Tue 27 Jul 2010
Posted by Marcin
Here is an update on the first set of pips from Hexahatch v2.0.
Here is an update on the other peeps of Factor e Farm. In a few days, Sean and I will begin full fabrication documentation video on the next copy of The Liberator open source CEB press, where the funding basket for it is filling as we speak.
Open Source People from Marcin Jakubowski on Vimeo.
Fri 9 Jul 2010
Posted by William
Last year, we have begun work on the automatic, open source chicken incubator – Hexahatch. It did not work well, primarily because the big rotor was too heavy. This year’s design – Hexahatch v2.0 – was changed to a simpler, still-air design, with a flat disk as the rotor for turning the eggs. We finally have a working prototype, after replacing a faulty thermostat and after upgrading the motor to a stronger one. See the incubator in action:
Here is an explanation of the build and issues involved: (more…)
Thu 4 Feb 2010
Posted by Marcin
This winter, we had 1-2 feet of snow, and the cover lasted for about a month. This was harsh on the orchard – because an army of rabbits thus had a 1-2 foot pedestal and could reach above the existing tree guards. There was significant damage, but the trees will grow back – from below the damage at the very worst. Here is an example, which I covered with chicken wire after the damage was done already:
The rabbits, which for some reason exploded in population this year and kept the crockpots busy – were not the only issue. Subterranean creatures exploded, too. Look at these tracks, which to my guess, are voles or moles:
How could this happen if the ground is supposedly frozen during this colder-than-normal winter? (more…)
Mon 15 Jun 2009
Posted by Marcin
Here is the natural history of Factor e Farm just at the beginning of plantlife leafing out – May 1 prior to my Austria trip. We go through the wild areas, garden, orchard, and greenhouse. This is a major contrast to what the place looks like right now. I will blog about that in my next post – showing both the full greenness of the place and the permacultural developments that happened in the last month since Ben arrived.
Sat 4 Apr 2009
Posted by Jeremy
Six revolving tubes filled with eggs; the Hexahatch Revolution Incubator design is done and we will be building it tomorrow as part of a workshop. The design is open source on the wiki, complete with bill of materials and implementation plan. The cost looks to be about $70. Here’s a quick animation of the design and some pictures below:
Fri 20 Feb 2009
Posted by Jeremy
Nate and Ama have been visiting Factor e for the past few days after hearing about us through our WWOOF page. They are a great, very knowledgeable couple. They have been on the road visiting many other farms to find a place to settle down, and they shared their pictures and stories of travels with us. They shared their small library with us and we learned about rocket stoves and some diferent natural building techniques. They showed us a great book “Owner Built Homestead” written by Ken Kern, which we are looking into getting. If anyone wants to donate a copy you can email OpenSourceEcology at gmail.com. They contacted some of their friends including some musicians to help spread the word about OSE! They also helped build the Solar Cubicle, or Hexacube, for about $300!
Ama and Nate also designed a hay holder to help feed the goats, because the hay bale was getting trampled when put in the goat pen. Me and Ama built the goat feeder and documented some of the process.
Thu 11 Dec 2008
Posted by Brittany
I have a lot to say about where I am, about what I’m doing, about what I’m feeling and about bricks. And no pictures to say it with. So, please be persistent and listen to what I have to say and perhaps we’ll all be the wiser for it.
After two years of homesteading, the floors of our two small huts are still laid with dusty gravel. As a result, a thin layer of dust hangs on everything. The walls are dusty, the sheets are dusty, the shelves are dusty. On exceptionally dry days, when the dust causes Marcin to sneeze and makes his eyes water, he sprinkles water on the floors, bringing temporary relief to his ailments.
The floors aren’t the only unfinished parts of the living space at Factor E Farm. Mice scurry between the abundant holes in the walls, floor and ceiling. A light sleeper can hear them scratching as they search for bedding and crumbs. The one-person kitchen houses more mice than the rest of the farm combined. They do not care that there is no heat in the kitchen. They don’t care because they love the crumbs. The crumbs that accumulate because there is no water to wash them away. The sink in the kitchen doesn’t work and the crumbs sit where they are dropped along side piles of dirty dishes, pots, and pans. (more…)
Wed 21 May 2008
Posted by Brittany
The farm is bustling with activity, mimicking the natural abundant growth period of spring.
Moving silos
, planting, mulching, building a trencher and tractor, finding and fixing an old rototiller, adopting a cat
, raising ducklings, milking
, watering, grafting
, and waiting for well parts. Those have been the prominent activities on the farm for the last few weeks.
Most recently, we had a long weekend full of guests, four from Columbia, MO and two from Kansas City. They shook off their city shackles for some serenity at the farm. Thanks to them, our trees are all happily mulched. The mulch will serve multiple purposes:
1.Keeps water from evaporating from the soil, which keeps the roots moist during the dry days of summer.
2.Plants are discouraged from growing under the tree; precious water and nutrients do not need to be shared.
3.The mulch (wood chips and straw) will decay into humus, which will have good nutrients for the trees.
In the not so distant future, we will have fresh fruit to indulge in after a hard day’s work. 12 baby apricots are clinging to one tree
, several cherry trees have small fruits forming and the grapes are starting to set fruit.
Amidst the farm activities, I manage to find a few moments to broaden my perspective through the written word. (more…)
Tue 6 May 2008
Posted by Brittany
Sometimes I regret that Yama 
will never be a mother. She loves babies.
Every visitor and newcomer receives a warm welcome from Yama, but babies receive a special whimper of pure eagerness. For example, when we brought home
ducklings 
, Yama was pure bliss, whimpering before they even emerged from the car. Their chirps through the door were enough to solicit a whimper.
So, when I heard Yama whimper like she had just seen a baby, it didn’t take me long to figure out that the baby goats had been born. Nacha 
had been bred in the beginning of November and again in early December. Goats have a five month gestation period, so when she didn’t give birth in April, I figured she would kid in early May.
I ran to the goat pen and my expectations were well met. Two beautiful baby goats. A white female and black male. 
(Figure that one out: the mama and papa were both nearly pure white!) As I watched them stand up, stretch out, and get licked, I too wanted to whimper with delight. I could have watched them grow all day.
But farm life called. So we started planting out hazelnuts.
These are seedlings we grew from 10 pounds of seeds of “unknown†quality. We bought those at the same time that we bought ten wimpy-looking hazelnut seedlings from Badgersett Nursery for the same price. (We didn’t know that they would look so puny at the time.) Surely, of the 1000 seeds, 10 will grow into productive plants. And the “unproductive†ones will make a nice hedgerow for the wildlife. (This method does however, require a bit more labor!)
While we planted, I heard Yama start whimpering like she’d seen another baby. Certainly not in awe of the newly planted hazelnuts. Rather, she was sniffing, digging, and whimpering at a pile of brush, so I investigated.
Seven baby bunnies.
I couldn’t help but let out a whimper too.
Thu 1 May 2008
Posted by Marcin
I’ve been asked a number of times about the progress on the CEB press. The best answer is that we’re in a fertile birthing period.
If you went through the presentation in yesterday’s blog – you know that we decided to build our own tractor with loader and rototiller for powering up the CEB press and for soil preparation. That is exciting – real life Erector Set construction in action. Here is a picture of the metal as it starts to constitute the frame:
.
I just scored a 55 hp Deutz diesel engine for the tractor at $550 – new ones cost $7k. The set of 4 hydraulic motors 
, $250 each at Surplus Center, just came in the mail, and I got 4 truck wheels for the tractor.
In about a month, we’ll be starting to build – now with reliable equipment. We’re still aiming for production of CEB presses in October, after getting up the computer controlled torch cutting table for rapid fabrication in our off-grid facility.
By the way, goat Nacha also had a fertile birthing period. She just produced two babies. Check out how she’s cleaning them right after they popped out:
