3DN Integrated Production
Designing Systems of Integrated Production
- It seems to me that there is still a gulf between what we can do as individuals and the things we would like to convince the rest of the humanity to embrace. Let me try to bridge that gulf . . .
- Everything in the universe is related to everything else. If you change one thing, it affects everything else. The system we live in is not a given it just happens to be the one that developed. The potential set of relationships, how things could be different, approaches the infinite.
- "The System" is so huge and so complex that it is difficult to think through all the ramifications of any given change. And then, when you talk about changing something, all those who benefit from the status quo will oppose the change.
- At the same time, "The System" is composed of subsystems of decreasing complexity right down to each individual human each making daily decisions for themselves and their families.
- I believe that there is a system level, above individual families and less than the whole system where we can create new sets of relationships that do not threaten any existing set of relationships.
- This is not different from starting a new business except that there is the broader goal of achieving harmony with natural systems in addition to a "profit". In my view, we are looking for ways to establish human systems that enhance the environment while providing for the needs of the human participants in the system.
- While I support general education on these issues, I feel the more effective approach is to design and build the smaller, non-threatening, systems.
- The green house I would like to build has the following components:
- Hay field - harvested to raise grasshoppers - fed to chickens -
- chicken waste - to worm bed - worms to feed chickens - worm castings to planting bed -
- planting beds - raise tomatoes, chili peppers and onions - waste to worm bed -
- chickens, tomatoes, chili peppers and onions - go into Green Chili Sauce -
- which goes to an attached restaurant serving smothered bean burritos and chicken enchiladas
- Anyone hungry?
- The basic idea is to include as many closed loop production/consumption cycles as possible to reduce cash costs.
- As cash costs approach zero, gross revenue approaches net income which can then be either distributed to the participants (workers) or reinvested in additional capacity.
- I think Rick mentioned that one of the uses for the Solaroof was to produce biomass for energy production. The enterprise could also diversify its animal production (hogs, goats, cattle) and collect the manure for methane production. Depending on the climate, there is room for solar collectors, wind turbines and or firewood to provide additional energy.
- Depending on the size of the operation, 4 people working 40 hours per week could operate the system. 2 in the green house and 2 in the restaurant. At a base salary of $2,000 per month, that is $8,000 plus debt service on the facility and purchased items such as beans and tortillas. Say it is $12,000 per month. That is 1,000 meals at an average $10.00 per meal or an average of 34 customers per day.
- I would then add an internal currency. Workers could elect to take their salary either in cash or shares in the enterprise. The shares would be redeemable for goods and services provided by the enterprise. Issues would be decided by a vote of the shares so that those who put in the most and took out the least would have the most say. The enterprise could further reduce the worker's cash requirements by providing housing, purchasing wholesale etc.
- I come from running my own business and I guess I'm looking at a set of economic relationships among the participants. Certainly, people work best when they have common interests, goals, spiritual understanding, or what ever else might bring them together. The common goal of making a living may or may not be sufficient.
- I view the greenhouse as a thought experiment. A sustainable system would have to replace our current non-sustainable systems in supplying food, clothing and shelter for human beings. I think it is easier to design small whole systems than it is to reform the existing system in mass. That is why I asked the question "can we create cells of sustainability with the capacity to grow and multiply"? There are lots of ways we could think of to combine natural processes and human technology that could be sustainable. The greenhouse & restaurant is a way of exploring what might be possible. If we design a good one and it gets built maybe it could expand to absorb the world. Even more exciting would be lots of experiments, some succeeding and some failing, and we humans learning what harmony with natural systems really means.
- I left out the beans, corn and wheat (for the time being) because of an unstated assumption that you would start with a small amount of land (one hay field). In a design that would actually be built you would have issues like "is it cheaper to buy beans, corn, & wheat or buy the land to grow them ourselves?" Maybe that is the next step, hard economic reality.
- If you read Design Process then you know the basic idea is to build in as many production/consumption loops as possible.
- Renewable energy is clearly one of the elements of a sustainable system. Maybe, as the price of oil goes higher, renewable energy will evolve as a larger and larger share of global energy consumption. My problem is that just changing the source of energy does not address all the other elements of a sustainable system. We still need systems of production and consumption that avoid pollution and enhance ecosystems.
- We need systems through which human beings obtain what they need and desire that do not diminish the capacity of the planet to support life.
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