The freedom village sign is meant to be a simple marker to denote the entryways of the Freedom Village. As with all objects inside of the freedom village we designed the sign in order to be simple and repeatable under any circumstance that we might have to build a freedom village under. Also, major consideration was given to the use of materials and tools needed in order to build the sign. They can be afforded by most individuals. They are:
- Freedom Builders compressed stabilized earth blocks.
- A piece of plexiglass plywood or a glued solid wooden board
- A lighting solution of your choice
- A vinyl cutter for the sign words or imagery
- 8 1×4 pieces of wood in order to hold the sign and place and support the weight of the brick on top of the sign
The sign utilizes 21 courses of brick. The first 10 courses are solid and single. The next courses above are meant to hold the sign and place. There are three types of brick used in the sign design. There is the full block that is 23 cm by 23 cm. There is a half block at 11 cm by 23 cm. And there’s an open face full block use to create a beam to go across the sign.
The wires for the lighting solution can be ran on the back of the sign talk to the brick or run inside a small PVC conduit. The actual sign at the Freedom Village utilizes a string of LED lights placed behind the plexiglass and against the brick on all four sides. The outdoor lighting solution use allows for us to change the colors of the sign by adjusting the color of the led by remote or by an app on your Android based phone. In addition the utilization of LED lights reduces power consumption significantly and allows for the solar powering of the sign at all times with a single battery.
In most places in the continental United States a permit must be secured in order to build the sign. It Freedom Village Georgia a permit was secured for $75 prior to constructing the sign. The total cost of the sign to the Freedom Village without including the cost of the permit was only the cost of the LED lighting system which is $50.
For the lettering the amount of vinyl utilize on the vinyl cutter was purchased from an outside source for less than $5. Vinyl cutter was a tool investment made it to Freedom labs and allows for the lettering to be printed or better yet cut. After the material is cut remove the negative Portion by hand exposing only the positive imprint design on the side and then adhere it to transfer paper. This allows for the sign to be transferred to its medium but also ensures Easy Transport of the signs lettering from the lab to the Village. In fact standard Postal Services were used to transport the letters to the Village.
All in all, the design of the sign allows for the use of materials found on the site and the addition of $50 worth of materials. Then by an expert sign Builder the value of the sign is $2,500. Contributing a value towards the Freedom Credit that is 5000 percent greater then it’s cost. In addition, there are two hundred of our compressed stabilized Earth blocks in this sign. Taking away other costs and dividing the value by the brick. Then each brick utilize to make the sign as an in value of $10 per brick. This is five times the value that can be gained by simply selling the brick.
When compared with the Freedom Credit. The issuance of credit for work tasks at the Freedom Nation using the following calculation:
S(Required Skill (1-10)) x T(Estimated Time (hrs)) x D(Estimated Difficulty(1-10)) = Fi(Freedom Credit Issued) or
S*T*D=Fi
For the sign S=3, T=10 and D=4. The total Fi is 120FCR. In addition, the making of the CSEB had a Fi of 1200FCR and the investor placed $50 for which he received FCR in our 1 to 1 exchange of 50FCR. The total Fi for the sign is 1370FCR. Calculating the value of the FCR at the end of the job uses the equation (Total Value)/Fi or $2500/1370. Giving the job the ability to increase the value of the FCR by 1.87 times.
By tracking every asset in the Freedom Nation, its investments and labor inputs, we are able to return the value of the Freedom Village as a whole back to its citizens. Increasing their wealth as we increase the development of the ideal living space.
