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do-it-yourself

Apartment Garden Ecosystem

Submitted by admin on Fri, 11/18/2011 - 4:24pm

Themes

Households, Cities, do-it-yourself, urban green
Promoters: 
Product + Design, Auckland University of Technology Auckland New Zealand
Presentation: 
Reconnecting urban dwellers with nature through the design of a mobile gardening system.

Context

Motshelo (Money Saving Communities)

Submitted by joonsbaek on Wed, 06/29/2011 - 5:16am

Countries

Botswana

Tags

community banking

Themes

do-it-yourself
Link: 
Bopa website
Stakeholders / Promoters: 
Individuals within community (mostly women)
Background/ Context: 
Not all people are illegible or have access to formal financial service providers such as banks. Even if they did, many feel the financial service providers’ charges are too high and terms of payment are not affordable to them. Within the community, members of Motshelo are able to create a sense of financial security and inter reliance on one another to settle debts and purchase essentials.
Case Description: 

motshelo.jpg

Motshelo is a household saving and borrowing activity that is a popular alternative to formal saving because the requirements for accessing credit are not as cumbersome as those offered by financial institutions. This initiative provides financial security and is a trust based. It acts like a social network. Each participating individual within the group contributes an agreed sum of money and can draw loans from the pot for necessities such as school fees, uniform and other emergencies. The interest charged by borrowing money from the scheme will be shared among members at the end of the end.

Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits): 

The benefits to the members are reliability, trust and security of money.

PINCHE: Car pool for going to work

Submitted by joonsbaek on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 9:48am

Countries

China

Tags

carpooling

Themes

small distance mobility, do-it-yourself, community building
Link: 
Pinche
Stakeholders / Promoters: 
Owner of car who shares his/her care and provide service of transportation to others without much additional cost but with contribution from them; Participations without car have a high quality and economic solution; Pinche web: different kinds of E-platform which enable group building of car pool;
Background/ Context: 
Urban transportation is a big social problem in cities today: too slowly by auto bus, too crowded by metro, too expensive by taxi, too exhausted to own a car. There is a big potential need of new solutions more comfortable, economic, convenient, fast and accessible, which is car pool could contribute. Once more residents have their own cars, car pool is becoming popular rapidly. With different communication channel, residents look for others who homes and companies could be organized in one routine and go to work together with a car.
Case Description: 

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Several residents whose homes and companies could be organized in one routine share a car of one of them for going to work. A good transportation solution is provided for those people who haven’t their own car, which does in crease the life quality much in practise. Those owners of car in groups share much economic pressure with others. The transportation pressure in rush time decreases.  Social connections between residents increase. 

Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits): 

It is totally self-organized with strong motivation and sustainability: to have the services instead of the products.

Earthship, Fife

Submitted by joonsbaek on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 6:39am

Countries

United Kingdom

Tags

renewable energy, recycled material, housing

Themes

water systems, waste management systems, energy systems, housing, do-it-yourself
Link: 
Earthship
Stakeholders / Promoters: 
Earthship Biotecture (a private company), Earthship trainers and trainees
Background/ Context: 
The Earthship is located on the edge of Kinghorn Loch, beside Craigencalt Ecology Centre. Kinghorn itself is a small town with little commerce. The construction programme started with an intensive eight-day building programme with American Earthship builders, including Earthship pioneer Michael Reynolds, and 11 trainees from across the UK. Since then, more than 200 volunteers have helped complete the Earthship over weekends and work experience days from the Sustainable Communities Initiative, which provides experience opportunities to learn building skills required in Earthship building. Volunteers can be involved for a day, or for as long as they wish, however the majority of users are visitors who want to learn how to make their own lives more eco-friendly.
Case Description: 

사용자 삽입 이미지

(Source: Natalie Lambert & Joanne Tauber, 2005)

Earthship houses offer people the opportunity to build their own homes and make a conscious decision to live lightly on the earth. Each home is a passive solar building, made from natural and recycled materials, is powered by renewable energy, such as wind, water and solar power, catches its own water supply from rainwater, and treats and contains its own sewage in planter beds. It is a concept and can be adapted for any climate worldwide.

The purpose of Earthship is to inform people of the simple ways in which they can reduce their impact on the environment. The construction of Earthship houses (reclaimed tyres filled with compacted earth, with a glazed south-facing wall) allows thermal mass, maximum heat-retention and insulation. This is particularly appropriate for the Scottish climate, the wettest climate in which an Earthship has been built. The project is being monitored to assess the feasibility of using reclaimed tyres as a building material in the construction of mainstream housing.

Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits): 

Society. Because the project gives people the opportunity to build their own homes and the necessary experience, through the workshops, it disseminates technical competence in ecobuilding.

Environment. The buildings themselves have little impact on their environment and are powered
through renewable energy.

Aquarius – Social elderly community of age 55+

Submitted by joonsbaek on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 6:25am

Countries

Netherlands

Tags

co-housing

Themes

housing, do-it-yourself, community building
Link: 
Aquarius
Stakeholders / Promoters: 
elderly people aged between 55 and 65, Eindhoven housing society
Background/ Context: 
In 1984 a group of elderly people who did not feel comfortable living alone, but even less comfortable living in a home for the elderly, took the initiative to establish a community for the elderly in Eindhoven. These people wanted a housing environment that was better adjusted to the needs and wishes of their age. Some of these people lived on their own and felt lonely. Other people felt insecure in their own houses and wanted to get a fell safer feel.
Case Description: 

사용자 삽입 이미지

(Source: Yanick Aarsen, Emiel Lagarde, Dick Rutten & Niko Vegt, 2005)

Aquarius is a community where elderly people spend their days in a socially active environment.
About 45 older people live there and each couple has their own private home and garden, but also uses a communal space and large communal garden. The inhabitants help each other out as much as possible. A committee organises the community: one of its tasks is to select new inhabitants. People can apply if they are aged between 55 and 65, to make sure there is always a mix of younger and older residents.
Benefits (Social, and environmental benefits): 

Society: Living in Aquarius encourages active social contact and helps keep inhabitants’ lives as meaningful as possible, in a safe, friendly environment. Members probably remain active and independent for longer and the need for nursing of senior citizens is reduced for society in general. Aquarius encourages the distribution of giving and receiving aid over the retirement years. 

Environment: As most of the activities take place within Aquarius, transport intensity is minimised.