The Inspiring Way

Nature Am I, Episode 12: Blueprints for Sustainability (Marcin Jakubowski, Part 1)


Listen Later

This special episode of Nature Am I features Part 1 of a two-part conversation with Marcin Jakubowski (pronounced MAR-chin  Ya-coo-VOV-ski), the founder of Open Source Ecology.  In his inspiring 2011 TED talk, "Open-Sourced Blueprints for Civilization," which has garnered close to two million views so far, Marcin tells the remarkable story of how he developed the Global Village Construction Set (GVCS), a set of 50 of the most important machines for modern life. Through an open, collaborative process, he and a team of volunteer designers, engineers and builders have been developing and fabricating these machines, which include tractors, ovens, and circuit makers. All of the blueprints are open source, making them available to anyone seeking to build this technology for themselves. Part of Marcin's vision is to create prosperity at a local level by empowering individuals and communities with the skills needed to fabricate what he calls "democratic technology." Such technology can serve human needs, free people from material constraints, and unleash human potential.

The machines that make up the GVCS are intended to be robust, modular, low-cost, efficient, and made from locally-sourced and recycled materials. Marcin envisions a process in which most, if not all, of the starting materials can be found in the "earth and twigs beneath our feet." His ideas point the way to a future in which all technology is sustainable, local communities are resilient and self-sufficient, garbage and waste are non-existent, and the population has the technical literacy needed for economic freedom, prosperity, and self-determination.

Part 2 of this conversation can be found in Episode 13 of the podcast, to be released by the end of February 2021. On this episode, you will hear the following topics:

5:27- Technology that serves human needs

8:01- The product selection metric for the GVCS

11:30- The open-source model applied to hardware

12:55 Three ways that the GVCS can get built

15:08- 3D printing

17:58- Building an advanced civilization from dirt and twigs

19:40- Three levels of recycling

22:06- Lifetime design

26:00- Open-source microfactories

27:15- How to build it yourself

28:03- The need for localized production

29:13- Sustainable regenerative technology

30:25- Economic localization and ecological integrity

31:30- Natural law in ecological design

33:13- Eliminating the waste stream

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Inspiring WayBy Dr. Victor Shamas

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

1 ratings