Earthship Colony

This idea is long term and unlikely to meet fruition, however I would like to get my ideas down here any way.

After I have experiance with the Earthship and hopefully after I have put some money aside, I would like to buy a large chunk of land (because this will not be my primary residencce, it does not have to be in Michigan) and start developing it for a community setting. The goal would be to create a place for people to learn about this type of lifestyle. Someplace that they could live for free and learn about the systems.

Principles

• Secular
• Not crazy (keep your money, you can leave any time)
• Focus on learning

The colony would have 150 people or less. When it approaches 100 people, start making plans to divide and form an off-shoot. At that point, begin forming a council.

Layout

Each earthship would be small and basic. The basic design would be two 12x12 bedrooms, a kitchenette and a half-bath.

I've used the calculation that a person needs about 1sqft of garden per meal. So 150*3*365 = 164,250sqft of garden space.

Buildings

Library

Not quite in the traditional sense, I expect there would be very few actual books. But it would be a place for people to go and do research.

Mess Hall

Meals are prepared, served and eaten here.

Bath House

Because each building does not have it's own full bath, this is where people bath. It would be nice to include some luxury items like a sauna and hot-tub. Perhaps some gym equipment as well.

Workshop

Tools and building materials.

Utilities

Combined, water, power, heat, sewage and compost. The primary heat source would be solar. Sewage would provide methane (through a digester). After it has ceased releasing methane, sewage would then move on for composting, which can also be used to help heat water. The warm water can by cycled through radiators in homes to help regulate temperature. The methane can be used for cooking, and serve as the final step in heating up water to a temperature sufficient to run either a Stirling engine or a steam turbine.

Stages

Building should probably be done in two stages, The first stage will be largely temporary. Designed to handle 1-25 people. After that, we can go back through, tear down one building at a time and build a long-term structure designed to handle 150 people.

Algorithms

I've played around with using genetic algorithms for layouts. This would be a good opportunity. It could plan walkways and gardens, take into account factors like the distance from each home to important buildings (mess/bath). It could even take into account building phases so that the initial period (1-15 people) works well, but so does the growth from 15 to 50 and so on.

Social Structure

Decision making will be a largely democratic process. People can choose their involvement. Having a group of this size self-organize should happen pretty naturally. The primary focus is how to divide up all the group choirs and make sure all the work gets done. Beyond that, people are free to do as they like. They should even feel free to engage in traditional employment.

Almost all subsistence needs can be met by the community (food, water, shelter). The community should also provide it's members with health insurance (see Money). Clothing, on the other hand, will be left to the individual.

Reddit

This being the modern age and all, it would be very effective to use a Reddit like system for the democratic process. Member could participate in discussions and up/down vote what they agree/disagree with or simply based on how relevant the discussion is.

Money

This will be a bit touchy. For the most part, the organization and it's members money should stay separate. People neither pay nor earn any money. They earn their stay with work. But the community will need some funds. These should be accomplished with community projects. The most basic is that any surplus food can be sold. It may be possible to build and sell things. But the area where I think the most potential lies is in services. A community of 150 well educated people can probably provide a lot of digital services and make a decent income. But this could create some issues in how people are valued in the community.

Another note that should be put here - I think that ostentatious displays of wealth would be damaging to the community. People should be encouraged to avoid this.