Soil, Shelter and Tools are the physical essence of settlements within which people can live and form community. Over the course of one's lifetime, hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on food, shelter and other needs. If that money were invested in soil, solar heated dwellings and the facilities for maintaining domestic ecosystems, it could provide the same life services without the damagin
g side effects of conventional systems, and it could continue to provide those services for generations to come. Building a new settlement to design criteria suitable for effective long-term maintenance will take a lot of materials and labour. The result will be a life supporting system that can serve our needs for as long as we, and those who follow, maintain them. It stands to reason that the people who will enjoy these services should provide the money for necessary materials and the labour to assemble and maintain the systems that will provide for their lives. Cash and sweat equity can be pooled to develop a sustainable infrastructure that will enable a community to provide for present and future generations. Soil
Of primary importance to long-term well-being, is the maintenance and improvement of soil fertility. Except as it relates to food growing, construction should not take place on arable soils. Water reservoirs, windmills capable of moving that water to gardens and possibly small garden tool storage facilities could be exceptions. Full Cycle Nutrient Management:
The nutrients from which our bodies are made are only borrowed from the land. It is our responsibility to get them back to the soil when we are done with them. Therefore, all personal biological waste, kitchen waste and organic garden waste should be composted and returned to the soil from which the essential nutrients can be borrowed again and again by successive generations. During early stages, we will also want to bring in nutrients to increase the amount available for circulation. Community
Privacy
During my days as a tropical fish enthusiast I knew people who put few or no plants in their aquariums. They wanted to see their fish. In these aquariums, the fish would frequently crowd into the only secluded places available - behind the heater or the few plants provided. I had lots of plants in my tanks offering abundant hiding places but the fish spent little time in hiding. Instead of cowering in the corners, my fish routinely displayed their grace and beauty in full confidence that hiding places were always available should the need arise. Privacy is an attribute of undeniable benefit to individuals and families. It is as important as the ability to interact socially and to work together on tasks of mutual benefit. Privacy has to be a key consideration in the design of clustered dwellings. Ideally every individual needs a space that is exclusively theirs. Childhood memories frequently include images, real or imagined, of a place where no one else can go. A room under the stairs, a secret cupboard, a clearing in the woods - there is something primal about a place where one can be alone with one's self. It doesn't have to be big, but it needs to be separated from the sight and hearing of others. It needs to be ours alone. When people become adults, there is also the need for another space. A space where projects can be undertaken and left undisturbed, or where a person can set up their own style of space to hang out or interact in. As a design criteria, we should endeavour for every person to have a personal sleeping space and for each adult to have a second space to use or share as they wish. Ideally, each individual's personal space would be accessible only through their second place. Community Cohesion
My most pertinent experience with social problems built into distantly spaced housing comes from when I lived in the Killaloe area. The people on another property chose building sites far apart from each other. A few years later when the building phase neared completion, the people involved looked at the next stage of community building and found that any time they wanted to get together they had significant distances to travel. A community space was designated in the old farm house. Some non-members were living there and not surprisingly, the larger spaces in the farm house were within their sphere and felt more like their living room than a common community space. The visitors were asked to leave so the space would clearly be a community centre. This worked fairly well in the warm weather with some shared meals and get-togethers when the demands of maintaining separate dwellings and gardens left them free to interact. In winter it was another matter. Plenty of time was available for interaction, but the common space was only usable if someone went ahead of a gathering to warm it up. The space could conceivably have been heated with an automated system to enable casual and impromptu get-togethers, but that would have wasted a considerable amount of fuel as members only occasionally traversed the distances to be there. In the winter when there is the greatest need and opportunity for community activities, the distance between buildings is practically longer. Getting together required additional efforts to overcome the obstacles of winter clothing, snow drifts and darkness. It is not a wonder that the social space was seldom used. A common space surrounded by dwellings separated by sound proof walls, could be heated with little of no energy beyond that which heats individual dwellings. Interaction could be more casual than a walk through a city mall. With dwellings in close proximity, people would still have the option of exiting directly from their space to the outside and walking away into a rural landscape that is not cluttered with private dwellings. Residents would also have the option of going directly into the social spaces for a planned or chance encounter with others. Casual interaction in common territory provides an opportunity for social encounters of a quality seldom enjoyed in conventional developments. The closest example would be friends so close that unannounced arrival at each other's homes is accepted as normal. The opportunity for 'across the fence' chats of this nature is a great aid in building up the relationships from which community cohesion forms. This example is not quite representative in that even though close friends have free passage in each other’s living rooms, the scene of the interaction belongs to one or the other of them. Where the space is common by architectural design, the interaction is on totally equal ground. With such a common space in direct proximity to dwellings, casual interactions would be frequent occurrences. In a similar way, such common, easily accessible space would make collective tasks easier to accomplish. In combination, this arrangement would help nurture strong resilient community. Meeting
To coexist and cooperate effectively, it is necessary for participants to meet together regularly, to share their thoughts and feelings about circumstances in the community, current activities and any issues that need decisions. Meetings will be held in a circle and in the spirit of 'Consultation' as described in the last section of this document. Decision Making
In all decision making, the interests of the 7th Generation shall be born in mind. The purpose of our decisions is not just to fulfill our personal needs and desires, or to provide for our children. The system put in place should, to the extent we can imagine, serve the needs of successive generations, farther into the future than we can hope to be remembered. Consideration for the future is a manifestation of respect and appreciation for the countless forgotten generations who, in the past, applied their efforts in ways that have made it possible for us to be here today enjoying the vast array of cultural amenities presently available. In essence, decisions made in the interest of the 7th Generation are decisions made for sustainability. Accordingly, the criteria for sustainability will be considered in all decision-making processes. Many Hands Make Light Work
Many tasks that are chores when they fall to one person, can be enjoyable when two or more people work on them together. This goes for cleaning, growing food, food preparation and storage, and the construction and maintenance of life-supporting facilities. Security
Throughout history and likely long before, people looked out for each other. Hazards to well-being were many, ranging from creatures that dine on humans, to bands of other humans looking to expand their territory or just to help themselves to the food and artifacts produced by others. We have lived in a time of unprecedented security in Canada, but this will likely end with the chaos accompanying the decline of motor culture. With the vast majority of the food that Canadians eat being produced and transported by machines and most of our heating and motive energy coming from fossil sources, it doesn't take much to imagine people looking around for food and shelter when motor fuels become expensive and then scarce. If such unfortunate circumstances unfold, it will be good to know that people we can trust are close at hand. Physical Structures
Southern Exposure & Green Housing
With the Sun providing the most reliable source of energy, all construction would take into account it's solar exposure. This would be in the context of passive heating and also in the interest of starting and growing plants to extend the limited growing season of our climate. Basic Accommodation
The primary purpose of basic accommodation is to enable as many people as possible to live through the winter cold. Left to our own devices, wintertime is the greatest guaranteed challenge to our survival.
