April 2021 OSEmail
Dear True Fans, Friends, and Supporters,
As we pull out of the pandemic we are going into full on-site action at Open Source Ecology on September 1, 2021 - with the 3 month Summer of Extreme Design-Build - Summer X. This will be our largest and most ambitious set of back-to-back builds, and we invite you to join us and gain more powerful build experience than many people will experience in a lifetime.
Do you want to learn to build the Seed Eco-Home 2 - an expandable 1000 square foot home that you and a friend can build in one week - for $50k in materials?
We have a 14 day crash course that teaches you to do this. Do you want to build an aquaponic greenhouse, 3D printer, compressed earth block press, or tractor? See the 3 month schedule - we're offering a good dose of just about everything.
We can offer work exchange for those who cannot afford the tuition but have more time, and we offer our normal 25% discount to True Fans. We are also targeting disadvantaged communities and offering scholarships that cover 70% of the tuition for the Builder Track - separate announcement on the Builder Track is forthcoming. Briefly - the Builder Track is a 3 month tech school for people to learn to build the Seed Eco-Home. One of our intended outcomes is to hire builders as we roll out hundreds of the Seed Eco-Homes out after Summer X.
We are also offering the Enterprise Track for people who would like to lead crews to build the Seed Eco-Homes. in Summer X 2021 - we are teaching light frame construction, and next year we aim to add a Compressed Earth Block (CEB) version. We want to solve housing. And while we are at it - let's solve the waste plastic issue - by 3D printing with abundant waste plastic as a feedstock to produce plastic-wood composites, plastic lumber, and even the modular building panels that we currently make from construction lumber (which is rising in price right now, fast like Bitcoin).
This takes some collaborative innovation - which brings me to the next aspect of the 2021 collaboration ecology. We're starting our first ever 6 month Collaborative Enterprise Apprenticeship. This is a 6 month immersion from July 1 through December, on site, full immersion in design, CAD, build, collaborative innovation, and enterprise, providing more depth and breadth than the 3 months of Summer X. In the Apprenticeship - we are looking for collaborative movement entrepreneurs who are hungry to learn new things, and apply them to solving housing and other issues. We focus around the Seed Eco-Home, but also on the supporting equipment - such as the tractor, large printers, plastic recycling, and - sawmill. So we cover brick, lumber, and plumber, and introduce the possibility of the circular economy to housing, by making use of widely available, local materials.
This is a great deal for someone who wants to turn their life upside down with new possibility, and an opportunity to act on it. We welcome college students on leap year, - and young women and men of any age to apply. The requirement is to participate in the authentic creation and sharing of cutting edge information, focusing on a global, collaborative process to get there. The Apprenticeship is for true believers in collaborative product development - and it has a bonus of participating in select parts of Summer X - as both programs are running at the same time. The Apprenticeship is on-site with room and board included - a $6.5k-$12k price ticket for the 6 months. The lower amount is just about what it costs on average in the US - jus for rent and food only - so this offer can be a steal. Apply now - we would like to see a first cohort of 12-24 people as we make history happen. If you live far away and would like a one year, remote mentorship with me and our global team - we already have that option.
We will produce another video on the Apprenticeship, Builder Track, and Enterprise - and more - so stay tuned or sign up. Our stuff costs - but we encourage you to invest in new skills with immersion training with us. Otherwise, absolutely all of our materials and designs are online for free - but it will take you more time and materials expenses to learn on your own. This year - we will be releasing the Seed Eco-Home Enterprise Manual - which combines the half-completed Seed Eco-Home Building Book from the 2016 Kickstarter Campaign,
To address the affordability issue - as most people who need our stuff most don't have money - we have come up with work-study - which means we can offer paid work as soon as students can demonstrate proficiency in newly acquired skills. Or scholarships. So apply or sign up - and we can work with you on the costs.
The dream of open source hardware shall be realized. That's all for now, thanks for listening.
Oh, by the way, did I forget to say that we are taking Seed Eco-Home 2 preorders? Would you like the Seed Eco-Home 2 - but you don't want to build it yourself, like we would teach you in our 14 day Seed Home Crash Course? We're taking pre-orders for turnkey builds where we build the house for you. It works like this - you pay for materials, an OSE turnkey service fee, and you BYOL - bring your own land. Materials cost around $50k for the 1000 square foot Rosebud model of the Seed Eco-Home. Our turnkey service fee is $50k - complete build from start to landscaping at the end. This is not a shell house - it's fully equipped, kitchen, utilities, bathroom included - in this $100k. We provide you with build documents that you take to your building department. You cover all the costs, utility hookups, permits. We are custom builders - we build for you, on your land, and facilitate your relationship with building departments. The total price ticket above the $100k will be determined by the cost of land, utility hookups, and permits. We do offer a 6 kW off grid PV option which can be less expensive in some areas than connecting to the grid.
The Rosebud model of the Seed Eco-Home is a 2 story design and our flagship product until a wide array of other designs become available through a collaborative design process - more on this in a future update. The model comes with superefficient appliances and water-saving devices, heat pump for heating and cooling, induction cooktop, a polished concrete floor, a carport, and a design ready for expansion to 2000 square feet as needed. Ease of maintenance, low cost, build time, and optimization on every front possible, where we plan to apply for the Living Building Challenge certification as a specific add-on option that takes our design to a different level. The best part is joining a collaborative community designed to solve housing - by constantly improving the product and making all improvements and new designs available on the internet for free. This includes low-cost access to local and abundant building materials. We aim to involve all our customers as collaborators in some way - not passive consumers - as education is after all our mission. Because we believe that everyone can contribute - from model house tours, to product feedback, to development of new modules, and enterprise opportunities.
This is your chance - first come first serve - what we need from you is a realistic assessment if you qualify. To qualify, you must have the ability to secure a building lot, and we need to confirm that our design meets your needs. Once you fill out our Seed Eco-Home 2 Pre-Order form and it's a go - we'll send you a building package that you can take to your building department for preliminary approval. You cannot acquire formal construction approval until you get a plot of land - and get the construction plans approved for that specific lot. At which point we would take your payment - and finish your house in as little as 2 weeks - inspection schedule permitting. We expect the average build to be 2 weeks to 2 months given the delays in inspections - otherwise our swarm builds can deliver from start to finish in only a week. Custom homes normally take 8 months of time for comparison.
This is what the Seed Eco-Home 1 looks like today on a cloudy day.
Want your own copy of the next iteration, a 2 story, 1000 square foot model - Rosebud? On this historic day, we are qualifying preorders. You have options from building yourself, to a turnkey build. Read more at the wiki. Help us with feedback, so we can solve housing. Collaboratively.
Please spread the word, upskill yourself, and help others.
Marcin
