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The Survival Machine Farm

Posted by samzenpus on from the zombie-machines dept.

pacopico writes "There's a 30-acre plot of land in Maysville, MO where about two dozen people have gathered to build a Civilization Starter Kit. As Businessweek reports, they're working on open-source versions of bulldozers, bread ovens, saws and other tools right on up to robots and chip fabs. The project has been dubbed the Factor e Farm, and it's run by a former nuclear physicist and a bunch of volunteers. The end goal is to have people modify the tool designs until they're good enough to compete with commercial equipment."

4 of 214 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Ah... Yeah... by ColdWetDog · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Really. While these folks are struggling re inventing technology, I'm gonna grab the D4 sitting in the rental store yard, trundle over to a diesel tank, steal that and drag the whole thing down the road to my house. All the while taking potshots at people who are similarly inclined with my semi automatic rifle and the 10,000 rounds of ammo I found in the neighbor's house.

    Then I'm gonna head down to these guys and steal their chickens.

    Come on. If the apocalypse happens there is going to be so much techno crap strewn over the landscape that you will want to bury it at some point. Once you have stabilized your situation with appropriate amounts of defensive gear, food, water and communications you will have a treasure trove of stuff to pick from once the buzzards pick the bodies clean.

    In the mean while, I'm going to sleep on a nice bed and take regular showers. Easier to get laid that way.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  2. Reinventing the Amish [Re:Ah... Yeah...] by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Basically, these people need to learn from the Amish, who are already skilled in knowing how to survive without the complicated infrastructure of a high-tech society.

    --if there really is going to be a civilization-destroying apocalypse, the Amish are going to be the ones who rebuild civilization, 'cause the rest of us all starved to death by about the fifth winter.

    (Yes, the Amish don't live completely independently of the rest of society. But they are a darn sight closer than any of the rest of us.)

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
    1. Re:Reinventing the Amish [Re:Ah... Yeah...] by aurispector · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Exactly. It's pure arrogance on their part to assume that the expertise at John Deere will be simple to match. Those folks know what they're doing because they've been doing it for generations. Institutional knowledge is a precious thing.

        The other arrogance is to assume that somehow not making a profit will make it all better. A profit is simply an indicator that you are efficiently supplying people with goods and services that they actually want. A tractor that is 70% as good as a Deere won't sell on an open and competitive market where people vote with their dollars.

      --
      I have mod points. The reign of terror begins now.
  3. Re:Ah... Yeah... by SB9876 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The whole antibiotics thing that's post-industrial revolution was pretty nifty, IMO.

    I'll agree that they're a bit scattered in scope but they are doing interesting things. I've been following the group fora few years now and it seems that the overall aim is moving away from a 'rebuild civilization' kit towards open source, low-cost farm equipment for smaller farms and developing nations. There's a strong emphasis on low cost, modular design where the metalworking is all very simple. That alone is definitely worth the cost of admission.