The spirit of the project

This project, and perhaps others like it that use Carry Freedom's plans, has some guiding principles. In developed countries and in projects where the builder has means like me, there are conditions that should be considered. For example, where do you get your materials? Do you purchase new or used recycled goods? Can you simply "find" the materials you want in the garage or basement or dumpster? Should you rely upon found objects?

In developing countries, there probably needs to be no written or defined conditions. The expectation is that builders will use whatever they have. As you view the information and pictures at Carry Freedom's site and their Flickr account, you will see that almost anything goes.

For this particular project, and after looking for materials, I thought it was useful to create a few conditions or rules around how I would approach construction. They are:

1. Use "used" or recycled goods whenever possible. Exceptions would be when safety concerns prohibit it.
2. Use materials that anyone in the local community might acquire easily.
3. Share information about material sources openly and give credit when a provider is particularly helpful.
4. Keep track of time and costs and report that to readers.
5. Document in written form (this blog) and in images what has been done.