Apiary Project

Introduction to Existential Imperatives

Bees are an endangered species. Like all life on Earth, bees are affected by Climate Change and Habitat Destruction. Three top reasons bees are dying faster are due to pesticides, poor nutrition and parasites. Humans are also affected because bees pollinate plants we eat and make honey. No bees means significant loss of crops, growth in starvation, diminishing diet, no honey, go figure. Not my idea of a healthy future.

Like bees, humans are also being affected by pesticides, pollution, and plastics. We also have to rebuild our homes and food supply after fire, wind, earthquakes, mudslides, floods, extreme cold and heat storms.

Habitat for Health recovery concepts are based on lower common denominators to help rebuild what GAIA, individuals, families and communities lose. In other words H4H designs and manages construction using Bottom Up Resources. The main difference between bottom up and top down resources is the point where time and money enters the economic exchange part of capital equations.

Top down housing initiatives are not fulfilling affordability goals when inflation grows and fixed incomes stay fixed - or don't keep pace. The gap grows faster as qualification for subsidized housing is protracted by government process in an overpriced market with waiting lists of more than a year.

A recent example of application to the B.C. Government for assistance began in August, the tenant was evicted in September, and now more than halfway through November the tenant still has only reams of paper to show for it so far.

Obvious factors affecting such insufficient top down "help" include

• aggressive competition for affordable units,
• inadequate pandemic responses,
• increase in natural disasters caused by climate change,
• insufficient and tardy responses to climate change,
• loss of workforce due to the foregoing,
• early retirement, and
• increase in poverty as cost of living continues to rise faster than people can adapt.

All of the above, and what follows, barely scratches the surface of current events, preventable human suffering, right here, right now in Canada. Where is all the money going? If taxpayers who need it most are suffering, why are governments encouraging oil companies to make the problem worse?

So, what is holding you back from supporting Habitat for Health bottom up, revenue neutral, resource management including places to live, gardens to tend, skills to trade, and a time bank to help manage exchanges?

Environmental Wellness, Hypersensitivity and Accommodation

Brian Hack's special interest, and current rare skill set, is derived from a diverse education and his physical hypersensitivity that helps to identify environmental issues that others may overlook. With due consideration and in some cases experience in what doesn't work or can be improved, costs may be reduced, environments mitigated, or both.

Details are available on the Website but that's just where Brian's been, not where he's going or intends to be. Read on for more. Join the GAIA Fan Club and get into the action. Do or do not. There is no try.

Location

I'd like to start in my backyard which happens to be Vancouver Island. The first relevant question asked and first answer is in the Blog. "How much arable land is needed to sustain just 1 human being?"

Since the article has significant variables, fuzzy logic, and it is more than 6 years old, I'd ask a different question today: "How many people can be sustained on 2 hectares of land?" As a permaculture designer I envision efficiency expansion techniques to include vertical gardening.

Mid Island South and East along the Saanich Peninsula are prime locations for berry cropping, vineyards and other high value market gardens. The weather is mild enough to support a variety of fruits and vegetables found in warmer climates and with minimal frost and freezing protection less hardy varieties may also bear fruit.

Opportunities

Opportunities for displaced persons and families who are willing and able to join and participate in village type of community organizations will benefit most by joining Habitat for Health and/or starting a local one up.

Habitat for Health is planning to startup a prototype Eco-Village (Apiary Project) to document, source, blueprint and share information on how to move from today's Eco-Eco disaster zones to self-sufficient, self-governing, self-employed, sustainable recovery, and prosperity alternatives.

The H4H GAIA First - Pay it Forward - alternatives are underway and instead of competing with existing socioeconomic systems that cull it's no longer useful producers and servants, we are saving or recycling all who want or need hope.

Of course opportunities are based on the equality of time and not on the inequality of money. After all, we work for money to buy things we need and want. So, it's really not a big change to work for time credits to exchange for the same things we need and want and exchange credits for money to buy what we don't produce.

Why pay tax on food, clothing and shelter when you can trade for those essentials instead?

In other words the time bank method increases purchasing power by trading time credits for essential food, clothing, and shelter with other GFC Members at wholesale prices and before your money is taxed. If you need cash, just convert your surplus time credit savings and only pay tax on what you need to withdraw. Go figure!

Early adopters and charter members of the H4H Fan Club are most likely to convert their experiences into tangible assets and new skills sooner. Why wait? Join now to start your tax free food, clothing, and shelter experience today!

Building, Structure, and Fabrication

Technology of building Habitat for Health with geodesic domes is evolving faster than people and organizations can adapt. It makes Habitat for Health a place most people, no matter what their age or experience, can invest time instead of spending it on less valuable activities. The main difference is that H4H is also organized to redistribute health and wealth in more equitable ways. Another reason why early adopters and charter members of the H4H Fan Club are most likely to convert their experiences into tangible assets and new non-taxable skills.

Geodesic domes are best values in home construction because 1/3 less materials are used when compared to buildings of similar floor size. Labor costs are even lower since no special skills or tools are needed to assemble a family size dome. Dome homes tend to have better strength to weight ratio of any residential design.

To top it off geodesic domes are more energy efficient due to 1/3 less surface area to heat and cool. And for persons with environmental special needs, domes are easier to clean, modify and substitute materials as needed.

I write this to invite curious readers to get involved and stake virtual claims for applying or developing skills to solve apparent issues emerging now in current events. Why not learn and grow rich?

Materials and Technology

The geodesic dome framework material of choice is aluminum pipe of sufficient gauge to resist incidental damage. Aluminum is preferred due to its lighter weight which makes shipping and handling less expensive. Steel is a heavier option and each material has its pros and cons.

The factory covering is a durable plastic making dome shell assembly possible in less than a day if floor and foundation is ready for the shell assembly. Plastic dome covers work well for temporary, emergency, guest or construction shelters. What's really nice about permanent home or cottage versions is they can be fitted with a variety of code compliant surfaces that can be swapped or replaced with new or custom interior and/or exterior features.

A basement sunk below the frost line taps into the 10.5 C/51 F average mean temperature of the planet crust making the floor a heat sink that only needs 10.5 C/20 F more heat to get to an average room temperature. Riser walls can be added to increase ceilings in multi-story buildings.

Below the foundation a plastic sheet, vent pipe, and fan can be devised to act as a radon barrier using a sub membrane suction method to reduce exposure if required.

Energy Production, Storage, and Management

Elon Musk popularized the power wall for storage, but he pitched the energy storage systems as a way to make renewable energy more reliable, storing solar energy generated during the day for use at night, for example.

The batteries could allow home owners to live off the grid entirely, or at least avoid interruptions from blackouts. "It's designed to work very well with solar systems right out of the box," Musk said, without specifying a certain brand of panels. (CNBC)

Why stop at just solar systems? The inconvenient facts of free energy sources are that the sun doesn't always shine, wind doesn't always blow, and water doesn't always flow at a usable rate all the time.

However, it doesn't take much imagination to build a co-generation power system. Free power sources finance themselves with savings earned by reducing payments to grid tied systems or better yet, back it up with wind and water generators if you want to retire grid dependence earlier.

So where does storage and management stand in the mix? Power storage is assembled on standard size computer racks with stock components, custom assemblies, 3D printed prototypes and accessories. When enclosures are included in HVAC design, heating and cooling costs can be reduced as well.

Recent advances in graphene applications affecting power supply, storage, scale, and cost are shrinking. Significant 3D printed graphene water filters are being used for desalination and who knows what's next - waste water treatment?

Larger components for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, water supply and waste water management can be sized to code where it applies and located for easy access and operation or possibly sized out of existence.