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Introduction to

Communikits Inc.

an employee owned and managed for-profit company.

What are "Communikits"?

Communikits are self-sufficiency systems in kit form for assembly by small communities.

Communikits will come in two forms

Both forms will be as "kits" with pre-fabricated parts for assembly on site. Sometimes Communikits are software systems, or instructional videos, or blueprints for assembling needed items out of local materials.

Using ecologically sound technologies communikits would be systems for raising nutritious organic foods, building inexpensive yet sturdy, comfortable living and working spaces, setting up renewable local energy sources, setting up water systems and sewage treatment systems, community transportation systems. Eventually Communikits would include kit-forms for assembling community vehicles that use renewable low cost energy sources, for local community mfg of household appliances, communications equipment, computers, clothing, basic medical treatment centers, everything needed for a village or town community to function without relying on outside aid.

Communikits would be toolkits for producing everything necessary for small communities anywhere in the world to survive disasters and achieve a high level of self-sufficiency.

There would be urban communikits specially designed for urban environments. There would be rural communikits designed for rural communities anywhere. Manufacture and distribution of these kits would be funded by governments and community aid groups that support economic development for all impoverished communities.

Manufacture of Communikits would become a source of income for these same communities once their basic self-sufficiency systems are established. Communikits would become known as the highest quality tools and systems made. The Lifeline Lottery operation proceeds pay for mfg. and distribution of Communikits to non-paying clients in need.

The idea behind this is that the basics to community and individual health and well-being should become universally available to all people on earth.

Robotics development will be high on the list of Communikit R&D. Robotics are needed to eliminate repetitious grunge work now done by human beings so that they have the time and energy for projects that further their self-development and realization of each person's potential.

Communikits Inc. will be an employee-owned Community Corporation.

1. What is a “Community Corporation”?

In this case, it is a for-profit Corporation of Employee owned and operated entities comprising the land, manufacturing and material assets of 
Communikits Inc. and its subsidiary divisions, businesses, and cooperative associations.

Communikits Inc. is based on equitable resource allocation. The entities have proportional profit sharing requirement and are democratically controlled by vote, with one vote per participant.

Company asset and resource equity is held by Communikits Inc. in trust for the participants and their heirs and all future Communikits Inc. employees.

2. What are the basic purposes for organizing Communikits Inc. in this way?

Proposed Communikit Inc. Articles of Incorporation

 

The purposes of Communikits Inc. are:

1. To be a holding corporation for property acquired to be operated by employee owned and operated businesses and cooperative associations.

2. To serve as advisor and consultant for the establishment of employee owned and operated businesses and cooperative associations within the
Communikit Inc. umbrella.

3. To seek out economic opportunities to assist employees to buy out their current place of employment, especially at a time when their jobs are in
jeopardy from plant closing or drastic down-sizing. Also to help new enterprises to be established as employee owned and operated entities with
pride and proprietorship.

4. To enable individual businesses within the Communikit Inc. umbrella to participate effectively in efficient, competitive, cost-effective systems from the creation of the basic resource product to processing resource into products, to distribution and marketing of all Communikit Inc. products and services.

3. How does Communikits Inc. work with cooperative associations and employee enterprises?

Communikits Inc. holds title to, lease holds, or otherwise holds land and/or facilities to be provided to cooperative associations and employee enterprises whose bylaws and practices comply with the Communikits Inc. statement of purposes and bylaws. The amount of payment from said cooperatives and employee enterprises shall be the payments, interest and taxes that Communikits Inc. is obliged to pay for the facilities and financing Communikits Inc. provides to said employee enterprises and cooperatives.

Additionally, each cooperative association or employee enterprise will be obligated to a payment of 5% over the gross paid to Communikits Inc. for facilities plus 5% of the net net profit of the cooperative association or employee enterprise figured after all wages, salaries, but before profit sharing is calculated.

This fee, which may be paid in facilities and/or services, will be used to cover overhead, administration, salaries, and the research and development Communikits Inc. shall carry on as a service to said cooperative associations and employee enterprises complying with the Communikits Inc.'s statement of purposes.

When a facility is paid for in full from whatever source, Communikits Inc.'s maintenance, research and development, and assistance to the same through expanding or acquiring further facilities, shall be paid for by a 15% payment of the net net income from the Communikits Inc. cooperative association or employee enterprise. A cooperative association or employee enterprise may voluntarily adjust these amounts in times of economic stress or exceptional economic prosperity for the purpose of assisting said cooperative association or employee enterprise, or for the purposes of expanding the Communikits Inc. family of cooperative associations and employee enterprises more rapidly.

4. How does a cooperative association or employee enterprise become part of Communikits Inc.?

Employee owned and operated cooperative associations and enterprises that wish to associate with Communikits Inc. Community Corporation must agree to the following:


Each employee shall be paid a salary or wages plus a proportional share of the surplus income of the cooperative in direct relation to their
participation.

A cooperative association or employee enterprise shall except as a member any employee hired for more than 90 days.

The cooperative association or employee enterprise may hire consultants on a temporary basis.

Temporary or seasonal employees shall be paid their share of the equally proportional part of the cooperative association's or employee enterprise'
surplus income in direct relation to their participation as are members of the cooperative association or employee enterprise.

Social and economic incentives are to be implemented to promote excellence, to increase productivity, safety and responsibility of the
individual for the general good of the cooperative association or employee enterprise and the community in which Communikits Inc. provides employment.

5. What is the benefit to the individual if they choose to become a member of a cooperative association or member of an employee enterprise under the Communikits Inc. umbrella?

All members share in the profits of the cooperative association in direct relationship to their participation. All members of an employee enterprise under the Communikits Inc. umbrella share in the profits in direct relationship to their participation, the only difference being in individual ownership and management of an employee enterprise vs. a cooperative association. Your money, normally paid in taxes, can be put in a revolving fund to benefit yourselves and your community. To see what kind of purposes a cooperative association can be put to, consider the following:

The building and maintaining of cooperative community planned unit housing developments and service facilities including cooperative food
store, children's care centers, medical and retirement care facilities, supplemental and continuing education and recreation facilities, systems
and staff. The manufacturing, selling, or supplying to its members of machinery, equipment, vehicles, fuel, insurance and other benefits, or
supplies and services of whatever type and quantity that improves their quality of life.

The financing of any such activities.

To create and operate equitable resource allocation projects for members and others. To create and operate humanitarian projects that serve to
alleviate suffering, promote understanding and true friendship between peoples of all races and national origins. To help working people become
owners and operators of the basic means of production, processing and distribution. To contribute two and a half percent of the cooperative's net
income and comparable intellectual and physical resources charitably to assist the creation of an environment which help build a healthier and
happier Humanity.

Communikits for disaster relief and community self-sufficiency

Community Self-Sufficiency Kits for setting up basic community service facilities for 3rd World nations and/or Disaster Area Relief efforts.

Cottage Kits, Cabin Kits, commercial building kits, all kinds of community service building kits, school kits, medical clinic kits, etc.

There will be a need for scoping out local conditions at each disaster or humanitarian aid community site. Local resource inventory to see if needed items can be produced locally. Each community site will have its own economic ecology needs. Communikit item standardization will be necessary for quick emergency relief response but for long term community sustainability, Communikit R&D teams will be needed.

Some ideas for Communikits..

Insulated Tents made like thin sleeping bags sewn together to form tent walls. These Down Homes could have made a difference in saving lives in the Central Asia earthquake and the recent one in China.

The cabin's basic shape can be any of the existing single room configurations. Large house dimensions can be obtained by joining room units together. The only modification of design needed to change any single room cabin or house into a compost cabin is the in the structure of the lower walls and the method of insulating the upper walls and roof.

The lower walls are expanded to make compost bins four feet wide and four feet high with the top inside quarter of the bins forming the interior bottom walls of the cabin. Above the compost bin walls the regular walls are kept hollow forming a clear 4 o 6 inch clear air passage in the walls that allows escaping warm air rising off the composting material to circulate through the upper walls to the roof (which is also hollow) and from there out through an exhaust vent.

Here's how the design becomes nearly energy self-sufficient with practically no cost for heating. In the Fall, leaves, grass clippings, green hay, are gathered together and put into the compost bin walls of the cabin. Within the compost bin walls decomposition of the green vegetable matter begins and through this process heat is generated (up to 100 degrees) and radiates outward.

The outside walls of the compost bins are insulated with reflective material so that the compost heat is reflected inward. The green compost doesn't have a disagreeable odor and there are abundant sources for it in the Fall season. Green compost heats the cabin in the Fall, Winter and Spring. As temperatures rise in the Spring and Summer, compost material can be removed from the bins.

In Summer, the empty compost wall bins and hollow upper walls help keep the cabin interior cool by circulating cool air from underneath the through the compost bins and upper walls creating another temperature barrier to the outside. Additional cooling may be obtained by placing open water filled containers inside the compost bin walls. Air rising from underneath the cabin would be further cooled by circulating over these water filled cans as it travels upward to the roof and out the vent. As Summer changes into Fall the cycle is repeated.

The advantages of this type of heating and cooling design over conventional ones including solar heating are these: Simplicity of design. No advanced technology needed. No need for a south-facing homesite. No need to worry about the number of sunlit days thus making this house design ideal for most temperate climates which receive heavy cloud cover during the winter months.

Alternative Building techniques

plastic or organic foam filled concrete that is pumped up to a high spout to be poured out over a house frame made of re-bar and wire mesh to produce a finished Ferro-cement structure. The technique is like one made sandcastles as a kid by pouring liquid sand to build up the castle structure. It produces a dripped candle look and if the concrete were colored with concrete paint the effect would be quite beautiful.*

       Antonio Gaudi

   Vertical Gardens

Sandbag construction

Micro Communergy Center: Individual person with the Communergy briefcase who takes the portable communergy system approach wherever there's a need.

Some novel transportation ideas to consider..

       Foam plastic bodies for cars that will decrease injuries in auto accidents. The foam is softest on the outside while the interior side is of hard Teflon-type plastic to hold the engine and running gear.

       Clear transparent plastic top half of blimp balloon body with dark solar panel imbedded bottom half. The clear plastic lets sunlight in to heat the interior air of  the ship while the solar panels provide electricity to run electric propeller motors.

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