Start of the Hohmes blog

I'm not sure if this is a good idea. Starting a blog that will be some sort of diary of my purpose to realise a self sufficient, sustainable, zero energy, zero carbon emmiting affordable, moveable and well designed house for me my family and anyone attracted to it.

It will offer shelter, warmth, water and modern comfort yet minimise our CO2 footprint and only use renewable energy. The house could be developped as a stand alone unit or be developped as to be connected to a grid as well. Advantages of scale indeed are possible but I figure development starts with the smallest possible number, choosing the way of the least resistance: a single unit that just suites our needs contributing to collective needs as well. I tend to look at it as a lovely peace of furniture, an object with the ability to live in.

The desire and concept are clear. It maybe leads to a prefabricated, industrialised unit and forces to use the most straightforward and simple techniques and material. Pushes towards the elements that nature massively is offering so clearly every day for free and renewable untill the end of times: light, sun, water, earth -and from that: biomass- wind and fire.

It aims at deconnecting from centralised production to decentralised less polluting living reconnecting to the basics of life, living in close harmony with nature.

It all started in 2005 when I developped this idea into a concept with my pal Marc van Langen. We had plans drawn and a maquette made and looked for sponsors as to create a demo unit. We asked the Dutch Friends of the earth (Natuurmonumenten, de Kleine Aarde) to co-develop, sollicitated several builders (Landal Green Parcs) , a bank (Triodos) and Dutch green venture capitalists like Mr. Fentener Van Vlissingen and Eckart Wintzen. All willingly listened, none were able or willing to invest a penny back than. Some did not understand what we were up to, others simply thought 'what's in it for me in the short run' ? Returns in single, preferably double digits, had to be made within a year whereas sustainability in this case is about longer term investment and dito profitability. It's about innovative, new business, not about business as usual. Innovative in it's approach of developping, designing and building. Innovative into how to live and how to organise urban space as well. And innovative for it is not a governmental supply model that produces the housing here and it is innovative because it adds quality and future gains to it's benefits.

Why bother restarting now? Well, we still can use a place for us to stay and think Dutch housing -on the average costing more than 250.000 EURO for a shag- still isn't smart, is polluting, ugly, too expensive and does not meet our wish to connect with our basic needs. Our house simply does not exist yet. Secondly I now have some pennies myself and do not want to waiste them in somethin waisting. Thirdly I now took the time to try to make it happen. And fourthly sustainability is on everyone's agenda and it seems time for action has come more suitable with the mainstream than when I attempted previously.

Governmental organisations, building companies, architects, developpers, banks, show some good will and some reluctancy at the same time. Business as usual and individual restraints and interests have parties talking, waiting and pointing at each other in a circle of blame if it comes to find an aswer to the question why don't we built in a sustainable way now? Thereby ignoring the individual and collective interets to speed up the process now, as pollution progressively grows and costs of energy and water increase every year, and with that geo-political implications, all stressing the importance to focus on alternatives.

So here is some individual action even if it is not so smart. I hope you all enjoy the ride along with me.