board.
8. On-Boarding. After a contract is signed, the applicant writes an introductory Blog Post on the OSE Blog. After the intro blog post is written, the visitor is welcome on site.
9. Project Completion. Upon arriving at Factor e Farm, the DPV visitor will begin working on their stated work plan. At the end of the project, the visitor will write a blog post to document their results. The visitor may also request to write additional blog posts as needed.

Preliminary Application

Last Updated Nov. 5, 2012

Note that the goal of a Dedicated Project Visit is to produce tangible, significant results that contribute to the creation of the GVCS. We are a development laboratory for Distributive Enterprise. We are looking for independently-driven individuals capable of initiative, competent in their proposed program, and with a demonstrated track record of delivering on their promises. If you are not ready for this type of challenge, please do not apply.

1. Name, age, location, contact info (phone, email, Skype).
2. When would you be available for a Dedicated Project Visit?
3. Please attach a resume or provide a list of work and volunteer experience.
4. Please include a photo of yourself.
5. Please submit a 1-2 minute video introduction regarding your interest in applying. This is a video-of-interest (VOI) and it must include: (1), name and country where you are located, position that you are applying for (ex., Dedicated Project Visit for ___); (2) why you are interested in applying; (3) what you would like to contribute to our effort and relevant skill set that will help you do that; (4) what are you hoping to get out of your visit? See Sample Video of Interest (this is not of the same format, but it is an example)
6. Are you willing to publish all the results of your work openly according to the OSE Open IP Guidelines?
7. Please post the above materials on our wiki by starting a wiki page - titled 'Your Name Dedicated Project Visit Application'. Please embed your picture and video. See the wiki editing Instructions if you have any questions. If you are not comfortable posting your contact information, just include your email. See sample application posted on the wiki for another position in a slighly different format - Jacob Dalton.

Full Application

1. Please provide 3 References with email and phone number - 2 work references, 1 personal reference
2. How did you hear about the program?
3. Why are you applying for a Dedicated Project Visit?
4. Describe your practical skills - from agriculture, workshop, industry, organizing, hands-on, CAD, manufacturing, computer skills, etc.
5. Have you designed and built or produced anything for your own use?
6. Do you have any organizational skills and experience?
7. Can you cook?
8. Do you have resources to support yourself while volunteering with us? Can you cover your food expenses?
9. Do you have any medical, physical, or psychological conditions or disabilities which may affect your ability to do physical work?
10. Do you have any emotional, psychological, or mental conditions which may affect your ability to act with composure and good judgment?
11. Are you easy to get along with and can you get along with other people?
12. Do you have strong ideological views (political, religious, elitist, feminist, etc.)?
13. Are you a team player - or someone who understands that the work we do at Factor e Farm is for a greater purpose than for our own self-gratification, indulgence, or agenda? This implies a level of maturity in the participant which allows one to remain not only aligned with the vision, but also to remain motivated in this work.
14. Do you smoke?
15. Do you have any dietary restrictions? Will you eat meat raised at our farm?
16. Do you have transportation? Will you be arriving by car and leaving the car on-site?
17. Documentation is key to moving our work forward. Are you familiar with using a Wiki?
18. List your goals and deliverables for your Dedicated Project Visit, breaking it up by each of the four weeks. Please write a one-page proposal brief summarizing what you would like to do, how you would accomplish it, and what resources you would need to do so. Include a budget as necessary.
19. What are the metrics by which you could assess the success of your work?
20. What do you expect personally to get out of your Dedicated Project Visit?
21. Can you visit us prior to your Dedicated Project Visit?
22. Please share three interesting things about yourself.
23. Please share three things you think people should know about living with you.
24. Can you bring a digital camera or smart phone for documenting your work?
25. Any other concerns or considerations?
26. Please post your complete survey on this wiki by starting a page - titled 'Your Name Dedicated Project Visit Application'. Please embed your picture and video. See the wiki editing Instructions if you have any questions.

You may email the reponses to us at opensourceecology at gmail dot com, or start a wiki page and post your applications there with your picture. You can

Sample Dedicated Project Visit Reports

William Cleaver

William's second month Dedicated Project Visit report vlog (see corresponding blog post):

See Also

• Visit Factor e Farm