Low Cost Construction - Affordable Building System

June 4, 2009 by admin.

Brainstorming responses to the Katrina disaster gave me license to research low-cost housing. I had already been musing about the possibility of opening-up and exploiting new markets, finding new ways to use this huge mortgage lending (mortgage banking) machine that was Countrywide.

Nobody around me took the idea of low-cost housing seriously. Nobody wanted to talk about mortgages in developing countries. I was uninformed, they said. “There’s no money in it.” Hmmm.

Still, I wondered about it.

Well, since that time, lo and behold – microcredit (peer-to-peer lending or P2P lending) has taken-off, and traditional financing has, well… collapsed.

So, uh… I guess I’ll bring it up again: where’s the money being made these days? What was only a “whacky idea” a few years ago now doesn’t look so crazy. (Thanks to Richard Weddle for recommending The Starfish and the Spider.)

When you’ve got a huge demand, low production costs, ample financing, job-creation, ultimate “portability” (the building system and micro-lending model can be replicated just about anywhere), you’ve got the makings of an economic boom — or a bonanza, at the very least). This is a great example of “the unstoppable power of leaderless organizations.”

Low Cost Construction Housing Affordable Building System

The man interviewed in the above video is Associate Professor Bernard Lefebvre (Domtec Company Ltd), affiliated with the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.

Background on Habitech

Conceived at the Habitech Center of AIT the Self-Contained Housing Delivery System is an inexpensive, quickly and easily erected building system, the cost of which consistently undercuts conventional construction systems. Components have been added to create a complete modular interlocking building system especially suited for construction by unskilled labour which eliminates the need for construction equipment as the components are lightweight. The system has been disseminated in Asia since 1987 when research and development started up to 1995 when the building system was made available through private sector equipment suppliers.

The technology was demonstrated through housing projects (75) in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Nepal and Fiji, where small scale building material industries have been set-up creating employment, generating income and producing affordable housing for middle and low income groups.

As the building system spreads through Asia, the beneficial reduction in the consumption of timber products for construction will lead to a salutary effect upon the environment and help reduce the depletion of forest.

Habitech Center was awarded the Matsushita Award by the Japan Housing Association in 1994 “in recognition of excellent achievements in improving human settlements in Asian countries by promoting research and development related to technologies for low cost housing as well as providing educational programs and facilities to disseminate the results of their research efforts”.(Source: UNESCO Most Clearinghouse)

Posted in city planning, community development, urban renewal, public policy, NPR, suburban infill, infill development, microcredit, homelessness, poverty, redevelopment, social ventures, ventures, P2P, development, investing, philanthropy, politics, Linkedin, finance, jobs, shelter, affordable housing, small business, marketing | 1 Comment »

Indoor, vertical farming has advantages

May 28, 2009 by Robert.

 We’ve passed a historic milestone with more than 50% of North America living in cities.  That number is expected to grow — some say to 80% or more.

 Here’s a thought: instead of gobbling-up farm land, cutting-down forests, and plowing-up pristine wilderness… why not combine urban renewal with urban farming? Why not use poorly-planned sections of a city, under-performing commericial real estate projects, empty shopping malls and retail storefronts for farming?

Does the idea of a farm in a shopping mall sound silly to you?  This video may change your thinking:

 

I suspect that if we’re shipping fresh California produce across the Pacific Ocean to Japan and elsewhere, and bringing tomatoes in from Mexico and grapes from Chile… there has got to be a pretty good profit margin on organic produce that can be reliably grown year-round near or directly within

• densely-populated 
• residential areas
• downtown and retail centers (with offices and restaurants)
• airports, railroads, and ocean ports

The recession is hurting shopping malls and the recent string of big-box store closures have blighted otherwise high-traffic areas across America.

One draw-back to urban farming — the creative re-use of retail or warehouse space for farming –is job density. Indoor farming is not very labor-instensive (not like a retail store, anyway).

But a farmer’s market does provide some jobs.  And it could enhance a community, and it could help to revive foot-traffic in an otherwise sluggish strip-mall or shopping district.

So, despite minimal job creation, a suburban farm supplying organic produce to local stores, restaurants, and food services could help to increase the tax base of a community.  And the location might also be used for adult education or recreational gardening classes.

Is there a big empty warehouse or stand-alone building in your town that might make a good indoor farm?  Would you like to turn a portion of your property into a demonstration farm?  Are your solar panels generating more power than you can use?  Please let me know.

 If you’re interested in the latest on this topic, or if you’d like to educate me on this topic, please follow @grownupfoods on Twitter.

Posted in city planning, community development, urban renewal, public policy, social ventures, suburban infill, infill development, ag tech, agriculture, organic farming, redevelopment, ventures, jobs, development, nonprofit, investing, politics, Linkedin, finance, energy, small business, stimulus, schools, renewable energy | No Comments »

What transparency can do

May 26, 2009 by Robert.

 There is a growing demand in America for government transparency, and Obama is promising to come through.  But transparency is useless if nobody is watching.  Data, by itself, is usually not very interesting until someone turns it into information.  

“Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants…” (Louis Brandeis, What Publicity Can Do, Harper’s Weekly, 1913)   

 Sunlight Foundation Intern Andrew Berger looked to the career and early writings and public speeches of Louis Brandeis to understand how Brandeis idea of publicity and sunlight relates to the current government transparency movement and citizen engagement.

“The Web has also made possible types of information sharing and citizen engagement that did not exist even a few years ago, much less in Brandeis’ time. It has become easier for a person to turn from passive reader to active participant in politics. But it remains just as true today that a person has to become ’sufficiently interested’ in order to do so. To an extent, techniques like data visualizations, which really seem to have taken off in recent years, are important not just for the specific content they present, but for their potential to drive interest in government information…”     

 When people get a taste of good open information from the government, they’re not going to be easily satisfied with whitewashed rhetoric and idealistic speeches.  Get ready, folks: with transparency comes accountability… and a bigger appetite for information.

 

Posted in public policy, social ventures, politics | No Comments »

Jacqueline Novogratz on patient capitalism

May 20, 2009 by Robert.

Jacqueline Novogratz founded and leads Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that takes a businesslike approach to improving the lives of the poor. In her new book, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World, she tells stories from the new philanthropy, which emphasizes sustainable bottom-up solutions over traditional top-down aid.

  

Posted in energy, shelter, small business, ventures, social ventures, public policy, health, stimulus, finance, philanthropy, CSR, investing, nonprofit, Linkedin, development, politics | No Comments »

Egypt Should Invest in Low-Tech Waste-To-Energy Technology in Cairo

April 30, 2009 by Robert.

I just heard a radio report on NPR in the Global Health section:

Egypt To Slaughter Pigs As A Flu Precaution by Peter Kenyon    

(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103642533)

The growing Swine Flu epidemic has got a lot of people scared.  But knee-jerk policy decisions can sometimes have dangerous consequences.

In Cairo, where the Muslim population does not eat pork (or even touch pigs), hogs are farmed by the Coptic Christian population, a small minority.  So it’s not a tough political decision for Egypt to simply say “kill all the filthy animals” before Swine Flu breaks out.

‘Problem is… many of these pig-farmers in Cairo are the garbage collectors – they go from house to house and busines-to-business collecting garbage, bringing it back to their homes, separating it, and feeding the food scraps etc. to the hungry hogs.  That’s their livelihood.

Without the hogs, they will certainly not want to bring the garbage back to their homes.  The pig-farmers warn NPR that the garbage will quickly pile-up, and Cairo will be a filthy place (er, even filthier).

But of course, Cairo won’t let that happen, will they?  They’ll burn their trash.  They’ll pile up the trash, pour kerosene on it, and light it up.  Somebody will.  If the government won’t do it, civilians will.

Swine Flu is an immediate public health issue in other countries, and is threatening Egypt.  But Egypt’s reaction is creating a different urgent public health issue in Cairo.  And they may soon export an even bigger environmental issue in the form of pollution and noxious fumes.

Instead of simply burning trash and putting filth into the air, they could use the trash to generate electricity while at the same time getting rid of all kinds of municipal waste.  It’s called Waste-To-Energy (WTE or W2E).

Envirepel™ gasification uses a brick oven design which is not new: it was patented over 100 years ago. They do not burn the trash — they heat the trash to the point that everything melts, all the microbes and disease “bugs” are cooked.  They use the waste heat from the process to generate eletricity.  And they use the gases that come off of the trash to fuel the system and to produce methane, ammonia, and other good stuff.  The “ash” that comes out the other end can be used for making bricks, concrete, roads, roof shingles and other useful products.

Now there’s a good thang!  See http://envirepel.com/

 

Posted in jobs, energy, small business, ventures, social ventures, public policy, health, finance, Linkedin, philanthropy, politics, investing, nonprofit, development, P2P, renewable energy | No Comments »

The Cost of Doing Business in California

April 22, 2009 by Robert.

Ouch!  We need to protect small businesses in California!  This particular story made me angry: others at Faces of Law Suit Abuse.org might make you cry.  A seven year old boy sued over a minor skiing accident?  Outrageous!  A $47 million dollar suit over a pair of pants?  The dry cleaner eventually won the suit, but only after years in court, after shutting-down 2 of their 3 businesses.  What a tragedy!

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From the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR): Small businesses pay $20 billion in tort liability costs out of their own pockets each year.

• Tort Liability Costs for Small Business

Small businesses are responsible for 60 to 80 percent of all new jobs created in the U.S economy. More jobs, higher wages, and better benefits could be provided if the average small business earning $1 million in revenue didn’t have to spend $20,000 each year on an out of control lawsuit system.

• Tort Liability Costs for Small Business

The growth in U.S. tort costs since 1950 has exceeded growth in GDP by an average of approximately two percentage points annually.

• 2008 Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends

America’s civil justice system is the world’s most expensive, with a direct cost in 2007 of $252 billion, or 1.83 percent of the U.S. GDP.

• 2008 Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends

Tort costs were $835 per U.S. citizen in 2007, meaning a family of four paid a “litigation tax” of more than $3,300 for the U.S. civil justice system, a cost driven up due to increased costs from lawsuits and other liability expenses that force businesses to raise the price of products and services.

• 2008 Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends

The cost of the U.S. tort liability system as a percentage of GDP is more than double the average cost of any other industrialized nation.

• Who Pays for Tort Liability Claims? An Economic Analysis of the U.S. Tort Liability System

Posted in stimulus, small business, finance, Linkedin, development, politics | No Comments »

Financing Wind Energy Projects

April 22, 2009 by Robert.

In many school cases schools and other public entities have unique opportunities to help finance wind projects because they qualify for low interest loans, can issue bonds, have lower required rates of return, and generally can get longer financing terms.  Pictured [right] are the Spirit Lake Community School District’s 250 kW and 750 kW wind turbines.  The 750 kW wind turbine was financed through a zero interest loan from the Iowa Energy Center’s Alternative Energy Revolving Loan Program and a low interest loan approved by the Iowa Energy Bank.  (Article and photo from the Windustry Community Wind Toolbox)  Photo credit: Iowa Energy Center

Posted in community wind, finance, schools, stimulus, VCwind, Linkedin, development, politics, renewable energy, philanthropy, investing, nonprofit, wind | No Comments »

Ventura County Now Open to Small Wind Turbines

April 14, 2009 by Robert.

Among the many “good thangs” I could write about here, I am particulary pleased to report that Ventura County now has its first wind turbine.  And I am tickled to be able to say that my work with Prevailing Wind Power, LLC (PWP) was instrumental in making that first installation happen. Here’s a front page story from the Fillmore Gazette (Fillmore, CA) dated Feb. 11, 2009: http://www.fillmoregazette.com/front-page/farming-wind  Sales for wind turbines are not rolling-in quickly (yet), but I am confident that in the 2009 we’ll see several more turbines installed.For many months, I fielded phone inquiries from residents in Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara Counties asking for information about turbines from Southwest WindPower (SWWP).  SWWP is one of the oldest and most popular brands of “Small Wind” turbines, and has tens of thousands of turbines installed worldwide.  Yet, there were no turbines in the local area to which I could point prospective customers.  The closest (to my knowledge) were in the Big Bear / Arrowhead area, over 100 miles away.These “residential” turbines like the SkyStream 3.7 are larger than Air-X turbines common with boats and RVs.  But they are far smaller than thewind turbines that most people associate with Palm Springs or Tehachapi in Southern California or Altamont Pass in Northern California.Concerns over noise or performance or maintenance costs are real and legitimate.  Assuring a prospective buyer that the wind in the trees is louder than a SkyStream, or that ‘we have plenty of wind here’ in California, or that ‘these things last and last’ only goes so far.  For my money, I would want to see/hear for myself.  So, being able to point to a local Skystream unit and an owner that is high-profile and approachable is fantastic.  It’s going to really help sales here in Ventura County, CA.  The SkyStream website has a link for “SkyStreams Near Me” which lets you see if there are any units in your local area.  The new owner, like so many others, is happy to show off their new residential power plant and to tell about the process. Hats-off to the Hammonds for pressing Ventura County, writing letters to local legislators and getting the local media involved.   And hats-off to the Fillmore Gazette for following-up on the issue and getting local legislators “off the dime” and getting the wheelsblades turning.

Posted in SWWP, Linkedin, VCwind, PWP, politics, renewable energy, marketing, wind | No Comments »

Outrage over AIG bonuses is a ruse

March 18, 2009 by Robert.

I can’t help rolling my eyes when I hear sound bytes of legislators bickering and fomenting over the “outrageous” bonuses paid to AIG execs after AIG received huge amounts of taxpayer money.   I love this quote from Tom McGuire in his JustOneMinute blog:“bashing highly paid Wall Street financiers peddling products no one understands is a lot more fun than bashing a bunch of collateral clerks doing something or other about which no one cares.”In the words of Armed Liberal, “Fewer pitchforks, more calculators please.”

Posted in investing, politics, Blogroll | No Comments »