About Near Horizon
Near Horizon is a physical design and prototyping facility in Lancaster, PA filled with the people, tools, and resources to build a resilient future -- focused on community-scale challenges.
People design and prototype solutions, fabricate projects, and test business models in the physical space and in the real world. It attracts curious innovators and organizational collaborators who question existing paradigms and develop novel solutions.
Why We Started
In the 1960s, Buckminster Fuller described humanity's task of piloting “Spaceship Earth” -- making the world work for everyone without ecological offense or disadvantage to anyone. We have never been better equipped with the knowledge, technologies, and resources to achieve that goal. Yet technology often isn't serving communities. Instead, innovation accelerates inequality and tears at the community fabric.
In December 2025, Eric Sauder and Caleb Bornman founded what was originally called the Local Resilience Lab -- a direct response to that gap between what's possible and what's actually reaching the people who need it.
The name Near Horizon is a call for optimism when the view ahead is haze. A focus on the local, practical, achievable -- solutions communities can take up now. And yet, horizons reach far into the distance.
Resilience Pillars
Energy Independence
Energy needs are met with locally produced, renewable energy
Food Security
Everyone has access to healthy, local, regeneratively grown food
Carbon Neutrality
Achieve net-zero emissions by cutting pollution and restoring natural systems
Ecological Regeneration
Ecosystems are prepared for tomorrow's climate
Thriving Communities
All communities are empowered and included in shaping a just future
Values
Affordability
Solutions must be within reach of the people that need them most
Openness / DIY
Create replicable solutions and the services to help people implement
Scalability
Ideal problems are faced by many communities, not a single entity
Decentralization
Solutions oppose further concentration of power and wealth
Abundance over scarcity
Design to create a world where there is enough for all
Solarpunk over degrowth
Imagine a future where high tech and high ecological awareness coexist