Email address toevoegen
I see that it would be handy to have an email address field in this forum to alow direct answers (and not visible on the web pages)

Options for cooperation in design
On Friday, Aug 29, 2003, at 19:27 Europe/Amsterdam, Vanwagenbergrhm@cs.com wrote:

Hallo Reinder,
Bedankt voor je laatste reactie. Ik moet nog herhaaldelijk denken aan ons gesprek afgelopen woensdag.
Vanmiddag schoot me weer iets te binnen. Je vertelde op een gegeven moment, dat je na een project in Thailand, van die mensen afscheid wilde nemen, en dat ze je toen zeiden dat ze nog een probleem hadden, nl. op het gebied van transport: "Hoe brengen we onze spullen naar de markt ?". Kun je daar nog iets meer over zeggen ? Wanneer was dat ? Om wat voor spullen ging het ? Hoe zagen het terrein en de wegen eruit? Is het probleem inmiddels opgelost ? Hadden ze zelf helemaal geen karretjes of kruiwagens o.i.d. ??
Groetjes, Ruud

Dag Ruud!
Eerst even een direct antwoord op je vraag; Thailand was (waarschijnlijk is) een eigenzinnig land, nooit gekolonialiseerd, veel eigen technische ontwikkelingen vanuit de lokale ambachtelijkheid. Ik denk aan de motoraandrijving van hun smalle boten, LPG voor brommers, de manier van houtzagen. Waarom geen oplossing voor een lokaal gevoelde vraag, als het land inventief is?
Mogelijk lag het probleem anders, bijvoorbeeld de politie die te veel eist van de vrachtvervoerders, of de vrachtvervoerders die een monopolie hebben, die ze maffioos afdwingen. Problemen zijn op z'n best partieel technisch.
Nog concreter: Het land is vlak, er zijn veel wegen, er zijn twee wielige wagens op luchtbanden, mensen zijn niet extreem arm. Bij mijn vertrek uit dat project ging het om boeren die van overheidswege verjaagd waren van hun grond voor de bouw van een stuwdam. Ze zaten nu onmogelijk ver van hun oude afnemers, nieuwe afnemers verwerven betekent ze afnemen van andere boeren-leveranciers. Niet een gewenst perspectief.

Je ziet, ook een socioloog komt er niet achter wat de eigenlijke problemen zijn en wat derhalve de oplossingen zouden moeten worden. Mijn aanpak is dan ook anders en lijkt op de jouwe.
Daarom is het inspirerend om je te ontmoeten en met je te overleggen. Mijn benadering is gebruik maken van mijn innovatief vermogen als techneut om een groot aantal technische oplossingen te bedenken, die te evalueren, te laten groeien, er testen mee uit te voeren en om er tenslotte de gebruikers te vragen wat ze er van vinden.
Zo'n vraag niet stellen met woorden, maar vanuit het ding zelf.
Het voortraject vooraf aan zo'n introductie is zwaar. Bijna alles gaat met de vuilnis mee. Niet anders overigens dan bij de industrie. Het voortraject is dan ook het traject waar het meest in te verdienen is door de 'Open Source' aanpak. Wederzijds valt er veel te corrigeren en te inspireren. In minuten van creatieve interactie kan je jaren van moeizaam eigen gezoek winnen.
Zo vind ik jouw ontwerp voor de schouderwagen uitdagend, maar mijn handen jeuken om dat idee anders uit te werken. Daar heb ik dan de tijd niet voor, want ik zit zelf al jaren aan te hikken tegen problemen waar jij mogelijk de antwoorden voor uit je mouw schud.
We hadden het over de spiraaltrap en de Ultra-Light met diesel aandrijving om er maar twee te noemen.

Wat te doen? Een paar mogelijke antwoorden:

1. Ik kan je mijn werkplaats en wat inspirerend overleg aanbieden voor een volgende testversie van je
2. Ik kan jouw huidige ontwerp op Internet zetten en afwachten of er respons op komt.
3. Ik kan simpelweg zeggen wat ik er nu van vind en het daar bij laten.
4. Ik kan het ontwerp voor je verder uitwerken, onder jouw directie.

1) lijkt me wel wat, de werkplaats is er en het kost me geen tijd. 2) is helemaal niks. veel werk om de lappen tekst in HTML te vertalen en geen mens die er wat mee kan en eventueel zal reageren, 3) werkt ook niet omdat het geen ruimte inbouwt voor verdere ondersteuning en gewoon niet leuk werkt. 4) Daar voel ik ook al niet voor omdat mijn agenda voor de volgende jaren vol zit.

Kortom tijd voor tijd ruilen, gebruik maken van elkaars recources, inspiratie verwelkomen en toch je eigen koers bepalen. Hiervoor ben ik te porren.
Graag hoor ik je hier weer over.
Vriendelijke groet, Reinder

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reply

by Ruud and Reinder, email correspondence, Dutch lang - Fri Nov 01 (2002)

Re: Options for cooperation in design
On Friday, Nov 05, 2003, Europe/Amsterdam,
Vanwagenbergrhm@cs.com wrote:

Hallo Reinder,
Ook ik ben te porren voor de werkwijze om elkaar te inspireren met ideen en verder je eigen weg te gaan. Je schrijft dat je handen jeuken om mijn schouderwagen-ontwerp aan te passen. Je zit kennelijk boordevol ideen.
Ik ben benieuwd naar je suggesties.
Groeten,
Ruud.

Website
A friend of mine, Emi Meijer, made me aware of your website. First of all I want to complement to you in the way you have worked out this fabulous ideas of constructing aids for people in developing countries without commercial goals. I knew about these things but sofar I had not seen them being realized. I like your website however it took some time to load it on my computer. I also think the photos you show are a little small. I am also curious about the people involved in the project. Further it was ok for me. Not to much information at the first stage but a possibility to look into it deeper when I wanted. So I liked it, keep up the good work. Herman de Roos

Monitoring Demotech's Wiki web pages
'Door wie en hoe blijven de Wiki webpagina's op orde' is Dutch for 'How are Demotech's Wiki web pages monitored?'. Simple answer: by the same people who run this website and keep Demotech on track. Technically anyone can participate. There is always the possibility to go back in the 'page history' to text as it once has been. General Wiki practice in most Wiki's is that a group of dedicated editors forms itself. These people have a common understanding of what is proper, promote that or remove stuff that does not belong in their Wiki site. Right now Demotech's team, Marc, Reinder and the two interns Jos and Joost see it as their task to create an internal structure in their Wiki. Follow their journey into the unknown!

interesting link
www.planetaryrenewal.org/ipr/ultralc.html

I dont have any clue where to send this link so I will send it here

I think its interesting concerning home building

Sasha

Link on low cost housing
Sasha, hi! Thanks for sending this link, that I'll add to the link paragraph of Demotech's Sustainable Housing issue at www.demotech.org/design/designA.php?d=35
I'll also mail it to the Sustainable Housing Group of Solaroof.org. I learned in The Gambia that the cost of a tin roof was too high for most people to afford. The cost of the rest of the house was no problem

Indeed, a dome construction as shown here could solve the cost for roofing problem. Reinder

open space technology /a new(old) way of communicating
The Co-Intelligence Institute RETURN to home page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Open Space Technology In my experience open space is based on the belief that we humans are intelligent, creative, adaptive, meaning- and fun-seeking. It sets the context for such creatures to come together knowing they are going to treat each other well. When this happens there is no limit to what can unfold. Alan Stewart personal communication Open Space Technology was created in the mid-1980s by organizational consultant Harrison Owen when he discovered that people attending his conferences loved the coffee breaks better than the formal presentations and plenary sessions. Combining that insight with his experience of life in an African village, Owen created a totally new form of conferencing. Open Space conferences have no keynote speakers, no pre-announced schedules of workshops, no panel discussions, no organizational booths

Instead, sitting in a large circle, participants learn in the first hour how they are going to create their own conference. Almost before they realize it, they become each other's teachers and leaders. Anyone who wants to initiate a discussion or activity, writes it down on a large sheet of paper in big letters and then stands up and announces it to the group. After selecting one of the many pre-established times and places, they post their proposed workshop on a wall. When everyone who wants to has announced and posted their initial offerings, it is time for what Owen calls "the village marketplace": Participants mill around the wall, putting together their personal schedules for the remainder of the conference. The first meetings begin immediately. Open Space is, as Owen likes to say, more highly organized than the best planning committee could possibly manage. It is also chaotic, productive and fun. No one is in control. A whirlwind of activity is guided from within by a handful of simple Open Space principles. The most basic principle is that everyone who comes to an Open Space conference must be passionate about the topic and willing to take some responsibility for creating things out of that passion. Four other key principles are: 1) Whoever comes is the right people. 2) Whatever happens is the only thing that could have. 3) Whenever it starts is the right time. 4) When it is over it is over. My favorite Open Space principle is The Law of Two Feet: "If you find yourself in a situation where you aren't learning or contributing, go somewhere else." (To me, this includes the possibility of moving to another level of awareness and participation, as well as the more obvious one of moving to another activity.) This law causes some participants to flit from activity to activity. Owen rejoices in such people, calling them bumblebees because they cross-pollinate all the workshops. He also celebrates participants who use The Law of Two Feet to go off and sit by themselves. He dubs them butterflies, because they create quiet centers of non-action for stillness, beauty, novelty or random conversations to be born. Open space conferences can be done in one day, but the most powerful go on for two or three days, or longer. Participants gather together briefly in the morning and the evening to share experiences and announce any new workshops they have concocted. The rest of the day is spent in intense conversation. Even meals are come-when-you-can affairs that go on for hours, filled with bustling dialogue. After a few days of this, an intense spirit of community usually develops that is all the more remarkable considering that participants are all doing exactly what they want. Open Space conferences are particularly effective when a large, complex operation needs to be thoroughly reconceptualized and reorganized -- when the task is just too big and complicated to be sorted out "from the top." On the assumption that such a system contains within it the seeds of everything that needs to happen with it, Open Space provides it with an opportunity to self-organize into its new configuration. For this to work, however, the system's leaders must let go of control so that true self-organization can take place. Open Space Technology is also a delightful, useful tool for any group of people who are really interested in exploring something that they all care deeply about. I look forward to its broad use in organizing communities and exploring public issues. Open Space is one of the simplest, most brilliant combinations of order and chaos that I have yet found. It has been applied in thousands of meetings around the world with between five and one thousand participants

It can be effectively used by virtually anybody. Owen has provided excellent instructions in his books, below. (For a story of Open Space, see You'll Never Know Who will Bring In Your Next $20,000,000.)

reply

by Reinder / Demotech - Sun Dec 05 (2004)

Re: open space technology /a new(old) way of communicating
Open Space Technology In my experience open space is based on the belief that we humans are intelligent, creative, adaptive, meaning- and fun-seeking ..... Sasha! This 'Open Space' idea is highly relevant for the Demotech items 'Open Source' and 'More Joy per Person'. I will copy this story to these items soon. Thanks for posting! I have experienced the fun of a similar Workshop Market at Ecotopia. In their two weeks summercamps everybody gives and attents workshops. I myself gave workshops on the DemoCamp-units and attended workshops that I never will forget! The philosopher Ivan Illich described in his book "Deschooling Society" a university working according to the same principles.

I couldnt resist,if inappropriate,just delete message...
You'll Never Know Who will Bring In Your Next $20,000,000 On Thursday, October 21, 1993, The Rockport Company closed down for two days to explore new directions. They held an open space meeting -- a form of conferencing in which attendees self-organize into workshops and task groups with little direction. The bean counters objected to the costs of suspending operations, but company president John Thorbeck was adamant

Almost the entire workforce attended. The conference was held in a cavernous warehouse. People from all levels of the corporate hierarchy mixed together in dozens of groups discussing company issues and possibilities. Managers, line workers, supervisors, clerical staff and dock workers had unprecedented access to each other. As the warehouse hummed with excited energy, a security guard (who was not a Rockport employee) wandered among the shelves, crates and circles of people. He lingered over a discussion of new products, finally pulling up a chair. "He mentioned that he spent a lot of time on his feet and would love to wear the kind of comfortable shoes that Rockport made," writes Srikumar S. Rao in Training magazine. "But his company would never buy them because they didn't 'look right' as part of a guard's uniform

Why couldn't the company redesign the uppers so that they met the security company's uniform specifications?" Suddenly the guard found himself barraged with questions. Someone pulled some shoes off the shelves and started cutting them up and fitting parts together. Within a few hours they'd sketched out the new product idea

"Rockport is proceeding to develop such a line of shoes," writes Rao

"If it is an average performer in the market, [CFO Anthony] Tiberii expects sales of about $20 million per year." Compiled from a talk by Harrison Owen, founder of Open Space Technology and from Srikumar S. Rao, "Welcome to Open Space," Training, April 1994, pp. 52-56 COMMENTARY: Inclusiveness and collaboration are two trademarks of co-intelligence. Many other ideas emerged from this particular Open Space gathering, but I find it significant that the most profitable idea came from someone who wasn't an employee. The willingness of the group to embrace an outsider made the company millions of dollars. That willingness was no accident. The spirit and structure of the Open Space approach treats everyone as a creative, responsible peer and helps them welcome unexpected developments. The processes, structures and cultures we operate with can make all the difference in how co-intelligent we are.

Open Space Technology
Sasha, co-intelligence is what we go for. Internet is the most appropriate tool. Now we need results. Demotech need more feed back on its initiatives. Demotech should be linked to initiatives it can contribute to. That is inclusiveness and collaboration. Anyway you were of help! Greetings, Reinder

paper chair
www.treehugger.com/files/2005/05/maya_obrists_di.php

Trees Make Electricity? article link
www.treehugger.com/files/2006/03/the_new_power_p_1.php The New "Power Plants": Trees Make Electricity? March 21, 2006 01:00 PM - Jacob Gordon, Los Angeles, CA electric_trees.jpg It appears that a small electrical component company near Boston has figured out how to get electricity out of trees. connected to the LED to keep the LED lit continuously...

reply

by Reinder / Demotech - Sat Dec 03 (2005)

Re: Trees Make Electricity? article link
Sasha, hello! Thanks for posting this dreamy message. Should all trees be genetically manipulated to produce fittings for LED's next to the buds for leaves in the spring? I realize there is plenty opportunity for making use of eco batteries. At an English university they build a server that ran on potato's. There are tricks to optimize the use of the natural electrolite of plant matter. The kind of current that can be had from such batteries is surely enough for reading, when you use a yellow LED (white LED's need more voltage and current, I am told). But Sasha, can you please mail me your email address, The one I have does not work anymore. Greetings, Reinder

ultracheap sterilisation of water,article
Using the sun to sterilise water Tanzanian villagers have begun using an energy-saving method to sterilise their drinking water - leaving the water under the sun. The piped water supply to Ndolela village in the central Iringa region is intermittent and even when it does flow, it is not clean enough to drink. When the pipes run dry, villagers get water from a dirty spring. Mother of five Rose Longwa says the new process has changed her life. "We no longer suffer from stomach illness. That's because the water is clean and safe." Like many other people in rural Africa with no access to safe drinking water, she used to sterilise her water by boiling it. But she says the smoke from the firewood to heat the water used to irritate her eyes. She is also glad she no longer has to go to fetch wood from the bush. Ultra-violet rays About 40 houses in Ndolela are using solar purification. Mrs Longwa says the process is simple to follow. We need to educate the people Daudi Makamba Plan International "I fill the plastic bottles, put the lids on, then put them on my black-painted roof where they stay for a whole day." The sun heats the water, helped by the black roof, which helps to absorb the heat. Solar radiation means a combination of ultra-violet rays and heat destroys the bacteria which cause common water-borne diseases like cholera, typhoid, dysentery and diahorrea. After eight hours in the sun, it is ready to drink. If the water reaches more than 50C, it is safe in just one hour. Pastor Moses Kwanga from the Diocese of Ruaha is behind the project: "The technology is very easy, but up to now people have not been told about it. We can use old pieces of roofing to put the bottles on. It is also very cheap, so is accessible to everyone." Resistance Up to now, the number of people in Tanzania purifying water using the power of the sun is limited to a few villages like Ndolela, where small-scale education programmes are underway. Daudi Makamba is a water expert for the aid agency Plan International, which is considering whether to introduce solar purification across the country. He says it can be difficult to persuade people to use the technology. "The big resistance from the community is cultural beliefs. People believe the water will be contaminated, or an enemy will put something bad in it, so we need to educate the people." The technology is working well for at least one community in Tanzania but more work is needed if more people are to taste the benefits. World Water Day is on 22 March Story from BBC NEWS:

reply

by Reinder / Demotech - Sat Dec 03 (2005)

Re: ultracheap sterilisation of water,article
Sasha, hello and thanks for posting this message. The solar desinfectation method that the article mentiones, is promoted by Sodis in Switserland www.sodis.ch/ Interesting is the slow acceptance of such a ultimate effective and cost-free method. Why is it not accepted with the speed of how news spreads and is known everywhere, such as the cartoon affair? Is staying healty not of enough importance

Look at the sadness of people at a war caused funeral in Irak, for example. Think of the millions of people dying before their time because of dirty water! Does this not generate energy for a change? Clearly not! This is something I'll try to get some more grip on in the coming time. Sasha, please mail me you email adress. I couldn't contact you with the address I had. Greetings, Reinder

I couldnt resist,if inappropriate,just delete message...
You'll Never Know Who will Bring In Your Next $20,000,000 On Thursday, October 21, 1993, The Rockport Company closed down for two days to explore new directions. They held an open space meeting -- a form of conferencing in which attendees self-organize into workshops and task groups with little direction. The bean counters objected to the costs of suspending operations, but company president John Thorbeck was adamant. Almost the entire workforce attended. The conference was held in a cavernous warehouse. People from all levels of the corporate hierarchy mixed together in dozens of groups discussing company issues and possibilities. Managers, line workers, supervisors, clerical staff and dock workers had unprecedented access to each other. As the warehouse hummed with excited energy, a security guard (who was not a Rockport employee) wandered among the shelves, crates and circles of people. He lingered over a discussion of new products, finally pulling up a chair. "He mentioned that he spent a lot of time on his feet and would love to wear the kind of comfortable shoes that Rockport made," writes Srikumar S. Rao in Training magazine. "But his company would never buy them because they didn't 'look right' as part of a guard's uniform. Why couldn't the company redesign the uppers so that they met the security company's uniform specifications?" Suddenly the guard found himself barraged with questions. Someone pulled some shoes off the shelves and started cutting them up and fitting parts together. Within a few hours they'd sketched out the new product idea. "Rockport is proceeding to develop such a line of shoes," writes Rao. "If it is an average performer in the market, [CFO Anthony] Tiberii expects sales of about $20 million per year." Compiled from a talk by Harrison Owen, founder of Open Space Technology and from Srikumar S. Rao, "Welcome to Open Space," Training, April 1994, pp. 52-56 COMMENTARY: Inclusiveness and collaboration are two trademarks of co-intelligence. Many other ideas emerged from this particular Open Space gathering, but I find it significant that the most profitable idea came from someone who wasn't an employee. The willingness of the group to embrace an outsider made the company millions of dollars. That willingness was no accident. The spirit and structure of the Open Space approach treats everyone as a creative, responsible peer and helps them welcome unexpected developments. The processes, structures and cultures we operate with can make all the difference in how co-intelligent we are.

The amazing 1$ DIY village FM radio station
People are not waiting,they are creating "demotech" news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4735642.stm