A Sample Proposal – Glass Resource Package
At the Alternate Economy our main goal of forming a bank is to allow us to begin puchasing resources. Below is a sample of what some of my proposals to the community will look like. Each proposal should have three main areas, outlined in as much detail as possible.
1: Costs
2: Business Plan for Sustainability
3: Benefits to Community
This proposal is only an example, we still need to form a bank before we start worrying about actual details. I have chosen a real site that is really for sale right now, to base this operation on. This proposal is researched and presents the costs as best as I can determine them without actually calling these people up and bothering them.
Glass Resource Proposal
Costs
$17,500,000
A little over half of one months budget for our community
This proposal will contain 8 parts:
– Silica Mining Reserve – $4,500,000
– Limestone Mining Reserve – $1,500,000
– Sodium Carbonate Distillery – $1,500,000
– Component Processing Plant – $3,500,000
– Glass Manufaturing Factory – $1,500,000
– Greenhouse Production Factory – $500,000
– Trucking Company – $1,000,000
– Housing Initiative – $3,500,000
Silica Mining Reserve
Silica Mine
Quartz Mountain, the unique silica mine in Douglas County, Oregon, is for sale. This property includes the mountain top silica quarry located on 4 patented claims (82.592 acres, title to be issued soon) and 5 adjoining unpatented claims (103 acres) in the Umpqua National Forest.
The deposit is approximately 3000 feet by 1200 and 700 feet deep; purity is 98+%. A major glass producer initiated exploratory drilling to confirm quantity and quality of reserves to support a flat glass plant to be located in the Roseburg area in 1999. This independent drilling has confirmed reserves in excess of 4.5 million tons and indicated reserves over 10 million tons, more than sufficient for their needs. Estimates of total reserves of the massive deposit have ranged to 103 million tons, though drilling has not been done to confirm this number.
There is no overburden on the quarry site and very little vegetation. The mine road is in good condition and will accommodate semi-trucks with trailers.
Limestone Mining Reserve
It would be wise to search for a limestone quarry near the silica quarry. Limestone is far more plentiful and more reasonably priced, so it is easier to match the location of limestone to that of the silica. Since glass requires 75% silica 10% limestone and 15% sodium carbonate, we will need to harvest all three resources in order to produce glass.
There is a beautiful property in Oregon available for sale. The owner of this exceptional property seeks a conservation buyer for purchase. It’s 642 acres of timber land and a limestone quarry. However, it’s what lies beneath that makes the property so exceptional. The land lies on one of Oregon’s largest limestone deposits. Underground, a complex cave is associated with this limestone deposit.
Based on a 1995 survey, it has over a quarter-mile in total lineal feet of cave length. The entrance to the cave is blocked to prevent unwanted entry and was last opened in 2010, when the owner let a cave conservancy group in to survey, photograph, and explore the cave. The group discovered a family of spiders that was previously unknown and un-cataloged!
Of the 642 acres, about 40 acres has been historically used as a limestone quarry (unused since the 1960’s). The balance of the property is timberland, well stocked with young conifers approaching marketable size. The property features home site opportunities and panoramic views of the Wilderville and Grants Pass area. It is located near the Rogue and Applegate Rivers and contains a seasonal creek.
It is currently listed for sale at $1,495,000.
Sodium Carbonate Distillery
Sodium Carbonate is an essential component to glass production. It is added as a flux to reduce the melting temperature of silica from 1700 F to 900 F. This greatly lowers the cost of production of glass. But also weakens the glass, so limestone is needed as well, to strengthen the mixture. Sodium Carbonate is made by processing brine (Sodium Chloride and water) with Ammonia in special towers. These towers do not use up the ammonia, but simply require brine and limestone to create sodium carbonate. The waste product of this process, calcium chloride, can be used in secondary applications, such as a desiccant to store foods and a safer(?) alternative for road de-icing.
Sodium Carbonate
Component Processing Plant
I feel the best solution for component processing would be to build a factory on the property. The first stage of silica and limestone processing is grinding the stone into a fine powder. There are mobile grinders available to do the coarse grinding and these machines are available used. They are quite expensive and will probably run around $1,000,000 for two of them. This machine can move around the sand pit, and will dump its production into dump trucks to haul back to the processing plant. The processing plant will essentially be a shell containing two more grinders, to get the sand as fine as possible, and a furnace. The stage where the sand is heated up is called “washing”, and requires the sand to be floated in water to separate the impurities. Sodium Carbonate is added as a flux in order to reduce the temperatures for melting. It is then heated and melted and rolled into panes of glass. These panes of glass can be loaded onto flatbed trucks and moved to the glass manufacturing factory,
Silica coarse gravel crusher
Glass Manufaturing Factory
Since this property is almost 200 acres in size, it would be wise to build this fatory here as well. We can easily build a shell for $500,000 and fill it with equipment from other companies that are for sale. A large scale factory in British Columbia is for sale for $1,125,000. After shipping costs and assembly we should be able to have a glass manufacturing plant quite easily. This plant will be able to automatically make windows, doors, double-paned glass or anything else we need, using the panes of glass produced at the silica processing plant.
Greenhouse Production Factory
This factory will not need to be as large, and will essentially be a space for craftsmen to construct simple greenhouses from the windows provided to them by the automated machinery in the glass production factory. Costs will be negligable and sales will be important early on to help propel the project forward.
Greenhouse Production
Trucking Company
In several steps I have refered to the need for transport trailers to carry loads from one location to another. We will also need a transport to deliver our goods to retailers and other areas where they are needed within the community. I recommend 4 trucks to start. 2 dump trucks, and 2 truck cabs. The three hitches to go along with the 2 18 wheelers would include one flatbed and two boxed cars. A second boxed car attachment would be wise, in case we have large orders or orders in opposite directions. The flatbed truck can be used to transport raw glass panes. With these four trucks we can easily keep up with demand for distribution of our products.
Housing Initiative
Since we have 800+ acres with road access and wooded lots on two properties, it would make sense to sever off a section of 5 acres or so which is relatively secluded and create a housing initiative for our employees. All employees will be hired from within the pool of 250,000 members and so they should be housed as part of their labour contract. They will each receive a single detached home of about 1800 sq ft with 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. This should cost the community around $100,000 a home to build. The home and the land it is sitting upon will become the employees personal property. It cannot be sold without permission of the community, but it cannot be confiscated either. It can be traded for other homes within the community, but must stay within the community at all times. If the member decides to leave the community, they lose their right to ownership of the home.
Business Plan
The goal of this project is to secure all of the necessary resources required for the production of finished windows and glass products. To do this we will need to operate two quarries on two separate properties. Both properties will be in Oregon, but they will need to be connected by a system of transport. We will also need transportation for delivery of the final products. By building three factories upon the site where the silica is located, we will be able to refine the glass, manufacture it into windows and even create greenhouses for our agricultural sector. This will, of course, all require money. Money to purchase and money to maintain. In order for this project to benefit our community it must at least break even. We do not want to introduce projects that drain the community of funds, especially near the beginning. If we are able to produce glass in excess, so that our production costs are met, and we still have some left over to use in the community, we will be in the best position.
Costs: (approximate)
Downpayment – $1,750,000
Loan from our Bank – $15,750,000
Loan Repayments
– Fed Rate = 0.75%
– Our Rate = 1.00%
– Term = 25 years
– $59,500/month
Property Taxes – $5,100/month
Salaries
– 32 x $5,000/month
– $160,000/month
Electricity – $30,000/month (?)
Fuel – $50,000/month (?)
Salt – $1,000/month (?) (sodium carbonate production)
Secondary Window Construction Materials (aluminum, sealants, etc) – $10,000/month (?)
Other Costs – $25,000/month (?)
Total Costs = $340,500/month (approximate)
Incomes: (approximate)
Coarse Limestone Gravel Sales
– $26/tonne
– 1,300 tonnes/month production
– 1,000 tonnes/month excess
– $26,000/month
Calcium Chloride Sales
– $650/pallet
– 100 pallets/month production (?)
– 100 pallets/month excess
– $65,000/month
Raw Glass Sales
– $12/sq foot
– 65,000 sq ft/month production
– 15,000 sq ft/month excess
– $180,000/month
Window Sales
– $200/unit
– 2000 units/month production
– 500 units/month excess
– $100,000/month
Greenhouse Sales
– $5,000/unit
– 4 units/month production
– 2 units/month excess
– $10,000/month
Cave Adventure Retreat – $1,000/month
Total Incomes = $382,000/month (approximate)
Total Costs = $340,500/month (approximate)
The Glass resource should be able to break even every month, and with some luck, we may even become a profitable company and contribute an extra $40,000 to the community every month.
Benefits to the Community
Access to Building Materials
This proposal will give us essentially unlimited access to windows and doors for use in the construction of our homes. The output capacity of this silica reserve far exceeds the needs of 250,000 people. 4.5 million tonnes of silica (the very low estimate) is enough to make 6 million tonnes of glass. That is a lot. More than enough to get us started and still have some to trade.
Residual Businesses
The production of Glass requires coarse gravel limestone and silica, the excess of which can be sold to other producers. The by product of sodium carbonate production, calcium chloride, is a salt that can also be sold to various industries. The raw glass panes, 16′ x 10′, can be used to make just about anything in our factory, using automated machinery. Any excess in production can be sold to construction companies to help keep this business afloat. Also, there is the Greenhouse production factory. Many of the greenhouses will be kept to increase the yields of our farmers, but many can be sold as well, to raise funds to purchase more land, etc. Finally, the Limestone quarry is sitting on 600+ acres, which includes an incredible cave complex. We could easily section off the cave area and create a spelunking adventure retreat.
Environmental Protection
We can go to lengths to ensure the land surrounding the quarries is maintained in harmony with the environment. I am not aware of a way of creating glass without having sand pits of some size. But that does not mean we need to destroy all the surrounding lands. We can easily harvest the pre-existing pits, and put money back into the surrounding lands. We can plant trees, and section off areas for wilderness reserves. We can invest in preservation of the natural caves found at the limestone quarry. We can do whatever we want to, once the land is ours.
Employment
32 employees
4 Truck Drivers
8 Sand Pit Machinery Operators
3 Maintenance Engineers
2 Foremen to run Sodium Carbonate Distillery
6 Foremen to run Silica Processing Plant
4 Foremen to run Glass Manufacturing Factory
1 Salesman for Glass Manufacturing Factory
2 Craftsmen to construct Greenhouses
1 Salesman for Greenhouse Production Factory
1 Accountant
All employees receive free housing that they own from that point forward, assuming they remain members of the community. If they leave their post, they lose their title to their land. All employees will be paid $60,000 a year on top of their housing.
Conclusion
By agreeing to invest $1,750,000 of our community’s money (a little over a half of a month of saving for 250,000 people) into the glass resource package we are providing access to windows, raw glass panes, finished greenhouses, limestone gravel and calcium chloride. We are creating a stream of income for our community to help secure new resources and we are enabling our construction sector to save money by providing them with free windows. We are providing perpetual employment and housing for 32 of our members and we are creating a 600 acre nature reserve which centers around a natural limestone cave.
By taking control of the harvesting of resources we can manage how they are collected. We can utilize the pre-existing sand pits and conserve all of the land around it. We can take from the surface that is already exposed and plant trees in all the other areas. We can invest in technologies that will help to reduce our footprint, once the companies are up and running and bringing in an income.
Please, take the time to consider this proposal as if it were real. Then vote below on whether or not this is a package you would like to see in the future. This vote is just an example, but it will be fun to see what people think! We can go in any direction with this Alternate Economy, but thinking big is what will win us back our world!
Practice Vote
Great ideas and probably something to look into once the bank is chartered. I like the idea of creating housing for the employees and having them be from the 250, 000 in the community. I just hope that within those 250, 000 we have some people who would be interested in doing that kind of work and relocating themselves to do it.
We should ask the 20% of unemployed Americans if they would be willing to take this job? I have a funny feeling we will receive resumes in the thousands for each posting…
I, personally, would be willing to man a gravel crusher for $60,000 a year plus free housing. That is more than I make serving tables and would probably be pretty fun.
I’m glad you found my blog and liked a post so I found your blog! Great ideas.
Great idea — thinking big, vertically & horizontally! This is the region of the U.S. that I most want to live in, so I would be happy to relocate!
The housing idea is good, & will certainly garner much loyalty among workers.
We will need to have a Human Resources department, I guess, in order to best match existing skills w/job requirements. Perhaps some kind of point system, w/members (who are already in the community) having an immediate points allotment over that of new members (who are coming into the community because they have skills that the community doesn’t already have)….??
So – how many MORE folks do we still need?!?! haha I want to move their now, driving a truck &/or constructing the greenhouses.
Question: is the kind of glass this system produces suitable for solar cells? If so, or if easily adapted, this could be another side stream…………….
I love the input.
Tempering the glass is only a matter of using a special machine, which would be required for window construction as well. Solar panels is definitely a side project that could spring up from this. Someone else mentioned a recycling plant to me in a private conversation. Recycling is as easy is melting the glass and rolling it out again… For a million or two more we could do both of these things quite easily.
As for HR. I think one of the first actual proposals will have to include a Headquarters of some sort with a minimum staff including the trustees and various accountants, lawyers, etc.
I was thinking a lottery for anyone who met the basic skill requirements (aka anyone whose work experience is relavent)… I don’t know how a point system could be done fairly, but I am all ears.
I think that just because you happened to find the community sooner, doesn’t really mean you have a greater right to any of the resources… including employment and housing…
Indeed! I think it should be decided who’s the best man for the job at hand. IF those people do not exist within the community then we need to seek them outside of the community.
No one person is more important or worthy in the community as anyone else. We all have our place and purpose however, hiring a farmer to be an accountant would be silly. If we don’t end up having a lawyer in the community then we need to hire outside.
Starting with a Headquarters for the bank and administration including HR is the right place to start.
A point system is maybe a good idea but it would also promote a division of class within the community and as current society has shown us, class division and inequality are the main contributors to their decline.
Once we reach the 250, 000 then the first step is to use the deposits to buy the gold to charter the bank. Then we need a headquarters and HR depart to find out ALL the skills and experience of our members. From that point HR has the resources necessary to say who’s right in our community for any given project.
I don’t think any one member of the community should earn a salary greater than another either because this again is a division of class and worth. No one person is worth more than another. No one’s time is more precious than anyone elses. We need to recognize that we all have the same worth and together we are Love. This is the example we want to show the world so that more people will see us and join us.
“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” Albert Einstein
I certainly don’t mean to be a wet blanket on what may turn out to be a great idea. As it turns out I am the only person who has voted against so at least this may form the basis of a counterpoint through which opposing views may be offered to balance perspectives. But basically I think the direction of thinking here is truly excellent here and most welcome. A detailed anlaysis of this kind of proposal and practical criticism would centre on the fact that you are indeed thinking BIG for what seems to be an initial attempt to create a different kind of community incorporating businesses, land and sustainability. Most advisors to such initiatives would suggest starting small and going from there. I do share your desire however to create a system that is evolutionary and different. Happy to keep this conversation going if you are interested, because I am interested. Blessings, Love and Light to your visions and dreams
The no’s need to be heard as well. I doubt this proposal is perfect. There must be something I missed. I am glad you were brave enough to vote no and give your opinion publicly.
Having said that, starting small has been tried and failed countless times. Perhaps I am impatient, or motivated, or a bit of an idealist. But why not go big? Why not do it right the first time? Why not make sure we cannot fail? Once we have glass and cement and steel and lumber, how could we fail after that? It seems we could do almost anything with these four resources alone.
So, please elaborate… how do you see this thing starting?
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Is your proposal targeted to people of a particular nationality?
No, most definitely not. It would be wise to concentrate our resources on one continent at first, so that once we are able, we can begin to build a community using all of these resources. Once we have secured steel, lumber, glass, cement and agriculture we can begin to start thinking about building cities for our members. At this point we can make a proposal to purchase a fleet of aircraft. We can then go around the globe and collect all of our members from wherever they are living and bring them back to our new city.
We can and will all be separate at first. That is how this will work. We will build our resources up on the side until we reach the critical point and then we all move together to one spot.
What if money full stop and the structure were so destroyed? What then would we share? I think that Communities will have to look closer to home to learn to exist within a different being of existence without money .. As Skills will maybe have to be shared and a bartering system will have to come into being…. These are extreme situations I know.. And extreme conditions will perhaps need to be put in place Tristan. I like your collective ideas my friend very much… But I have sat on many committees in my time even among those who call themselves ‘Spiritual’ and was the Treasurer of one Spiritual Centre whereby we turned it around from being in debt to raising huge amounts to build and extend our building to accommodate the disabled and build new washroom facilities etc. I left 4 yrs later.. As that same committee got overtaken by greed and egos..with infighting and squabbles..
Your structure sounds excellent .. Its the People who will be the problem.. And dont forget if the system fails it will be a Free for all everyone can get.. as Chaos will ensue..
Ps, you have only to look at the Euro and the Common Market that was created to supposedly help each nation.. and look at how that has turned out!
Dictatorships don’t work, we have seen that. Yet no one trusts in humanity to be able to accomplish this feat without leaders or boards of directors. So what, then, is the solution? I could do it myself, take the reigns as leader of the Alternate Economy, force everyone to live in love… but that doesn’t seem quite right. That way of thinking will never work. What I am trying to do is provide the resources for humanity to free themselves from their own distrust in themselves. What I am trying to do is to get people to realize that they are capable of just doing whats right. Every time. It could be done. The right thing. But only if we trust in ourselves and each other. You don’t need someone to tell you what to do, Sue. Neither do I. Neither does anyone.
If we can move past this idea of leaders and employees, and just allow the 32 employees running the site to do so, without any supervising management. Just trust in them to make glass for us without us babysitting them. Place 32 responsible members of the community who live in love in the appropriate rolls, and then start ordering glass. When the glass arrives, use it. Done. Period. No board of directors. No leaders. The glass producers do the best they can and fill the orders in the order they are recieved. That’s all. Why is that so hard?
The reason a board of directors did not work is because it is not change. It is still the same wounded system of hierarchy where one group tells another what to do, because their “authority” on the subject makes them somehow superior. This is not what the Alternate Economy will look like. Every member has a right to propose a project to the community. Every member votes of every proposal. No member has veto power. Any proposal with a 65% majority approval rating goes forward. Period. Any proposal that does not garnish 65% approval does not go forward. It does not matter who proposes it, the community as a whole decides their future. Once a proposal goes forward, it is filled by members of the community by a system of lottery. If you feel you are up to the challenge of the posting, we will trust you and give you a chance. You must meet certain training qualifications, but other than that, you are elgible if you wish to be. Once assigned to your post you receive housing nearby and are asked to please do your best. You then start to receive orders from the community for whatever it is you produce. You fill those orders to the best of your abilities. Welcome to the Alternate Economy.
It will be hard, because we have Free Will.. and because of the EGO! Dominating that.. And while ever we live in this 3D world, our makeup is geared up to that.. And unless everyone becomes enlightened at Once.. this would be very hard to achieve .. Just think about our communities.. and how at the moment Neighbours and families in particular cannot agree… So 32 people coming together in perfect harmony working together as one would be extremely hard to find..
And I not trying to put dampers on this.. I am just saying that in the ‘Real World’ of today’s thinking people Ego will take over as one would want to rule and control another thinking they know better..
You liked my post equality, yet you say these things right afterwards…
Trust. Without trust this will never work. I cannot force you to trust in humanity. All I can say is that I do.
I do not trust blindly, however. Look to this blog for my trust. I trust humanity to read what I have said and to understand it. I trust humanity to want to end their suffering and to recognize the end in my words. Love is good, love is easy, love is beautiful, love is coming, love is given freely and love is everyone’s. I trust the Age of Aquarius to restore Balance by changing the way people think, whether they want to or not. I trust the numbers of readors of this blog to only grow. I trust that at first, we will endure many failures and fights and split apart and lose members and resources and time and money. I trust that the core group of people that understand my words will not be shaken by these failures. They will trudge forward and continue building upon the little success they have had. I trust this will take my whole lifetime. I trust that when I die, 50 years from now, it will be with a smile on my face as I look upon the beautiful Utopia humanity has created.
One final thought, Sue.
Do not worry about what others will do. You cannot change others. You simply cannot. The Alternate Economy is about Personal Change. How would you react to being placed in a job in your field, being given free housing, $60,000 a year and told simply to do your best. How would you respond? Would you want to make this work? Or would you get lazy and slip into greed? What would YOU do, Sue, under these circumstances?
It does not matter what anyone else will do. It matters only what you would do.
Tristan, I can Trust and I do trust, I trust that there are those out there in this world who want change and I Trust there are those such as ourselves who are trying to set about changing others thoughts so as to facilitate that change.. I trust that there is a whole lot of Love out there.. But I also know humanity.. and unless we change our Inner thoughts our way of being.. we will not achieve Unity and harmony..
I want whole heartily for your most wonderful inspired idea of an Alternative Economy to work.. All I am pointing out here is constructive criticism.. Not at YOU or your most deep thought through ideas,, But I am pointing out the HUMANS traits .. Those who Will not come to that point of view overnight.. And that’s why I make the comments I have… Believe me I want this World to go forward with love and Light and Harmony.. But where possessions and the human emotions are concerned this is a huge monumental change in Humanities Thinking!.. And it is only through our Awakening to our Inner selves and finding our own Inner Peace and Harmony that Humanity will evolve.
We are set upon a path where through our experience we are now awakening to the facts of ourselves.. Our True selves.. Only when we have gone through this change will humanity then begin to see how at One we all are… But at the moment we think separate and as separate units we jostle each other in the crowd.. as we push each other out of the way… as many want to be out in front..
I am not at all offended by your comments, if I appeared to be. I am just trying to help you see my vision.
What I am trying to get you to see is that the “Real World” is a world of expectation, not reality. We expect that people will ruin this for us. The reality is that the light cannot be overcome by darkness. Assuming the light concentrates itself together and glows from one source. Love. The concentration is not physical, as in one location, one area. The concentration is metaphysical, as in one goal, one driving force.
You are right, many, many, many people are far too wounded to join us. But they will either deride us, ignore us or attack us. They will not join us. They ones who join us, will be like you and I. There are 250,000 people on this Earth, right now, that are like you and I. Probably not that many more, but surely there are that many. All I am trying to do is find the people that are trying to live in love but have not found the tools to do so. They will want this to work. I am an optomist, but I feel the “Real World” is nothing more than what we make it.
Yes you are right there Tristan the Real world is our own Illusion of our own making.. Together with Like Minded people such as you are gathering here Tristan.. we can create a Bright Illuminated World full of Love.. I know this is what those who will transcend this reality are seeing clearing a better future.. ~Love and Light my friend