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SILC will be a model community in British Columbia that’s 100% energy independent. It’s not only going to use zero fossil fuel and have zero greenhouse gas emissions - it’s actually going to absorb CO2, and provide organic food for the community at large as well.
The idea is to build a working vision of what the future of community could be, if we do things right. Solar and hydro-powered, SICL will feature a biodynamic garden and greenhouse, aquaculture pond, house 60 to 150 people, and last for centuries - all the while removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
SICL's residents will live in a half dozen superinsulated concrete domes (www.monolithic.com) which will surround the Community Center, a two-story, 90' diameter Dome. The Center will house:
Kitchen and Dining facilities Library/Computer room
Waldorf School and Daycare Resource Management/Finance Office
Wellness Center: Osteopath/Reiki/Herbalist Laundry
Janitorial/HVAC/Maintenance/Mechanical Shop Recording Studio
Painting/Sculpture/Art/Dance studios Exercise/Martial arts studio
Root Cellar/Food Storage/Emergency Shelter Meditation Hall
Performance Hall for Music, Dance, Theatre, Cinema, Lectures, and Conferences
Central Arboretum and Great Room
SICL will be an international open-door learning community. People from all walks of life will be encouraged to visit and experience what sustainable interdependent community living is all about.
A few ideas in chrysalis:
If we're going to do anything about that endless flow of carbon that's breaking our planet, we're also going to have to do something about our broken communities. Our network of social connections has shrunk as we’ve moved ever farther out into the suburbs, allowing sub groups to pursue agendas without regard for their effects on the whole. But this wrongly assumes that the health of the whole is a matter of indifference to the group. The result has been that most people have far fewer friends nearby; we eat fewer meals with family, friends and neighbors. Our level of personal satisfaction had decreased as our standard of living has increased. We need to restructure our communities so that we actually need our neighbors again. For 99% of our time here on earth (that is, until the dawn of agriculture, about 10,000 years ago), humans lived in bands of 30 to 60 people – extended family units that functioned not unlike cells within the body of the larger tribe. So it may literally be encoded into our DNA to function at our best within such an interdependent, extended family group.
SILC will be built in "fractal" installations - one unit of 60 people(expandable to about 120-150) at a time. Greenspace in between units. Six of these units will constitute a Pod of 360-770 people. Pods will be separated by larger greenspace/energy forest areas. Six pods will constitute a Radiant Zone of about 2100-4200 people. Just small enough that no single "gamer" could persue a selfish subagenda without the community knowing about it and reining him in. Small enough that the carrying capacity of the land is still honored. Large enough to support a diverse and flourishing culture of music, art, and spirituality .
Sufficiency, simplicity, and a sense that the treasures of the earth are the property of all people must become the keynotes of the New Earth.
All of the major infrastructure will be shared, alleviating the need for individual families to own their own tools, washers, etc. All of the necessities for a small community will be equally available to all residents.
Community encourages mutual reliance, rather than self reliance, and so there is an inherent solidarity between residents that is not found in mainstream communities. Think beehive!
There will be no need for commuting because all of the resident's livelihoods will be met by working in the community.
Too many intentional communities that have started with high aspirations and the best intentions by all involved have fallen apart as different members' hidden assumptions came to light later, and turned out to be in conflict. The way to avoid this issue is to make sure everybody is “on the same page” before ground is broken. Rules for decision-making and conflict resolution will be agreed upon . There will be a vision statement, a mission and purpose statement signed by all members. This way, if conflicting interpretations of SILC's purpose arise later, the contracts are reviewed and everyone can reconnect with their original motivations.
VIDEO: We can learn much from the Earthship builders!
F.A.Q.
1.What foods will be cultivated?
Eggs from the henhouse. Trout from the aquaculture pond. Honey from the apiary. And using permaculture methodology, within a few years hundreds of edible perrenials will integrate seamlessly into the land as a vigorous, thriving ecosystem that benefits both people and wildlife.
As for annuals - peas, beans, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, blueberries, kiwi, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, fresh and frozen. Potatoes, onions, garlic, chinese cabbage, beets, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, leeks, parsnips, salsify, rutabagas, radishes, turnips, cabbage, brussels sprouts, celeriac, apples, escarole, turnips, and Jerusalem artichokes can all be root cellared - or eaten fresh of course.
Culinary herbs such as rosemary, basil, thyme, tarragon, oregano, parsley and cardamon, are high in antioxidants, and delicious. Lentils grow well in Montana and southern BC. Also sunflower (seeds), pumpkin, tomatoes, sauerkraut, pickled beets, pickled cucumbers, pickled beans, assorted other pickles, relishes,and eggplant for canning and pickling. We'll also can jellies, jams, and honey.The feasibility of various grains will be explored, too. Rose Hips for vitamin C. Perishable crops such as lettuce, spinach, and rhubarb will be grown outside in summer, and in greenhouse year-round.
2. What about pest control?
Praying Mantis, Ladybugs, toads, certain flatworms, and other insect predators will be introduced for pest control. Once plants are well established, ducks and chickens also be utilized for this purpose throughout much of the garden, within a moveable pen, both to eat bugs and to fertilize. In summertime, using our proprietary technique, hundreds of pounds of grasshoppers can be caught en masse, to be dried and fed to fish and poultry year-round.
3. How will SILC interact economically with the rest of the world? In other words, will some residents have to work elsewhere?
They won't have to but are free to do so if they so choose, provided they spend a predetermined amount of time - perhaps 15-30 hours/week -working within the community.
4. Where will income come from for trade?
One source of income will be the educational center, which will provide seminars on organic gardening/permaculture, domebuilding, alternative energy, music, sculpture, and dance. Also from the Wellness Center's Osteopath, Herbalist, Reiki, massage, nutritional counseling, and prenatal education. Income will also come space rental and Visitor Days, where guests will spend 2 days and 1 night living among us. Also, we’ll start a construction company that both consults and builds super efficient dome homes (and even small communities) with garden, rootcellar, and turn-key energy systems. Other sources of income include selling organic produce, internet businesses, concerts, summer camp, sale of music CDs, stained glass, paintings, clothing, and other art and crafts. At first, some residents may decide to maintain jobs outside the community. Within a few years, we envision that most of the resident's livelihoods will be met by working within the cooperative.
5. Will SILC be entirely self-sufficient in terms of food?
Yes, with organic produce to sell to the neighboring community as well.
6. What will SILC do for food in the winter?
Root cellar! Many vegetables have several months' root cellar life when temperature and humudity conditions are correct. It's also possible to leave many root crops (which pull nutrients into roots for winter, making them sweeter and more nutritious) right in the ground. Protected under a foot of straw mulch covered by a tarp, ambient ground warmth keeps them from freezing. They are easily pulled right out of the ground all winter long, as needed.
Other food can be canned, jarred, and frozen. Fish, harvested from the aquaculture pond in summer, can be frozen, canned, and jerked. The high thermal mass, passive solar greenhouse will produce all winter. There's also the option of trade with other local food producers. Chicken and duck eggs all year.
7. Why SILC? (or, what’s in a name?)
Like fine silk, SILC will be elegant, interwoven, smooth, flexible, strong and protective, bright and beautiful. A cocoon enspheres and protects the pupa during its alchemical transformation from a larva (i.e. the current societal paradigm of tasteless, lifeless corporate food and centrally controlled fossil fuel power) to a butterfly (think clean energy, living food, and self-government).
8. How will it be financed?
As of this writing, we have two green investors and two potential donors looking into providing the startup capital. The residence domes will be constructed as 20-plexes. Depending upon the price we eventually pay for land, cost for an unfinished residence (with plumbing, electrical, heat, windows, doors roofing, and siding - finish floors and walls to your own taste) won't be more than $90,000 for a 1 bedroom, or $150,000 for a 2 bedroom. Also at least 15 hours per week working on behalf of the rest of the group. Besides residence ownership, this will include shared ownership of the community center and its facilities, land, energy infrastructure, gardens, pond, roads etc. It will also cover utilities and meals. Costs are low when efficiency is high!
9. What are the prerequisites for membership?
With sustainability being our central tenet, community members embrace the vision of a future lived in harmony with Gaia, and aspire to live as exemplars of earth stewardship, personal responsibility, and creative expression. Implicit is the understanding that when daily chores are shared by many, each individual has more time for personal development.
Art is at the heart of SILC. So many of our residents will be musicians, sculptors, actors, dancers, writers, and painters. Spirituality, and a non-dogmatic acceptance of diverse religious and spiritual belief systems also plays a vital role. Friendliness, optimism, a nonjudgmental attitude, respect for self and others, emotional maturity, and common sense belong here, as does a comittment to personal growth and unfoldment.
To find out more, please email info@liveearthactionresourcenetwork.org .
10. What is Gross National Happiness?
Gross National Happiness (GNH) is an attempt to define quality of life in more holistic and psychological terms than Gross National Product.
The term was coined by Bhutan's King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 1972. It signaled his commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan's unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values. Like many worthy moral goals it is somewhat easier to state than to define, nonetheless, it serves as a unifying vision for the Five Year planning process and all the derived planning documents that guide the economic and development plans to the country.
While conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of GNH claims to be based on the premise that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.
Latest update October 2008.
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