extremegreenvillage.com

The Small Demo Project will require 8 to 20 acres of land. The full scale Extreme Green Village, 100+ acres.

The idea is to get support for the Large Scale Project. If the money for the full scale Extreme green Cooperative Housing Idea Project comes in a week after I have started the Small Demonstration Project, it won’t be a waste because I will still need a center of operations.

If the money for the full scale Project comes in right away, I will still need to build a Small Demonstration Project.

First of all, the purpose of the Small Demo Project will be to test out the concepts and the building techniques.

To experiment and to be efficient of course but also to see how we can make the work and the work shifts enjoyable, educational and satisfying. We want the Coop Members to invite all their friends to help them. We want to make work fun. 

Making each shift more like kids playing a sport than real work. I can’t emphasize that enough for a Project like this. I have plans for doing that.

Secondly, the process to get permits for the full scale Project may take a full year longer than the Small Demo Project. 

And lastly, what housing project doesn’t have a Model Show House?

Even though a percentage of the people reading this information and looking at the pictures can see the value of the Project, another percentage need to walk through a Demonstration Project or a Model Show House. That can be the deciding factor for most people who will commit to be a Cooperative Member. It will also be a promotional vehicle for the next 4 (at least) Extreme Green Cooperative Housing Idea Projects I plan to build around Austin. 

What the Small Demo Project will look like. 

The Small Demonstration Project will show a meandering street with three or more Coop Member’s Housing style units next to each other. On the other side of the pedestrian walkway there will be either a number of false fronts to give the idea of what the neighborhood would look like. Or depending on the money available there might be a number of meeting rooms or offices. Behind each Coop Members Townhouse there will be a high walled back yard. And behind that a row of garages which will also represent the storage units that will be on the property. Behind that will be all the parking. (See attached picture.) There will be a smaller version of the clock tower. 

THE TOUR – Walking on the Roof.

We will gather everyone in one of the garages/storage unit. In there, there will be a 1/5 scale version of one of the Coop Members Housing unit. The version would be approximately a 3 foot high flat roof with a 1½ foot privacy wall around the roof. The roof would have a green grass rug to represent that grass or gardens or greenhouses that could be on the roof. It would be 4 feet wide and 8 foot deep.

We will do our talk referring to the 1/5 scale version of a Compressed Earth Block roof and inviting people to walk on it. And then tell them it’s just compressed earth!

We would have a demonstration of making a compressed earth block. And we would use a little hand version Compressed Earth Block machine. We could give the little ones away as souvenirs or a full size version.

The idea would be that we could also make money selling the Compressed Earth Blocks!!!

 

The Project wide trench/tunnel water collection system.  (There may be better ways to do this, but no way that would be as fun.

We would go into one of the Coop Member’s Housing unit’s bathroom, explain urine divergent toilets and the reason for them and then lift up a trap door that would have steps down into the Project wide water collection trench/tunnels.

The interior dimensions of the Project wide water collection trench/tunnels would be approximately, 4 feet wide by 8 feet tall. The water collection trench/tunnels would gradually slope down. The person giving the tour would pour some water on the floor and it would go in the direction they would walk.

On one wall we will attach pipes and label them. Gray water, urine from the urine divergent toilets. Pure water going the other way. Wiring for phone, computer, electricity, security etc. 

We walk to the other end of the trench/tunnel where there would be an opening to the water collection area. The tour would talk about the 100% water recycling and about getting water from rain rather than from the rapidly depleting water table. About not taking water from farms. About the leading need of electricity in the city of Austin isn’t for lighting or heating and cooling, it’s for pumping water and sewage around the city. About this project demonstrating a new way of decentralizing water purification, saving massive amounts of energy.

 

The need for Privacy.

Talk about the Cooperative nature of Green. Talk about the density of population. But also talk about the need for Privacy. Quiet. Safety. Security.

Demonstrate the sound dampening system. In the middle of the pedestrian walkway turn on music to 60 decibels, walk into one of the Coop Members housing units and close the door. Talk about the 28 inch thick walls. Open a window, close the shutters. If you hear anything turn on the white sound generators that surround the house. Go outside. Turn the sound up to 120 decibels, go back inside and no one will be able to hear it inside the home only 25 feet away.

Noisy neighbors, a screaming happy child, a loud party next door. No problem.

 

The Slide Show.

Take everyone to a living room of one of the Coop Members and show them the same slide show that they would see from the website. Give refreshments and answer questions. 

 

Off the Grid.

Depending on how much money I can get for the demonstration project, it could be off the grid. In that case we could have 12/24 volt appliances and we could explain the terrible (28%) waste transforming electricity from generated DC current to AC current. The higher efficiency of DC appliances versus AC appliances, etc.

I think the tour would be fun and educational. I could see tours for schools besides interested adults. A place for other local meetings and especially promoting other Green efforts. A center for operations. A store for recommended energy saving devices, anything else we can think of selling and books on Green.

What this country and the world needs is a large scale, low cost Housing Demonstration Project that takes Green to the extreme. An example that can be replicated not only in America but world wide. Something that can be done now.

The question I have is, ‘Do you know someone who can share this Green dream with help or action or money?’

 Sincerely,

Robert Henry