by Anthony Weston
The Planning, Design, and Development (PDD) Circle’s Spring design priority is to achieve a village design that is workable both architecturally and financially, and so appealing and functional that it will earn ready assent from current members and can help us effectively (and quickly) inspire and recruit new members. This design will have to be co-developed alongside detailed site engineering, financial planning, etc. but we think the actual, visualizable house plans will be the dramatic next step.
We are currently moving toward this goal in a variety of ways. This post outlines the main ones, but can only touch the high points. All members are invited to find out more when PDD hosts April’s “Last Saturday” event at Hart’s Nest, on Saturday 28 April, 3-6pm. Everything discussed in this post will be laid out and explained in detail, with ample time for questions and discussion too. We’ll have some specific questions for the community as well, as we tune the new models to members’ wishes and interests. Please mark this event on your calendars and make it a point to come!
“Building Blocks”
Katy, Paul, Donna, and Anthony road-tripped to Atlanta in early March for an extended consultation with Greg Ramsey and associates at Village Habitat Design (we also toured the plant of a potential construction partner on the way). Greg and his partner Dennis McConnell sparked a major re-conception of the design program of the community
Our zoning provides for 32 units. We’d been assuming that we’d mostly be building a few kinds of houses, each basically a Single Family Dwelling Unit (that’s a zoning category), adaptable for individuals, couples, or families with a few kids and maybe a renter in an upstairs bedroom. We were planning one or two shared homes as well.
Greg and Dennis introduced an entirely new element. Suites are semi-in
dependent units linked to a house with a door (with a lock) and with an external entrance as well, fully equipped as a small apartment (1 or 2 BR plus bath, sitting area, and “wet bar”: a small kitchen without a stove (but microwave is OK). The key thing is that a house with several such suites still counts as a Single Family Dwelling Unit. Thus we can still build 32 units, all officially Single Family Dwelling Units, but at the same time significantly increases both the number and the variety of living situations we can offer to members.
Katy worked out a luminous visual presentation of the basic idea which she presented to a March joint meeting of PDD and Finance/Legal Circles. These slides are a quick illustration. (Please realize that the hexagons are just c0nceptual. The actual houses are not likely to be hexagonal!)
Achitecture
We need to do a variety of consultations with the County and with potential funders to be sure that this “Building Bock” schematic design meets legal and financial requirements. The key work, though, is to begin to visualize and work it out architecturally. How will the homes actually lay out and what will they look like?
To help answer this question we are bringing an architect on board: Jonathan Lucas, of What on Earth Architecture in Asheville, http://www.whatoneartharchitecture.com/ We have been in conversation with Jonathan for several years – his style promises a very good working fit with our own – and he has experience with cohousing design as well as a wide range of other projects. Jonathan can offer both floor plans and perspective drawings and also 3D visualizations, energy-use modelling, and virtual walk-throughs. We have begun consultation with Jonathan by Zoom conference and are setting up a three-way conference between us, him, and Greg Ramsey very soon. He will also be making a visit to the land later in the Spring.
As you can see from Katy’s slides, our new model makes it natural to work with “building blocks”: suites and houses of various sizes, keyed to members’ wishes, combinable in a variety of ways. For economies both in design and construction, we’ll want to work with fairly few “blocks” and maximize the ease with which they can be combined and varied. We do want to note that this we may need to adjust or replace our current Sunslope schematic design. It may not be adaptable enough for the multiple configurations we are now envisi0ning. Still, of course, major design elements from Sunslope will remain, such as the large south-sloping roofs for major photovoltaic panels and fully liveable single-floor options, as well as an attempt to moderate the range of style preferences we have discovered among us.
Construction Methods and Partners
We also continue to research and compare a variety of different construction materials and methods. This search relates closely to architecture, but it is still a separate question since often very similar designs can be realized in a wide variety of materials/methods.
Sustainability, affordability, adaptability, availability are all key desiderata, and the decision is going to require weighing of all of them and probably making some hard choices between them. Also, choosing between construction methods is often to choose between specific firms with whom we might partner, introducing yet another set of considerations. The right partnerships will be crucial!
We have narrowed down the list of alternatives considerably. For example, we are unlikely 
to choose blown-in foam or rigid styrofoam-type insulation, though it can be used in some highly efficient and affordable panelized forms, because ultimately its very longevity is a disadvantage. You can’t get rid of it, ever. Many also have off-gassing issues. On the other hand, our current candidates include some intriguing methods and materials, such as hemp-lime mixtures for insulation (possibly also available in panelized forms). We are also considering whether and how far earth-building methods could be an appealing choice for parts of the village, farm, or other buildings. At the same time, we continue to consider traditional stick-building methods, which have significant advantages and can be adapted to our sustainability and other requirements as well.
Other PDD Irons in the Fire
There are many other, related items on PDD’s plate:
- We are revisiting the Affordability question at the same time that we are beginning to get harder and more specific data on likely costs and prices.
- Another big-picture question is how far can/should we welcome multiple styles (designs, construction methods, etc.), and if so, at what scale?
- The Common House also needs to go back on the agenda. We’ve back-burnered the Common House in favor of the residences for a while, but on the Building Block plan, smaller suites presuppose the Common House: it probably will have to be built concurrently after all.
Again, please plan to find out more when PDD hosts April’s “Last Saturday” event at Hart’s Nest, 3-6pm on Saturday 28 April. All members are welcome!
On March 17, a group of Hart’s Millers gathered on the land to celebrate a unique version of St. Paddy’s Day. Though both potatoes and the color green were involved (but sadly, no beer), the theme of the day was decidedly not Irish!
has a source of power.
Spring is coming fast, and the Land Stewardship Circle (LSC) offered an educational presentation to any and all interested folks for the purpose of clarifying its Mission and Aims, tasks going forward, 2018 priorities, 2017 leaps forward. The gathering was well attended by 17 members and friends: Anthony, Paul, Hope, Jeffry, Margret, Randy, Rita Joe & daughter Mia, Tain, Marilyn, Virginia, Bailey, Sarah, Allie and Jae, and Earth’s Turn Community member, Doug.
Domains, Aims, and Priorities. With the help of Powerpoint and oversized paper copies of our land and farm master plan (created by Bobby Tucker of Bodhi Land and Design), Jeffry explained how Hart’s Mill’s village, roads, forests, pond, farm-able areas, and more are laid out on the land. 
It is uncertain how old the pond is, but since we know the dam was made in 1962, it is more than 56 years old. Soundings made from a kayak show the deepest areas to be only around 5’, with most of the rest between 3 and 4’. The sides are too sloped and the edges show much erosion, exposed tree roots, and ingress of storm water run-off from Frazier Road. In Virginia’s opinion, major work on pond restoration can certainly wait a few years, but she recommends creating a storm water run-off elimination plan soon, as that water is almost surely polluted.
Last year, General Circle consented to a Mission and Aims document for the Farm which allowed us to move forward. So far, about ½ acre is dedicated to vegetable production, and other substantial portions of the land are becoming productive in other ways. Jeffry and Margret, as Seeing Stars Farm (SSF), are currently doing the bulk of the work, paying all expenses, and selling what we grow at a farmer’s market. This benefits both Seeing Stars (financially) and HM (meeting the PUV, beginning soil improvement, establishing a presence on the land, and involving members to fulfill our mission as an agrarian intentional community). This arrangement will be revisited periodically, and eventually it will convert to being an all-Hart’s Mill enterprise.
The final portion of the meeting was a walk-and-talk on the land itself. The weather could not have been more cooperative; it was 70, breezy, and sunny. This walk made it possible to point out all the major areas we had addressed—the pond, its dam, tree stands in need of thinning, the general area for village construction, and the current farm activities. Folks had an opportunity to ask questions, some of which we could answer and 
some of which will need some research. This is the concept of “it takes a village” in action!
Several of us (Paul, Hope, Tain, Jeffry, and I) were privileged to explore our land on February 16th with Ken Moore and his wife, Kathy Buck. Ken is the former long-time assistant director of the North Carolina Botanical Garden and clearly knows and loves the woods. We proceeded from Hart’s Nest in balmy weather and made our way to the relatively unexplored “South 40” where the latest trail-building is being done. It soon became apparent that the down-side of walking with an expert is that so much excites them; it can be difficult to make much forward progress!
and should not be cut down unless it is “in the way”, such as in the garden. Wildlife is not affected by P.I.’s toxins. Its flowers are frequented by bees, numerous birds eat the berries, and deer and rabbits browse the twigs.
Ken’s enthusiasm is contagious and his knowledge prodigious; his contributions to our species inventory are invaluable. Many new tree identification tags have been placed, as well as temporary labeled popsicle sticks and surveyor’s tape. If you come across any of these, take a moment to note what’s alive and well on our land.
The past few years of political, cultural and social upheaval have challenged me to examine my own thoughts, emotions, language and behaviors around issues of racism, classism, ageism, sexism, and many of the other ‘isms’. I read, I listened and I engaged mostly with my friends, both in and outside of the HM Community, on these topics . Gratefully, I found many others were also ready to participate in this dialogue.
In October, I completed the ten-month Design for Sustainability course through the Global Ecovillage Network and Gaia Education. The Gaia Education Design for Sustainability (GEDS) course is a 10-month certification program that presents a “comprehensive overview of the necessary components for sustainable community design,” and is “based in the experiences of hundreds of ecovillages acting as living laboratories over many decades.”
Based on our training in the GEDS course, we concluded that Regenerative Design values and strategies offer the best current guidance for creating an Ecovillage. Our main recommendations are for Hart’s Mill to adopt a Regenerative Sustainability framework to guide its vision, mission, aims, and practical projects. Our intention was not to supplant Hart’s Mill’s current plans, but rather to help manifest the latent potential of Hart’s Mill as an intentional community and as an ecovillage.
en the community can become a catalyst for regeneration of the larger living systems of which it is a part.
“Hart’s Mill ecovillage lives our interconnectedness with all of life, living as nature. Through this interconnectedness, and through fulfilling our unique value-adding role in our larger whole, we reweave all of life and create systemic perpetuating vitality and health in place and in the living systems of which we are a part.”
For the Worldview Dimension, our team recommends that the community develop a holistic worldview that lives the reality of interdependence and interbeing. This spiritual framework is a foundation for the commitment to Regenerative Sustainability. Creating a community such as Hart’s Mill is inherently spiritual, and nurturing this aspect of community life will greatly enrich Hart’s Mill members and its endeavors.
collaborative skills and avenues of participation in community governance. Hart’s Mill members express a great deal of appreciation for the community’s leaders, while also revealing a spectrum of views on the effectiveness of leadership at Hart’s Mill. The community has needs for feedback systems, younger leaders, more effective decision-making, and improved communication, as well as the need to address power and conflict more proactively. Our Team also recommends that Hart’s Mill create an Educational Center for Regenerative Sustainability, Cooperative Governance, and Social and Environmental Justice as a top, near-term priority.
program for youth to work and learn on the land, beginning with scheduling five workshops in 2018, including workshops to build an outdoor kitchen and classroom using natural building techniques. Hiring a volunteer manager and marketing specialist would be crucial for the success of such programs. We also recommend innovative strategies for attracting farmers and rewarding them for co-creating farm and community infrastructure. Hart’s Mill can then purchase any upgrades and investments from the farmer when and if they leave. Finally, while financing the development of Hart’s Mill is an ongoing area of concern, by deepening the community’s commitment to Regenerative Sustainability, Hart’s Mill will stand out and attract members, allies, donors, financers who are inspired by its sustainable mission. 
For the Ecological Dimension, Hart’s Mill can become a leader in regenerative agriculture, green building, and renewable energy. The community can grow food in a way that increases the health and functioning of the surrounding ecosystems. Regenerative design can guide water use, reuse, and wastewater treatment through rainwater catchment, living gray water systems, composting toilets, and constructed wetlands. Hart’s Mill can become an inspiring model in renewable energy through building for Net Plus renewable energy generation, maximizing energy efficiency, and collaborating with local and regional groups working for a renewable energy economy.
A small group of six stalwart Hart’s Millers and two guests showed up on a cold dreary afternoon for our December 2nd workday. Many thanks to Doug Jones, of neighboring community Earth’s Turn, for coming out and working with us! We aim to return this generous gesture. 
clearing the overgrown field east of the pavilion. Small saplings had to be removed by hand in order to safely bush-hog there. 
wreaths. Honorary canine member, Eya, alternated chilling nearby with dragging her leash through the underbrush to check on us.
Mid-afternoon there was a tour of the land, led by Hope. Exploratory member Link, with Hannah, and their small daughter Fern, got to see what we Hart’s Millers have been up to. Walking on the new pond trail, we hopscotched through the creeping cedar on wooden stepping “stones” cut and placed by Jeffry and Margret.
On the way back to the Nest, we we were startled by a colorful, snake-like shape off to the side. This is Margret’s newest painterly gift to the land. Wait until it peers out of the undergrowth come spring. 
Emerson Waldorf School’s Children’s Faire and Artisan Marketplace. Christina, Marilyn, Rita, Virginia, Charles, Anthony, and Paul greeted visitors and engaged in conversation about our community. Christhome. All agreed that it was a beautiful event. Thanks to Bailey and Gaius for opening this door for Hart’s Mill.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this time all about community, gratitude, generosity, and creativity! 
