The Vision for Housing for the ECOV Madhuban Project
The Basics:
The goal of the proposal is to outline some of the basics for developing five (5) building units at the ECOV site that would attract a young small family plus single females and males. A secondary goal is to use the construction of the first 200 square foot building to provide training on alternative building techniques for devotees and interested community members.
(1) Starter house – possibly 200 square feet
(2) Single family homes – around 1,000 square feet each
(1) Small building for female residents – square feet to be decided
(1) Small building for male residents – square feet to be decided
People applying to live in the different residences would need to provide the following:
-A proven willingness in being involved with food production and horticulture
-A commitment to the fruit bearing portions of the property to develop a market for this highly valued food
-A commitment to creating and maintaining a community garden
-The common goal for the community – to produce more then they consume
-Utilize composting as a way to re-generate soil for planting seedlings
-Recycle, reuse, re-purpose whenever possible
THE HOUSING PLAN:
The buildings would be attached to a common Photo Voltaic system that would provide electricity. Each house would have a 5,000 gallon cistern made of rammed-earth tires that would collect water from the roof of the building. There would be an in-house grey water system that incorporates a green house and an outdoor black water treatment system.
The houses would each be built out of re-used materials (80%) and could include rammed-earth tires, straw bales, cord wood, and bottle walls. Their design will incorporate the concepts of passive solar and thermal mass, utilizing the hillside as part of the building’s thermal mass whenever possible. There would be a small green house built into the south side of the building.
Another possibility would be to create a heat sink under the green house to assist in providing heating to the building. There are a variety of ways this could be done including incorporating solar thermal panels to heat the sand.
There was also some discussion about a community building that would sit down the hill from the housing and this could be used for socializing and other meetings. It could also house a laundry area and a small kitchen to be used for canning and preparing foods for meetings.
THE PROCESS:
1. Research government regulations – wetland, composting toilets
2. Build the road to the house sites and create lanes to each house site.
3. Utilize the services of an architect to create drawings to be used in construction and raising money for the project.
4. Utilize the services of a renewable energy designer/installer to create efficient systems for the units.
5. Create an overall picture of the entire project and outline a time line for completion.
6. Set a time line for teaching a workshop through Blue Rock Station that will kick start the construction of the first small building to begin in April, 2013.
7. Decide on who will supervise the overall project to completion.
8. Set dates for an additional workshop through Blue Rock Station that will teach earth plastering and other finish details for the building.
9. Obtain contracts with the companies providing products and/or services.
10. Create news releases and information for the community website to promote interest in the project and possibilities for donor contributions.
11. Create a time line for all phases of construction.
12. Hold a celebration to show the new building and increase interest in the next phase of construction.
