Buildings details

These implementations are not set in stone (or earthbags ;-), but if you have suggestions about how to modify them, please remember the goals of low cost materials and labor. We (and you if you are interested in our ideas) want to spend a large portion of our time expressing ourselves creatively, and for some of us that means other things besides building-related activities. However, if after we are finished with the plan laid out below, you find that your creative expression IS related to building, we would encourage you to do it on your own or with a subgroup who share your passion for building. 

There will be:

• a 25 unit, off-the-grid, plumbing-free , double-occupancy, sound-insulated  residential building with solar panels and associated infrastructure, constructed out of concrete or earth bags. You can read about two possible layouts of this building here. When the membership rises close to 50, we will build another 25-unit building for future members, and similarly the next 50 members will build a new building for the following members until we reach approximately 200 members with 4 residential buildings. Building materials will be provided by the community (estimated cost calculations link).
• an off-the-grid gravity and pump-fed (link), passive solar-heated (link) bath house with 20 shower stalls and sinks (with room for more if needed in the future),  with a wood-fired hot-tub for times when there is no hot water from the sun, or for special occasions.
• a rain-water collector, above the bathouse (link).
• a chicken coop (link),
• a tool shed
• a library (link),
• a school (link),
• a state-of the art “industrial”-scale kitchen (link) with modern plumbing, modern cooking equipment, and a connected dining hall . The kitchen and dining hall will be the only building which is on-grid, but the goal is to eventually (three years) convert to locally produced energy sources and get even this building off the grid. The kitchen will initially possess an electric hot water heater, and be the only building besides the shower building to possess plumbing. Water in the kitchen will come from a local well and be pumped by an electrical pump (how much energy will this use link).

More buildings can be added in the future, such as space for a wood shop or machine shop, office/computer building, and other buildings to serve craft and industry needs. These may be built by the whole community, or by subgroups within the community.