//For now, this entry is being edited continuously, adjusting itself to the PIFcraft timetable and following encounters within the community. Current versions are noted in the square brackets at the end of the title.
First PIFcraft log entry will focus on writings, dialogues and participants’ projects which can (for starters, at least) be summed up in the following set: off-grid, low-tech, self-host.
Part 1: Off-grid
//A report will follow on Bernhard Rasinger‘s intro workshop on energy awareness and solar power. One of his PIFprojects is setting up an off-grid solar-powered network for the camp.
For the past 11 years, the village of Soča (located in the Triglav National Park) has been providing PIFcampers with infrastructure, space and natural phenomena. Although the week-long communities that form each camp connect with the environment, try their best to take care of it, and generally just immensely appreciate it, there’s no denying that bringing 50+ extra persons (not to mention all of the sound- and light-emitting devices) to a village of 140 inhabitants, is a shock. There are several ways to monitor (and then find ways to diminish) our impact, such as calculating power consumption, understanding which (re)sources the energy is coming from, and setting up off-grid systems that are more in tune with their surroundings.
Bernhard started monitoring PIFcamp’s power consumption last year. Here are some of his findings:
How can we reduce these? But also: how does that compare with the kilowatt hours we use in our ordinary lives? And what are the experiences of those of us living off-grid? More on that tomorrow.
Next installments:
Part 2: Low-tech
Part 3: Self-host
What we’re reading, researching, listening to:
– (re)programming – Strategies for Self-Regeneration (free) | authors: Marta Peirano and guests, edited by: Janez Fakin Janša, published by: Aksioma (Ljubljana, 2022)
– Artists Running Data Centers (CC-BY-SA 4.0) | edited by: Davide Bevilacqua, published by: sevus.at (Linz, 2024)
– Low-tech Magazine | about the mag
– Permacomputing | community
– Solar Protocol: Exploring Energy-Centered Design | authors: Tega Brain, Alex Nathanson, Benedetta Piantella (LIMITS ’22, 2022)
– A Feminist Server Manifesto (Peer Production License) | about
– Distributed Web of Care | about
We’ll continue adding items to the above list as we go. If you have a suggestion, let us know on PIFcamp grounds or send an e-mail to katja[at]ljudmila[dot]org.