20100918

Schumacher College and Watford New Hope Trust considering participation in the DIY Food campaign:

Hi Mike,

I am in Norway now and our Sola Roof team over here is quite strong and is participating in the development of the DIY greenhouse as a contribution to the DIY Food campaign that we launch on 10/10/10.

We are producing drawings now for a DIY greenhouse that will be 6 meter wide and 10 meters long - giving an interior, controlled environment space of 60 M2. There is a project of exactly this size now located in Poland that will become operational soon. As you are aware, we are looking for multiple sites around the world that can become Eco Centers where people will learn about DIY Food and where your organization can teach and establish a social enterprise to sell DIY Kit systems to families for backyard "grow your own food". While you have a large backyard, the typical backyard projects can be smaller, such as 3 x 5 meters - and we should also demonstrate this design at your site. And we could do a Sola Roof conversion on one of your existing small polytunnels.

Our Sola Roof greenhouse enables almost no cost food to be produced continuously in any season and food security for communities that are suffering with food poverty due to disaster, climate change impacts or due to failure of economic development. We have grassroots based solutions for reduction of GHG from the food supply chain, including the great advantage of the localization of food production/consumption. Fresh, nutritious, organic food is now within reach of everyone. Pure water, and clean energy are concurrently produced serve needs of completely sustainable communities.

DIY Food is a campaign for low-tech, reliable and simple knowhow that is shared widely and freely by the global community of DI Yers - and where commercial members of the community will respect and support our Creative Commons Public License that requires 1) Attribution, 2) Share-Alike and 3) 1% Pay It Forward (minimum) which will allow the Sola Roof community to implement humanitarian DIY Food projects. Non-commercial users of Sola Roof are also asked to support the Pay It Forward initiative by making voluntary contributions to help others establish DIY Food projects. This can include the volunteering of time and the sharing of experience through the social web and through helping to establish and form a global social enterprise network.

I am very enthusiastic about the idea that Watford New Hope Trust would establish a social enterprise, using Sola Roof DIY for growing low-cost food and also teaching home owners in the UK how to use the DIY greenhouse. I believe that it is also possible that you can work with SAPA to establish a shop for transformation of standard aluminum profiles into flat-pack DIY Kit that you can sell and thus produce more revenue from your social enterprise. We are confident that a profitable social enterprise can be established around these activities and I seek to personally work with "exemplar" projects that will pioneer such business models and who will share their knowledge with others so that we can replicate such success far and wide.

I believe that SAPA in the UK will offer material and technical support to establish the production of an Open Standard for the DIY greenhouse. And SAPA has long shared our conviction that Sola Roof technology will create a new paradigm for disaster recovery and for sustainable relief from hunger and poverty that is based on the power of self-help and social enterprise that delivers the triple bottom line result for communities everywhere.

I would like you to know that Schumacher College and Brixton Transition Town intend to also take action - and so we have strength through multiple initiatives who can share plans and best practices.

Regards, Richard

Forwarded message ----------

Dear Richard,

I hope you are well,

I am writing a formal expression of interest on behalf of Schumacher College.

We have been engaged with the Sola Roof concept for now over 2 years. It is our opinion that the potential of the technology as a game changer is significant. When coupled with its relative simplicity and its ability to operate at various scales Sola Roof is appropriate technology enabling individuals, communities and enterprise to re-localise food production and better secure reliable and cost-accessible supply.

Schumacher College is an independent charitable organisation supporting a range of educational and enterprise activities amongst which is a focus on ecological horticulture through curriculum development, training and, via our Landscope Project, access to land for private and community start-ups. In 2009, we were the first to run in the UK an accredited sustainable horticulture course; this year we will have 40 students on 3 such courses and this is projected to expand in coming years.

Though we do not have funds to support product development we are in a position to host, trial and promote appropriate technologies. Schumacher College is part of the larger Dartington Charity, which owns a 1,200 acre Devon estate and welcomes over 1 million people a year to the range of activities we conduct, host or support. Over the past 80 years Dartington has built an international reputation for experimentation, enterprise and radical education across sustainability, the arts and social justice. We welcome the opportunity to support the Sola Roof initiative in the ways stated and would be happy to explore other possible avenues with you and those entering into commercial development of the technology.

Warm wishes, Jon

Jon Rae, D.Phil.
Vocations & Enterprise
Schumacher College
Dartington Hall
Totnes