Journalist's Questions about the Mission
Go to Tamera Solar Village Test Field in Portugal or come to Mercy College or the home of Kathy and Ed Puffer in Tilson NY or the Rockefeller Mud Creek Farm in Hudson NY and see for yourself!
Or, click on our maps here at these websites, click on the location point and then go visit for real (the above mentioned locations are on the map):
Video tutorial with animation and pictures showing how to build the Solar CITIES IBC Biogas system
http://solarcities.eu/blog/2015/04/397
http://community.solarcities.eu/wiki/466
http://community.solarcities.eu/wiki/467
Our needs are small:
Some used IBC tanks with intact lids. A drill with appropriately sized hole saws. Plumbing materials (pipes, valves, elbows, Ts and fittings). Black paint. Insulation materials. Gravel or stones. About 100 kg of some kind of animal manure as a starter inoculant to introduce the microbes. That's it. We've done this in remote villages in Africa and in the streets of Istanbul and everywhere in between. This ain't rocket science; we just need it to take off!
People used to think that biogas systems needed to be big, were difficult and needed experts to construct, needed to be outdoors, and needed a lot of animal manure to work.
None of this is true.
We strive to tackle and solve the "metabolic rift" problem -- the ecological crisis caused by linear cradle to grave resource mining and transformation with non-equilibrium capital accumulation and entropic dispersion engendered by the division between town and country.
We are closing the loop by transforming "food-waste-to-fuel-and-fertilizer-to-food-and-cooking again" at the home and community scale.
The name of our signature project that makes this magic accessible to EVERYONE is "The Solar CITIES DIY IBC Biodigester for Homestead Ecosystems"
Turkey impresses me each time I visit with its dedication to creating a
healthy progressive environment; I was delighted to see a growing
number of solar electric panels, solar hot water systems and wind farms
as we travelled through the country. I loved seeing the commitment
Turks make to planting and nurturing trees and in Cappadocia I was
impressed by the celebration of creating beautiful architecture out of
materials and shapes unique to the local landscape. Turkey is blessed
As a sustainable development professional and environmental science
professor focusing on how to help us reach our UN Millennium goals I
constantly reflect on the distinction between “techne” (knowledge that
is immutable, universal and transferable) and “metis” (knowledge that is
ever changing, intensely local and can't be replicated elsewhere). As a
National Geogaphic Explorer I confront the distinctions on a first hand
basis through my travel to as many as 10 different countries every year.