ARTIFACT
I saw
an interview of Buckminster Fuller. He said something like; the best way to
make a difference in this world it is best to create an artifact that will
continue to serve others long after you are departed.
That
stuck with me. And the artifact I choose to leave future generations are
Community Centered Libraries located in remote villages of developing
countries. That is the lasting legacy I deeply desire to leave for future
generations. And in order to do that I must work with many other people all
around the world. So I have begun to enroll a Launch Team that is made up of
intercessors, advisers and donors.
CAST
THE VISION
Part of
my job as the founder of the innovative educational nonprofit is to cast the
vision. I need to present a compelling description of how things could become.
The vision needs to be how the world will be a better place because we worked
together. I need to get others to imagine how our products and services were
effective to achieve our long term goals. I need to lead others to see in their
mind’s eye how lives of people were transformed in ways that led to continuing
improvements.
CONTRAST
Here in
the West we are used to having running water, electric lights, flush toilets,
well stocked kitchen pantries, easy access to medicine, lots of entertainment
options and more. Our basic needs are met. We seek to satisfy our many wants.
Our lifestyles are characterized by conveniences and comforts. We were
fortunate to have been born into the top 1 billion. But those in the bottom 2
billion do not have any of the previous blessings.
By
contrast those in severe poverty must work hard in their struggle just to
survive. People who live in remote villages rarely travel farther than the
marketplace. They do not have time or money to do what is not necessary. Most
remote villages do not have electricity so there is no radio, TV or Internet.
They continue to use the farming practices of their parents, grandparents and
ancestors going back for untold generations. They only know to do what has been
modeled or they have learned from their neighbors. Most of them have not seen
or heard of different ways to work on a farm.
SOLUTIONS
Yet
farming has been happening for thousands of years in all parts of our globe. For
every single kind of problem that a subsistence farmer faces today, there are
proven solutions to do it better, faster, easier, cheaper, etc. that some
people know about somewhere. The challenge is to seek, find, gather, organize,
illustrate, translate, store and distribute the workable solutions to those who
will use them.
These
farmers do not have electricity or machines fueled by gasoline or diesel. Yet
before Edison and Ford that is how all farming was done. Anything published
before 1923 is in the public domain. We can use parts or all of it without
asking permission or paying royalties. The volunteer college students can
research these materials and then catalog, keyword tag and review them. They
can be put into PDF formats that take up a tiny amount of digital memory. I have
seen hundreds of pages excellent illustration in those old manuals for farmers.
We can reuse those to serve our neighbors on the other side of the planet.
The Amish
presently do farming without electricity. Hopefully we will work with some of
them to make easy to understand educational modules.
We can
dispatch our volunteers to research and create basic lessons about how to make
such things as root cellars, barns, silos, windmills, cisterns, latrines,
chicken coops, water wells, irrigation canals, goat sheds and more.
There
are many government agencies and nonprofits overseas that currently have educational
resources for subsistence farmers. And they have been doing a good job of
reaching those in their sphere of influence. My plan is to approach them and
ask them to give us those resources. I believe they will contribute them to us
when we promise to give them full credit as the originator. We will tell them that
these resources will be cataloged and translated. Some will be made into audio
and video files. They will be distributed through the Community Centered
Libraries. Our volunteers will study their lessons and the lessons of many
others so that we will create our own sets of lessons. That way for example, the
solutions that have been working in the south of India, will also be used in
parts of Africa and Latin America.
SOIL
During
my research online I discovered how vitally important the soil is for the
quality and quantity of the harvest from the crops. We can research and create
educational modules to guide in the basics of how to improve the soil quality.
One way is to rotate crops. And another way is to allow livestock to graze on
the field after it is harvested because their dung becomes natural fertilizer.
Another way is to use composing piles with discarded vegetation, kitchen scraps
and animal dung. These interact to create a super-rich byproduct that is full
of valuable microbes. This composting can be accelerated by introducing the
right kind of worms.
CONTAINER
During
my online research I notice that in the USA there is a shortage of space in the
backyards of those in suburbs. So they have developed clever ways to optimize
the space for their vegetable gardening. I have seen container gardening where
the clay pots of all sizes were used. I have seen vertical gardening using
small containers hung in the window or on a wall outside. There are raised bed,
drip irrigation and other methods. Yet in the videos and pictures of Africa and
India I do not see that. The natural fertilizer from composting can be used in
containers. Then it would be less likely to be washed away by the rains. We
will offer a wide range of options. They will be invited to adapt, experiment,
improve and report back to us. We want to know what did and did not work in
each setting so we can better teach others.
SEEDS
Another
essential factor is to obtain top quality seeds. Online there are videos that
show how just using better seeds suited to that setting can greatly increase
the final harvest. Here are seeds that are resistant to drought, diseases, pests
and other factors. The processes of researching and selecting the best seeds
can become an educational module. Then it is a matter of how to best obtain
seeds for the next season and how to best store them.
SYNERGY
Let us
consider that there is a natural synergy between farming for crops and raising
livestock. This has been happening for thousands of years all around the world.
Farm animals like goats, cows, pigs, ducks, sheep, mules, cows and others are
common on most prospering farms. Each of these animals has a lifecycle. There
are proven best practices in how to raise, breed and butcher them. Many of
these animals provide byproducts like milk, eggs and wool. Milk will spoil but
it can be made into cheese or yogurt to last longer for the family of the
farmer as well as to be taken to market for additional income. Those who grew
up on farms learn many of these practices as children. Plus there are county
agents and colleges that teach advanced techniques.
Some of
the subsistence farmers we first encounter will already have some domestic
livestock. I hope that our resources could be used to help them learn how to
take better care of them. That might lead to a longer life for the animal and
more productivity while alive. I hope that some farmers will excel at farming
crops and then be able to afford to purchase livestock. It might be the first
time for their family. I want to have lessons available about the basics of
animal husbandry in the Community Centered Libraries. Each kind of livestock
will have beginner, intermediate and advanced educational modules. These
lessons will range from the basics of feeding, sheltering and breeding to the
solutions to common illnesses and injuries.
Just as
it is possible to greatly improve the final results by wisely selecting
suitable seeds for the crops the same is true for wisely selecting the suitable
breeding stock for the area. It is my dream that over the course of many years
the farmers will consistently prosper and they will use part of their profits
to improve both their seeds as well as the quality of the livestock.
MACHINES
Besides
the plants and animals on a farm there are also machines. Those in severe
poverty will not likely have access to electricity or petroleum based fuels for
machines. So what we can offer are human and animal powered machines. For
example a plow pulled by a donkey or water buffalo instead of a tractor. I read
that a farmer will be able to harvest 3 times as much when using a water
buffalo than just by hand. Plus more products can be carried to market with
such a beast of burden.
When I
did my online research I came upon simple machines made from the parts of
bicycles. These used pedal power to operate such devices as a simple pump or
grinding stone. There are many clever machines like that used around the world.
We can seek, find and gather links about them. We can form teams to create user
manuals and blueprints that will be used to make, operate and repair these.
Plus there can be a manual on how to make a small business from making, selling
and servicing them. This is called appropriate technology. Honestly there is a
part of my heart that strongly resonated with this small part of the whole
vision for how we could serve subsistence farmers.
SEASONS
What I
know about farms is that the workload is controlled by the seasons. The winter,
spring, summer and fall have different kinds of tasks that suited to the
lifecycle of the crops and the weather. We can learn the best ways to optimize
those activities based on general guidelines and specific suggestions from
those in the area. For example during times of heavy rains or snow what
activities can be done in a barn or shed? What kinds of construction and repair
projects can be done while waiting for the crops to grow? Are there profitable
projects to make products for the marketplace that might be based on arts,
crafts or what the groups like Amish have been doing? For example they could
make the following: hand crafted furniture, tools to sell to other farmers, durable
clothing, soap, candles, souvenir kinds of items if there is a way to get them
to tourists. Then when there is a peak times of planting or harvesting how can
that be done effectively?
EMPLOYMENT
There
is another huge long term benefit for the community. After the subsistence
farmer has learned how to raise more crops and better manage livestock then
there will come a time that others need to be hired. The prosperity of the
farmer over the course of many years will result in employment for many others
as seasonal workers. Just as we hear of migrant workers in California and
elsewhere the farmer may need to hire lots of people for short intervals when
the workload is at a peak.
Besides
seasonal workers there could be long term part and full time helpers. This is a
reasonable expectation that we can imagine as a blessing that goes beyond just
the farmer.
PUBLIC
WORKS
The
Community Centered Libraries will mainly have lessons for individuals and
families but some of the resources offered will be aimed to serve the
community. The reason the cities are able to prosper is that the common
infrastructure challenges have been met. There are shared matters that
facilitate commerce, transportation, public health and more. So I suggest that
we also gradually include lessons for the villages that they can adapt. I refer
to such public works projects as improved roads, bridges, drainage of
rainwater, disposal of garbage and human waste, security from wild animals, levee,
water wells, cisterns, etc. Surely we can seek and find villages that have
addressed these issues and pass along the lessons. That will include how to
plan, prepare, fund and service such public works.
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