The future is weird.
We should practice.
This is the Department of Emergent Civilization AKA DEC. Come imagine, build and test a solar punk future.
DEC is a field laboratory for improvised civilization
The Salton Sea region is a difficult place to live. With no direct hook up to water, power, or waste disposal services, the Mars College Campus is an experiment in off-grid living. As the workshop and R&D arm of the Mars Campus, the Department of Emergent Civilization sees this environment as a unique opportunity and design challenge to see how we can affordably meet as many of our living needs as possible, reduce our waste streams and have fun doing it.
Though ultimately the stakes on Mars are low, we think the importance of developing these systems is high. Whether for environmental or human-made disasters, occupy movements, or just reducing our collective costs and material dependencies, we think there is something to be learned by figuring out how to live where there are no systems to support us.
A collaborative research and fabrication residency.
Every resident arrives with an ambitious project of their own—a machine to prototype, a material to investigate, a sculpture to fabricate, a system to test, or an idea to bring into the physical world. Most days are spent immersed in that work, supported by a workshop full of tools and a community of people eager to help solve difficult problems.
But DEC has a second project: DEC itself.
The workshop, the kitchen, the shared spaces, and the camp's infrastructure are all collectively built, maintained, and improved by the people who use them. Residents help set up the spaces we inhabit, keep the shop running safely, share responsibility for communal systems, and leave the camp better than we found it.
Come with a project. Come prepared.
The Department of Emergent Civilization is a project-based residency. Every participant is selected based on a proposed project or area of investigation that they intend to pursue during the program.
We welcome projects at many stages of development—from well-defined prototypes to focused research questions—but the strongest applications arrive with a clear plan and realistic goals. The more groundwork that can be completed before arriving, the more time you'll have to build, test, iterate, and collaborate once you're here.
Mars is an excellent place to stress-test ideas under real-world conditions. It is less well suited to discovering halfway through a build that you're missing a specialized fitting from the hardware store. Projects that are thoughtfully prepared, largely self-contained, or designed to work within the constraints of a remote environment are far more likely to succeed.
Finally, DEC follows a Leave No Trace philosophy. The camp itself is temporary, and we strive to leave the landscape as we found it. Projects should be designed accordingly. Permanent construction, lasting alterations to the site, or work that cannot be cleanly removed at the end of the residency will generally not be accepted.
The documentation is part of the project.
DEC embraces the principles of open-source design and shared knowledge. Whether you're building a machine, developing a water system, creating a sculpture, or staging a performance, your project should leave behind documentation that allows others to understand, adapt, and build upon your work.
We value well-documented failures and unfinished projects just as much as polished successes. Mistakes are useful!
Depending on the project, this might include photographs, process notes, bills of materials, CAD files, schematics, source code, fabrication drawings, costs, journals, or step-by-step instructions. Not every project need all of these, but every project should leave behind a clear path for someone else to continue the work.
Ideas that get us excited
Some are practical. Some are speculative. Some are works of engineering, some of art, and many live somewhere in between.
- ◆Building and Maintaining a Solar Microgrid
- ◆Rain Water Collection
- ◆Rainwater and Solar Powered Showers
- ◆IBC Waste Water Biofiltration
- ◆Large-Scale Earthen 3D Printing
- ◆Ceramics / Rocket Kilns
- ◆Waste Biomass Gasification
- ◆Wind Turbines
- ◆Concentrating Solar Power
- ◆Hydroponic Food Production
- ◆Immersive Art
- ◆Mars Rovers
- ◆Geopolymers
- ◆Solar Powered Kitchens
- ◆Performance Art
- ◆Decentralized Internet and Communications Systems
- ◆Masks
- ◆Robotics
- ◆Deployable Structures
- ◆Experimental Textiles
- ◆Biome Automation
- ◆Site-specific Installation
- ◆Metal Casting with Aluminum Cans
- ◆YOUR PROJECT…
The Workshop
The Department of Emergent Civilization is centered around a shared fabrication workshop equipped with power, tools, and common work areas designed to support a wide range of projects. Every resident receives a dedicated personal workspace while enjoying full access to the shared shop and its equipment.
The workshop itself is an evolving prototype. Each year we refine, expand, and improve the infrastructure that supports the camp. Last season we built a dedicated solar-powered tool trailer and significantly expanded our mobile workshop, giving us a stronger foundation than ever before. This year's residents will inherit that work—and help shape what comes next.
Our structures are modular, portable, and designed to be assembled, disassembled, and transported each season. We aim to create comfortable, functional spaces while remaining temporary and adaptable. Tool Camp is not a pristine laboratory; it is a field workshop. Expect dust, wind, sun, rain, and the occasional improvisation. Working within those constraints is part of the experience, and part of the design challenge.
Life on Mars
DEC strives to support a range of living styles. Some residents arrive in fully equipped vans or campers and want to cook and handle food independently. Others choose to participate in a communal meal plan. Rather than expecting everyone to participate in the same way, we offer flexible options that allow residents to decide what works best for them.
Shared Groceries
Residents may choose to buy into a communal grocery fund. Participants in the grocery fund share the cost of staple ingredients and common foods, reducing both expense and the need for everyone to shop individually. Those who prefer to purchase and prepare all of their own food are equally welcome.
Communal Kitchen & Meal Rotation
Participation in the communal kitchen is also optional. Residents who opt in share responsibility for preparing meals for the group on a rotating schedule. Those who choose not to participate are, of course, still welcome to spend time in the communal spaces to hang out and escape the elements.
Housing
Participants are strongly encouraged to bring their own mobile housing whenever possible, whether that's a vehicle, camper, van, or RV (tents are discouraged, but not unprecedented). If bringing your own housing isn't possible, it isn't necessarily a barrier to participation. In some cases, housing may be available through the broader Mars College community, often in exchange for helping the Department of Public Works (DPW) with setup or teardown, or through another mutually agreed arrangement. We'll work with applicants individually to find solutions whenever possible.
This golf cart is run on biogas made from cooking poop into charcoal.
From build to departure.
Mars is full of offerings, happening on any given day across all the camps. This is our camps schedule.
- DEC 28
Build team arrives
- JAN 4
The rest of camp arrives
- JAN 5
Build week
- JAN 10
Ideas week
- JAN 18
The semester begins
- FEB 12
Midterms weekend
- MAR 8
Final projects begin
- MAR 26 – 28
Mars Electronica
- MAR 30
Unbuild
- APR 4
Departure
Run by its participants.
The Department of Emergent Civilization is run by its participants. Nobody is an employee, and nobody is making a profit. Every dollar contributed goes directly toward the shared costs of running the camp: food, water, internet, power, porta-potties, workshop infrastructure, and the countless practical needs that make three months of building together possible.
May be reduced or waived for residents working with the Department of Public Works.
Depending on whether you opt into the communal grocery fund and kitchen.
Limited micro-grants may be available for projects that align with DEC's mission or contribute to shared infrastructure.
Snapshots from past years.
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