Our first concrete steps

D & H has been hard at work. First came our mention in an Open Source Ecology blog post. Next, we picked up our shirts, tank tops and bumper stickers
and began selling at school during lunch. We have raised over 600 dollars as a direct result of these lunch sales, bringing us nearly up to the $2000 fund raising goal for the power cube. Then we were written up Polytechnic’s student newspaper, The Paw Print.

The next, probably the most notable development, is that Boris Beljak of A & M Engineering has generously offered his welding, drilling, cutting and shipping services, in addition to a sizable donation, which puts us squarely on track for raising the money for the the chassis materials.

In terms of fund raising, the track team has started to and will continue selling hot dogs at Poly sports events with the proceeds going to D & H. We are in the process of planning a nighttime screening of The Garden which will be accompanied by a silent auction led by Julie Davis’ Memoir and Social Change class. Also, we have begun communications with Polytechnic’s boyscout troop, which has expressed interested in aiding the cause.

Tonight Daniel and I will order the most expensive single part of the tractor, the 200lb, 28 horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine (part number 49M777) that will lie at its core.

In the latter part of this week, we will pick up as many parts of the power cube as we have time to.

Background and Poly Presentation

Here is Daniel and my presentation from morning meeting on February 2nd at Poly. In the first four hours after our presentation, we accumulated around $1000 dollars in donations and pledges. Thank you all very much for your continued support. If you are interested in contributing, find Daniel or myself at school, or donate online. Visit our Pledging Options page for more information.

An Introduction to D & H Tractors from D & H Tractors

Here is the full trailer for The Garden- excerpted in our talk

The Garden, theatrical trailer

Here is Marcin Jakubowski’s full TED talk on Open Source ecology – excerpted in our talk

Global Village Construction Set – TED Talk from Open Source Ecology

EDIT: D & H was mentioned in a Open Source Ecology blogpost: http://blog.opensourceecology.org/2012/02/project-progress-and-scaling/

A D&H Photoshoot

Courtesy of Mark Loyola, and our excellent models, a D & H photo gallery

Shirts silkscreened by Grow Your Own Media

Welcome to the Farm

We are excited to start the fundraising drive for a LifeTrac. Below are the available pledging options. Anyone interested in contributing to the project, please write dleon12@students.polytechnic.org or hbetts12@students.polytechnic.org

Here is a video of the tractor in action at Factor-e-farm:

LifeTrac II from Open Source Ecology on Vimeo.

Day Laborer – $2+

RECEIVE 1 D & H BUMPERSTICKER

Welder – $15+

RECEIVE 1 SHIRT OR TANK, AND 1 BUMPERSTICKER

Architect – $30+

RECEIVE YOUR CHOICE OF 1 D&H EMBROIDERED HAT OR  2 SHIRTS, AND 1 BUMPERSTICKER

Foreman – $50+

RECEIVE A TRACTOR RIDE AND YOUR CHOICE OF A D&H SHIRT OR EMBROIDERED HAT

Site Manager – $100+

COUPLE’s NIGHT OUT: RECEIVE 2 SHIRTS or HATS and TRACTOR RIDES FOR YOU AND A FRIEND

CEO – $250+

FAMILY FUN PACK: RECEIVE 4 SHIRTS, 2 HATS and  TRACTOR RIDES FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY