it takes a village

These pictures show the Tractor designed by Open Source Ecology.
In eight hours last month, two men took the pieces in the lefthand photo (above) and constructed the finished product on the right.
In eight hours.
One of the most impressive projects that fliss backed last year was the Global Village Construction Set. The project showed up on Kickstarter in early October, hoping to raise the venture capital needed before Thanksgiving. Not only did they succeed, they surpassed their goal, allowing them to move forward more quickly with their big dream and to share their dvd of instructions before the end of the year.
Talk about your big dreams!!! These folks in Missouri at Factor e Farm have focused on building, in do-it-yourself fashion, the fifty industrial machines required for the construction and maintenance of a village. That's right - building your own tractor, your own brick press, your own bulldozer from a set of FREE blueprints, with all materials and instructions readily available for a fraction of the cost of a manufactured machine.
Motors, power supplies, and other parts can be readily interchanged between the EIGHT prototypes they currently have. That's right: They have EIGHT of the fifty machines already prototyped, with the schematics, instructional videos, and product manuals published online and FREE for the taking. Because the construction is modular, you don't have to build the same core component, such as a motor, over and over; you need only swap the module into the machine you need at that time.
Part of the reason I have a love of science, and chemistry in particular, is the same reason I was drawn to this project. The ultimate goal of scientists is to make the world a better place for ALL of us. The ultimate goal of the GVCS is also to make the world better for ALL, specifically by allowing the spread of the benefits of civilization. Buildings can be constructed using bricks pressed from the very dirt at one's feet. Land can be revitalized to grow the crops needed for a stable town. People will have the tools and machines to transform their lives from subsistence to existence.
When I was in high school, back in the dreamy 1970's, this type of project seemed most possible, but somehow did not materialize. Thank God an immigrant from Poland saw the need for this step toward freedom for all and started creating a solution in the last decade. Thank God I was allowed to be part of this incredible dream and was able to help bring it into reality! In all the TEDTalks for 2011, the one for the Global Village Construction Set is in the Top Ten. Read all about it here - and help spread the word!
By the way, I have joined 1000 True Fans. I'm showing the conviction of my thoughts and my heart by dipping into my pocket for the next two years to continue supporting the GVCS and Factor e Farm. You may have missed being part of the Kickstarter fundraiser, but you can still be part of the process to make the world better by the sharing of this knowledge.
I hope you'll join me.