Project of the Day: Open State.cc

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There was a lot of great stuff at this year’s Ouishare Fest, but Dominic Wind’s presentation on Open State really shook me. In talking with others afterwards, we agreed that it had been amongst the most powerful. While other sharing initiatives mentioned environmental conservation as a “positive element” of the mutualization of resources, there was precious little specific talk about restoration or active environmental engagement. Dominic’s talk particularly hit home within this context, as he presented it from a very intimate, familiar standpoint. We’ll publish that video as soon as it’s released, but today we’re sharing the project itself. We also encourage you to visit their beautifully designed website for more and, specially, check out their upcoming Camp proposal.


How could we end up in this world nobody ever wanted?

Global warming, loss of species. Poverty and boat people. Oppression and surveillance. Isolation and burnout.

We sign petitions, eat organic, recycle and retreat – and yet the overall negative trends keep accelerating. Science calls us the peak society, stumbling in a perfect storm of combined crises.

This is an emergency. Open State is your exit.

Let’s stop fighting the existing model and start building a new one.

Overcoming the current system sounds utopian, yes, but what’s the alternative, when our present has become unbearable? Will we be the generation that stood by when our biosphere collapsed and our dignity crumbled?

Imagine people making their own energy, food and housing. More time and less stuff to worry about. Believing in their own stories, not those of corporations or politicians. Back in harmony with nature, neighbours and our inner voice.

Open State is a beginning.
We don´t have ready-made solutions, but the path is made by walking. Together we build the prototypes and new narratives of the sustainable society.

Some say that the collapse of our ecological and societal systems is already inevitable. But tons of people and projects have already started to build the future we need. Open State will be the missing piece – the catalyst to help those shining lights break through and become the new mainstream.

A 5-week-camp near Berlin, Germany, marks the start in which we´ll train, communicate and open-source these people and their projects. In 35 days we´ll build a fully operating, replicable cell of a future-proof society. And here´s how:

Projects

We look for scalable, potentially sector-disrupting concepts in the areas of food, housing, energy and communication. Project teams should be diversified and able to prove that they´ve executed similar endeavors in the past. Their production & development model needs to be (made) public in accordance with open source philosophy. Above all this is a call for the misfit and rebels, the thinkers and makers of a tomorrow´s world.

Transition Towns

Facing the age of peak oil and accelerating climate change, this network has been inspiring hundreds of communities worldwide to rebuild their own resilience and start up projects in areas of food, transport, education, waste, arts etc. as effective small-scale local responses to global challenges.

Jerry Servers

These mini-servers are extremely robust, only use standard electronic components, and are partly even built from electronic waste. These open source servers work with wireless internet antennas, mesh network functionality and solar cells. Thus, a Jerry Server can even run without access to grid electricity.

Earthships

Described as “the most versatile and economical sustainable green building design in the world”, earthships drag all the home´s electricity from the sun and the wind, catch rain water for drinking, bathing, flushing; contain and re-use the sewage and maintain comfortable temperatures in the building all year long.

Experts

A multi-disciplinary pool of experts – from permaculture practitioners to business consultants to designers and craftspeople – will solve the current obstacles our Camp projects face and lift them to the next level of efficiency and impact. In addition, we will offer resources such as contact networks and continuous procedural mentoring. Have a look at the people we´re already working with here.

Method

Projects, experts and a constant flow of inspirational visitors will challenge themselves in workshops, field trips and reality checks, all to foster not only the projects one by one, but also to instil cooperation and synergies among all.

Blueprints

Together we create a functional on-site prototype of the smallest unit of a sustainable future society. This prototype and each Camp project will be translated into replicable, easy-to-use blueprints and licensed under creative commons, so that interested groups of people can refine the concepts, adjust them to local needs and implement them into their own setting.

Outlook

The Camp site is there to stay, an openly accessible workspace to realize small and large utopias and a lab for contemporary, sustainable living. After the pilot Camp we plan to assemble a top-notch international advisory board that will carry the results to decision-makers in the economy and politics. Academic researchers, think tanks, and institutes will provide the scientific framework to the practical results.

Open State means both a physical space as well as a new state of mind: To live in free creativity and collaboration with fellows, connected with nature, empowered by open source tools. We build the future today with our beliefs and actions. From peer to peer, from state to state we shape the picture of a better society.

4 Comments Project of the Day: Open State.cc

  1. AvatarStacco Troncoso

    Heya Dominik. They’re releasing a lot of videos these days, so I expect yours to be ready soon. (They’ve already released the Alexa Clay’s lecture, featuring Dominik Wind as “The insider”:P )

  2. AvatarRichard Nelson

    Hi Dominik and Stacco and thanks for bringing Dominic Wind’s presentation on Open State into your discussion. I want to interest you and perhaps enlist your proactive support for the PODnet Plan; see the global COOP plan, Slide deck and White Paper available for download at http://www.PODworksGLOBAL.com – working openly as members of a global Creative Commons we can BUILD a new paradigm of life supporting life – learning how to work with nature and experience abundance within the small space of the lifePOD – “a little space to make a better place … for you and for me” – just do it.

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