Manufactories

Why manufacturies are needed

Submitted by Reto Stauss on 13. February 2009 - 9:07

E.F. Schumacher suggested in "Small is beautifull" how to minimize the useless und destructive migration to cities:

  1. Create jobs where people live. The need to move or commut between places of living and working is minimized.
  2. The cost of workplaces must be low to allow the creation of a huge number.
  3. Used production processes have to be simple to avoid specialized knowledge. This is also true for organisation, provisioning of ressources, financing, sales and distribution.
  4. Local available ressources should be used to produce for local markets.

Also after more than 30 years we can take this as manifesto to adress the problems we are facing today.

Some words about the name

Submitted by Reto Stauss on 28. January 2009 - 22:38

Perhaps we come closer to the purpose of this plattform if we have a short look at the name. The german word "Manufaktur" (manufactory) points to the goal of the process referenced in the second part ("in Gründung" - in the process of being launched). This is what I understand of manufactory:

  • physical goods
  • local production in terms of short ways of transportation to markets and from resources
  • machine supported production but not or only partialy automated
  • low division of labor
  • manufacturing of small series to reach a certain level of efficiency but still be flexible enough to customize
  • human scale: just as complex (in terms of processes, number of staff, etc.) as the average joe might understand
  • craftsmanship is more important than knowing how to program some computer controlled machine
  • entrepreneur not manager

In the process of being launched, the second part of the name, makes clear: this is a process. With the goal of having a running manufactory. Which enables people to make a living.

There is some more meaning not represented in the name ... which is or will be explained later in the work journal.

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