Fundamental to the organisation and dynamic capabilities of this project's Knowledge Base is the ontology used to classify the entries in its various 'subsections', and to define their interrelationships. As we are not aware of any similar (or similarly comprehensive) attempt, we have named this ontology the the FTF Core Ontology, and the first version (which is still under active development, and will likely be subject to change), FTF Core 2023-11.
Its key elements are expanded upon in the following sections, but at the highest level, we have:
As mentioned above, needs are an extension of the 'essential services' defined in Gupta's "Six Ways to Die". As its name suggests, these are the things, capabilities and services required to survive and function, not just at the individual level, but at larger scales of community.
In this context, zone(s) refers to where these needs might be found, 'consumed' or applied, while infrastructural layer(s) refers to the infrastructural or organisational layer(s) at which they can be gathered, produced or built.
| Name | Description | Zone(s) | Infrastructural layer(s) | Importance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| water | Water which can be used for bathing washing and gardening-related purposes | -1 - External to our bodies, 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens | 0 - Individual, 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood | 4 - Essential |
| hydration | Water which is fit for human consumption, and can be used to maintain adequate levels of hydration | -2 - Internal to our bodies | 0 - Individual, 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood | 6 - Critical++ |
| nourishment | Edibles which, when taken in sufficient and balanced amounts, can meet the nutritional needs of an individual | -2 - Internal to our bodies | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town | 5 - Critical |
| clothing | Objects worn to cover the body and protect it from everyday environmental conditions | -1 - External to our bodies | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local) | 4 - Essential |
| structure | Structures which have been built or adapted to protect its contents from the elements or certain kinds of wildlife | 0 - Dwellings | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood | 3 - Important |
| structure:shelter | Structures which have been built or adapted, primarily, to serve as a living space for people | 0 - Dwellings | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town | 4 - Essential |
| structure:storage | Structures which have been built or adapted to meet specific storage requirements | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town | 3 - Important |
| heating | Protection from excessively cold conditions that might otherwise lead to illness, hypothermia or even death; secondarily, the means of generating, storing, converting and transmitting energy in the form of heat | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens | 0 - Individual, 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood | 4 - Essential |
| cooling | Protection from excessively high ambient temperatures that might otherwise lead to dehydration, hyperthermia or even death | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens | 0 - Individual, 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town | 3 - Important |
| health-care | Practices, measures and consumables which aim to minimise the risk of contracting a disease and maximise the likelihood of recovery | -1 - External to our bodies, -2 - Internal to our bodies | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town | 3 - Important |
| health-care:hygiene | Practices, measures and consumables aimed at minimising the risk of infection, disease and sepsis due to unhygienic or unsanitary conditions | -1 - External to our bodies, -2 - Internal to our bodies, 0 - Dwellings | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood | 3 - Important |
| health-care:medical | Practices, measures and consumables aimed at minimising the risk of, and treating injuries, infections and diseases | -1 - External to our bodies, -2 - Internal to our bodies | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local) | 5 - Critical |
| protection | Practices, measures and equipment which aim to minimise the risk of injury due to accidents or attack | -1 - External to our bodies, 0 - Dwellings | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local), 5 - Regional | |
| protection:personal | Practices, measures and equipment which aim to protect the body from injuries due to accidents or hazardous materials | -1 - External to our bodies | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town | |
| protection:defence | Practices, measures and equipment which aim to protect individuals or small groups of people injuries due to attacks or extreme weather events | -1 - External to our bodies, 0 - Dwellings | 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local) | 5 - Critical |
| satisfaction | Because this project isn't _just_ about surviving | -1 - External to our bodies, -2 - Internal to our bodies | 0 - Individual, 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood | 3 - Important |
| satisfaction:fun | -1 - External to our bodies, -2 - Internal to our bodies, 0 - Dwellings | 0 - Individual, 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood | 3 - Important | |
| satisfaction:social | -1 - External to our bodies, -2 - Internal to our bodies, 0 - Dwellings | 0 - Individual, 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood | 3 - Important | |
| satisfaction:learning | -1 - External to our bodies, -2 - Internal to our bodies, 0 - Dwellings | 0 - Individual, 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town | 2 - Desirable | |
| transportation | The means of moving supplies, equipment and/or people over longer distances than would otherwise be practical | 3 - Farming zone, 4 - Semi-managed, 5 - Unmanaged wilderness, 6 - Regional (local) | 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local), 5 - Regional | 3 - Important |
| communications | The means of conveying messages and information at high speed, over longer distances than would otherwise be possible | 4 - Semi-managed, 5 - Unmanaged wilderness, 6 - Regional (local) | 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local), 5 - Regional | 3 - Important |
| society:organising | Practices and equipment which enable or support collective organisation and coordination above the neighbourhood layer | 5 - Unmanaged wilderness, 6 - Regional (local), 7 - Regional | 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local), 5 - Regional | 2 - Desirable |
| society:trade | Typically an item or a specialised service that can be shared or traded. (This is not a hard-and-fast rule, but generally something is marked with society:trade if their corresponding Infrastructural layer is ≥4) | 3 - Farming zone, 4 - Semi-managed, 5 - Unmanaged wilderness, 6 - Regional (local) | 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local), 5 - Regional | 3 - Important |
| society:equality | Practices, measures and equipment which aims to address physical and/or structural inequalities (including, e.g., differences in bodily autonomy) | 5 - Unmanaged wilderness, 6 - Regional (local), 7 - Regional | 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local), 5 - Regional | 2 - Desirable |
| equipment | Equipment which can be used to build, adapt or maintain other objects | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens, 3 - Farming zone | 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local) | 3 - Important |
| equipment:sci-eng | Specialised equipment needed by scientific and/or engineering 'protocols', or for the development of new ones | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens, 6 - Regional (local), 7 - Regional | 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local), 5 - Regional | 2 - Desirable |
| sci-eng-capabilities | The means of producing supplies or equipment that require at least some scientific or engineering knowledge | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town | 3 - Important |
| sci-eng-capabilities:research-development | The means, both material and knowledge-wise, of developing new designs, or discovering or applying new scientific knowledge | 0 - Dwellings, 6 - Regional (local), 7 - Regional | 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town, 4 - Regional (local), 5 - Regional | 2 - Desirable |
| energy | The means of generating, storing, converting and transmitting energy. (Instead of energy:heat, use heating.) | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens, 3 - Farming zone, 4 - Semi-managed | 0 - Individual, 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town | 4 - Essential |
| energy:fuel | The means of generating, storing, converting and transmitting energy in a chemical form. (Aka energy:chemical.) | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens, 3 - Farming zone | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood, 3 - Town | |
| energy:light | The means of generating, storing, converting and transmitting energy in the form of light | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens | 0 - Individual, 1 - Household | 2 - Desirable |
| energy:electrical | The means of generating, storing, converting and transmitting energy in an electrical form | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens | 1 - Household, 2 - Neighbourhood | 3 - Important |
| energy:mechanical | The means of generating, storing, converting and transmitting energy in a mechanical form | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens, 3 - Farming zone | ||
| energy:pneumatic | The means of generating, storing, converting and transmitting energy in the form of compressed gases | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens | 2 - Desirable | |
| energy:hydraulic | The means of generating, storing, converting and transmitting energy by taking advantage of the properties of fluids | 0 - Dwellings, 1-2 - Extended gardens, 3 - Farming zone | 2 - Desirable |
The zones used here are an extension of the 'zones' from Permaculture, where Zone -2 and -1 refers to our bodies, and later zones extending out from our wider surroundings to what one might typically associate with 'states' within present-day countries.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| -2 - Internal to our bodies | Inside our body |
| -1 - External to our bodies | On, or covering our body |
| 0 - Dwellings | Where we seek shelter from the elements; our dwellings, etc. |
| 1-2 - Extended gardens | The land which we spend time in every day; our extended home |
| 3 - Farming zone | The land that we actively care for and maintain; the land that we probably know better than anyone else |
| 4 - Semi-managed | The area surrounding our Zone 3, that we still wander through semi-regularly, and which we're pretty familiar with |
| 5 - Unmanaged wilderness | The wider surroundings that we're somewhat familiar with, and which we might visit twice to six times a year |
| 6 - Regional (local) | A region that takes approx. 2 hours to cycle across |
| 7 - Regional | A region that takes approx. 1 day to cycle across or which can be connected by an approx. 25W HF radio |
As with the needs, these layers are also based on an aspect of Gupta's "Six Ways to Die", but have been adapted with a 'post-State' focus. Unlike zones, which can be thought of as concentric areas that are divided according to how long they take to traverse (and/or of regularly they are visited), infrastructural layers can be thought of as areas that are defined by how easy it is to organise, make collective decisions, and coordinate one's actions.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 - Individual | A single person |
| 1 - Household | A group of people who live in close proximity to each other and share the same basic 'household' amenities |
| 2 - Neighbourhood | A region that takes approx. 10 mins to walk across, and knows each other pretty well |
| 3 - Town | A region that takes approx. 1 hour to walk across |
| 4 - Regional (local) | A region that takes approx. 2 hours to cycle across |
| 5 - Regional | A region that takes approx. 1 day to cycle across or which can be connected by an approx. 25W HF radio |
| 6 - Regional (supra) | A region that takes approx. 3 days to cycle across or which can be connected by an approx. 100W HF radio |
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| 0 - Optional | An optional 'nice to have' |
| 1 - Convenient | Something which makes life more comfortable or convenient |
| 2 - Desirable | Helps maintain one's health or safety |
| 3 - Important | Important for the maintenance of one's health or safety; a corresponding lack can lead to otherwise avoidable infections or diseases and reductions in life expectancy |
| 4 - Essential | Critical for one's health, safety or survival; a corresponding lack for 2 consecutive weeks, during winter or summer, or during a once-in-every-10 year emergency can be expected to lead to serious illness or death |
| 5 - Critical | Critical for one's health, safety or survival; a corresponding lack for 2 consecutive days, during harsher weather, or during a once-in-every-3 year emergency can be expected to lead to serious illness or death |
| 6 - Critical++ | Critical for one's health, safety or survival; a corresponding lack for 0.5 days, or during a twice-a-year event can be expected to lead to serious illness or death |