Guadua

Over the last weeks I have been looking into the construction of a sustainable house.We already know that Colombia is a fantastic place to use solar energy and now it seems Colombia has something great to offer to build a sustainable house: Guadua.

Guadua is a bamboo that is native in South America. It is one of the few species that has all the characteristics to make it the perfect building material: It is light, flexible, strong, easy to use and relatively cheap. From an ecological point of view it is a far better product than wood because it grows much faster.

Colombia has a long history in the usage of Guadua and it has 50.000 ha of natural guadua forests. Now guadua is a growing industry in Colombia and architects are exploring the typical characteristics to build fascinating buildings, bridges, schools, churches, homes, etc.

Although guadua may be cheap and a very good building material it doesn/t mean homes built with it are cheap. It requires specific skills to use guadua and today guadua homes are often tailor made requiring a lot ofy handcraft. There are currently hardly any pre-fabricated homes available and this is a challenge. A young student architecture from Venezuela called Pedro Suescun picked up this challenge and made a promising flexible design, watch below video to learn more about it. This concept is one of the very few I found out there that has the potential to become succesful.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wHq63TUPPeU

This concept is worth trying it in the real world. Who knows I will use it one day as the base of my sustainable life in Colombia.

Sustainable living according to a C++ programmer

Loren Amelang is a C++ programmer and definetely not the average techie guy. He left the company he worked for because he couldn't stand the flickering of the light in his office..

But he is a genius as well. He is a programmer and built his own house. He designed everything himself. He found his own solution for any challenge he met resulting in a fantastic off-grid sustainable house. I really love it. If you compare Lorens approach to the "No Impact Man" it is quite the opposite. Loren was not interested in public opinion, he just built the house as he wanted it to be. With the no nonsense approach and all the technical skills that he obviously has.

I hope I made you curious enough to watch below video that explains how this house works.

Norcal veteran coder customizes with sensors off-grid home

Let's summarize why I love this house so much.

• It is built using local building material : wood from the neighbourhood.
• It has no connection to the power grid.
• Self supporting with 1600W of solar panels and batteries.
• The integrated control of all systems really contributes to comfort and efficiency.
• It has a sophisticated heating system.
• Cooking on solar energy using induction.
• Automated irrigation.
• Water system with automated ozon cleaning.
• Central door lock system.
• The overall solution being lean and mean.

Not all solutions are applicable in Colombia but nevertheless there are valuable lessons to learn here.

how do I compare to "No Impact Man" ?

Ana sent me a link of the "No Impact Man" movie from 2009. At that time Colin Beavan aka the No Impact Man got a lot of publicity for his project and while I watched this documentary I wondered where I feel different from his objectives and priorities.

Get your food locally is a great idea as well as having your own vegetable garden.  Reduce your garbage by using as little packaging a possible: Yes. Composting organic waste: Yep. Use bikes and public transport instead of a car : Of course. Use as little chemicals and cosmetics as possible: Sure.

Trying to live without electricity or appliances did not seem a good idea. No TV, no washing machine, no refrigerator. Not to mention no toilet paper. This sounds ok if you are willing to sacrifice a comfortable living but frankly I don't think many people want to go that far. Neither am I. This is where the project lost some of its credibility.

Bottom line Colin Beaven did a fantastic job creating awareness among the general public and everybody knows what "No Impact Man" is about.

I don't have the ambition to grow awareness of a lot of people, I do want to include the Colombian community that I will be part of in the plans I have.

I found out that Colombia is one of the best places on earth for solar energy but this industry has not taken of yet. That's what I call an opportunity !

Visit to Solar Decathlon 2014

Versailles - France, July 13th.

Over here you will find everything about this event.

It was raining cats and dogs that day, luckily all homes had a waterproof roof :)

Did I learn something ? Yes I did. Technology is not the issue anymore. Sure, it helps when solar panels become cheaper and more efficient. But we need something different to move forward.
I loved the creativity and the enthousiasm of the students.

This is a completely new industry where companies, universities and governments are working together to find sustainable solutions for local challenges.
Local challenges are a mix of ecological, social and economical problems and shortage of space, food and fresh water with an ever growing population.


This whole event is triggered by the US Department of Energy and the focus is to  "design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive".

In my daily job as business development manager I detect new opportunities that require new products or services. You get people together to shape this new product or service and you make a business plan to cover the economics. Once approved you make it happen. It's what I love in my job.

With this in mind I came up with the elephant and the first bite to make my dream come true. After this visit I feel that companies and governments are looking at self-sustainable homes as a giant elephant and they use universities to help deciding which bite to take. 

One of the questions I asked the students on this event was what the next step was for their project. Some of them said they would take it back to their country for further shows and demo's. Others were struggling how to sell the idea to a company.  Some needed further sponsorship to take a next step. Some were talking to their government to have the concept adjusted to meet local regulations. None of them actually had plans to take it to the real world and I found that somewhat disappointing. Some of the concepts I saw deserved it to be at least tested in a real life environment. I didn't visit all projects, so I hope a few still get that chance.  

I will follow up on some of them, especially the projects from Mexico and Chili.

Where do we stand with solar energy ?

The first bite is about solar energy: Where do we stand right now with solar energy in general and specifically in Colombia ?

To get an idea I will visit, as Frank a friend of mine suggested,  Solar Decathlon 2014 in Versailles in France. Universities from all over the world showcase the latest technologies and ideas with solar energy.

I am sure I will come back with loads of ideas and new insights and I will share them with you.

Below Casa Unam from Mexico.

Living energy independent in the US

from inhabitat: 4 steps to become energy independent using todays technology in the US

Thanks Ana Christina :)

The First Bite

When I look at the elephant and wonder how I will eat it I think of 3 ways I have seen so far that contribute to building a self-sustainable community.

First there are local initiatives by individuals or small groups. They often go 'back to basics' living in harmony with nature.

Second are the scientific organisations that generate reports and recommendations. They analyse global warming and investigate water and food supply. They look at new trends like urban agriculture.

Third are companies that introduce new technologies to build innovative solutions and sometimes even game changers. From uber to thorium, from stevia to google's self-driving car.

Each of these approaches have their own rythm and dynamics and we can learn from all of them. There is no right or wrong. It is a matter of learning from the past, stay in touch with what's happening today,  making choices and move forward step by step.

In am ready for a first bite in that big elephant. Are you ?

Eating The Elephant

In daily life I am a business development manager so I have some experience in defining and negotiating a concept and bringing it to market.

It's great to have a dream like this but it requires some definition if you want a managable project.  This project covers many areas and disciplines.

So how do you eat an elephant ? Right. One bite at a time. The first challenge is to clearly define these areas and their objectives. More about that in my next post.

My Dream

I have a dream.

And I want to bring it to reality. 

I want to build a self-sustaining place to live in Colombia. Just sun, air and water should be enough to live a happy life. With respect for nature and the people around you and using both technology and local resources to make it work. Not just for my family but for the whole society I will be part of.

I am not in a hurry. I am 51 now and will retire in about 14 years. So I have 14 years to turn this dream into reality. 

Why Colombia ? Because it is a sunny place.  Because my wife Patricia is from Colombia. Because I like Colombian people, they are curious and ambitious. Medellin was city of the year last year. Because my stepdaughter Ana Christina who is a young talented architect offered to help. 

I know I am not the only one with such a dream. That's why I am starting this blog. To share ideas and information and start new projects that will allow us all to have a better life.