[Cyber-rights] Open Source Ecology

[magius]

Open Source Ecology
Building Functional, Sustainable Agriculture in Wisconsin

An Interview with Brittany Gill by Rebeccah Kessel (Sustainable Eating Magazine)

"I love watching things grow. I put a seed in the ground and then
there's this plant and then there's this tomato on this plant. It
makes me think of life and beauty and purpose and growth," states
Brittany Gill, co-partner of the emerging organization Open Source
Ecology.

And watching things grow she has done, as she and her partner, Marcin
Jakubowski, have planted the seeds to create accessible and
sustainable ways of living. With hard work, and some help, the roots
of their organization are starting to take hold and their powerful
vision is coming closer to sprouting into a reality.

Brittany allowed me to talk to her about Open Source Ecology, its
connection into the bigger picture, and what she envisions for its
future.



RK: What is purpose of Open Source Ecology?

BG: The goal of OSE is to make ecological lifestyles replicable,
profitable, accessible and regenerative. Currently people either have
to feel guilted enough into ecological living to make the sacrifices,
or they have to have the finances to be able to afford a healthier
lifestyle. This makes sustainable living elitist. By coming up with
technologies and systems that fit an affordable, ecological lifestyle
and openly sharing the knowledge gained, access to ecological living
will become a possibility for everyone.

RK: What is open source?

BG: The idea behind having an open source farm is similar to Linux, an
open source computer system. Linux was developed by people who worked
for Microsoft but were stifled by Microsoft's proprietary practices
and were unable to implement any of their creative ideas. Instead of
feeling limited by the Microsoft's system, they decided to develop
another, one in which the information and programs were free. Having
such an accessible system created a wide variety of individuals
working on the project. This makes Linux a computer system that is
constantly improving with no limitations on who can access or develop
new programs and information. Hence the concept, open source.

Open Source Ecology is taking this concept and moving it into the
field of agriculture. By starting OSE, information on how to have
functional, sustainable agriculture is being gathered. Lots of people
would like to grow their own food, or live in an ecologically
sustainable system, but have no idea on how to attain land at a fair
price, how to get their produce to people, or how to grow foods that
will sustain them year round.

OSE is open source in the sense of it documenting working information
and allowing for hands-on experience in the building of its farm. OSE
is also open source in the sense that the food grown on the farm is
being used to raise funds to create a sustainable training center in
which people can come and work on open source projects, such as
designing farm machinery.

Currently, there exist two kinds of farm machinery: huge, for
large-scale farming, and small, for personal gardening. Large
machinery is expensive; farmers often have to go into debt in order to
obtain it, and need to pay others in order to fix it. It is not
ecological or sustainable. Much of the smaller farm machinery is
great, but not large enough for medium-sized farms that want to feed
people on a large scale, like the Madison area. As students come and
work on open source projects, collaborative development of new
technologies occurs helping create new, sustainable, economic models.

RK: How did Open Source Ecology begin?

BG: Marcin believes strongly in the philosophy of open source and
decided this fall to start an organization to foster the growth of
this system. I saw that my interest in health, agriculture and
ecological lifestyles fit into this emerging vision. In need of
finances and experience to help this project grow, we decided to
produce salsa. We all have to make money to survive, so why not make
it in an ecologically and sustainable way? So, we decided to grow
produce to make salsa, and sell the salsa to sustain ourselves
financially.

We went to a party, and met a man who was doing a CSA (community
shared agricultural) on a retired organic farmer's land who was just
interested in having his land be used in exchange for some produce. We
called up Farmer Jim and now he is letting us use a section of his
land for the season. Farmer Jim has some tools that we have been using
and we talk to people to borrow more tools or acquire more land.

Our other plot (in Dunn, Wis.) we acquired just by approaching the
owner and asking if he knew of any land we could use. He offered his.
The resources are out there. It's a matter of finding people who have
the same philosophies as you and asking for what you need.

RK: What is Open Source Ecology currently growing?

BG: Right now, tomatoes, squash and popcorn are our production crops,
but we are also growing Jerusalem artichokes, garlic, onions, carrots
and pumpkins. We are talking about harvesting the pumpkin seeds and
possibly pressing them into oil. Currently, CSAs focus mostly on foods
that can be utilized through the summer season. We are growing white
northern beans, soybeans, amaranth, buckwheat and millet to experiment
with growing locally produced food for a year-round diet.

RK: How is Open Source Ecology bringing the local community into the project?

BG: Right now, we need help with the tomatoes. People tell me they
have too many tomatoes with six plants — I have two thousand! It's
easy to grow a lot of food. It's easy to grow high quality foods even
though, as a culture, we have such poor food sources. If anyone wants
to help, they can have all of the tomatoes they can eat and can.

We have approached community groups and churches asking them to get
involved. One idea is to have a farmer's market right at the church.
Also, we want these groups to come and work, take what they grow and
sell it as fundraisers. Remember in school when we would sell those
awful pizzas or those candy bars as fundraisers? Why not use something
healthy and local instead? It not only helps us and the community
group financially, it also helps get our food out to the public.

RK: How can people become involved with Open Source Ecology?

We are looking for a diesel truck. We are looking for a certified
kitchen where we can process foods and for someone who has some legal
knowledge about marketing locally-made and processed food items. And
we can always use help on the farm! Working on the farm is a great way
to learn about agricultural and organic farming, get exercise
outdoors, and acquire free produce. We have open work days on both
Sundays and Thursdays and anyone is welcome to help.

More about OSE on http://ose.noblogs.org