Slow but certain progress

I had the most excellent piece of news a couple of days ago. Finally I found somebody who is willing to lend me a MIG welder!

I also have somebody who can teach/help me use it and possibly do some of it for me.

Status update on the design, Steve is trying to come up with a work around for the axle since we don't have access to machinery to spin the metal. We are also going to build a scale wooden model of the back to see how well the design will be working.

Seems like it's falling in to place, finally!

The idea and the stories

The idea is simple.

I make a cycle rickshaw in an area and I ride around in the area offering free rides, trying to have conversations with people about the cost of services and the possibilities of a different economical system.

Doing this over a period of time I will observe how peoples relationship to the Freekshaw change.

If I drive the Freekshaw for five hours a week it is well within the time people usually spend on working out. Within such a timeframe I wouldn`t need to worry about not getting payed for it. Maybe I could even persuade other people to give it a go, it is cheaper than the gym after all.


One of my hopes is that doing this will slightly alter peoples perception of what is possible to do in the world.

The stories are more complicated.

I think the stories that we tell about things are important. storytelling has been part of our human culture for a long time, probably for as long as we had a language to conceptualize things with if not even longer. Stories were told about things that had happened, about gods, about love and friendship, popular stories survived, unpopular ones faded to obscurity. 

Most of this evolution of stories took place in a world with different challenges than today. Most of the archetypes of the stories which are still told in modern society were born out of different circumstances, circumstances which undoubtedly included uncertain access to food, wars, unreliable health care, low population density and faith in higher powers. I don`t think all of these archetypes are as useful for us now as they would have been when they were popularized 

I`d like to offer one example. The lion. We are probably all familiar with the story of Simba the lion king. The story of a young man born out of nobility, who looses his father and is cast away from his rightful place of power. He faces many challenges and eventually he turns home and defeats his evil uncle and saves his people. We are led to believe that all nature rejoices in this turn of events.

There are many things that are problematic about this kind of story in modern society, yet people keep telling it and listening to it with pleasure. One problematic thing is the idea of some people being in a higher order than other people, that some special people are more suited to rule over others. Why does Simba have a claim to the position of Savannah monarch? Why does the Savannah even need a monarch in the first place?

One other problematic thing is the idea that some animals are more noble than others. Especially large hunting predators are almost worshiped as images of strength and nobility.  If you look at the lion from another perspective there is hardly anything noble about it, it lays around for days dozing and then is goes with it`s girlfriends and kills a zebra who has been working tirelessly since it was born to sustain itself. 

The lion is in some ways a parasite on the zebra and if you look at it like that the nobility quickly drains away and we are left with a more useful story for the modern world. 

To get back to the Freekshaw though. I hope with it, maybe I can tell a different story. A story about how somebody can make something out of scraps and use if to do something nice for society without asking anything back. Maybe if I tell the story convincingly enough, people might believe that it could be possible for them as well. 

Inspiration

Some inspirational images.

setbacks and progress

March is here and I havn`t had as much progress on this project as I hoped to.

On the negative side:

* Battling depression which has been quite bad lately.

* Oxford area more gentrified than I expected, less people doing welding.

On the positive side:

* I have gathered material for building the foundation frame.

* Somebody told me they have bearings for the wheels and know how to do the axle and gears

* I have a last resort access to mig welding equipment, but should be looking for better options.

* I`m getting helpful feedback on the blueprints

* I might build the canopy out of bamboo if it proves affordable.

 

At the beginning, there was nothing but the idea

The idea was finding a way that art could spark new ways of thinking, furthering togetherness and challenging what it means to be productive.

These notion culminated in the idea of the freekshaw, the pedicab that offers not just a free ride, but also a new way of engaging with community.

First step is building the body of it, bringing it into the world.

I will need:

1) a place to build it.   V

2) parts to build it from.

3) a plan for how to build it. (partially done)

4) make a deadline for construction: Until end of March

5) to actually get my hands dirty and deliver it.