Oso Martin has come to Vancouver. The founder of the Portland-based nonprofit Free Geek is now executive director of Computer Reuse and Marketing, which refurbishes, re-sells and recycles electronics. It will hold a grand opening in May.
The VBJ spoke with Martin about CREAM and its relationship to business.
VBJ: How long have you been involved with CREAM?
Oso Martin: "I started as executive director in early February, but the relationship goes back further than that, to the beginning of CREAM (under Clark County) in 2000 or 2001. At the same time Free Geek was (developing) in Portland, (Clark County) was coming to the same basic conclusions here in Vancouver. … We had established ourselves at Free Geek and (Clark County) came to us for tech help. Then Clark County contacted me to help consult to set up a nonprofit (CREAM) in 2008."
How does CREAM differ from Free Geek?
"I'm very excited about what can happen with CREAM because it's a whole different flavor than Free Geek. Free Geek is very bottom-up, grassroots. The city of Portland was very late in coming in with direct assistance. The city of Vancouver has a much more progressive, aggressive attitude to this stuff. Vancouver saw the problem (of electronics waste) and took it on. Portland saw the problem and said, ‘Oh good, Free Geek's taking it on.' "
What is CREAM's relationship to the business community?
"What we're really looking for is for people to donate their working computers and consumer electronics. Of the very best computers that come in, a certain number go to Clark College students who do their training (on them). … The finished product is distributed through Salvation Army to families in need."
What equipment can business owners find at the CREAM thrift store?
"We can clean data off hardware for businesses with our comprehensive data security system. … We have servers for sale and other high-capacity equipment, such as data storage equipment, server racks, computers and basic accessories. … A basically equipped Pentium computer would go for $100. We're not even open yet and we've already generated a bit of income with people who wander in. It's nice to do this with all the lessons learned laid out in my mind. It's great that we have the stability to concentrate on the areas we want to."
What's the story with your Portland-based company Bear eCycling?
"I decided to explore some other avenues in the e-waste field, taking me away from Free Geek in 2006. This was in anticipation of the state e-waste programs coming, and at the time there was really good money in metal recovery. I was exploring a business model that would handle all e-waste, not just computers – toasters, blenders, light bulbs. It was doing OK until October. Then metal became worthless and the whole business model didn't work anymore. There was nowhere to go with the business model, so I just folded up business and got out while I could without going bankrupt. It was pretty much done by mid-January this year."
What did that experience tell you about business?
"That running sustainably was not an economic impact in any measurable form. It might have cost me a little more for my (green) electricity and fuel, but that wasn't my economic problem. We tried to have as sustainable a business as possible from the very beginning. We started recycling everything from day one, using 100 percent recycled paper and composting in the kitchen. In my heart I knew it wasn't going to be a problem. You just have to budget for these things."
What concepts can businesses glean from nonprofits such as CREAM or Free Geek?
"I think Google is a really good example of the basic philosophy, which is to give stuff away and charge for the stuff that really takes effort on your part. If you have something where you've already realized the costs, stop trying to sell it to people and give it away. … What we get out of it far exceeds what we would have made had we been charging people money for their computers.
"Free Geek used to have a database that worked for our needs but had issues. A massive redesign was thought through. We found a couple of volunteers to help us and we gave away free classes in database design and programming. The classes were packed. That thinned out over time and we got into a core group of people and broke the class into project assignments. It took forever – we called it the glacial development process. But we ended up with a really nice implementation of the database completely customized to our needs, very secure with thousands of hours of work put into it and it cost nothing other than time. It was worth it to educate a bunch of people to help us and they can put that on their resume now.
"Be generous and it will come back, especially if you're not expecting it or waiting for it, because that will just frustrate you. There is a cause and effect – it's just not immediate."
Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.
