I like your ideas Fabio. I was recently explaining to a friend that, where ever we are, we are already participating in an ecosystem and an economy - and that all the residents of a locality, of all species, benefit from increases in flows in both, and all humans in a locality suffer from decreases in flows in either.

I also agree that we should not limit ourselves to what we can afford in Dollars. It does not take money to create value - it is only a medium of exchange - so if the limiting factor is money we ought to be smart enough to figure out another way to facilitate exchange of value.

In my latest blog for my local group, An Open Letter, I concluded with:

I propose that we move beyond the talk about all the terrible things that could happen when oil becomes expensive and the climate changes – and start talking about the kind of world in which we want to live.

Linda Nowakowski challenged me that it is unfair to ask what kind of world others want because I am using it to challenge assumptions people have about how we change the world. That is true, I don't think most people understand that it is within our individual power to create the world we want. But, I also think that we all want the same things.

This is an articulation from a piece I wrote called The Greatest Difference:

[In the world I would like to create]

• Every child born to participating parents will be held, spoken and sung to, and otherwise receive the stimulation they need as infants and toddlers to allow them to learn at capacity.
• Every participant will have access to preventive medical care.
• Every participant will have adequate nutrition, clothing and shelter.
• Crime and violence will be reduced because potential criminals will have the option of participating and because the participants will be less vulnerable to victimization.
• There will be a flowering of art, music, story, and entrepreneurial spirit, because participants will not be forced to work long hours at menial jobs - they can choose to pursue their passions while they participate.
• Every such new structure will, in part, achieve abundance in food by instituting production systems that align with biological processes - increasing biological diversity - meaning that participants will live in cleaner and more biologically diverse environments - that are both healthy and beautiful.

It is a more powerful motivation to building community to build something positive than it is to be telling people 'we must' do something to avoid the negative. It is about organizing to produce and deliver among ourselves the value we are all looking for in community - and if we can do that for ourselves it will be valuable to others to join us.

I have started this thread with the hope to come out with a picture about the practical solution and not to end it with intellectual discussion like often, that case is. For example to develop a list of food-production activities by appropriate equipment. Which equipment set and which products can be come together? Which green bottling and caning method came in consideration etc. Please let me know if you would like to continue this discussion in this direction. Thanks Wael

I think this is a great idea Wael. It might - most likely - depend on locality as to what equipment is available and what regulations there might be for commercial production. Really great idea though.

Linda Nowakowski said:

I think this is a great idea Wael. It might - most likely - depend on locality as to what equipment is available and what regulations there might be for commercial production. Really great idea though.

I think sites will use to 80% same equipment. Some will use the solar heater for caffee roasting , http://www.solarroast.com/suntra ckerchallenge.html

while I would use it for cocking oil for making soup.

The question is to make these designs open source, like what http://openfarmtech.org/index.ph p?title=Main_Page and others I may do not know are doing. Somewhere else they will use it to for different production-line, etc.

The target at the end to design at least these 80% in modular way, so that it can be used as common tool kit AND the products would go to the market will share kinda self-operated bottom up corporation with common principles, globally.

If you have an idea to develop a strategy, better formulation to the idea, a call for cooperation, etc. would be fantastic.

This is exactly what I want to be working on Wael - Please let us continue.

As you know I am working on the food production piece. I recently redesigned the garden layout to further integrate the needs of the gardener, the plants, and the irrigation system. I am calling it a Double Key Hole Pattern.

Our group also recently hosted a canning class using some of the produce from the garden. What I would like to see is discussion on how we could then integrate something like Time Banks through which we exchange goods and services among members of a community without the need for money and then something like the Same Cafe where we add value to the goods we are producing.

That organizational part seems to me to be the missing piece and if we can get that accomplished, then we can figure out what equipment is available. I agree we want to make the technology open source - and find a way to communicate among many communities that are all experimenting with different ways the pieces fit together.

we keep the track David. thinking about the organizational part depend on the scale your organization is running. What I am thinking about it the following: Integrating arts, theater, labeling, architecture, food production, natural building, film making, advertising, social-ecotourism, organic restaurant, cook-courses for visitor, wellness/massage for the worker, circus and fun, local/international/online shops, job-labs, education/training labs, .. (the list is infinite long as the possibilities permaculture is enabling, we use the bio-diversity in crating green-jobs diversity in high efficient and dynamic way) in one cooperative association. Lets say association and eco-system will cover after 3 years of operation 80-90% of the community needs. The basic modular green-jobs-cell can be seeded very fast in different localities. Certain calculations need to be done to know how much land must be integrated to the cell, so that it can be self-vital, productive and economic effective. Also it must be calculated how long it will take take. How to cover the basic needs, till then. (cell maturity model) I imagine for example there is 50 persons (10: manager, engineers, .. 40: hand-worker and farmer) will start working in constructing the cell and the around activities for the second phase for one month and make it a place for 100 in the first 3 months, then a place of 500 worker after 6 months. The cell is 100% mature.

The association will have its Bank and own productive community currency CC. The will be an exchange course for national currency defined through the association.

I would third the efforts payment-salary, so that 1/3 re-investment in the association and ecology 1/3 personal individual investment for future needs (mid and short term). Example shelter for the son who will married next year, new dining table from association carpentry next month. If there is no investment this amount will stay at the saving/investment Bank account and can taken and exchanged any time. 1/3 in real money to cover personal and foreign needs out of the association. Vocation plans, TV, ..

In addition to salary basic self-consumption-portion depending on the social background. Worker/employee might be single, married, having kids, having elder parents to take care of..

When the association is feeding the kids of the worker as well, we can calculate with at least 50% risk that the association is investment for future co-worker. We make average calculation for one person portion. List of items and their value in CC. Lets say 100 CC goods value are the average monthly consumption for one adult person. A kid need half, 50 CC. Adding the risk factor >> 25. So he has 2 adults and 2 kids to feed. 100 + 100 + 100 + 50 = 350 CC Additional association production stuff and services can be bought from the amount at the internal account.

What need to be answered, how much CC is 1h work taking role and task in account? David , we has been discussing once about rts "right to share" at Swadishi ning. http://globalswadeshi.ning.com/f orum/topics/global-food-swadeshi -business?id=2097821%3ATopic%3A7 181&page=4#comments I think we have to open new thread or continue an existing thread about that. For me, every 1h to get the same CC ammount. No role or function update should be the motivation to earn more. The motivation should be to increase the density of the produced integrated comprehensive life value by what every one is doing.

That was my rough imaginations. I think these organizational models are of topic when the first modular-cell based integrated eco-systems of production is formed in the country. For the first step, the design, the funds for executing the design/investment and pay the first phase of maturity process are needed.

here are some links harvesting of today. http://practicalaction.org/home http://practicalaction.org/food- production/food http://www.microfinancegateway.o rg/p/site/m/template.rc/1.26.106 01/ http://www.greenmicrofinance.org /

What we can do together is start formulating a good description of the modular cell in order to share it with other parties. I would really like to write http://www.architectureforhumani ty.org/ if you would help me.

Guys, lets meet once per chat to further brainstorm http://wiki.openkollab.com/Home

I like your enthusiasm Wael. :-)

I have spent all morning writing up the explanation of the Double Key Hole Pattern garden lay out so I am not able to respond fully to all your thoughts right now.

I do want to link you to my thoughts on valuing contributions to a 'cell'. There are actually four different evaluations we need to consider where the CC is an 'internal' currency. They are:

Valuing Labor in CC

Valuing Goods and Services in CCs

Valuing Goods and Services in Money, and

Valuing CCs in Money

David Braden said:

I like your enthusiasm Wael. :-)

I have spent all morning writing up the explanation of the Double Key Hole Pattern garden lay out so I am not able to respond fully to all your thoughts right now.

Valuing Labor in CC

Thanks David, pls mail the sheet mentioned here to globalpalestine at gmail.com

Have you seed such a solutions before? http://vimeo.com/1623066

with such an operation mechanism, the share value can be tagged to each assigned job and accounted. An intelligent planing and operation system can scan the load of a group at certain spot, shift resources and disrepute jobs "fairly"/ I would map only 2/3 of the jobs and leave 1/3 for chaos, mode, and self-management optimization. This way we match the costs of the 1/3 above we "pay" for the eco-system. Just a running thoughts ..

I am not sure what "sheet" to which you were referring so I sent you some links to the e-mail address. If that is not what you wanted let me know.

The video you link to looks like a cool way to use communications technology to bid on work. I am still thinking that we want to base these 'internally funded' production systems on those basic things that people need every day - food, clothing, shelter, education and health care. So, for each system, we would need the most knowledgeable person available to be "in charge" and empower them to attract what ever labor they need to operate the system - hopefully expanding until every one who needs food, clothing, shelter, education or health care can obtain it in exchange for labor contributed to these internal systems of production.

Fabio Barone said:

I can understand the frustrations, but some of the previous posters have given practical proposals on how to go on. My personal conclusion is that it needs to become the people's own vision in order for such ideas to come to fruition.

This can come along through thought exchange/education/talks/media etc. and through example.

I am not yet directly involved in a hands on food production and cell setup. The reason is that I haven't yet figured out where "home" is, which is also quite difficult to handle - in fact I believe firmly in the decentralized local model (if you want, check out my MSc dissertation at http://holisticscience.ning.com/ page/distributed-networked-bioba sed-1, watch out, 30'000 words, but the abstract gives a good overview).

I can for now just put forward my sincere wishes for success, as I believe you are doing highly valuable pioneering work!

I also agree that ICT will provide the tools for the required information to flow. As of today, for food production there are countless interesting sites, from organic food, to permaculture, agroforestry, etc.

Things like factor e farm, fablabs, distributed production and other P2P technologies are just starting up, those will mature and provide further fertilisation to cell "growth".

I believe the biggest impact will come from alternative currencies. Why can't we realize all our faboulous dreams? Because there's lack of funding. With distributed financing models and a plethora of alternative currencies people will get the means for communities to thrive.

We are still at the beginning of a major shift and frustrations are inevitable - but, unless brutal armies step in success is inevitable too.

Love fabio

Love to you Fabio..

I have been away, in deep contemplation on the sustainability of my ideas. Being of middle age, I have experience quite a lot disappointments, and thus am wary of labouring in vain.

Lindas response to my post sent me into deep contemplation, however subsequent engineering developments may have given justification to my perspective.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner EEE Class Contanerships

Socio- economic reengineering must be done in balance. Hence the need for a plan A+, reducing the speed of spend cuts (cutting while printing).

You may reduce the fuel supply to an engine by, improving engine efficiencies, shell aerodynamics and driver input, but there is little sense in starving or stalling it.

We also promote mass transit over the car, due to the ‘economies of scale’.

The global economy definitely needs new vectors, but I guess ‘greener’ mass transporting will still be part of the mix. Nehemaya Commission is the platform for my vision. I repeat, African economic sustainability can be helped by: 1. Stopping the transfer of funds from the coffers of governments by corrupt leaders to foreign economies. 2.Making fair and ethical trade law. 3.Mandating environmental and social compliance by multi- nationals. 4.Progressively increasing tax on dirty energy. 5.Removing market distorting and industry destroying policies such as agricultural subsidies. 6.Cancelling aid in a calibrated and gradual reduction. 7.The promoting and short term funding of social enterprise models wrapped in sustainability planning, addressing ‘fundamentals’e.g food and transport for the 'lowest common denominator', with maximum local content. 8.Africa taking ownership and responsibility of its destiny.

Celestine Iro Nehemaya Commission Social Enterprise Africa