Project Areas

The objective of projects is to develop, organize and post useful information on the postcollapse.info web site. The information here is limited to a problem statement and status overviews. Information generated by projects is found on the postcollapse.info web site. A criterion for each design project is that it minimizes, and preferably eliminates, any requirement for materials or parts not available in a typical small rural community. Training and documentation should assume minimal specialized knowledge. These criteria have been set to maximize the potential benefits to the widest variety of post collapse communities.

There are a fairly large number of project areas. They are grouped into clusters in the listing that follows and on the postcollapse.info web site.

---- Community Cluster, 7 Project Areas -----

(What should one do to prepare a community for a post collapse environment or plan a post collapse community?)

[prepare] What should one do to set up a post collapse community

  1. What should one do to prepare an existing community for a post collapse environment?

  2. What should one do to select and prepare a location for a post collapse community? (most people not there until a collapse become obvious)

Status – identified

[skills] Skills needed in a post collapse community

Problem Objectives:

1. prioritized list of skills valuable to a post collapse community,

2. Instructions for learning these skills.

Status – identified

[equipment] Equipment needed in a post collapse community.

Problem Objectives:

1. prioritized list of equipment of high value to a post collapse community..

2. designs and instructions for making this equipment

Status – identified

[materials] Materials needed in a post collapse community.

Problem Objectives:

1. prioritized list of materials of high value to a post collapse community,

2. determine viable substitutes and work arounds,

3. estimated usage rates.

4. determine best methods for storing such materials. (with emphasis on materials with no known reasonable substitutes available)

Status – identified

[facilities] Facilities needed in a post collapse community?

Problem Objectives:

1. prioritized list of high value facilities needed in a post collapse community,

2. designs for such facilities,

3. determine materials needed to create such facilities.

4. identify skills needed to make facilities.

5. identify commonality of facilities requirements.

Status - identified

[location] Considerations for locating a post collapse community.

Problem Objectives:

1. prioritized list of location attributes most valuable to a post collapse community, (topography, local resources, accessibility, ...)

2. estimate of relative value of these attributes.

Status – identified

[ethics] Notes on ethical foundations likely to be important to sustainability.

1. What ethical standards are likely to be most functional in post collapse communities?

2. What ethical standards should be uniform within a community? (not necessarily the same for different communities)

Status – identified

---- Food Cluster, 5 Project Areas -----

[farming] Farming without materials from distance sources

Problem Objectives:

1. a list of all the things not locally produced needed for organic farming,

2. determine alternatives and work around,

3. plans to transition typical farms to post collapse conditions.

4. determine which crops are suitable for various climates.

5. plan for food crop diversity to prevent strong single corp dependence.

6. sources for seed for variety of food corps.

7. Preparation of new areas for food crops.

8. preservation of seeds for food corps

Status -- Initial review completed. See farming

[gardens] Post collapse food gardening

Problem Objectives:

1. how to establish and maintain food gardens,

2. selecting garden foods to supplement local farming products to maintain healthy diets.

3. storage lives of garden products,

4. Identity useful non-food plants to grow.

5. collecting and storing seeds for future plantings.

Status – Identified

[animals] Animal Care

Problem Objectives:

1. instructions for the care and treatment of domesticated animals,

2. instructions for dealing with animal diseases.

See related material under vet.

Status – Identified

[preserve] Preserving Food without Refrigeration

Problem Objectives:

1. instructions for the preserving food [salting, drying, smoking, ...],

2. designs and instructions for building food processing equipment and supplies,

3. Instructions for building facilities to store food [root cellars, etc]

4. Substitute material for preservation methods [e.g. canning without the store bought lids]

Status - Initial review completed. See preserving food.

[preparation] Food Preparation

Problem Objectives:

1. instructions for preparing food without modern appliances,

2. designs for food preparation equipment [milling, grinding, stoves, ...],

3. instructions for maintaining this equipment.

Status - identified

--- Medical Cluster, 4 Project Areas -----

[doctor] Post Collapse Medicine

Problem Objectives:

1. a list of herbal medicines, their usage and dosage guidelines,

2. notes on alternative medical procedures not requiring industrial or commercial pharmaceuticals,

3. notes on diagnostics procedures without modern equipment and chemical labs,

4. notes on making of medical equipment and supplies.

Status – identified

[vet] Post collapse veterinary medicine

Problem Objectives:

1. a list of herbal medicines, their usage and dosage guidelines,

2. notes on alternative medical procedures not requiring industrial or commercial pharmaceuticals,

3. notes on diagnostics procedures without modern equipment and chemical labs,

4. notes on fabrication of medical equipment.

Status – identified

[herbal] Herbal Garden and Medicines

Problem Objectives:

1. a list of herbal medicines and their uses,

2. plans and guidelines for a herbal garden

3. directions for growing a herbal garden and growing herbal plants,

4. notes on extracting medical substances from herbal plants,

4. sources for herbal plant seeds.

Status - preliminary assessment. See

[products] Medical Products

Problem Objectives:

1. identify medical products that could be made locally,

2. designs and methods for making other products useful in supporting medical services such as lab equipment, diagnostic equipment and useful chemicals.

Status - identified

[health] General health information

Problem Objectives:

1. information on staying healthy without medicine and medical support,

2. dietary guidelines (see Food/garden)

3. information on best practices for non professional treatment of common conditions without commercial medicines.

This information should be in a form not requiring medical expertise.

4. Guidelines for handling the sick (e.g. isolation, waste disposal, ...)

Status – identified

---- Manufacturing Cluster, TBD Project Areas-----

[processes] Manufacturing Processes Breakdown

Problem Objective

1. identify manufacturing process categories,

2. assess usefulness and viability for post collapse communities,

3. select processes for problem area designation,

4. notes and links for processes.

5. prioritize by probable post collapse need.

Status – to be assessed

[forge] Blacksmith Shop and Forging Metal

Problem Objective

1. designs for building equipment for blacksmith shop, forge and tools,

2. instruction and training for blacksmith work.

Status – to be assessed

[foundry] Casting Metal and possibly other materials

Problem Objective

1. designs for building equipment for foundry work

2. instruction and training for casting metals.

Status – to be assessed

[metal] Cutting metals

Problem Objectives:

1. methods for cutting metals without power tools.

2. designs and instructions for making milling/routing machines having low energy requirements,

3. designs and instructions for making lathes machines having minimal energy requirements,

4. instruction for maintaining and using such machines.

Note that most metal cutting machines will require at least motors and cutting tools from industrial sources.

Status - preliminary assessment posted. See

[ceramics] Making Ceramics

Problem Objectives:

1. designs and construction instructions for making kilns using local fuels,

2. designs for other pottery equipment,

3. instructions for making ceramics,

4. information on identifying, locating and evaluating clay deposits.

Status - identified

[wood] Woodworking.

Problem Objectives:

1. designs for woodworking tools,

2. instructions for making and maintaining these tools,

3. instructions for using these woodworking tools.

Status - identified

[abrasive] Grinding, Filing and other Abrasive techniques

Problem Objectives:

1. designs for abrasive tools for working metal, stone and wood,

2. instructions for making and maintaining these tools,

3. instructions for using these woodworking tools.

Status - preliminary assessment posted. See

[fiber arts] Spinning, Weaving, Knitting, Dying, Baskets, Rope,...

Problem Objectives:

1. identification of sources for useful fibrous materials,

2. instructions for using making fiber based products.

3. designs for equipment to process and use for fiber materials,

4. instructions for making and maintaining these tools,

Status - preliminary assessment posted. See

[glass] Making and Modifying Glass Objects

Problem Objectives:

1. casting glass.

2. Hot shaping of glass.

3. designs for glass making, cutting and shaping tools.

4. instructions for making and maintaining these tools.

5. instructions for using these tools.

Status - identified

---- Services Cluster, 4 Project Areas-----

[water] Providing water for human and agricultural use

Problem Objectives:

1. equipment designs and for pumping water,

2. water treatment methods and equipment.

3. water quality testing

Status – identified

[waste] Handling of waste products

Problem Objectives:

1. identify what products need safe disposal.

2. designs and methods for treatment or disposal of human waste,

3. designs and methods to use agricultural waste,

4. designs and methods to use, treat or dispose of other waste.

Status – identified

[energy] Energy needed by the community

Problem Objectives:

1. designs to minimize energy requirements,

2. designs using available local fuels for energy needs,

3. generation and distribution of energy from communal facilities. (e.g. gas works)

4. fixed location gassifiers

5. energy storage techniques, materials and equipment.

Status - identified

[education] Providing education appropriate for community needs and growth.

Problem Statement –

1. What is needed to educate pre-collapse people to function well in a post-collapse world?

2. What is needed to educate children?

3. What is needed for advanced education and specialty education

4. How are apprenticeships handled?

5. preserving educational materials

Status – identified

[transport] Providing for transportation needs

1. What kinds of transportation will be needed?

2. Designs for post-collapse vehicles.

3. instructions for making post-collapse vehicles.

Status – identified

[defense] Defending the community

1. how to assess defense requirements for a community

2. community vulnerability assessment.

3. preparing a community defense plan

4. estimating community defense material needs.

5. defense training

--- Oil Cluster, 5 Project Areas -----

note: Project in this cluster will have the highest value in the transition period where they can enable the use of existing equipment. (One can do without the tractor after one has bred enough draft animals.)

[gasifier] Gasifier Conversion of Vehicles [using solid fuels to run internal combination engines]

Problem Objectives

1. tested gasifier conversion designs for automotive and other mobile gasifiers,

2. designs and requirements for producing good gasifier fuels from raw agricultural or forest products,

3. training information on how to make, operate and maintain gasifiers and gasifier fuel processing equipment.

note: Gassifiers for use in other than internal engines is found in the service cluster.

Status – Initial review completed. See gasifier

[biodiesel] Making diesel fuel from agricultural products

Problem Objective

1. tested equipment designs and processes for converting raw farm products to quality biodiesel,

2. training information on how to make, operate and maintain this equipment,

3. recommendations for crops most appropriate for making local biodiesel.(climate dependent?)

4. methods for testing biodiesel quality.

note: The use of biodiesel is a trade off since most sources of biodiesel could also be used for food.

Status - preliminary assessment completed. See biodiesel.

[ethanol] Making and using ethanol fuel from agricultural products

Problem Objective

1. tested designs for conversion internal combustion engines to use ethanol,

2. tested processes and equipment designs for converting raw farm products to ethanol,

3. training information on how to make, operate and maintain this equipment.

4. methods for testing ethanol quality.

note: The use of ethanol is a trade off since most sources of ethanol could also be used for food.

Status – preliminary assessment completed. See ethanol

[lube] Making substitute lubricants from agricultural products

Problem Objective

1. tested processes and equipment designs for converting raw farm and animal products to useful lubricants for automotive and other applications,

2. training information on how to make, operate and maintain this equipment,

3. information on compatibility with existing products.

Status - preliminary assessment completed. See lubricants.lubricants.

[hydraulics] Making substitute hydraulic fluids from agricultural products

Problem Objectives

1. tested processes and equipment designs for converting raw farm products to useful hydraulic fluids used in brake systems, farm equipment and other applications,

2. training information on how to make, operate and maintain this equipment,

3. information on compatibility with existing products.

Status - preliminary assessment posted. See hydraulic.

-preparing for a collapse, 1 Project Area

[survive] Things to do after a Collapse and during Transition.

Problem Objectives:

1. list preparation to that are likely to increase survival chances.

2. suggestions if a collapse seems immanent.

3. suggestions for actions during a collapse.

4. strategies for surviving the turbulent period

Status - preliminary assessment posted. See survive.