Build a MultiMachine program
The
MultiMachine, an open-source machine tool, is a complete multi
purpose machine shop in one tool built entirely from scrap material
and with some machining skills.
The MultiMachine has the
potential of saving or improving lives of many thousands of our
people. In the health sector, it can be used to build water pumps,
filters, water well drilling rigs and hospital furnishings. In
agriculture, the most important sector in Uganda, it can be used in
building farm machinery and irrigation pumps. In transportation by
its use in building and repairing parts for vehicles. In
communications by its use as as a cell phone charging station. In
village life by being a source of battery power for home lighting and
in Education by providing vocational education students with machine
tools that they build themselves and then are able to take back to
their villages when they graduate and employ themselves. The
MultiMachine is truly a humanitarian machine.
Our plan is to
carry out an initial program which organises participants into small
groups of 3-5 people, who will collaborate and build MultiMachines.
The curriculum and course information is available on
www.opensourcemachine.org and each individual will get a copy of the
book 'How to build a MultiMachine.'
Individuals on each team
will have key roles to play from managing the team's project
resources, research, documentation and implementation. It is
important that we adhere to open-source standards which basically
promote collaboration, sharing information and building a community
of users and developers around a piece of technology.
On
completion of the program, each team will get to keep the
MultiMachine it has built, is free to build as many machines as
possible and use the technology in whichever way they see benefits
them. The teams will also have the opportunity to participate in our
country-wide effort to replicate the 'Build a MultiMachine' program.
We are attempting at building a resilient economy with
open-source technology.
Open PlayLabs
Open-source technology is any technology (software and hardware) that is free of copyright and information on it's designs, instructions, parts lists, budgets or wikis, is available. This allows us to acquire and share that knowledge, collaborate on ideas and projects, and build a community of users to support those technologies.
We have opened up the first Open PlayLab in Ndejje, Entebbe Road. An Open PlayLab aims to be a replicable digital fabrication laboratory. A place where members can go to incubate ideas and create solutions to the technical problems we are facing.
We have all the information we need. The internet is our prime source of information. Each lab must be equipped with computers and an internet connection. There are thousands and thousands of projects going on around the world. Projects like freifunk.de will help us create wi-fi networks for wireless connections. We would use Moodle.org to create our learning social network. And then implement opensourceecology.org's Global village construction set. We could build digital fabrication tools to equip the youth to take on industry, agriculture, construction and the services.
We have gone into partnership with another group that is making an energy efficient stove called Mwoto (www.mwotostove.com) and trainings are underway in the Ndejje Open PlayLab. We are soon implementing our next project, 'How to build a Multimachine' (www.opensourcemachine.org).
We feel that our strategies are well aligned with the UN's Millennium Development Goals and will further accelerate our goal of achieving a self sustaining economy.
We hereby welcome membership to our group. Anyone is free to join us, start projects, train the locals, and have some fun while we are at it.
The Global Village Construction Set TED Speech
Enjoy
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Hi, My name is Marcin; farmer, technologist. I was born in Poland, now in the U.S. I started a group called Open-source Ecology. If I identified the 50 most important machines that we think it takes for modern life to exist, things from Tractors, Bread ovens, Circuit makers, then we set out to create an Open-source, DIY- Do it Yourself version, that anyone can build and maintain at a fraction of their cost. We call this the Global Village Construction Set.
So let me tell you a story. So I finished my 20s with a PHD in Fusion energy and I discovered- I was useless. I had no practical skills, I mean the world presented me with options, I took them- I guess you can call it the Consumer lifestyle.
So I started a farm, in Missouri and learned about the economics of farming. I bought a tractor, then it broke, I paid to get it repaired then it broke again. And pretty soon I was broke too. I realised that truly appropriate low cost tools that I needed to start a sustainable farm and settlement just didn't exist yet. I needed tools that were robust, modular, highly efficient and optimised, low cost, made from local and recycled materials that would last a life time. Not designed for obsolescence. I found I would have to build them myself.
So I did just that. And I tested them, and I found that industrial productivity can be achieved on a small scale. So then I published the 3D designs, schematics, instructional videos and budgets on a wiki, then contributors from all over the world began to show up prototyping new machines during dedicated project visits. So far we have prototyped 8 of the first 50 machines and now the project is beginning to grow on its own. We know that open-source has succeeded with tools for managing knowledge and creativity and the same is starting to happen to hardware too. We are focusing on hardware because it is hardware that can change peoples' lives in such tangible material ways.
If we can lower the barriers of entry into farming, building, manufacturing, then we can unleash massive amounts of human potential- thats not only in the developing world. Our tools are being made for the American farmer, builder, entrepreneur, maker – we've seen lot's of excitement from these people who can now start a construction business, parts manufacturing, organic CSA, or – just selling power back to the grid.
Our goal is a repository
of published designs so clear so complete that a single burnt DVD is
effectively a Civilisation Starter Kit. I've planted 100 trees in a
day, I've pressed 5000 bricks in 1 day from the dirt beneath my feet,
and built a tractor in 6 days. From what I've seen, this is only the
beginning. If this idea is truly sound, the implications are
significant. A greater distribution of the means of production,
environmentally sound supply chains, and a newly relevant DIY maker
culture can hope to transcend artificial scarcity. We are exploring
the limits of what we all can do to make a better world with Open
Hardware technology.
Thank you.
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The Open Source Economy
Under Business and enterprise solutions, as another instance, we find accounting software packages like FrontAccounting, a professional accounting and Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP) for small and medium sized businesses, all because some people decided that it was a good idea to start working collaboratively on a software they can offer the world free of copyright and build a community of users around it. This has enabled entrepreneurs like myself to expand our lines of business. Not only am I able to implement low cost accounting solutions in business with FrontAccounting, I am also able to expand my services into Customer Relationship Management, payroll, micro-finance and possibly even try out providing open-source networking solutions to clients because the barrier of entry, which would be high capital requirements into these markets via the cost of software, has been removed or lessened in most cases.
While most of us are familiar with open-source software, an equally fascinating movement is that of Open-source Hardware. This is a growing movement of people also sharing designs, instructional videos, bills of materials and collaborating to develop machines. One of the most amazing projects that deserves some serious attention is Open-source Ecology. It is a network of farmers and technologists building what they call the 'Global Village Construction Set' (GVCS), which eventually will be a single burnt DVD with instructions on how we can all build 50 machines which are necessary for us to start a civilisation with modern day comforts. The list includes bread ovens, circuit makers, steam engines, brick making machines and so on. Their objective is to reduce the barriers of entry for the rest of us into farming and industry. They hope to release the DVD by December 2012. The world can hardly wait!
So there seems to be an alternate economy along side the capitalist economy, in which people are deciding to get together to create solutions for themselves and license them as free to the rest of the world without being driven by price, demand and supply issues; as opposed to the dominant capitalist economy wherein ideas have copyright and market forces dominate as we sell the product to the world. The spirit of collaboration as opposed to competition, sharing as opposed to copyright, building a community as opposed to a customer base is making the difference.
This same spirit is being witnessed across industries beyond hardware and software. Consider the Construction industry, one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. Nadar Khalili (1936-2008) a world reknown Iranian-american architect shared with the world a low cost and sustainable housing alternative called Earth Bag building. Many implementers and collaborators around the world have taught others, written books and blogs and most importantly are attempting at solving the global housing crisis. Earth Bag building is also being promoted here in Uganda by the Earthbag building Forum – Uganda through the same spirit of sharing information and collaboration mainly through facebook.
The open-source ideology is clearly affecting every industry so I suggest we open up our eyes to the next frontier.
Enough Talk. Time to walk.
On
Saturday 17th March 2012, I bumped into the Capital Gang, a
political radio talk show on air every Saturday morning. I rarely
tune in because I feel I should be the one hosting that show.
'We the youth have got to rise and take charge,' I keep telling
myself. Anyway, the show exposed the long well known rot in Makerere
University and the serious deficiencies in our education
system.
Interestingly,
I find many of us in agreement that something has got to be done
about our education system. Here is a system which after over 100
years of its existance in Uganda, is grossly under-performing on any
performance measure one may test. Has it educated the masses of
the people? No! Infact, we have less than One million graduates in
this country of 35million. Has the system built a better society? How
are we performing on the Happiness Index? What about the most obvious
economic indices like GDP and inflation? What is the nature of the individual who has spent 20 years in school? When I look around all I see
is corruption, greed, poverty, unemployment, unhappiness and a people with a complete lack of knowledge of self.
I
had always thought that my challenge was to fight this education
system and I knew it was going to be a big battle since the rot is deep
down to the core. However, after listening to the Capital Gang, I had
a sigh of relief. I realised that I dont have to fight it. It is
going to cramble all by itself under its own weight. So let me just sit
back and watch. Pop me some popcorn!
At
the sametime, I recognise that in this
education discussion are two schools of thought. A: The Reformers.
These acknowledge the positive as well as the negative, but believe
the positive is more. The least that these people ought to do is save
us some breath and go ahead and implement reforms in those areas that
they think are lacking, so that they can bring about a reform in this
education system. The second school of thought to which after today's
Capital Gang show am a firm member of, is B: The Revolutionaries. These
acknowledge that the entire system ought to be trashed completely so
we can bring about a learning revolution.
I
encourage anyone interested in the subject of education to at least
go to www.google.com or www.youtube.com and search for some voices
out there on education. Look up Sir Ken Robinson, for instance, and watch his
presentations at TED 2006 and 2010. Have a look at
www.khanacademy.org, moodle.org, wikipedia.org and join the
conversation. Its time for both schools of thought to get to work.
Its time to walk the talk.
