PROJECT OVERVIEW In these pages we describe how Schoonschip, which is planned to begin construction by the end of 2013, can achieve the vision described with a manageable and phased investment plan. Upon executing the plan described, the performance of the community can far exceed current “econeighborhood” standards in terms of its comprehensive resource self-sufficiency, comfort of living, and integrated plan for community management. In the first phase, per household investment is estimated at 5.000 € - 10.000 € above the cost of a standard construction. The second phase requires a similar investment of 5.000 € - 10.000 € and will lead to a fully renewable energy system and expanded food production capacity on site. The comparatively low costs and quick return on investment are possible because of the focus on do-it-yourself (DIY) technology and the subsitution of other standard costs associated with new construction. Because this is a community development process, many of the decisions and the organization around the plan will need to be coordinated by the group as a whole. Key milestones include the upcoming tender procedure for the site. If all goes as planned and the site is secured, the process described here can be taken as a starting point for further activity by the community. CLOSE-KNIT COMMUNITY Over the years since it’s formation, the Schoonschip community has become a close-knit group that share a commitment to living a sustainable lifestlye. Because of this unified vision and the community’s close involvement in the design process, we believe achieving the goals outlined in this document are highly feasible--technically, financially, and socially. One of the prerequisites for achieving the vision outlined here is the development of a comprehensive community management system. Distributed food production, collective investment in renewable energy technologies, and group decision-making in terms of which communal facilities to build are all an essential part of the plan. The site will need unique types of maintenance, which will require continued oversight. To facilitate community management practices, we recommend establishing a clear leadership and responsibility structure from the beginning of the site’s development. Various tasks will need to be split up amongst working groups, and a clear decisionmaking structure that everyone agrees with will need to be established. We believe technology can also be used to ease the burden of information-sharing and decision-making: monitoring systems throughout the site will provide feedback via community web platform, keeping everyone aware of the status of food production, resource flows, and maintenance tasks. A community credits system could also be used to facilitate trades in time, resources, or effort between residents so people can choose the work they do based on their interests and availability. Shared facilities that we envision on the site include a pool and sauna, a community pantry for storing bulk purchases of ecofriendly products, an electric car sharing system, equipment for maintenance and recreation, laundry, and food production. The Schoonschip community is already far along in establishing a board and activity clusters to support the ongoing management of the site. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Technologies have been selected based on their appropriate scale and feasible costs of implementation. While some technologies are implemented on the scale of individual boats, others are more centralized in clusters of 4-6 boats or centralized even further for the entire community. Our technical design is based on the site’s development process and integrated with the socioeconomic realities and goals of the community. The technology selection and financial modeling tools we have developed will be used to adjust the test case described here to the desires of each home owner. The existing Schoonschip group has several sub-committees who will take on the responsibility of facilitating joint construction processes for some of the recommended technologies and working together as the project enters the stage of realization. The technical system for Schoonschip is also designed to adapt and improve over time. The installations of energy and wastewater systems, for example, are modular, allowing the community to easily change their capacity, add a processing step, or replace the component with something more advanced in the future. As technologies become cheaper, like battery storage, the community can collectively buy new technologies that improve the performance of the site in a cost-effective way. Pagina 62
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