Dear Global Villagers,

Here is a review or our work within the context of open source product development. We are summarizing what we've done, and where we're going from here. We are looking for comments and suggestions on the funding method that we propose below.

We have just produced the world's first open source, high performance (3-5 brick/minute), Compressed Earth Block (CEB) press - http://openfarmtech.org/weblog/?p=91 . Our material costs were $1350 for the machine, and are aiming for a product that takes advantage of digital fabrication. Our experience leads us to a prediction that labor requirements for the optimized product will be about 20 hours per machine. This means that we'll be able to sell the machine for between $3-5k. This is about a factor 8 cheaper than any machine with similar performance, as you can verify yourself. The lowest cost equivalent is $25k. Moreover, our entire business model will be open source. You can read the details of the CEB development at  http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=CEB_Press

We're aiming for production in October. All the technical due diligence is forthcoming.

The method of development and similar potential for price reduction is applicable to a wide range of products. We are working on a solar turbine renewable energy system, where we predict installed costs per watt cheaper than coal. Other products on which we are starting development are shown at http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Overview.

What you are seeing here is our unique development method for open source products. We are essentially trying to do for physical product development that which Sourceforge does for computer code. The development technique - which we call the Ecothechnology Buying Club - is described at http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Ecotechnology_Buying_Club . We make some notes on how to extend the Wikipedia model to physical product development.  We are currently recruiting people for Core Teams to lead the development process: http://openfarmtech.org/index.php?title=Core_Team.

Please read the above links, and let us know what you think. You can read a review of our work by the P2P Foundation here: http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/marcin-jakubowskis-open-farm-the-most-important-social-experiment-in-the-world/2008/01/22 . We are experimenting with collaborative micro-funding as a way to fund the above mentioned parallel development process.

We are working out the details of the micro-funding method for product development. What's in it for you? We are promising products at optimized costs. For example, that means that our CEB machines, or solar electric concentrator systems, become affordable to mass audiences. We are creating what we call 'individual mass production': optimized, open source enterprise that can meet the need of large markets. We are doing this essentially by funding product development, and optimized production facilities, collaboratively, so that this lean model of production results in the lowest possible prices stemming from optimized product design and optimized, flexible and digital fabrication. The digital revolution is here. Advanced production is feasible on a home scale, and open source product design combine to unprecedented efficiencies of production for the localization of economies. The last step in that formula is capitalization of said enterprise, which we aim to do simply by collaborative funding from people interested in our products.

It may be said that our products don't apply to mass audiences. Well, the CEB may not, but everyone wants a renewable energy system that sends them no bills, or a car. These are on our plate, too, as seen on the Overview page. I think our greatest difficulty is to convince people that with optimization of production, abundance economies follow. We have seen the abundance economy realized in computing power, and renewable energy, housing, fuel production, food production, are certainly next in line as possibilities, not to mention other areas. (While agribusiness fights new super-weeds, we'll be collecting downfall apples from our orchard for abundant fuel alcohol production.)

With our technical core teams, we are developing specifications and designs to the point that they are ready for funding - by presenting all the supporting information and research that makes the objectives realistic and proven. The CEB machine is an example of this method - where we built the first prototype already and we are presently examining the optimization of production with the use of digital fabrication: computer-controlled cutting of all the required metal on a torch table.

This is a mouthful, but it's a great experiment that we're engaging at Factor e Farm. We also believe that this flexible industrial scheme is the coming economic age.

So here is where I need help: how do we get the work funded? The collaborative microfunding is perhaps the right idea. The Core Teams develop technical details. Then we fund prototypes, optimization, and the building of optimal production facilities. Why should low product cost be feasible? Because we have a lean operation with little overhead, and if funded, we have low-cost production capacity that can match even slave goods and mass production. The new economic age is here. We are not talking of many hundreds of thousands of capitalization requirements for similar enterprise. We are talking of open-source-fed production facilities that will cost on the order of $10k to build. There is cascading cost reduction, for example as we use our CEB to build the facility, or the solar turbine to power it.

As such, 'capitalization costs' are 'zero'- fundraising covers the cost. So far, we've operated 100% on voluntary contributions. R&D costs are zero - they are distributed collaboratively. All the costs are zero zero zero, outside of materials and labor. We capture the value of labor - but even if we charge $100/hour for the CEB - with optimized fabrication time predicted to be 20 hours per machine - that is still $3500 for a machine - factor 8 lower than the competition, as you can check for yourself. That $100/hour is very well worth it - if it's not being dissipated in wasteful production ergonomics and wasteful product design. Moreover, all proceeds are used to fund further open product development.

You see, we've almost got this worked out. One thing that we can be certain - if we collaborate on R&D, capitalization, and have donated facility space - there is no possible way for centralized production to compete with this open source model. Big business became successful by monopolizing and eliminating others with its marriage to the legal system. Now small enterprise can become successful by being efficient by collaboration, and by using flexible and digital fabrication.

Our funding model means that we'll be soliciting monthly funding cycles to a large audience. Well do this whenever we are ready to deploy the funding cycle (4 weeks) on a monthly basis, as described in the Core Team wiki page? We want to access all of our networks to have 1000 people chip in $5 per each month to get state of art product development. That's the question, and my answer is to get at least 25 online network leaders to send out one email per month. The sum needed per month is on the order of $5k.

Remember, the funding cycles go all the way from product development to building of production facilities, and training for replication - so we cover the entire cycle so people can get access to the best products. Localization follows. The bottom line is that the project will move forward, but funding will accelerate it. If we succeed with the CEB, there's a whole range of liberatory technology to follow.

I look forward to any feedback or further leads and suggestions. Let me know if you have any questions or what points I should explain further. We are looking for technical people for product Core Teams, and we are looking for organizers to send out the funding requests to their audiences once per month.

Sincerely,
Marcin