Monday 4 May 2015

Eco village SOL

Information on our partner project at Curaçao 

Eco Village SOL 

Eco Village SOL is a project at the island Curaçao. Salomon Bomberg has started it some years ago. After some try-outs at different spots, he found a piece of land at Santa Catharina. It's close to the bay of Sint Joris, in the eastern part of the island. Even though part of the 4 acres of this land was a dump for used cars, it's well situated and has potential for Salomon's plans. 


 view from the wind mill 
volunteer working on the land 

Mission and vision 
The mission of Eco-Village SOL is to become a 100% self-sustaining community, dedicated to research and education on the environment and sustainable living and tourism. It will be a model for a new way of living, a place to heal, grow, re-awaken deeper aspects of ourselves we have forgotten in the frantic and hectic pace of our industrialised world. It's a playful, creative and spontaneous journey and an intense unfolding of what it feels like to be alive, connected and nurturing towards ourselves and the fragile eco-system in which we live.
Eco-Village SOL envisions a world of diverse ways of being, united in harmony with each other and the planet, a world supporting the nourishment of each person's self-expression.

Eco Village SOL is focused on 
becoming a model of sustainability at Curaçao 
incorporating the latest green technologies in design and infrastructure 
actively encouraging teachers and workshop hosts to come and teach various aspects of personal growth, organic farming, sustainability, green technologies, etc. to children and adults  
promoting the research, development and use of earth-centered technologies 
encouraging and promoting cross-fertilisation of ideas and resources among ecological organisations and the Curaçaoan population 
becoming a center where people can live and work on various eco-related projects 
developing and nurturing a sense of community 
becoming a center for teaching, exploring and encouraging cooperation and action towards a sustainable Curaçao 


 mulching 
planting 

How is it doing now? 
Salomon has started creating the eco village at the 4 acre piece of land. Together with a group of five people, most young volunteers, he is cultivating the land in an organic way. They do their best to apply the principles of permaculture. They are creating a model for permaculture on the island of Curaçao, they are pioneers here. 
They are digging some wells. More animals will come to join the two cows: chickens, goats, more cows. 

There are no financial means. That's why the workers are volunteers, who are motivated by the vision and mission of Eco village SOL. Donations are used for the equipment. A pick-up and a tractor are available for use when needed. To get some income, Salomon designs and creates gardens for others. But most of his time he works at Eco village SOL. Selling products of the land (starting in the near future) will provide the money for the projects. 

First the housing for the workers will be built. The lodges and other buildings will be made of natural materials as much as possible. The buildings will be designed like organic structures, for example domes. There will be a presentation room, a restaurant and some kind of accomodation for tourists. 
one of the cows 

Eco tourism 
In the future Eco village SOL will attract tourists who want to experience this way of living and who want to contribute to the independence of the Eco village. In the Sustainability Center students will have the opportunity to follow lectures and get explanation about new, sustainable techniques. This place will be hosting a think-tank of various environmental and sustainability organisations. Conferences on related subjects will be organised. Guests will have access to all aspects of the community. They can dine at the organic restaurant, where they can eat the food right off the land. 

Eco-Village SOL will become a resort that enriches nature, rejuvenates the community and guests and applies: bio-architecture, water harvesting and recycling, permaculture, cold fusion, gravity, electromagnetic and plasma technology, holistic healing, agnihotra and resource based economy. It seeks to cooperate in a non-competitive manner with other organisations for the benefit of humankind.

More information and pictures: 
https://www.facebook.com/ecovillagesol

Permaculture 
“Permaculture is the match maker, creating passionate love affairs between rain and plants, humans and animals, and ultimately achieving systems that produce enough natural resources to provide for their own maintenance and reproduction. In this type of system the primary concerns would not be mass production and economics, but 'people care' and 'earth care'. Because successful permaculture requires great inputs of knowledge of natural systems, creativity and expertise in a number of different areas, the ideal of 'people care' encourages individuals to share both their crop yield and their knowledge and talents. 'People care' also encompasses the ideal that, just as an individual should care for the earth, the earth should care and provide for that individual. Each permaculture system is thus developed and personally tailored to suit the needs and desires of the individuals for which it provides. “