Vision

The Pyre project is a collaborative effort to build a comprehensive set of DIY tools and resources to create and maintain socially equitable, ecologically sustainable and economically robust human societies. In order to achieve this, we are engaging as many interested parties as possible to collaborate on the creation, collection and curation of an extensive compendium of blueprints for building sustainable communities.

Our intent is to distribute these blueprints on a set of individually encrypted USB keys supporting the Live Linux Debian operating system that each user can customize to suit their individual needs and purposes. These keys would also provide the software platform for private and secure intra-community communication and organization, as well as inter-community peer-to-peer networking and collaboration.

In addition to the collection and re-distribution of blueprints created and prototyped by other groups, we will prototype and develop a model for industrial space reclamation to decrease homelessness and fossil fuel dependency and increase food security, individual empowerment and community formation. We will document the process through a conglomeration of individual blogs, pictures, videos, interviews, semi-fictional short stories, cartoons, and even animated story lines; we encourage anyone who wishes to learn more and follow our progress to return regularly, and to explore the rest of this site in detail.

The overarching aim of the Pyre project is to contribute to the rise of a resilient global framework for economic alternatives to consumer capitalism through direct participatory action. The Pyre logo is a representation of the mythological Phoenix arising from the flames of the funeral pyre: a potent symbol of reincarnation, evocative of both death and rebirth, thus inspiring participants to reinvent themselves as empowered agents in both local and global contexts.

Our long-term strategy for engaging others in the project focuses on integrating semi-fictional online character narratives with real-world objects and practices to inspire and facilitate personal and collective transformation; our current efforts are directed towards building the digital infrastructure for the project, as well as preparations for a 6-9 month multidisciplinary field study and work exchange program, in the course of which we hope to initiate direct collaboration with primary partners, establish a network including all involved parties, and expand the skill sets and competencies of the core group.