We see several challenges facing our city of Milwaukee – and many other cities. They include issues of ecological degradation, pollution, erosion of the industrial base, young people ill-prepared for work, a break down in the social cohesion of our neighborhoods, deteriorating infrastructure and the inability of our institutions to keep pace with the needs of citizens. We think that an organization that straddles the areas of education, infrastructure, sustainability and social participation is needed.

Rethink Factory will educate members of the public about alternative energy, water, food production and waste reduction systems. These systems will help strengthen communities, making them more self-sufficient, sustainable and resilient. This education will occur mainly in design/build workshops that tackle community projects using low-tech, open source solutions. The goal is for greater accessibility to such knowledge for community groups, organizations and concerned citizens. We will also provide a hub for sharing of ideas – especially low-tech, open source solutions.

The fact that community members participate in the creation and implementation of the solutions, we believe that they will take greater ownership. Such participation and the low-tech nature of the solutions should in turn lead to better maintenance of the solutions and greater social interaction. Community members will be empowered with the ability to change and improve their own environments.

Problem

We see several challenges facing our city of Milwaukee – and many other cities. They include issues of ecological degradation, pollution, erosion of the industrial base, young people ill-prepared for work, a break down in the social cohesion of our neighborhoods, deteriorating infrastructure and the inability of our institutions to keep pace with the needs of citizens. We think that an organization that straddles the areas of education, infrastructure and social participation with a clear mission to respect the environment is what is needed. Sustainability does not only effect nature but communities and economies as well.

Solution

Rethink Factory will educate members of the public about alternative energy, water, food production and waste reduction systems. These systems will help strengthen communities, making them more self-sufficient, sustainable and resilient. This education will occur mainly in design/build workshops that tackle community projects using low-tech, open source solutions. The goal is for greater accessibility to such knowledge for community groups, organizations and concerned citizens. We will also provide a hub for sharing of ideas – especially low-tech, open source solutions. We will primarily be a design education center, but we see wide implications for our educational model. The goal is to create communities of problem solvers able to greatly effect their environments through a design approach.

Example

The fact that community members participate in their creating and implementing the solutions, we believe that they will take greater ownership. Such participation and the low-tech nature of the solutions should in turn lead to better maintenance of the solutions and greater social interaction. Community members will be empowered with the ability to change and improve their own environments. With the knowledge and skills we will be disseminating citizens will be able seek out local problems, identify the root causes, design a practical solution and implement it. All with out vast resources or financial backing. Since solutions will be place based, most necessary resources can come from the community including materials, labor and expertise. That is key to our design methodology.

Marketplace

Milwaukee is home to many great organization working to make our city a better place to live. We are known for social and environmental groups which we intend to partner with not compete with. We intend to be a complimentary organization. We are filling a gap that currently exists in the standard educational and organizational landscape.