Our Philosophy, Mission, and Direction

Allard Research and Development is focused on the production of products which promote green alternatives, self-sufficiency, and sustainable systems. Our forte is the ability to turn ideas into workable products, not only in a short period of time, but cost effectively.

One of our goals is to promote an 'open source' approach to our products, which means that we intend on making an open system approach available to everyone. We don't believe in building an inventory of Intellectual Property and then leveraging patent protection against others, nor do we want to evolve into a company who spends more on legal fees protecting their 'proprietary' works ahead of actually investing to producing products that reach the market and solve problems today.

Our EB120 Advanced Ethanol Boiler is a good case in point. We have lots of existing ideas to make that product even more efficient, especially in the larger context of a complete system, but at the same time we struggle to find the right balance between being 'perfect' and 'practical.' Each new idea or 'tweak' requires more time to design, test, and productize. Rather than get stuck in the theoretical, academics of 'perfect', or as we call it 'analysis paralysis,' we take the approach of solving the immediate low-hanging problems now, bring well designed good working products to market early, and add features and design ideas as we go. Put another way, great ideas aren't worth much if they never become a reality.

This approach is analogous to what we've all seen in the personal computer industry over the last 20 years. A PC that you purchased 10 years ago has significantly less features than those you can buy today. But if that industry had waited to build anything until it had the 'perfect' computer, we would still be waiting, and you would be reading this in a book rather than on the Internet. Start with something that works, make it a reality, and improve it over time.

Many business leaders, especially those who made their rise to fame during the Dot Com and Housing Bubbles, would argue that taking an open approach to design, collaborating with the community-at-large for improving product ideas, and relying on working products (not vaporware) is not a proven, sound business practice.

The fact is that every company needs to make a profit in order to stay in business. But with that covered, there are often more important factors to consider. If we can make a living doing things that are interesting, and can have the satisfaction that we are helping people, and are promoting a greener direction, then we will have achieved our goals. And frankly, right now we all face some very tough times because of the direct effects of what was thought to be 'sound business practices' by others in the recent past. We think it is time for new strategies and new directions.

Our philosophy and approach is also centered on self-sufficiency. America was founded on the principles of self-sufficiency, and the construct of the social and physical enviroment, along with the constitutional laws, made it possible for most people to arrive as immigrants and to become successful, either through forming their own small businesses, farming, or other activities. All one needed was the desire. Over the ensuing years and generations, however, the landscape has changed, and it seems that a great number of people either do not have the desire for self-sufficiency, or simply do not know where or how to start.

We promote open communities and forums which help foster ideas, share best practices, and promote working together towards common goals...

What are the possibilities?

It is entirely possible to make your own fuel and grow your own food. Even those who live in traditional suburban neighborhoods can do these things quite easily. And reducing, if not eliminating, your dependency on oil, while developing the ability to grow your own food is a step in the right direction. And now is the perfect time to get started. There has never been a better time to take advantage of these new directions. We are all lucky to be living during a period of history when technology is cheap, information is readily available, connections between people are easy to make, and practical experience is not difficult to obtain.

Our company has been actively working on scaled-down 'closed-loop' systems to grow food and produce fuel. Under the right conditions, and using the right systems, our research facility output and other corroborating information we have found indicates that it is entirely possible to sustain food production on a scale of roughly 300 square foot per person. This means that, done the right way, for every 300 square feet you devote, you can feed one person for a year. So a family of four would need about 1200 square feet, or roughly an area 30' x 40' (think every backyard in America).

How? Build a greenhouse over in-ground fish tanks (with a deck built over the top of them) and grow Tilapia or Catfish. Grow most of your vegetables hydroponically using the fish waste water as the nutrient source, and utilize above-ground trough gardening techniques for tubors, carrots, and other non-hydroponic friendly plants. Also inside the greenhouse, run your ethanol distillation system, through which the fermentation process releases tremendous amounts of CO2 (this makes the plant growth dramatically increase, and helps to reduce pest problems). Finally, design the layout to be multi-tiered (i.e. vertically grow more than one layer of plants in the building), and power the necessary pumps with solar power. Use a wood stove to heat it in the winter, and use solar-powered fans to circulate the air. Also, one final design note... put one or more tanks in the ground to act as a cistern to catch and hold rain water.

Why put the fish tanks in the ground? To regulate the temperature, reduce the energy needed to keep them warm in the winter, and get double-use out of the floorspace of the building. Use an inexpensive and economical fluorescent light under the deck to provide light for the fish. (Note: the fish tanks are closed top, translucent plastic tanks with 16" screw lids. This lets light in, keeps debris out, minimizes evaporation, and is aerated with an external air pump/diffuser. Our research facility has two in-ground tanks; one 1,100 gallon black tank to act as a cistern (to store the rainwater runoff from the roof), and a 1,500 gallon white (translucent) tank for the fish.

We are working on a book that covers how to do all of this in detail, along with detailed information on ethanol systems in general.