How to pronounce "useless"

Hi, my name is Marcin --

farmer, technologist.

I was born in Poland, now in the U.S.

I started a group called Open Source Ecology.

We've identified the 50 most important machines

that we think it takes for modern life to exist --

things from tractors,

bread ovens, circuit makers.

Then we set out to create

an open source, DIY, do it yourself version

that anyone can build and maintain

at a fraction of the cost.

We call this the Global Village Construction Set.

So let me tell you a story.

So I finished my 20s

with a Ph.D. in fusion energy,

and I discovered I was useless.

I had no practical skills.

The world presented me with options,

and I took them.

I guess you can call it the consumer lifestyle.

So I started a farm in Missouri

and learned about the economics of farming.

I bought a tractor -- then it broke.

I paid to get it repaired --

then it broke again.

Then pretty soon,

I was broke too.

I realized

that the truly appropriate, low-cost tools that I needed

to start a sustainable farm and settlement

just didn't exist yet.

I needed tools that were robust, modular,

highly efficient and optimized,

low-cost,

made from local and recycled materials that would last a lifetime,

not designed for obsolescence.

I found that I would have to build them myself.

So I did just that.

And I tested them.

And I found that industrial productivity

can be achieved on a small scale.

So then I published the 3D designs,

schematics,

instructional videos and budgets

on a wiki.

Then contributors from all over the world

began showing up, prototyping new machines

during dedicated project visits.

So far, we have prototyped eight of the 50 machines.

And now the project

is beginning to grow on its own.

We know that open source has succeeded

with tools for managing knowledge and creativity.

And the same is starting to happen with hardware too.

We're focusing on hardware

because it is hardware that can change people's lives

in such tangible material ways.

If we can lower the barriers to farming, building, manufacturing,

then we can unleash just massive amounts of human potential.

That's not only in the developing world.

Our tools are being made

for the American farmer, builder, entrepreneur, maker.

We've seen lots of excitement from these people,

who can now start a construction business,

parts manufacturing,

organic CSA

or just selling power back to the grid.

Our goal is a repository of published designs

so clear, so complete,

that a single burned DVD

is effectively a civilization starter kit.

I've planted a hundred trees in a day.

I've pressed 5,000 bricks in one day

from the dirt beneath my feet

and built a tractor in six days.

From what I've seen, this is only the beginning.

If this idea is truly sound,

then the implications are significant.

A greater distribution of the means of production,

environmentally sound supply chains,

and a newly relevant DIY maker culture

can hope to transcend

artificial scarcity.

We're exploring the limits

of what we all can do to make a better world

with open hardware technology.

Thank you.

(Applause)