Odyssey
Prison Renaissance
Vince Farland is paying the price for a crime, but a crime he didn't pay for may have opened a new frontier in green energy. Looking for a way to grow weed without alterting authorities looking for excess power consumption, Farland created a green energy source for which companies in Germany are now vying.
According to Farland, several German companies have offered him a percentage on retail sales in exchange for his technologies and the right to his future ideas. 'Essentially, it's like an off-center arm that has a weight on one end that's also a magnet and a weight on the other side," he says. "As the weight falls and the arm comes around, the electromagnetic force gives the arm just enough kick to make the arm revolve. the arm connects to a generation system that produces energy from each revolution."
When the 32-year-old sits on a yellow, concrete divider that commands a full view of the busy prison yard, he avoids the seagull droppings that spatter the OUT OF BOUNDS sign stenciled in red. He's serving a prison term in the prime of his life. He cradles a bag of lunch in one muscular arm, and drags a hairnet from his hive of dreadlocks. He's just finished working his morning job in the kitchen. The hairnet hangs from his fingers while he talks, voice deep and measured like a Morgan Freeman monologue.
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