———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson – at – gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Oct 18, 2008 at 2:08 PM
Subject: package for local autonomous infrastructure development ?
All kinds of solutions have already been designed or been experimented with ,
yet when I look locally , here in Brussels ,
I do not seem to know ( yet ? ) of any services , or communities of practice that could offer services between each other or to clients that pay for it ,
that combine a number of solutions into a package for the urban citizen
I imagine such ” service ” could be developed , not only for some real estate community development project , not only for DIY , but a combination of DIY with commercial , and perhaps even passionnate DIY s that can converge in communities of practice and that can then sell their services and even design more specific solutions that perhaps go beyond DIY
I do know platforms such as
http://www.appropedia.org/Welcome_to_Appropedia
http://www.google.be/search?hl=en&q=appropedia&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
and a number of individuals ( and anarchist communities ) that try to develop their solutions.
I also know of companies ( or cooperatives ) that try to offer isolated solutions regarding for example energy isolation , ” green ” energy production ( solar , wind , … )
but I am still looking forwards to , perhaps even leading its creation ,
into a combination between the open source solutions ( such as appropedia )
and local networks ,
with financial back up of ” clients ” ,
as to develop some kind of sustainable ” post financial crisis ” infrastructure ”
that takes into account all different dimensions related to the various impacts ,
while increasing local autonomous capability and infrastructure in energy , co-production ( including food within 20 km ? ) , water , transportation , logistics , waste management ( and re-use management ) , and through emergence , of trust information systems ( currencies ) that take into account all resources and individuals connected to the networks
etc
I imagine we could develop ” investment ” schemes , projecting potential savings even when there would be no financial crisis , and then add to that the increased ” insurance ” of access to living resources and systems even in the case of a financial system breakdown ( or other system breakdown )
It would be interesting to be able to play with figures , and to find ways of ” selling it ” ,
as to finance the emergence of cooperatives in urban areas , and thinknet ( cooperatives at local and transnational levels ) that support the local cooperatives.
It also leads to a post nationalist , post local government approach , where citizens empower and self organize themselves in collaboration , but not in dependency of other institutions.
Ideally , there would be no need for cooperatives , but simply networks.
Something I keep in mind and felt like sharing.
I would be happy to work on some business models ,
or if this already exists , to further interact with such project.
I do know that ecovillage communities do this for themselves ,
but in this case it would not be one specific ecovillage , it would be a community of practice that has a business model and that provides the tools and consultance to set up autonomous systems in urban ( and non urban ) areas through fudning of individuals that would be willing to pay for such ” insurance “.
So it is at first about setting up some kind of ” service ” , some ” insurance ” , …
How much would it cost to provide such service to a urban dweller in north west europe ?
I imagine it might very much depend on the level of complexity of the environment to process solutions for , and perhaps some system of ” credits ” that includes involvement of local residents into solution development could be created , so that people that have less time to invest in the area project can invest financially for others in the area to work on the project – others that would get credits for their work , and give them access to the infrastructures they build even when they do not have capital to invest ?
Greetings from Brussels
Dante