Let's Learn Together - Civilization Made Anew

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Civilization Made Anew

How can we work together to help heal, or even rebuild, civilization? This brief article is intended to give some ideas. Many wonderful free resources are linked throughout.

Part 1: Building Complex Machinery From "Waste" Material

A lot of useful tools can be made out of recycled materials; all that is required is the understanding of how to do so. For example, Dave Gingery built an entire machine shop from scrap aluminum (e.g.: soda pop cans).

"Casting" is melting metal and shaping it with a mold. This process alone can take one quite far. In the above instance, Dave first made a "charcoal foundry" to melt aluminum. He then molded the parts for a "lathe". A "lathe" is a machine that shapes a piece of material (such as metal or wood) by pressing a blade against it as it rotates. Dave used the lathe to make a "drill press", and so on. Many useful machine parts can be made this way with minimal resources!

We don't have to stop there either. Once we've made a basic machine shop, we can use it to build even more devices to handle different kinds of materials. For example, making the machines designed by Precious Plastic can help us to do a similar process with scrap plastic.

In combination with other technical skills (like "glassblowing", "welding", and so on), we can make some very sophisticated laboratory equipment for achieving even more efficient and refined results. These books give some nice examples of homemade equipment, both simple and complex:

• UNESCO - Low Cost Equipment For Science & Technology Education [Volume 1; Volume 2]
• The Inexpensive Science Teaching Equipment Project [Volume I - Biology; Volume II - Chemistry; Volume III - Physics]
• C.L. Stong - The Amateur Scientist: [PDF Book; Extra Info 1; Extra Info 2]
• John Strong - Procedures In Experimental Physics

A lot of old, out-of-print books are a treasure trove of these sorts of practical skills. They can be downloaded for free from Internet Archive if we know what we are looking for. A good resource for finding these kinds of books was the (now defunct) Lindsay Publications catalog. YouTube has a lot of channels dedicated to machine shop work (e.g.: Inheritance Machining, Fireball Tool, etc.), as well as channels dedicated to the repair of small engines (e.g.: Taryl Fixes All) and generators (e.g.: The Post Apocalyptic Inventor).

In general, we might refer to this process of using a tool to make more tools as "technological bootstrapping". It can be applied to just about any process required to fulfill basic human needs. For example, The Open Source Ecology group has a similar project that they refer to as The Global Village Construction Set whose aim is to produce designs for all of the devices that are necessary to build a modern society from the ground up.

Some other good resources are...

• The Soil & Health Library
• Journey To Forever
• Rex Research
• LOW←TECH MAGAZINE [Standard Website; Solar-Powered Website]
• Howtopedia
• Appropedia
• Practical Action
• Simplifier
• iFixIt Repair Guides
• N55 Design
• Alex Weir's CDs For The Third-World (CD3WD) [Digital Download; Archived Version; Extra Info]
• How To Make Everything (YouTube Channel)
• Primitive Technology (YouTube Channel)
• Pneumatic Options Research Library
• The Evenfall Woodworks Library
• The Science Madness Library
• Upward Spirals - Sustainable Solutions and Regenerative Lifestyles Library
• The United Diversity Co-Op Library

When these skills are coupled to methods of planning that are considerate of their effects on the environment and other people (like Buckminster Fuller's Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science and philosophies like Peter Kropkin's Mutal Aid), they can help us to build things that truly serve life.

Part 2: More With Less By Working With Nature

Many people might be surprised to find out just how little of what humanity has built is vital to their personal health and well-being. With even a little bit of knowledge, basic needs like clean air, water, food, clothes, and shelter can be had without a lot of technology.

Unfortunately, some circumstances can inhibit our ability to do this effectively. For example, resources like food are still scarce for many. This is caused by mismanagement of what is already available (e.g.: inefficient distribution of crops can lead to "spoilage"), pollution can lead to a lack of clean places to "forage", and so on. Some of the issues are systemic in that they are "built into" the processes that are predominant within modern agriculture itself. The following table will attempt to point out a few of those problems and offer some suggestions for their resolution...

Current Issue	Resolution	Specific Examples
Monoculture Reason: high densities of a single plant type leads to competition for soil nutrients	Polyculture Reason: unity in diversity; each plant contributing constructively; all existing in complement	• Companion Planting [e.g.: 1, 2] • Crop Rotation [e.g.: 1, 2]
Chemical Fertilizers Reason: having the minimum amount of nutrients available produces weak and unhealthy plants susceptible to "pests"	Enriching Soil Reason: having the maximum amount of nutrients available produces healthy and hearty plants able to protect themselves	• Hot Composting • Cold Composting • Mycorrhizal Inoculation • Rock Flour • "Nightsoil" from Smoldering
Pesticides / Herbicides / Fungicides Reason: contributes toxins to the environment and poisons groundwater supply; indiscriminately kills helpful organisms	Constructive Alternatives Reason: non-toxic; using insects and animals to help; etc.	• Bee Keeping • Butterfly Gardening • Fukuoka Method • Aigamo Method • Various "Organic" Approaches • Hot Water Seed Treatment
GMO Hybrids Reason: artificially limits the continuation of crop by making "seedless" varieties	Heirloom Seeds Reason: seeds allow for continuation
Planting In Rows Reason: inefficient use of water and soil; instability of root structure	Planting On Contours (In Arcs, Circles, & Spirals) Reason: maximizes water and soil use; plants support one another	• Circle Gardening • Permaculture Herb Spirals
Irrigation Reason: may be a waste of water (i.e.: taking away from water table) when it isn't necessary	Efficient Water Usage Reason: increases or stabilizes ground water	• Rainwater Harvesting • Greywater Recycling • Dry Farming
Seasonal Growing Reason: must rely completely on preservation during winter	Year-Around Crops Reason: produces a surplus of food; creates more secure food sources	• Greenhouses + Insulation and/or Hot Composting

When we work with Nature instead of against it, some of the most inhospitable places can be made into lush environments once more. Here are a few beautiful example videos...

• Willie Smits - How To Restore A Rainforest
• Geoff Lawton - Greening The Desert
• Geoff Lawton - The 2,000 Year Old Food Forest
• Paul Stamets - 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save The World
• The Story of Al Baydha: A Regenerative Agriculture in the Saudi Desert

There is no shortage of inspiration and opportunity!

We have put together a YouTube playlist with many more videos of a similar nature, and have formulated a general plan for applying the above information to automated food production on the local level.

Thank you for reading! ♥