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Samuel Liebowitz
Once the seeds for SEE have been planted and the first sprout has flowered, we will need to nurture it to grow into a full, vibrant plant. With approximately five households of five people each, we will have a well established base. But if we are to truly turn this experiment into a successful and thriving community, we will need to grow it within a reasonably short period of time. Once the 5-5 goal has been reached, we must then set our sights on the 5-5-5 goal, five clusters of five households, each with five residents. While these numbers make for easy calculations, they are only goals, and not hard-and-fast rules. As we grow and learn, our actual numbers will vary. In order to achieve this next step, we must demonstrate to the rest of the FMF membership and to the outside world that our implementation of SEE is both enjoyable to be a part of and a good investment. We will accomplish our goals by:
By keeping an eye open for opportunities where we can export to the outside world the technologies and activities that we create for the Foundation members, we can accomplish all our goals in a wholistic manner. If we create an enjoyable environment to live in, others will come to visit (and pay to stay for relatively short periods of time!). If we create technologies that help us to get the most out of our natural resources, others will pay to have those technologies accessible to themselves. If we prove that we can do all this successfully, then others will want to be a part of our community, and we will grow.
In order to achieve this goal we must carefully plan out our new community. No lasting structure can be made without a solid foundation. We must plan from the very beginning for the various stages of our growth and how we will manage each of those stages. To create the necessary environment requires consideration of various aspects of daily life. An individual must have the tools needed to build any of the three kinds of businesses. To build home-based or remote businesses, they must have various communication tools at hand, e.g. phones, computers, fax machines. They also must have the physical tools available for their use, e.g. computers, copy machines, workmen's tools, office supplies, raw materials. And they must have a supportive environment where they will be encouraged to succeed. This will include such things as being able to share in basic day-to-day responsibilities such as child care and education. Lastly, there must be vehicles available for transportation; we will not be able to survive if we are cut off from the rest of society. The good news is that there will be a great deal of crossover between the needs of the various members of the community. Everyone is likely to need the use of computer and communication equipment. We will need workmen's tools in order to maintain the physical structures we will have around us. We will all need to use vehicles to get around. By combining our necessities and eliminating unnecessary duplication, each member of the community will benefit, and thus the community as a whole will benefit as well. We will also be able to help advance each individual's goal of earning an income by being able to approach health insurance companies and attempt to get a group health insurance policy for all the members of SEE if not all of the FMF. This will help to free individuals up from having to work the traditional 9-to-5 jobs for the sake of benefits, and allow us more freedom to explore developing consulting types of businesses and other self-employment. In the beginning, it will be reasonable to assume that most of the income that the members of SEE will generate, will be through commuting types of business or work. It is essential that this change as we grow to the next level. With only five households, we will not be able to afford to have any individual not generating income on a regular basis. But as our numbers increase, we will be able to help support a very small number of individuals who have the best chance of building home-based businesses. This support would not necessarily be financial, but the basic necessities of a bed, food, and access to SEE's tools. The next question to answer will be what types of home-based businesses should we initially support? The answer is one of practicality. We must start by supporting the ones that have the best chance of succeeding and generating enough income to contribute significantly to the operation of SEE. We must also make sure that those businesses do have some direct relevance to the technologies needed for Aquarius, such as automation, hydroponics, waste reclamation/recycling, sensor devices, greenhouse technologies, and other agriculture-related technologies. Since we will more than likely end up in a rural community (because of land costs), we should keep an eye out for technologies that we will be able to market in rural areas.
To achieve the first goal as stated above, we will need to work together as a cohesive community. On the most basic day-to-day chores we will need to rely on each other and help each other. An example of this might be one member of one household providing day-care for all the children in the community, or one member who is adept at computers providing all the computer support and services for the community. Besides the most basic chores that will need to be divided up among the community inhabitants, we must also learn to share our recreational activities. Whether it be sports, theater, fine arts, or music, every member of the community must be made to feel a part of every aspect of the community. No individual, no matter how bad their acting, should be denied a part in a community production or play if they want to be a part of it. Field trips and other excursions outside of the community should also be shared with members of the community. While we will all need an opportunity to get away from each other once in a while, we must still plan on having some recreational activities outside of the community grounds during the year. By respecting each other's privacy yet sharing in one another's company and lives, we should be able to build a strong and unified group.
As stated under the first goal, we must work on developing technologies that are both relevant to Aquarius, and to the surrounding society where SEE is located. This will be one of the key factors of how successful SEE will become. We must be able to develop skills and technologies that will be useful to others so that they will be willing to pay for them. Automation is an area that is not only applicable to most environs, but one we are also going to require almost everywhere as the Millennial Project unfolds. We will need to keep a vigilant and watchful eye on all of our food-producing endeavors with sensors, activators, specialized processors, as well as software to drive them all. For hydroponics, greenhouses, closed-cycle waste disposal, alternative-energy sources, and various mariculture experiments, we will want to automate monitoring the conditions. In addition to our own uses of this automation, we should be able to "export" a great deal of the technology to the surrounding communities. What will work for us initially will be simple things, not complex systems. Commercially it will also be easier to market simple, relatively inexpensive sensors than complex systems that are very costly. In almost everything, we will need to be hunting for niches in which we can start an industry or build on a young one. The by-products of our technologies will be an important source of potential income as well. For instance, we might be able to grow certain tropical fruits or vegetables hydroponically that are not otherwise available in our locale. We would then be able to sell these for a premium to the local towns and cities, or create an organic farmer's market ourselves. We can follow the example of the Amish who come into New York City from Pennsylvania to sell their fresh fruit and home-baked items. If, through our research in closed-cycle reclamation, we can come up with a cost-effective way for a farmer to save on a water bill, then we will have found another way to make a profit on a technology that will be needed for Aquarius as well. As long as we keep a constant eye out for such opportunities, we should be able to make a profitable community through exporting our own technologies to the general public. In the process we will also generate additional interest in the FMF.
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