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writing:repairability_in_solarpunk [2025/12/24 20:19] – JacobCoffinWriteswriting:repairability_in_solarpunk [2025/12/24 20:27] (current) – JacobCoffinWrites
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 And that default feeds back into manufacture – to some extent, things are produced with the expectation, even requirement, that they'll be thrown away. This leads to a lot of clever shortcuts, cost-cutting, and even intentional sabotage under titles like planned obsolescence or the use of sub-par custom parts.  And that default feeds back into manufacture – to some extent, things are produced with the expectation, even requirement, that they'll be thrown away. This leads to a lot of clever shortcuts, cost-cutting, and even intentional sabotage under titles like planned obsolescence or the use of sub-par custom parts. 
  
-Several people I talked to while looking for examples for this page recommended that I look into household stuff produced in the Soviet Union. While following up on that I stumbled onto [[https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79R01141A002300080002-5.pdf|a report drafted by the CIA in 1962]]. They didn't have anything nice to say about the quality of Soviet appliances but they did have some interesting analysis of the Soviets' goals. They described what they considered to be an ambitious goal at the time: that by 1965 there would be one refrigerator for every five urban households, one washing machine for every three urban households, and one sewing machine for every two households, both urban and rural. +Several people I talked to while looking for examples for this page recommended that I look into household stuff produced in the Soviet Union. So far at least I haven't really found many major differences between them and stuff produced by other countries in the same time period (that doesn't mean they don't have great examples, I'm just having trouble finding stuff and that may come down to the fact that most of my searching is done in English). One thing I did find while following up on that was [[https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79R01141A002300080002-5.pdf|a report on soviet appliance manufacturing drafted by the CIA in 1962]]. I think the most interesting thing there was their analysis of the Soviets' goals. They described what they considered to be an ambitious goal at the time: that by 1965 there would be one refrigerator for every five urban households, one washing machine for every three urban households, and one sewing machine for every two households, both urban and rural. 
  
 And that struck me as a very different way of looking at the production of goods. And that struck me as a very different way of looking at the production of goods.
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 This might be sounding a bit too state-run or top-down so lets look at other ways this sort of thing might be done. A more anarchist framework might involve open-source hardware designs, circulated freely and available to anyone who needs to make a thing. Picture something like thingiverse. This might be sounding a bit too state-run or top-down so lets look at other ways this sort of thing might be done. A more anarchist framework might involve open-source hardware designs, circulated freely and available to anyone who needs to make a thing. Picture something like thingiverse.
  
-If someone needs something they might go to their local fabrication workshop and ask them to make the thing (and work out whatever compensation fits your setting). The fab shop might pull down a design - perhaps this is just a highly-rated volunteer design, or, as in Ecotopia, it's been reviewed and approved by some form of government/panel of volunteers. They buy/scavenge the parts and materials and produce a one-off, or a short run of the product to meet local need, then move on to something else. This keeps the manufacturer’s incentives more or less in line with the societal good: their livelihood/existence isn’t dependent on people buying enough of the same thing every year, so they don’t need to convince people to throw out their old one and buy a new one (through advertising, planned obscelescense, or other sabotage). I think this can also be described as a move away from speculative production to a more on-demand system.+If someone needs something they might go to their local fabrication workshop and ask them to make the thing (and work out whatever compensation fits your setting). The fab shop might pull down a design - perhaps this is just a highly-rated volunteer design, or, as in Ecotopia, it's been reviewed and approved by some form of government/panel of volunteers. They buy/scavenge the parts and materials and produce a one-off, or a short run of the product to meet local need, then move on to something else. This keeps the manufacturer’s incentives more or less in line with the societal good: their livelihood/existence isn’t dependent on people buying enough of the same thing every year, so they don’t need to convince people to throw out their old one and buy a new one (through advertising, planned obsolescence, or other sabotage). I think this can also be described as a move away from speculative production to a more on-demand system.
  
 We’ll talk in the next sections about how these goods might be made fixable and durable, but if they become unwanted (maybe two people move in together, or someone dies) the item might be passed ad-hoc to someone who needs it, or it might be returned to the library economy – volunteers or employees would collect it, inspect it, clean it up or make repairs, and provide it to someone else. If it’s beyond repair for some reason, it would be stripped for usable parts and the remaining materials recycled. Ideally only a very small portion would end up needing forever-storage. This process could take place in a huge, futuristic facility, or tons of small workshops; it all depends on your setting. We’ll talk in the next sections about how these goods might be made fixable and durable, but if they become unwanted (maybe two people move in together, or someone dies) the item might be passed ad-hoc to someone who needs it, or it might be returned to the library economy – volunteers or employees would collect it, inspect it, clean it up or make repairs, and provide it to someone else. If it’s beyond repair for some reason, it would be stripped for usable parts and the remaining materials recycled. Ideally only a very small portion would end up needing forever-storage. This process could take place in a huge, futuristic facility, or tons of small workshops; it all depends on your setting.
  
-It’s important to note that there are some huge downsides to this kind of operation - a general fab shop will be far less efficient at producing any given thing than a dedicated facility. The dedicated equipment/layout, the pre-arranged supply lines for parts, the specialization and experience of the workers all play a huge role in producing a quality item as quickly and efficiently as possible. +It’s important to note that there are some huge downsides to this kind of operation - a general fab shop will be far less efficient at producing any given thing than a dedicated facility. The dedicated equipment/layout, the per-arranged supply lines for parts, the specialization and experience of the workers all play a huge role in producing a quality item as quickly and efficiently as possible. 
  
 With each new product, even a skilled fab shop crew will be relearning lessons other teams elsewhere already learned, and they'll burn a lot of time learning how to make each thing, and even just maneuvering it around their workshop.  With each new product, even a skilled fab shop crew will be relearning lessons other teams elsewhere already learned, and they'll burn a lot of time learning how to make each thing, and even just maneuvering it around their workshop.