Execution
The Mother Ship Project 2012

As humans, we can do little to prevent acts of God from affecting projects, but we can take steps to avoid the most likely. A few of the possible risks and challenges which could influence the successful implementation of the MotherShipProject has been identified. They include:


Time Management
Things always seem to take longer than anticipated and there are always more things than we have time to do, this is nothing new to many projects and individuals.

Focusing on breaking down goals into small task-units.
Prioritizing tasks.
Classifying tasks into a time management matrix.
Incorporating time management resources on the MotherShipProject site for new team members.
Investing in basic time management courses for all team members.
Adding some padding to the schedule.


Complexity of Starting a Learnership
Many legal and governmental avenues need to be followed for starting a learnership. Certain requirements will need to be met to ensure the qualifications achieved are registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). A person who successfully completes a learnership will have a qualification that signals occupational competence which is recognized nationally and in certain cases internationally too.

Allocate a task team to collect the required experts and partners to join and assist the team in completing this goal.


Funding
The full amount of capital that the project needs for implementation might not be acquired.

An aggressive and well thought out marketing campaign will need to be implemented and project details fine tuned to solicit funding from individuals, organizations and government etc.
A task team will also be assigned to research grant opportunities and sources.
Reduce resources needed for implementation by assessing how we can incorporate the use of more recycled materials and other innovative solutions into the construction.
Worst Case Situation: A change in project strategy will be implemented by personally investing in land and organizing an Earthship build and training selected families from the community. We will then continue implementing the objectives of MSP on privately owned land.

Staffing
Difficulties finding the right team who has the required experience or skill set available to meet the project objectives.

Break down goals in simple manageable task-blocks with the use of Project Management Software (PMS) which will be incorporated into the projects website. This will enable the project to source team members with the needed expertise from all around the world and ensure that any new members to the team to know exactly what the projects status is and what needs to be done.



Project Size and Complexity
The attempt to control many factors of the project might tax the ability to complete the project in time or within the time and budget restrictions.

The project will assign specific task teams to fulfill project units related to each phase of the project. This will ensure that project complexity is broken down into manageable parts and the rapid completion of small task units will keep the project team motivated.

In Scope
The outcome of MSP will be self-empowered poor communities equipped with the know-how to build their own eco-friendly and self-sustainable houses which will be able to sustain the occupants providing them with food, water, electricity and shelter. Entrepreneurs, skilled at managing their own little craft businesses will be trained which will enable the community to generate its own income. Including youth trained with adequate skills to assemble computers including building local area networks which will be used for the e-government platform.
Therefore the scope of the project will include the training and building of these communities. With a focus on Eathship construction and its associated technologies, craft production and small business management as well as computer rebuilding and networking with an overall objective to alleviate crime and poverty.

Out of Scope
Due to the projects complexity and many unknowns, at this stage it is much to early to define exactly what (project related) will not be included in the project. Although a definite exclusion from the project is political alignment with any political party. Neutrality will be a priority to ensure full community involvement.

Preventing Scope Creep
To prevent scope creep, the “in-scope” and “out of scope” of the project will be more clearly defined and refined as the project plan unfolds, reducing potential scope creep. The project will also be broken down into clearly defined phases to realize the goals of the project. The requirements of each phase of the project will also be broken down into “must-haves” and “nice to haves” to distinguish between project priorities and project improvements. A scope change management process will also be integrated into the project.

Scope Creep Plan
Strategies which will be included in the scope creep plan will be the following:
Posting visual aids of the mission, vision and goals in a common area.
Referring to the project scope when changes to project objectives is forced to be made.
Building a small amount of scope creep into the budget and time line.
Meeting with team members on a weekly basis to discuss the project and its status

A Green Revolution: MSP 2012

Political apartheid ended in 1994 . Nelson Mandela and the ANC was swept into power in South Africa first democratic elections, but victory was not so simple or so easy. A year early while negotiating the transition to power the ANC signed its first world bank loan and began a program of structural adjustment. The new constitution was the most progressive in the world guaranteeing the human right to water housing and electricity and under the influence of the IMF the ANC privatized all 3, creating 8 Million homeless in South Africa and cutting of water and electricity to 10's of thousands of families every month, the apartheid state was defeated but nothing changed...People expected 1994 would be the end of that 400 years of patience. They thought that the South African Freedom Charter would exist but it does not exist. People in South Africa are still waiting for a revolution that never happend...

"
Hear our Cries! Voices from the informal settlements

Dear Thabo Mbeki,
My name is Bongekile Shinga. I am twelve years old. I have lived in a shack for seven years. Our shacks are built with boards and plastics. We use candles for light. We’ve got no toilet. When we’re coming from school, we’ve got no food to eat or clothes to wear because of the fire. We don’t want new houses in far away places. We are in the shacks, and it’s dangerous and there are bushes. We’re near a dump, and the water is dirty. We don’t want to go to Veralum. The other houses are falling down because they are built with plastics. There is no development here. Kids are playing in dirty waters, and they get sick. Old men are raping small children here in the shacks. And the criminals are getting chances to get in because they are built with plastics. We are not going to vote without houses. How could we vote if there are no new houses here in Kennedy Road? We are sick and tired to live in the shacks.
"
Letters from the Youth of Kennedy Road to Thabo Mbeki

There is a need for more than 120,000 houses, over 300,000 people are unemployed, and more than 1,000,000 people do not have access to basic municipal services.

The MotherShipProject would train people how to build their own self-sustainable houses, this would be creating jobs and houses but not just any house, A house which "takes care of you", growing its own food, using sun and wind energy, rain water is caught, stored, treated and used 4 times over. Sewerage is treated in a septic tank and the resulting water is used again. One of these units could sustain 4 family members easily.

MSP would provide the community the opportunity to take a more active role in their future. Helping to realize what has been stated in the South African Freedom Charter. While starting a Green Revolution!

Concerning Resources:
There will be an initial investment needed for the first community for some of the materials and resources but the major building blocks are used tires, bottles and cans and they could be collected for free.

And once the first community has been built the income they generate by various means will be used as an investment in the next community.

Concerning Land:
The idea was, to invest in a private piece of land or as referred to me by the South African Embassy in Vienna, there is Land Grants Available and I could apply for this. Another option which I recently stumbled upon while doing some research, is to take up an offer by a couple in South Africa who are welcoming people to build Earthships on their land.

Heres their site:

[link="http://www.aardskip.com/"]

So those are the couple options I have but I would like develop my idea a bit more before pitching it.

Concerning Building restrictions, nothing serious mostly formalities, Earthships has been built sporadically in South Africa before with not much resistance from officials unlike in USA.

Concerning the Technology:
The idea is to train youngsters how to disassemble and assemble computers and then allowed to take them home, one per household for starters. The whole community will be then trained in workshops on how to use the e-government site, but this is a long term goal, first basic community management needs to focused on.

And initially there will be a screening phase to find the most suitable candidates to take part in the Pilot Project of MSP.

Yeah...so to infinity and beyond!

I have a dream....

I have a dream that one day my daughter and son will be brought into a world which I can be proud of!

A world where people live in dignity and freedom, where mother nature is respected and loved, where dreams are dreamt and DO come true!

I have a dream today...

BUT HOW!?...I hear you are asking

I present to you...drum roll please...

The Mother Ship Project 2012:

The Mother Ship Project (MSP) is a combination of different sustainable, innovative, creative elements combined as a whole to sustain small communities in rural and underdeveloped areas.

This alleviates unemployment, homelessness, reduce crime, allow all South Africans and other underprivileged communities to experience success and a good quality of life.

Most of all provide an alternative to how we are currently living. When this illusion degenerates into nothing with a few on the top laughing at our stupidity and ignorance. But like Bob Marley said "You can fool some people some of the time, but you cant fool all the people ALL the time."

The problems and conditions MSP will be addressing are the following:

1. Poverty
2. Homelessness
3. Unemployment
4. Education
5. The technology gap
6. Sustainability
7. Self-governance
8. Crime

So how will MSP address these aspects?

The idea is to buy or organize a piece of land in RSA for a pilot project. We will select ten families from impoverished communities in South Africa and to teach them how to build their own Earthships.

A Earthship is a type of passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials. Designed and marketed by Earthship Biotecture of Taos, NM, the homes are primarily constructed to work autonomously and are generally made of earth-filled tires, using thermal mass construction to naturally regulate indoor temperature. They also usually have their own special natural ventilation system. Earthships are generally Off-the-grid homes, minimizing their reliance on public utilities and fossil fuels.

Earthships are built to utilize the available local resources, especially energy from the sun. For example, windows on the sunny side admit light and heat, and the buildings are often horseshoe-shaped to maximize natural light and solar-gain during winter months. Likewise, the thick, dense outer walls provide effective insulation against summer heat.

Internal, non-load-bearing walls are often made of a honeycomb of recycled cans joined by concrete and are referred to as tin can walls. These walls are usually thickly plastered with stucco.

Once the communities have been built. The ten families will in return train another 10families.

This innovative aspect will address the problem of unemployment, poverty, homelessness and reduce crime.

The next phase would be to implement my skills I am learning now studying Internet Technology and teach youngsters in the community how to dismantle and assemble old usable computers. The old computer parts will be imported from first world countries where there is an excess of old computers.

This technological aspect will be addressing the technological gap facing third world countries especially Africa.

Once the computers have been assembled each student will take it home for family use. Next, a network will be built connecting each household in the community to a common e-government site.

The e-government site will be used to start a form of anarchy where technology will be used to empower individuals in the community to play an effective role in managing themselves.

This aspect of MSP will empower community members to govern themselves.

There will also be a community center where crafts will be made by the community and marketed to first world countries. Jobs will be created by building parts needed to build the next community, like solar panels, wind turbines...etc

This aspect will focus on sustainable job creation for the future of the community and benefit the next community which will be built.

So in a nutshell, MSP will be an alternative way of living which will aid me in achieving my dream of bringing up my children into a way of life I would be proud of!

[link="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQmz6Rbpnu0"]

Any comments, questions, improvements are greatly welcomed!

To Infinity and Beyond!!!