School of Economics and Business Administration

Executive MBA programme

Coursework Cover Form

Course Leader: Dr EMMANOUIL KONDYLIS Submission Date: 07/3/11

Title of Work: “BUSINESS PLAN FOR THE CREATION OF THE FIRST ECOVILLAGE IN NORTH GREECE”

Subject: DISSERTATION

Name: EMMANUEL KOLOKOTRONIS & IOANNA TZIRITIStudent ID: 1101080115 & 1101080134

Intake: February 2011

School of Economics and Business Administration

Executive MBA programme

Coursework Cover Form

Executive MBA programme

Coursework Cover Form

I confirm that the work I have submitted is: (Tick one category only)My own unaided work……X The unaided work of my project group……With help (give details)………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Date:…………28/02/11………………………….

Marker’s Comment:

Course Leader: Dr EMMANOUIL KONDYLIS Submission Date: 07/3/11

Title of Work: : “BUSINESS PLAN FOR THE CREATION OF THE FIRST ECOVILLAGE IN NORTH GREECE”

Subject: DISSERTATION

Student ID: 1101080115 & 1101080134 Intake: February 2011

Final Mark:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The purpose of this project is the establishment of the first eco-village in the area of

Northern Greece. The ecovillage concept is about helping people to become more

environmental responsible, live more self-sufficiently and ethically, and providing

people with the information they need to make responsible decisions about how they

live their lives. A community of like-minded people, who know the importance of

looking after our planet and celebrating the diversity it contains. But for an idea to

become reality there must be more facts. In our case we study the feasibility of

developing the first holistic ecovillage in Northern Greece, the dream of a group of

twelve people, who are willing to move to an area far from the big cities where they

will mange to leave self-reliantly without polluting and harming the environment.

The current work is a business plan of the aforementioned project. Extensive research

has been conducted in order to find information helpful for the realization of this

project such as for finding available land, green construction techniques and energy

saving technologies, farming techniques and crop varieties etc. Then, given the

restrictions provided by our available budgeting, we had to choose the resources and

techniques that would apply best to our case.

Far from just helping to the realization of our eco-dream, this business plan could

provide help to other people sharing the same vision, providing a framework for

thought and further improvements.

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this project is the establishment of the first eco-village in the area of

Northern Greece. In order though to make our proposal attractive for funding, we

should clearly state our purpose, vision but first of all what is exactly that we want to

create. Therefore above all we want to give an insight of what an Eco-village is.

Under the term eco-village it is understood the creation of an eco-community, which

can be named any socially, financially and ecologically residential, intentional

community. (http://www.oikorama-ngo.gr/index.php/2008-10-26-20-18-44.html)

An intentional community, in comparison with common communities, is a residential

community designed to operate thanks to close teamwork of its members. The

members of an intentional community are typically people who strive together

because they share a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision. They

choose to live together with a common purpose, working cooperatively to create a

lifestyle that reflects their shared core values. They typically also share

responsibilities and resources. Ecovillages, among others, are a specific form of

intentional communities. What sets them apart is their explicit emphasis on ecology.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentional_community )

The term “Eco-village” actually only became prominent in 1991, when Robert

Gilman, the president of Context Institute, a nonprofit research organization that

explores what is involved in creating a humane sustainable culture, wrote an article

entitled “The Eco-village Challenge”.

( http://www.abroadview.org/avmag/2008spring_kessler.htm)

Gilman defined an Eco-village as a “human-scale, full-featured settlement, in which

human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world in a way that is

supportive of healthy human development and can be successfully continued into the

indefinite future.” Through this definition he has set five major principles:

1. An eco-village is a “human scale,” referring to a population within which it is

possible to know and be known by others and to feel a personal contact with the

community. Generally the population where this can be achieved is about 100 to 500

people.

2. It is a “full-featured settlement,” in that day-to-day needs like shelter, employment,

and recreation are satisfied within the community.

3. It is a place in which “human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural

world”; eco-villages use renewable energy, compost waste, and avoid toxic

substances.

4. It ”supports healthy human development.”; eco-villages promote growth in the

physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of healthy life.

5. It can be ”successfully continued into the indefinite future.” Eco-villages must be

sustainable, which means they cannot be dependent upon unsustainable practices

elsewhere or exclusive of a stage of life such as childhood or old age.

http://gen.ecovillage.org/iservices/publications/articles/av_08_spring_ecovillages.pdf

Toward the end of the 20th century, as environmental problems became increasingly

salient, eco-villages started to appear as one solution to the major problems of our

time: our planets’ limits to growth and natural resources. According to increasing

numbers of scientists, we have to learn to live sustainably if we are to survive as a

species. The United Nations in its Global Environment Outlook 2000 report

concluded, based on reports from UN agencies, 850 individuals and over 30

environmental institutes, that "the present course is unsustainable and postponing

action is no longer an option."

Ecovillages are an outcome of citizens trying to lower their ecological footprints

while increasing their sense of belonging and purpose. By endeavouring for lifestyles

which are "successfully continuable into the indefinite future", they constitute living

models of sustainability, and examples of how action can be taken immediately. The

power of human communities to come together and co-design their own pathway into

the future is seen as a major driving force for positive change. Therefore, ecovillages

are rapidly gaining recognition as demonstrations sites of sustainability in practice

and as places of inspiration for the wider society. They represent an effective,

accessible way to fight against the degradation of our social, ecological and spiritual

environments. In 1998, ecovillages were first officially named among the United

Nations' top 100 listing of Best Practices, as excellent models of sustainable living.

http://gen.ecovillage.org/index.php?

option=com_content&view=article&id=92&Itemid=175

Gilman’s definition describes though an ideal type ecovillage, rather than a

community’s defining characteristics. We would better say that these criteria tend to

determine an ecovillage’s overall objectives. As sociologist Debbie Van Schyndel

Kasper (2008, Human Ecology Review, Vol. 15, No 1) points out, “Though some

degree of energy and resource independence is desirable, ecovillages do not aspire to

be completely self-sufficient, nor are they meant to be isolated communities of

escape.”. Ecovillages are rather intended to be linked in networks of social, economic,

and political ties, and the accordingly created ecovillage movement has been steadily

working toward that goal. The movement has found its formal organizational home

with the formation of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) in 1995 by 25

community representatives from around the world. GEN is a growing network of

sustainable communities and initiatives that bridge different cultures, countries, and

continents. GEN serves as umbrella organization for ecovillages, transition town

initiatives, intentional communities, and ecologically-minded individuals worldwide

with the mission to provide networking services and leadership to the expanding

network of individuals, organizations, and communities who are implementing

sustainability practices around the world. GEN has set four dimensions of

sustainability for an ecovillage, Social/Community, Ecology, Cultural/Spiritual and

economical, and describes them as following:

Community means:

Recognizing and relating to others Sharing common resources and providing mutual aid

Emphasizing holistic and preventive health practices

Providing meaningful work and sustenance to all members

Integrating marginal groups

Promoting unending education

Encouraging unity through respect for differences

Fostering cultural expression

Ecology means:

Growing food as much as possible within the community bio-region supporting organic food production there

Creating homes out of locally adapted materials

Using village-based integrated renewable energy systems

Protecting biodiversity

Fostering ecological business principles

Assessing the life cycle of all products used in the ecovillage from a social and spiritual as well as an ecological point of view

Preserving clean soil, water and air through proper energy and waste management

Protecting nature and safeguarding wilderness areas

Cultural and spiritual vitality means:

Shared creativity, artistic expression, cultural activities, rituals and celebrations

Sense of community unityand mutual support

Respect and support for spirituality manifesting in many ways

Shared vision and agreements that express commitments, cultural heritage and the uniqueness of each community

Flexibility and successful responsiveness to difficulties that arise

Understanding of the interconnectedness and interdependence of all the elements of life on Earth and the community's place in and relation to the whole

Creation of a peaceful, loving, sustainable world

Economic Vitality means:

Keeping the money in the community, Circulating it through as many hands as possible,

Earning it, spending it, and investing it in member-owned retail and service businesses,

Saving it in home-grown financial institutions.

(http://gen-europe.org/ecovillages/about-ecovillages/index.htm)

What would be different in our eco-village is that we aspire to be the first holistic

touristic-agricultural community based on the principles of permaculture.

Permaculture is one of the most holistic, integrated systems analysis and design

methodologies found in the world. It is an ecological design system for sustainability

in all aspects of human endeavor. The word came up from a contraction of

“permanent agriculture”, and “permanent culture”. The method has been introduced

scientifically by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren and their associates

during the 1970s. Permacutlure teaches us how to build natural homes, grow our own

food, restore diminished landscapes and ecosystems, catch rainwater, build

communities and much more.

http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/classroom/

Permaculture is based on ecological and biological principles, often using patterns

that occur in nature to maximise effect and minimise work. It aims to create stable,

productive systems by harmoniously integrating the land with its inhabitants. The

ecological processes of plants, animals, their nutrient cycles, climatic factors and

weather cycles are all part of the picture. Elements in a system are viewed in

relationship to other elements, where the outputs of one element become the inputs of

another. Within a Permaculture system, work is minimised, "wastes" become

resources, productivity and yields increase, and environments are restored.

Permaculture principles can be applied to any environment, at any scale from dense

urban settlements to individual homes, from farms to entire regions.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture)

More recently, permaculture has expanded its purview to include economic and social

structures that support the evolution and development of more permanent

communities, such as co-housing projects and eco-villages. (http://attra.ncat.org/attra-

pub/perma.html#intro)

Permaculture is not limited to plant and animal agriculture, but also includes

community planning and development, use of appropriate technologies, and adoption

of concepts and philosophies that are both earth-based and people-centered. Many of

the appropriate technologies advocated by permaculturists are well known. Among

these are solar and wind power, composting toilets, solar greenhouses, energy

efficient housing, and solar food cooking and drying.

Due to the inherent sustainability of perennial cropping systems, permaculture places

a heavy emphasis on tree crops. Systems that integrate annual and perennial crops

take advantage of "the edge effect," increase biological diversity, and offer other

characteristics missing in monoculture systems. Thus, multicropping systems that

blend woody perennials and annuals hold promise as viable techniques for large-scale

farming. Ecological methods of production for any specific crop or farming system

(e.g., soil building practices, biological pest control, composting) are central to

permaculture as well as to sustainable agriculture in general.

Since permaculture is not a production system, per se, but rather a land use and

community planning philosophy, it is not limited to a specific method of production.

Furthermore, as permaculture principles may be adapted to farms or villages

worldwide, it is site specific and therefore amenable to locally adapted techniques of

production. As an example, standard organic farming and gardening techniques

utilizing cover crops, green manures, crop rotation, and mulches are emphasized in

permacultural systems. However, there are many other options and technologies

available and the decision as to which "system" is employed is site-specific and

management dependent.

Water collection, management, and re-use systems as well as recycling play also an

important role in permaculture designs.

So, the basic permaculture principles and guidelines are as follows:

“Let nature do it.”: For any activity that needs to be accomplished, someone should

first consider if there are any biological or other natural ways to accomplish the goal

before considering mechanical and chemical means. This doesn't mean that, in the

final analysis, someone will always choose the biological resource, but he/she should

be at least aware of the natural alternatives.

“ Integrate your functions.”: When considering the different elements of a landscape,

someone should consider not only their products, but also their functions. There

should be multiple functions for single elements. For instance, the chicken is not only

an egg, meat, and feather producer, but it can function as a tractor, herbicide,

pesticide, and a bag of fertilizer. If well placed and managed, chickens can be used to

prepare soil during planting with their scratching. They will eat weeds and weed

seeds, as well as numerous insects and small slugs, all while spreading their nitrogen-

rich manure. From this multi-functional perspective, hedges, ponds, chicken yards,

walls, fences - all elements of the design - take on new meaning and purpose.

“ Plan the physical layout.”: The three main concepts here are zoning, sector planning,

and relative location. Zoning locates the various components of the landscape based

upon labour needs: those that require frequent visiting and are labor intensive are

located nearest to the area of greatest activity, usually the house. Those that require

less labour are placed further. According to this, house is zone 0, followed then by

zones 1, 2, 3, and 4. Ideally, according however to the actual topography of the

property, the herb and salad garden with edible flowers and the like, are located in

zone 1 - close to the kitchen door. Zone 2 is includes the annual garden, greenhouse,

chicken coop, and other landscape components that require daily or frequent attention.

Zone 3 serves well for the permanent crops and large stock housing. Zone 4 includes

the areas that only need to be visited several times per year such as the wood lot.

The relative location of each element to each other is also an important factor. If the

chickens, greenhouse, and garden for example all require the installation of a water

line, clustering these three elements can reduce the amount of pipe required,

installation labour and money(Sego Jackson, 1984).

These principles and guidelines would all be taken into consideration during the

design process of our project.

MISSION

Our mission comprises the following aspects: To live harmoniously with the natural world as well as with one another. To create a community that its members will act as a whole for the welfare of all community members, with mutual respect for each other and by sharing their resources. To show others how to properly utilize land for both habitation and retention of the maximum amount of natural habitat. To constitute a guiding paradigm of a sustainable and self-sufficient community.

VISION

We envision becoming the first integrated attempt of an ecovillage in Greece that will set the path for an organized Greek ecovillage movement. We aspire to spread our experience and knowledge in order to appear more such sustainable and self-sufficient communities throughout Greece, which all together will help to preserve the beautiful natural environment of our country for the future generations.

GOALS

1. To successfully apply the methods of Permaculture and natural farming for the

production of crops in order to constitute a paradigm of effective sustainability

without the use of substances that are harmful both for the environment and

the human health.

2. Through our workshops and retreat programs to advocate a community

lifestyle to individuals from all lifestyle backgrounds, for them to cultivate

balanced, healthy and sustainable living, socially, spiritually, economically,

and ecologically.

3. To serve as a think-tank, international partner organization and catalyst for

Ecovillages, ecovillage-related projects, and lifestyle models in Greece and

around the world.

LEGAL ENTITY

As there is no specific legislative frame in the Greek constitution regarding

ecovillages, we have to select one of the available legal entities that will serve as

better as possible our communities needs. The criteria having taken into consideration

in order to conclude to a form of legal entity have been: a) Consesus style governance

and decision making b) establishment of written rules that will set clear the hierarchy

and the community’s functioning c) trading and agricultural ability d) common

joining fee and shared maintenance costs for all members e) Limited financing ability.

Taking all the aforementioned into consideration and after taking legal advice, we

concluded to establish the Eco-village as an Agricultural Association.

To begin with, under the Greek law definition, a company is a private organisation

created by a union of individuals under a specified common shared purpose, which

would ne either profitable or non-profitable. These include regarding the law, the

associations of article 78 of the Greek civil code, the fund-raising committee of article

122 of the Greek civil code and the company in the narrow sense of the term. In this

sense, a company can be either the civil corporation of article 741 of the civil code or

one of the eight different corporations of the commercial low. (Antonopoulos,1998)

The associations of article 78 are non-profit organizations with no commercial

activity and there are required at least 20 individuals for its establishment.

(Antonopoulos, 1998)

Therefore, our Ecovillage cannot be this kind of legal entity for two main reasons: a)

because it will have a commercial character and will seek profitability for the welfare

of its members and b) because we will start in the first year of our operation with less

than 20 members.

Furthermore, our Eco-village can also not be the fund-raising committee of article 122

as it has not a purpose of public benefit, for which would raise funding through

money contributions, festivals etc, as the definition of a fund-raising organisation

implies (Antonopoulos, 1998).

So, the Eco-village will be either a civil corporation of article 741 or one of the eight

commercial corporations as they are determined by the Greek commercial low.

The civil corporation, as it is determined by the article 741 of the Greek civil law, is

the mutual union of two or more people in order to achieve a shared specified

purpose, financial, but not commercial, or ideal. (Antonopoulos, 1998) This is the

main reason why our Ecovillage cannot be such kind of legal entity, because it will

run commercial activities.

So, we have to choose among the eight commercial types of companies as they are

determined by the Greek commercial low. We actually have to choose among four

types of companies, as according to the typical system of the law, companies with

commercial activities are the limited company, the limited liability company, the

agricultural association and the shipping company. (Alexandridou, 2007) Among

them, the legal entity that matches best our form of operation and our desired

activities is the agricultural association.

According to the first article of the Greek low with number 2810/2000, an

Agricultural association is an autonomous union of individuals that is established

voluntarily and its purpose is, with the mutual cooperation of its members, their

financial, social and cultural development and promotion, through a co-owned and

democratically governed corporation. It is a private legal entity that has trading

ability and can develop any kind of activity in order to accomplish its purpose always

within the frameworks of low and its memorandum. It has a variable financial capital

and variable number of members.

According to the second article of the same low, the Agricultural Combination will be

based in the municipality, where its administration will be settled. Furthermore, its

brand name should reflect its main purpose or its activities and should include its

agricultural property as well as it’s the place it is based. As a result, we decided to

name our eco-community as “Ecovillage at ..”, where after “at” will follow the name

of the municipality where our agricultural association will manage to established.

Furthermore, every ecovillage has a specific set of policies that govern things like

membership processes to house design to leaving the community. In this way

ecovillages are somewhat bureaucratic in their operation, consensus decision making

however imbalances this negative aspect by allowing community members to

question, re-examine and adjust these rules whenever necessary. The Agricultural

association serves also this need, as according to the third article of the 2810/2000

low, for the establishment of an Agricultural Association there should be conducted a

memorandum, signed by at least seven persons – members, which will describe the

mission of the association, its procedures of functioning, its activities, the rights and

obligations of its members, the hierarchy, the decision making and voting procedures,

the registration and deregistration of a member (according to the sixth article, the

Administrative board of the Association decides, providing the appropriate

justification, to accept or reject a person as a member of the association) etc. In our

case particularly there should be rules regarding the construction methods as well as

materials and technologies used for buildings, farming techniques, minimization of

consumption, waste management, reinvestments to the community etc. Concluding,

the common purpose of this statement will be to guide the organization, activities and

daily life of the community and to serve as a touchstone to which the community can

refer for reminding or carefully considered adjustments.

In accordance with the eighth article of this low, each member should provide a

minimum amount of money, called cooperative portion, in order to participate in the

Agricultural association, as this is specified in its memorandum, and has the right of

one vote. The memorandum could foresee terms and conditions for the acquisition of

each member of more than one and up to 3 additional compulsory cooperative

portions, depending on the height of his/hers transactions with the Combination. As

transactions is specified the sum of the total value of the products, resources and

services provided to the member by the association, as well as of the products the

members provide to the community or through the association to third parties.

Along with the tenth article, the primary body of the Combination is the general

assembly, which is the decision maker for any matter, for which no other responsible

body has been foreseen.

THE MARKET

MARKET ANALYSIS AND COMPETITION

Despite the fact that the ecovillage movement is quite recent, there are nowadays

thousands ecovillages in all five continents. It is impossible to be certain about how

many ecovillages exist, as many local initiatives are not yet connected to formal

networks, however globally there are about 380 ecovillages officially registered with

GEN, while it is estimated the real number to be about 15.000.

It has been quite a surprise to discover that even in our country there are several small

attempts of such communities, the interest to which seems to have grown up after the

burst of the global economic crisis, as more affordable and self-reliant way of living.

We will not consider in any case these communities as competitors but rather as

fellow-followers of the Ecovillage movement in Greece.

So, after extensive internet research, we have come up with the following:

ANAVRA

The small community of “Anavra”, is a small mountain village of about 1000 citizens,

in the Magnesia prefecture of Greece, which has adopted a more ecological

orientation. Characteristic is how this different for the Greek standards community

has been featured in the Greek Press as “Green Anavra, the remedy to the financial

crisis” (VETO Sunday newspaper, Februar 2010), “The Anavra`s wonder”

(Adesmeftos Typos newspaper, February 2010), “Anavra: Green development pattern”

(Ta Nea newspaper, October 2009), “The ecological miracle of Anavra” (Ta Nea

newspaper, June 2009), “Anavra teaches innovation and prosperity” (“Kathimerini”

newspaper, March 2009) and many more (http://www.anavra-goura.gr/News/press.php?

lang=EN). Anavra has been recognized as a model of sustainable development. The

town produces its own electricity by 20 wind-powered generators. Surplus electrical

power is sold. One of the main characteristics of Anavra is that the whole population

is occupied by biological stock farming, which leads to a healthy and of high quality

meat production. The Anavra's overall meat production corresponds to the 25% of

total meat production of Magnesia prefecture. There are more than 60 modern

farming stations, situated on three different stock farming parks around the village.

The residents of Anavra have achieved this way to enjoy one of the highest GDP per

capita in Greece and the rest of the EU with incomes that range from 30,000 to

100,000 Euros. In the short-term plans of the community is the construction of a

hydroelectric plant as well as of a biomass facility which will supply heat and hot

water from animal manure and woodchips. The plan calls for all homes and buildings

in the town on the heat/hot water network.

http://www.anavra-goura.gr/Farming/elIntro.php,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anavra

SPARTA KEFALAS S.A.

Another such example, is the small village Heads, in Lakonia prefecture, near Sparta.

The village is pioneering because it constitutes probably the sole biological

agriculture in Greece, where almost all the 320 locals are occupied with the

pesticides- or fertilizers-free production of olive, in 6.000 acres. The olives are the

cause that the young persons remain in their place of origin. Indeed, 40% of the

village’s population are farmers with age smaller the 45 years. In 1999 twenty three

producers of the village established the limited liability company Sparta Heads HM.

(Sparta Kefalas S.[A].), aiming at the exclusive standardization and disposal of their

annual harvest. Nowadays, their total annual production reaches the 500 tons of olive

and the 250 olive oil and they run exports to many countries of Europe and the United

States. Using effectively European Union financing they have managed to develop

their own modern certified olive press and installations for the production

standardisation of their exceptional virgin olive oil of Protected Geographic Clue

“Lakonia” (with a shelve price of 7-8 Euro per 750 ml), the olives, the pastry of olive

and the sundried tomatos, which are sold in shops of biological types, but also in big

supermarkets chains in Greece and abroad (“TA NEA”, March 2010).

MILIA

Milia has been the first serious effort of ecotourism in Crete and the only one with an

environmental policy for her operation, what has been acknowledged with a reward in

the International competition of Ecotourism in 2003, which is organised by “Skal

International” (http://www.interdynamic.net/hotels/hdescription.php?

pid=321&lang=el).

Milia is located in the heart of Western Crete, in a semi-mountainous region in the

Prefecture of Chania, an area unique for its expansive variety of flora.

The philosophy of Milia is to preserve the natural life cycle in such a way that is

friendly towards both the environment and the human being.

Until 1982, when the decision was made for environmental improvements and the

restoration of the mediaeval settlement, Milia was a place ruined by fires and over-

grazing. The initial work at Milia included the systematic cultivation of the land, the

creation of anti-fire zones as well as the reconstruction of the buildings.

Milia offers nowadays 13 guest-houses/rooms, which have been built from the

foundations of the old village houses with local materials, keeping the architecture

characteristic of the area and furnished with old restored furniture collected from the

surrounding villages. The comforts at Milia are basic and as the light of the day

recedes the habitants light candles. Solar energy is the only source of electric power.

In Milia all natural products are recycled. The owner’s efforts towards an improved

natural environment are intensified every year with reforestation and the cultivation of

a wider variety of crops and other products. They also try to promote culture by

keeping tradition alive, while keeping up with current methods and ideas.

Guests in Milia can enjoy home-made gastronomic delicacies made from products

cultivated organically in the local farm. Activities include mountain hiking or biking,

periodical lessons in traditional Cretan cooking and wine-tasting sessions, as well as

seminars on the interesting local flora. There is also a common used recreation room,

which alternatively serves as a conference or meeting place for up to 80 people, and

an outdoor amphitheater of 60 seats, which is available for cultural events and small

conferences. Accommodation prices, including breakfast and taxes, range from 60 for

single-bed to 100 for the suite per night. (http://www.milia.gr/english.html)

KALIKALOS

Kalikalos is a seasonal summer community located in the Pelion region of Greece. It

is established by the Holly Foundation, a not-profit educational trust, to demonstrate

the value of authentic community as a vehicle for a new culture of peace, partnership

and sustainability. Its mission is to show that by sharing, working, learning, and

playing together, each of us can heal ourselves and our planet.

Kalikalos is a living-learning community-based summer school, running each year for

five months from mid-May through mid-October in Greece. The core community

consists of two or three full-time members and up to six temporary volunteers, who

stay for periods of one to five months, receiving food and accommodation in

exchange for their work in the community. The community’s income is derived from

workshops, retreats, work-camps, and conferences in the areas of healing (self and

planet), personal creativity, interpersonal communication, and Self-enquiry.

Its aim is to provide a “temporary but authentic community environment for their

guests and participants to practice living the values and insights gained through the

holistic courses offered here”.

The international community group that holds the Centre is inspired by the Findhorn

ecovillage in northern Scotland, employing many of the processes developed there,

including particularly harmonization with nature, focalisation of work, and consensus

style decision-making.

The Centre is facilitated in a small two floor hotel offering 7 rooms accommodation,

three rooms at the neighbouring guest house, that share a common shower/toilet and

four tent spaces and some tents. The group owns also a large organic vegetable garden

that incorporates permaculture principles. New temporary community members

usually come for a first two-week trial basis with the small contribution of $200.

During the winter months community members disperse, but many of them continue

to work for the community doing fund raising, PR, web design, brochure layout, and

other administrative jobs in order to prepare for the following summer.

(http://directory.ic.org/21886/Kalikalos)

Weekly workshops and retreats prices of Kalikalos range from $250 to $500, while it

also offers “Living –in-Community” weekly programs in the price of $250/week, two-

week creativity family holiday programme in the price of $600 for adults and $300 for

children as well as Spring and Autumn work camps in the price of $75 with a

minimum of two-weeks stay. Accommodation prices are $150 for single room/week

and $75 for twin-bed/week. All programms and accommodation can be booked also

through the online booking system of KALIKALOS web page.

(http://www.kalikalos.com)

PELITI

The alternative community of “Peliti” is situated in the municipality of Paranesti, in

Easter Macedonia, in the Prefecture of Drama and near the borders with Bulgaria. It

was founded in 1995 by Mr. Panagiotis Sainatoudis, and is nowadays the most

important non-governmental organization in Greece for the collection, rescue,

preservation and distribution of local varieties. It also deals with the registration of

native rural animals. The main goals of “Peliti” are: a) the collection, conservation

and distribution of local varieties. b) the exchange of goods and services without the

mediation of money, c) the establishment of an alternative community. In regard to its

second aforementioned goal, “Peliti” launched in 2001 the “pan-Hellenic network for

the exchange of goods and services without money” aiming at the contact and

collaboration of people without the mediation of money. A booklet called “From

Hand to Hand and from Heart to Heart” registers people who offer goods and services

without money and is published annually. http://www.peliti.gr/pages_eng/exchange-

community.htm

Mr. Sainatoudis, coordinator of “Pelitis” till today, has been awarded by Biodiversity

International in 2009 and has been selected as a Guardian of Diversity in the

Mediterranean, recognized for the important work he has done to ensure the

conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity in Greece.

All people, who work for “Peliti”, are volunteers. In total, roughly 100 volunteers

offer their help in terms of work, knowledge, technical expertise etc. every year. The

income of “Peliti” comes from donations by its supporters and from its publications.

A bank account is available for depositing financial support. With an annual

subscription fee of 20 Euros it is also available the yearly publication of “Pelitis”

reporting about local events and actions as well as important information regarding

seeds. (http://www.peliti.gr/)

KTIMA FUGA

Seven people with total different educational backgrounds left their careers in Athens

behind and followed their dream, a dream they had been planning since 1986 and set

out to realize in 1992, with the buying of "Ktima Fuga" (Fuga Farm) that is located in

the Prefecture of Ilia. “Fuga Farm” is a place of an alternative way of life, that has as

a natural consequence the development of biological products.

The seven owners before their installation to their new “home”, have been studying

and attending various seminars on apiculture, crude pomace oil etc. and so

immediately after their installation they began to apply the theory into practice.

Various experiments and studies have helped them to perfect their current techniques.

In Fuga Farm, owners have applied the principles of Biological Bee-keeping since

1993, setting out from the demands of their ecological conscience, long before they

were officially adopted by the Greek law in 2003.

Perceiving bees as a living organism, their bee-keeping practice is orientated towards

respect to the natural existence of the hive. For this reason, the "Ktima Fuga" honey,

is always produced in a relatively restricted quantity, in order not to exploit vainly the

natural resources of the bees. The "Ktima Fuga" honey, after years of

experimentation, is considered a honey of excellent quality and taste at the same time.

It is slightly filtered and has not undergone any thermal processing and is distributed

in vases. Under the same philosophy, “Ktima Fuga” produces it own olive oil.

A stream with crystal water beside the farm permits “Fuga” to have sufficiency of

water, while a hydraulic ram (a device that functions with the mere movement of the

river's water) supplies the place with enough of the river's water for all agricultural

work. The farm is also supplied with photovoltaic (solar) power, so that power from

the Greek Electric Company is used only on very rare occasions (e.g., extended

periods without enough sunlight), as a secondary resource for exceptional cases.

The Farm is open to visitors after having come in contact with the owners.

(http://www.ktimafuga.gr/english/farm.htm)

PELION CENTRE -“SPITI TON KENDAVRON”

“Spiti Ton Kendavron” (House of the Centaurs) is an educational non-profit

organization focusing on teaching holistic education. It is located near Anilio village

on the Eastern slopes of Pelion mountain and its vision is to evolute to an ecovillage.

To sustain itself the centre runs seminars and workshops from May to October

experimenting with the levels of sustainability. It offers holistic holidays for

international groups to gather and share something of their knowledge and skills

through facilitation and by simply meeting with each other. It promotes energy that

encourages people to relax, both for pleasure and for introspection, and find support

for issues they have in life with health or relating. Work camps provide an

opportunity to join the work rhythms of the Centre, to learn natural building methods,

organic gardening and to participate in authentic community building which includes

the building between people in communication, trust and appreciation.

The Centre's main building is a former large family home set in soft woodlands.

The building has been extensively renovated to cater for workshop groups. 19 beds in

six bedrooms, all with shared toilets and showers, and tents are offered for

accommodation. There is also a dining area of 30 seats and a secluded space for

workshops and activities.

Currently the centre depends for its staffing exclusively on dedicated volunteers from

all around the world. Staffing opportunities are offered until the end of the season,

mid October. Staff pays €75-60 per week, depending on length of time and

experience, for a minimum of two weeks work-exchange. This supports the cost of

organic food, simple accommodation or tent, transport to the beach and an interesting

set of experiences. Work is around 5 hours per day, with one day off per week. Their

responsibilities include the coordination of the centre rhythms, the focalization of

meals and clean-up, assisting with transport to and from the beach, helping with

gardening, maintaining and shopping, and facilitating of staff attunements.

Prices of 3-4 weeks work camps in Pilion Centre range from €75 to €100 per week.

Workshops and retreats’ prices range from €250-€600, according to the subject,

including accommodation. “Living –in-Community” weekly programs are offered in

the price of €195/week, including food and accommodation. “Youth Experience

week” and “Family week” during August are offered in the price of €400.

Accommodation prices are €30 per day for full board. All programms and

accommodation can be booked through the online booking system of Pilion centre

web page.

http://www.pilioncentre.com/

PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

ECOTOPIA

Ecotopia on the Ionian island of Ithaca is a co-housing project. The German

coordinator has bought a land of 37500 m2 land in order to share it with other eight

owners. His dream is to create a sustainable and self-reliant eco-community that will

be occupied with touristic and cultural activities.

Each owner will get 4125 m2. The owners will follow general rules about energy-

water- environment- and sustainability management.

Energy = photovoltaic, water = rain, environment = keep the landscape as it is,

sustainability = solid finances and good neighbouhood.

Each share of 4125 m2 is available for 60000 Euros. This price is all inclusive. (Taxes,

lowers etc.) The owners decided not to divide the land official in peaces. (Mainly

because of the landscape saving but also because it is much cheaper this way) 480 m²

is all in all possible to build. So one house can have more than 50 m². The building

materials for the construction of the homes will be mainly stone and wood.

At the moment three shares are still available. The next meeting of the owners will be

from 22. till 29. April 2011 on Ithaca. (http://ecotopia.jimdo.com/)

E COVILLAGE IN KISSAVOS MOUNTAIN

A company of people from the town of Larisa has had the idea to build-up an

ecological village that aspires to become the first built-up holistic community in

Greece with zero ecological footprint.

The ecological and financially autonomous community that they envisioned has been

designed to have energy autonomy, to produce minimum or even zero wastes, to

maintain positive the water consumption and to be sheltered in “green” buildings,

constructed with the natural building method of “cob”. Cob is an ancient building

method, which uses clay, sand and straws, which results to monolithic manufactures

of great stability, without particular needs for heating or cooling.

Till now there have shown more than 500 people interest in living in this future

ecovillage and there are hundreds volunteers that offered to help in its construction,

while special scientists have conducted the feasibility study as well as studies

regarding energy, water and wastes management, zoning and economics.

According to the feasibility study, in a time horizon of twelve years the ecovillage

will have 150 habitants, who will be occupied inside the community with the

environmental sensitization, the biological farming and the ecotourism.

The village is designed to participate in the social web by collaborating with the local

institutions and will promote local products, as the chestnuts of Kissavos mountain.

For the time being, the team seeks space for the development of the ecovillage. The

Municipality of Melivia in the Prefecture of Thessalia that has embraced the idea of

the ecovillage as an environmental friendly residential solution and as an ecotouristic

attraction, has already offered a land of 150 acres. The according study is waiting to

be approved by the Prefecture of Thessalia.

However, the time-consuming bureaucratic and administrative processes (the

approval of the project depends on the Ministry of Infrastructures) have delayed the

project. But the team is not discouraged and in order to make their dream true they are

also seeking for buying a private property even if this means that due to financial

constraints the available space will be smaller. (“KATHIMERINI” newspaper, Zogia

Koutalianou, August 2010)

OPERATION AND STRATEGY

Geology- Area Selection

The area where the village is going to be built must have some specifications. The

purpose is to achieve to spend as little energy as possible for everyday living. The

land that will be chosen must have an orientation to the sun and the sea.

Topography

The angle of slope of the land must be between 0 and 20 degrees. A maximum slope

of 30 degrees is permit able as a larger one will produce many problems in the

movement of the farmer. Slope affects run-off, water penetration and

evapotranspiration. Aspect (which direction the slope faces) has a very large effect on

its own. Finally, a height above sea level of around 250-600 meters is preferred as the

optimum climate conditions for the kind of farming we want to achieve is met at these

elevations. At higher elevations there are also better results produced for wind energy

production. The mean wind speed is higher and more usual and there are speeds that

satisfy the specifications for producing wind energy.

Size of area

The area that is needed for a project like that is 200 acres. It is calculated by having 5

acres per family which is the ideal size of a farm for a family. Having in mind that the

maximum number for population in the village will be 150 people and with a mean

number of 4 people per housing an area of 187, 5 acres are required. Adding some

common space we assume that an area of 200 acres will be suitable. As the size of the

project is such, a place where land is relatively cheap must be selected so that not all

budget goes to buying the land. Of course, initially, only part of the land will be

purchased as only 6 houses or 12 people will begin the whole project. So an area of 50

acres will be enough to start building.

Soil

The soil of the area selected must be such that farming will be possible. Soil is the

topmost layer of the earth's surface. It consists of a mixture of minute particles of

disintegrated rocks, minerals, organic matter and bacteria. Each type of soil benefits

different types of crops through their unique physical, chemical and biological

properties. Soil may sometimes get eroded through factors such as wind, running

water, overgrazing of animals and human activities such as construction. In addition,

soil may also be depleted of its fertility if a particular crop is cultivated repeatedly in

the area. This is when soil testing is vital. Slope generally increases the speed of

erosion, which is defined as the movement of material from one place to another

place. In our case, soft and fertile soil is needed so that farming can be easier and

productive. It is a difficult task to find a place like that as most places that fulfill these

specifications are already occupied by farmers.

Area Suggestions

The possible places that a project like that could be completed in Northern Greece

were a lot. The idea in the selection of the area was for the place to be near a river,

lake etc so that water could be supplied to the farms without spending energy for

watering. Another advantage for the place would be to have thermal springs. Thermal

springs would be a huge benefit as energy spent in warming the water produces large

amounts of carbon dioxide. Communication and transportation with the outside world

is also vital. A selection of a place with good public transport would be more feasible.

A place near the sea was excluded as these cost a lot to buy and there was no way an

area of 200 acres would be given by the government near the sea. There were some

discussions of places in some Islands in Northern Greece like Kyra Panagia and

Skatzoura but as there is no public transport they were excluded. Another option was

the island of Limnos which has a lot of space at the eastern side of the island with

very small slope but the cost of buying an area there would be really expensive and

would bring the project out of budget.

As a result the search turned to the inland. The search ended up with two areas near

some rivers. The first choice was near the town of Edessa. There is plenty of water,

the slope is adequate and the quality of soil is perfect. There are thermal springs in

many parts of the area that may be of use and also public transport is good. The most

feasible place found in the area was near the lake Vegoritida and besides the village

Amintaion, Florina. The major disadvantage of this place was that it was close to the

power plants of Ptolemaida. It was a major issue for us so we excluded it from our

options. Another place was the village of Kerasia which is at a height of around 550m

above sea level and is a deserted village that may have been granted from the

government. The disadvantage of this place was that farms had a relatively big slope

(around 20%) and access to the village is not quite easy as the road is not in a very

good condition. There is no river or lake around so water must have been from the

national water supply network.

Our search in the area was not successful and there was no place satisfying our needs.

Therefore, we decided to move our search to another area. Our specifications were

met at an area near the town of Drama. The village Paranesti and the whole area

around it seems as the ideal position for our village. Taking the national road from the

town of Xanthi to Paranesti, there is the village of Paschalia at a distance 10km before

reaching Pranesti, where all our specifications are met at an elevation of 180m above

sea level. Transportation is very good as there is a train connection from Paranesti

with the cities of Drama and Xanthi. There is also bus connection with all the

surrounding villages. Slope is very good as well as the quality of the soil which is

perfect for the kind of farming we want to produce. It is besides the river of Nestos

which will be a key advantage for watering the farms. There are thermal waters in the

area which could be used for both warming the water for everyday usage and for

touristic and health treatment purposes. Winds at the area are at a mean annual speed

of 5,4m/s which is acceptable for producing the wind energy desired.

Figure 1: The village of Paschalia as seen from the sky. River Nestos can been seen

and the road and railtrack beside it.

If we take the road north from Paranesti, at a distance of around 20km there is the area

of Dipotama. The area is at an elevation of 640m and is full of ruins of an old village.

The area is full of free cows grazing as there are many breeders having their farms

there.

Figure 2: The area of Dipotama as seen from the sky.

Energy and Natural Resources

In a world of rocketing energy prices and dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, the

Energy and Resources section puts forward the case for the various forms of

renewable energy available. We review the various well-known alternatives of solar

panels, wind turbines and geothermic energy, and also look at developing

technologies like biofuels, which may be used in our green village.

(http://www.dailyhybrid.com/2009/02/study-shows-biofuel-is-sustainable-and-

cheaper-than-new-oil/)

BIOFUELS

The biofuels are fuels of biological origin obtained from renewable way from organic

waste. Usually come from organic wastes of sugar, wheat, maize and oilseeds.

All reduce the total volume of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere because they absorb

it as they grow and emit roughly the same amount as conventional fuels when burned,

so there is a closed loop process.

Biofuels are often mixed with other fuels in small quantities, 5 or 10%, providing a

useful but limited reduction of greenhouse gases. In Europe and the United States,

has introduced legislation requiring providers to mix biofuels to certain levels. This

legislation has been copied by many other countries that believe that these fuels will

help improve the planet through the reduction of gases that produce the so-called

"Greenhouse Effect".

Biodiesel

Biodiesel is a biofuel that is made from any animal fat or vegetable oils, which may

already be used or not used. Commonly used sunflower, canola, soy or jatropha,

which, in some cases, are grown exclusively to produce it. It can be used pure or

blended with diesel in any ratio in diesel engines. The largest producer of biodiesel in

the world is Germany, which accounts for 63% of production.

The most common is the processing of these oils through a process of

transesterification. Thus, from methyl alcohol, sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and

vegetable oil ester is obtained which can be used directly in an unmodified diesel

engine, resulting glycerin as a byproduct. The glycerin can be used for other

applications.

Bioethanol

Ethanol, also called biomass ethanol is an alcohol derived from corn, sorghum, sugar

cane or beets . Allows the replacement of gasoline or gasoline in any proportion and

generate pollution.

Sugar cane, beet and corn are not the only source of sugar. Cellulose can be used for

sugar. Cellulose is a long string consisting of "links" of glucose. Thus, almost all

plant debris will be capable of being processed into sugar and then fermented by yeast

to get the product obtained by distilling alcohol.

Ethanol can be produced from biomass by the hydrolysis and sugar fermentation

processes. Biomass wastes contain a complex mixture of carbohydrate polymers from

the plant cell walls known as cellulose, hemi cellulose and lignin. In order to produce

sugars from the biomass, the biomass is pre-treated with acids or enzymes in order to

reduce the size of the feedstock and to open up the plant structure. The cellulose and

the hemi cellulose portions are broken down (hydrolysed) by enzymes or dilute acids

into sucrose sugar that is then fermented into ethanol. The lignin which is also present

in the biomass is normally used as a fuel for the ethanol production plants boilers.

There are three principle methods of extracting sugars from biomass. These are

concentrated acid hydrolysis, dilute acid hydrolysis and enzymatic hydrolysis.

(http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/02-03/biofuels/what_bioethanol.htm)

Biogas

Biogas is an all-rounder among renewable energies. It can be converted to electricity

and heat or be used as a fuel and natural gas equivalent. Fermentation is not in

competition with composting, but rather is a first step in the process. More and more

frequently, biogas plants are being integrated into existing composting plants, which

should have a minimum capacity of 10,000 metric tons per year. The composting

plants no longer compost the organic waste, but the fermentation residue, which does

not lead to a tangible change in the quality of the resulting compost. The biogas could

be used for the generation of electricity or heat, or as a fuel, replacing fossil energy

sources. According to a study carried out by the IFEU Institute, the CO2 savings of

biogas fermentation as opposed to mere composting can be up to 160 kilogrammes

per metric ton of organic waste.

(http://www.german-biogas-industry.com/in-detail/an-economic-cycle-the-

fermentation-of-biogenic-waste/)

Biomass

This was the first source of energy in human history. The wood or dried droppings

are biofuels. If well managed, timber forests can be a renewable resource and

mismanaged can become an ecological disaster. This was proposed as a source of

biomass energy. Biomass can be wood chips or sawdust as a result of forest clearance

or even their rational exploitation.

Biomass is matter usually thought of as

garbage. Some of it is just stuff lying

around -- dead trees, tree branches, yard

clippings, left-over crops, wood chips

(like in the picture to the right), and bark

and sawdust from lumber mills. It can

even include used tires and livestock manure.

Your trash, paper products that can't be recycled into other paper products and other

household waste are normally sent to the dump. Your trash contains some types of

biomass that can be reused. Recycling biomass for fuel and other uses cuts down on

the need for "landfills" to hold garbage.

(http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter10.html)

Solar Energy

We can change the sunlight directly to electricity using solar cells. Solar cells are also

called photovoltaic cells and can be found on many small appliances. They were first

developed in the 1950s for use on U.S. space satellites. They are made of silicon, a

special type of melted sand.

When sunlight strikes the solar cell, electrons (red circles) are

knocked loose. They move toward the treated front surface

(dark blue color). An electron imbalance is created between

the front and back. When the two surfaces are joined by a

connector, like a wire, a current of electricity occurs between

the negative and positive sides.

These individual solar cells are arranged together in a PV module and the modules are

grouped together in an array. Some of the arrays are set on special tracking devices to

follow sunlight all day long.

The electrical energy from solar cells can then be used directly. It can be used in a

home for lights and appliances. It can be used in a business. Solar energy can be

stored in batteries to light a roadside billboard at night. Or the energy can be stored in

a battery for an emergency roadside cellular telephone when no telephone wires are

around. (http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter15.html)

The sun's energy can be broken down into two main categories: thermal (heat) energy,

and light (solar) energy. Both can be harnessed and used for heating and powering

homes. The sun's heat is abundant and free, and energy provided by solar power

produces no harmful byproducts or emissions. This pure and natural source of power

puts solar energy at the top of the list of Green Building ideas and practices.

Once the energy is generated, it can be put to use by way of pumps, fans, or by

directing it to other output sources. This type of active solar energy produces a direct

current (DC) type of electricity, and it may be used as such. But in most cases, and to

run appliances requiring alternating current (AC), photovoltaic electricity must be

transformed (inverted) into AC current using a device known as an inverter. This

requires another piece of equipment, and that translates to one more thing that must be

maintained. (http://www.greenbuildingenergysavings.com/solar-energy-systems.php)

Geothermal Energy

Going from the surface of the earth towards the core, we observe that the temperature

increases according to the depth. This is called the geothermal gradient. Near the

surface of the earth, the geothermal gradient has an average value of about 30 °C/km.

In some areas, either due to volcanic activity during a recent geological age, or due to

the rise of hot water from very deep levels through fissures, the geothermal gradient is

significantly greater than the average.

The result is that aquifers can be found at relatively shallow depths which contain hot

water or high temperature steam. These areas are called geothermal fields and

exploiting their geothermal energy is very cost effective.

(http://www.cres.gr/kape/energeia_politis/energeia_politis_geothermal_uk.htm)

For every 100 meters you go below ground, the temperature of the rock increases

about 3 degrees Celsius. So, if you went about 3 km below ground, the temperature of

the rock would be hot enough to boil water.

Deep under the surface, water sometimes makes its way close to the hot rock and

turns into boiling hot water or into steam. The hot water can reach temperatures of

more than 150 degrees Celsius. It doesn't turn into steam because it is not in contact

with the air. When this hot water comes up through a crack in the earth, we call it a

hot spring. (http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter11.html)

Wind Energy

Blowing wind spins the blades on a wind turbine. This device is called a wind turbine

and not a windmill. A windmill grinds or mills grain, or is used to pump water. The

blades of the turbine are attached to a hub that is mounted on a turning shaft. The

shaft goes through a gear transmission box where the turning speed is increased. The

transmission is attached to a high speed shaft which turns a generator that makes

electricity.

You can use a single smaller wind turbine to power a home or a school. A small

turbine makes enough energy for a house. The only problem with wind is that it is not

windy all the time. In order for a wind turbine to work efficiently, wind speeds

usually must be above 5-6 m/sec. Wind has to be this speed to turn the turbines blades

fast enough to generate electricity. The turbines usually produce about 50 to 300

kilowatts of electricity each.

Figure 4: Mean annual wind speed in Greece

(http://windtrends.meteosimtruewind.com/wind_anomaly_maps.php?zone=GAM)

Buildings

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Intergovernmental Panel

(IPCC), Greece also contributed to the greenhouse effect, and emitted into the

atmosphere every year about 100 million tons of carbon dioxide (mainly) from

burning fossil fuels. Buildings are responsible for much of these emissions, as they

account for 36-40% of total energy consumption in our country. As a result, we face

almost daily reflection of the world for passive solar design and green architecture,

which mainly owe to bad information or ignorance.

The cost of passive solar architecture is actually cheaper. First, the construction of a

bioclimatic house does not cost more than conventional one in terms of construction

materials. The same materials will be used if a house is oriented to the west (and

"boils" in the summer) or if you look south under the orbit of the sun and shaded. The

same concrete, bricks and own the same cavities and scored one in the other case.

Great confusion exists on whether insulation is needed or not still under construction

on the building, as the thermal burden on the construction of up to 5%. The confusion

caused by a wrong (and unlawful) practice that has been established. Under the

existing regulation insulation (FEK362D/4.7.1979, AP26354/476/19.9.1978) received

the engineer and the owner of the Urban Planning to issue the building permit, the

insulation is required throughout the building: brick and concrete. If we look at the

actual cost of construction, we see that it consists of two factors: construction costs

(20-25%) and operating costs in lifetime of the building (75-80%). So, for example if

the insulation raises the construction costs by 5%, the real cost of the building

increases by only 1% throughout its life time. However, if the proper insulation is

used in construction that reduces energy waste in the building up to 50%, then savings

of 40% of the total actual cost of the building are achieved.

With regard to green building, ecological materials currently available in the Greek

market are much cheaper than conventional ones. For example, a house to be built by

the owner made of straw-bale and mud will cost only one tenth of the cost of a

conventional house and with minimal burden to the environment. There are market

products eco-containing plaster and paint.

With regard to saving energy and natural resources and the use of alternative energy

sources, a bioclimatic building could use passive solar systems such as glass use and

masonry walls of Trombe-Michelle style, energy saving fireplace or biomass boiler or

even CHP plant uses geothermal cooling and heating. Water will be heated with solar

panels and generate clean electricity from solar panels or small wind turbine. A smart

house system installed offers far better management of electricity. Green roofs also

reduce runoff of rain water and also purify it so that it can be stored for further usage.

In this case, the construction will cost little more than a conventional green house. But

it has secured autonomy in energy and natural resources, no oil consumption and zero

emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. An initial investment secures major

economy in the total cost of building and also offers some small payback.

(http://www.ecoweek.netfirms.com/ecoweek/index.html)

Ecological building construction is the way of construction which faces buildings

holistically in order to take into account as many parameters as possible while

building environmentally friendly to its user. The whole ecological construction must

be functional and with an aesthetic viewpoint, but also must have a respect for its

surrounding environment. Orientation, shading, ventilation, soil quality, scenery,

traditional architecture, and more indirect factors such as selection of materials must

not pollute the environment with their production and demolition and don’t consume

energy.

Types of Green Building

Straw Bale

Straw, grass, and reeds have been used as building materials for centuries. Straw

houses have been built on the African plains since the Paleolithic. Straw bales were

used in construction 400 years ago in Germany; and straw-thatched roofs have long

been used in northern Europe and Asia. In the New World, teepees were insulated in

winter with loose straw between the inner lining and outer cover.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw-bale_construction)

Straw is a renewable resource that acts as excellent insulation and is fairly easy to

build with. Care must be taken to assure that the straw is kept dry, or it will eventually

rot. For this reason it is generally best to allow a straw bale wall to remain breathable;

any moisture barrier will invite condensation to collect and undermine the structure.

Other possible concerns with straw bale walls are infestation of rodents or insects, so

the skin on the straw should resist these critters.

There are two major categories of building with straw bales: load-bearing and non-

load bearing. A post and beam framework that supports the basic structure of the

building, with the bales of straw used as infill, is the most common non-load bearing

approach. This is also the only way that many building authorities will allow. While

there are many load- bearing straw bale buildings that are standing just fine, care must

be taken to consider the possible settling of the straw bales as the weight of the roof,

etc. compresses them.

Erecting bale walls can go amazingly quickly, and does not take a lot of skill, but then

the rest of the creation of the building is similar to any other wood framed house. In

fact straw bale houses typically only save about 15% of the wood used in a

conventionally framed house. The cost of finishing a straw bale house can often

exceed that of standard construction, because of the specialized work that goes into

plastering both sides of the walls. Consequently, they have much higher insulation

ratings than conventionally built homes, saving people lots of money on utility bills.

Many people wonder about the safety of straw bale houses. There are houses that

were originally built in Nebraska during the turn of the century that are still standing.

With their thick walls, they are very wind-resistant and fire-resistant as well. Packed

straw does not burn well and if plastered with clay then instead of destroying fire

makes it even stronger. Also, contrary to popular belief, straw is not something that

animals such as mice enjoy eating. Straw is the waste product of the grain. The part of

the grain that animals eat is hay, a fine distinction that is not always readily apparent

with our frequent interchangeable use of the words.

The basics of straw bale building are simple. As with any home, you have a choice of

a variety of foundations. Choose the one that works for your area and your budget.

Keep your design simple, and imagine that the straw bales are really huge building

blocks. Basically, you simply stack the bales into the wall formation that you would

like. In the less expensive version of straw bale building, you then drive bamboo

stakes or rebar down through the bales to hold them together. The bales support the

roof. If you are building a large structure, you can also use bales for interior walls,

however, in a smaller structure, two feet thick walls are simply too space consuming.

If you want to build for a low cost per square meter, it is best to keep your house

fairly small, as post and beam construction, which uses much more wood, is generally

recommended for larger houses. With regular straw bale construction windows are

often carved out of the bale structure with a chainsaw. The entire process is a very

creative one, and always gives interesting results. While straw bale houses vary

immensely in their level of sophistication, I have never seen one that did not give off

a friendly aura. Straw bale buildings seem to be cozy by nature, regardless of size.

(http://www.essortment.com/build-straw-bale-house-less-10-per-square-foot-

53839.html)

Figure: The phases of building a straw-bale house (http://axirospito.blogspot.com/)

Cob

Cob is a very old method of building with earth and straw or other fibers. It is quite

similar to adobe in that the basic mix of clay and sand is the same, but it usually has a

higher percentage of long straw fibers mixed in. Instead of creating uniform blocks to

build with, cob is normally applied by hand in large gobs (or cobs) which can be

tossed from one person to another during the building process. The traditional way of

mixing the clay/sand/straw is with the bare feet; for this reason, it is fairly labor

intensive. Some of the process can be mechanized by using a backhoe to do the

mixing, but that diminishes the organic nature of it. Because of all the straw, cob can

be slightly more insulating than adobe, but it still would not make a very comfortable

house in a climate of extreme temperatures. The wonderful thing about cob

construction is that it can be a wildly freeform, sculptural affair. Cob was a common

building material in England in the nineteenth century, and many of those buildings

are still standing.

A variant of cob is what is commonly called "light straw/clay". This is made with the

same long fibers of straw which is tossed like spaghetti with a sauce of clay slip. The

idea is to coat the straw fibers with enough of the clay to get them to stick together,

but not so much that it makes a gummy clump. This material is then tamped into a

form and left to set up enough to remove the form. Light straw walls could be useful

for interior partitions and even exterior walls if it is thick enough. Such walls would

be quite a bit more insulating than cob, but they require a timber frame of some sort

because the straw itself would not be load bearing.

(http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/cob.htm)

Figure: The phases of building a cob house (http://cob.gr/index.php)

Adobe

Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of

fibrous or organic material (sticks, straw, and/or manure), which the builders shape

into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and

mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable and account for some of

the oldest existing buildings in the world. In hot climates, compared with wooden

buildings, adobe buildings offer significant advantages due to their greater thermal

mass, but they are known to be particularly susceptible to earthquake damage.

Figure: Adobe construction details (http://www.dab.uts.edu.au/)

Rammed earth construction

Rammed earth and soil-cement brick refer to a popular method used today, with a

cement additive and pressure to mold the blocks or bricks. Earth building techniques

are practiced in many parts of the world. The method is labor intensive and may

require special equipment and craftsman.

A strong foundation is particularly important with this type of construction because of

the immense weight of the wall material. Each square meter of wall material might

weight 45 or more kilograms; therefore. Rock substrate, stone and concrete are

popular foundation materials used to support earth material walls. Older methods of

this type of construction were as simple as forming the walls by hand. The walls could

be built in lifts, so that the lower portions of the wall could cure before supporting the

weight of the wall above. The mixture could also be formed into blocks and then sun

dried before assembly. Rammed Earth and TerraBrick systems compact a soil-cement

mixture. Cement is added to the soil, and hydraulics or pneumatics apply a force to

shape and bond the materials together. The load bearing strength of the resulting

blocks can vary depending on the type of soil and amount of cement used, but testing

has shown that this method can produce blocks with a 900 to 2,240 psi compressive

strength. (http://www.toolbase.org/Technology-Inventory/Whole-House-Systems/

adobe-cob-soil-cement-rammed-earth)

Rammed earth is a method of building walls whereby a mixture of earth is compacted

in layers between forms. Each layer of earth is approximately 15 cm deep. As each

form is filled, another form is placed above it, and the process begins again. This is

continued until the desired wall height is achieved. Forms can be stripped off as soon

as the form above is begun, as the compressed earth wall is self-supporting

immediately. Most rammed earth builders use pneumatic rammers to compact the

earth within the forms.

The soil mix needs to be carefully balanced between clay, sand and aggregate. The

clay and moisture content of rammed earth is relatively low compared to that used for

mud brick or other earth building methods. A wider range of soils are suitable when a

small amount of cement is added to the mix. Most rammed earth builders in Australia

add some cement. The result, known as ‘stabilised rammed earth’, is a strong masonry

product which provides excellent thermal mass.

Figure: Steps for constructing rummed earth walls.

(http://modernsustainable.blogspot.com/p/rammed-earth_09.html)

Our eco-village’s buildings and infrastracture

Analysis for geology, area selection, natural resources and types of housing gave us

the available options to begin our ecological project. Now, a selection must be made

on which of these will be used in practice according to our needs and specifications of

the area.

From the areas studied earlier the most feasible one for our situation is the area near

the village of Paschalia.

The advantages that lead us choosing this area are:

Area is close to river Nestos which can provide enough water for watering the

farms.

Transportation is satisfactory as there is a train connection of the nearby

village of Paranesti to Thessaloniki, where there is every means of

transportation. The distance for the connection is 185 Km. Transportation is a

very vital reason for choosing an area as it minimizes the cost for everyday

living. As soon as transportation is minimized the carbon dioxide emitted to

the atmosphere is minimized as well.

There are thermal springs in the area that can be used in many ways. Firstly,

for touristic purposes and health treatments. Thermal springs offer

hydrotherapy which can include hot thermal baths which are believed to treat

illnesses. Another way that thermal springs can benefit the village is through

the use of geothermal energy which was analyzed earlier. In the beginning

thermal springs will not be used due to the limitations in budget. But as soon

as the village becomes prosperous it is sure that the springs will offer a lot to

the village and the people visiting it.

Mean annual wind speeds reach a level of 5-6 m/s that is adequate for

production of energy through wind generators.

The height of the village above sea level is around 200m. It is a little lower

than the desired specifications for the production of our farms but farmers

insist that climate change is not extreme in that kind of elevations in the area.

Finally, the preferred slope of the farms is at the desired levels of maximum

10 degrees.

The price of a purchasing a reasonably good land at that place will cost around

2000€/acre. This means that a total of 50acres x 2000€/acre = 100000€ will be spend

to purchase the land.

Building Design

First of all, the type of building construction must be chosen. From the above

mentioned methods of constructing one must be chosen according to the budget, style,

climate of the area and the people that will live there.

Straw bale housing will be favored through the many options. The natural ingredients

that are packed into bales provide excellent thermal insulation for housing. The ‘R-

Value’ for straw bale insulation is typically 35-50, more than double that of standard

home insulation. Although walls can be fully built from straw bales, it is more

structurally dependable if the straw is used as insulation, and wooden beams used for

load bearing. The bales' thickness allows window placement depth to reduce or

increase the amount of passive solar heat capture. Straw bales also reduce noise

entering the house.

Straw-bale building requires less specialized skills and tools, making it a viable option

for those wanting to build their own homes. The simple techniques required reduce

labor costs and speed the progress of construction.

Straw-bale construction is classified as class "A" fire-resistive, the highest rating

attainable. A plastered straw-bale wall provides a two-hour firewall. According to

Straw Bale Homes, shake table testing indicates that straw-bale construction

withstands earthquake damage well, as the straw bales act as shock absorbers.

Straw bales are structural and more than that they are able to withstand an earthquake

much better than some popular modes of building. They work much like a shock

absorber rather than being rigid and breaking. As you know the rigid Oak can break

while the flexible Willow does not so easily.  Recently a straw bale cabin was put to

the test on a shake table to get an idea of just how it would perform in an

earthquake. It survived an earthquake greater than anyone has experienced.

(http://strawbalehomes.org/)

Figure: A typical plan of a straw bale house. (http://www.balewatch.com/)

Housing will be placed in every 5acres farm. Typical housing will consist of a 100m2

two bedroom, one bathroom straw bale home (See figure for a typical plan). The

orientation is also mentioned in the plan with the south side positioned in living room.

The south side is the side with the biggest windows. As soon as the building is

orientated to the south, the sun, that during the summer is high, does not go through

the windows increasing the temperatures inside the house. During the winter that the

sun goes lower to the horizon, it enters the house from the big windows allowing it to

raise the temperature in the house.

The two common buildings to be built will be of the same initiative. The guest house

will consist of a 10 bedroom building at an area of 300m2. The ground level will have

a plan as seen in the typical plan below. That is a six double bedroom plan with two

bathrooms and some common space and the reception. The first floor will have 3 3-

bedrooms, one more twin room and 2 more bathrooms. All these will be built by

volunteer work and labor cost is involved. This kind of work brings the family closer

and there is a huge earning in cost.

Figure: Ground level of the guest room (http://www.balewatch.com/)

The second common building will have two levels and six rooms in total. The ground

level will have the common launderette, a meeting room and a public

relation/information office at a plan area of 150m2. The second floor with a same plan

area will consist of a dining room and a recreation room.

The cost of constructing buildings like this is calculated at a mean price of 200€/ m2.

The price was retrieved by experience of other people that have already done

something similar and are familiar with the procedure. This price includes all of

building construction, as well as the purchase of the fireplace, the kitchen and all

windows and doors. It also includes all electrical appliances needed for the house to

work, a clever system to achieve electrical feasibility and the installation of a solar

boiler to warm the water. Plumbing is also included. A lot of these costs were

calculated using second hand materials. For example there are stores selling second

hand windows and doors at a very reasonable price.

A house of 100m2 will finally cost at a total of 20000€ and similarly the prices of the

two other buildings together will be 120000€.

Heating

Low enthalpy geothermal energy finds many applications in heating green buildings

where it can cover all their heating needs. Apart from the geothermal energy, the solar

energy and the biomass find applications in Greece and in other countries for straw

bale house heating.

Although the geothermal energy and the biomass can cover all the heating needs of

the houses, the solar energy can cover them only partly. However, the application of

these renewable energy sources has various environmental implications. Therefore

various antipollution actions should be taken, when these energy sources are used for

heat generation. At the same time they have various advantages in comparison with

the conventional energy sources.

Heating houses with low enthalpy geothermal energy, (temperatures below 100 oC) is

rather easy.

The geothermal fluid can be transported from the well to the greenhouse, with

insulated tubes and can be circulated either directly inside the greenhouse in plastic

tubes, or indirectly via a heat exchanger.

Biomass either solid or biogas, can also be used for heating. Solid biomass

particularly olive Kernel wood or agricultural residues, find various applications in

heating. In this case the solid biomass is burnt and heats water which is circulated in

tubes inside the building.

In a different case, the gases from the biomass burning are circulated in large, plastic

tubes and heat the air inside the house.

Olive Kernel wood is abundant in olive oil producing areas, it is easily handled and its

heating value is around 3500-4000 Kcal/Kg. Also its price in relation with its heating

value is rather low in comparison with the oil. Therefore it is a good raw material for

heating.

The solar energy can be used with various ways for heating greenhouses. The solar

heating systems can only cover part of the heating needs of the house. Also they are

used when the desired temperature inside the house should be only few centigrade

above the ambient temperature. Sometimes together with the solar heating system we

are using another heating system, to cover all the heating needs.

As all of the above mentioned methods do not satisfy the needs and they cost a lot, an

energy saving fireplace will be installed in the house as seen in the plan. Air pipes

will be placed throughout the house to ensure heating is achieved evenly. With some

techniques even cooling of the house can be achieved. Consumption of wood is

minimum as mentioned from the specifications of the producing companies. It is

mentioned that there is a consumption of 2 tons per winter period. The consumption is

calculated as 200€ per year. It is a large number if we assume that the house is in the

country, but wood must be purchased from special producers so that there is a contol

in wood cutting. Uncontrolled wood cutting will be bad for the ecosystem.

Concluding the fireplace can also be used as an oven.

Building energy resources

Watering of the farm will be made with inside channels. Channels will be made to

allow water to pass to the required place in the farm. No energy is required to water

the farm.

Rain water will be collected in every farm. Water collectors will be placed around the

buildings which will lead the water to two large tanks of 2 cubic meters at total. This

water will be used for everyday use such as washing the dishes, pumping the toilette

etc. A small water pump will lead the water to the house appliances.

Although solar energy does not peak in northern Greece as it does in southern Greece,

solar panels will be installed in every farm. Budget limitations allow the installation

of 2kW per farm. The area needed for the solar panels is 40 square meters in every

farm and the energy produced for a 2kW installation is at an average of 2300kWh per

year. The owner of the system sells the energy produced to the national electric

company at a price of 0,55€/kWh. This way revenue is produced. Unfortunately,

again due to low budget, batteries and energy collectors could not be installed. The

cost of installing 1kW solar power collectors is calculated as 4500€ including the

energy meter from the national electric company. As a result, every farmer will have

an extra income of 0,55€/kWh X 2300kwh/y = 1265€ every year. From calculations

we find that the cost of buying the solar collectors will be produced in 9000€/farmer

over 1265€ equals 7,11 years. Eight similar appliances will be installed in the village

giving even more revenue to the owners.

For common usage, three wind turbines will be installed somewhere near the village,

at a place where maximum wind speeds are achieved in the area, of typical power of

1000Watts each. The productions of energy from wind turbines can never be

calculated exactly as there is no constant flow of the wind. The area, according to the

tables of the national weather organization, has a mean wind speed of 5-6 m/s. But in

some days there will be no energy produced as winds below 3,5 m/s produce no

energy. On the other hand, some days of high wind speeds energy is produced but it

never can produce the theoretical number of typical power of the turbine. The power

produced can only be assumed. Through thorough searching a number of

1500kWh/year is assumed per generator. So, 1500x 3= 4500kW/year. This produces

4500kW/year x 0,55€/kW= 2475€ revenue per year from the wind generators for

common use.

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Our ecovillage should first of all be a sufficient and self-reliant eco-community.

Therefore, being also an agricultural combination, it should produce revenue through

agricultural and touristic activities based always on the philosophy of permaculture.

The two main sources of revenue will be the production and wholesale of agricultural

products as well as the organising of workshops and retreat programs, while

accommodation to the participants would be provided through our small guest-house.

its cost will be included in the total price of all the provided programs. A more

extensive analysis of the two main revenue sources is following:

FARMING

Rural production will be organized according to the principals of permaculture and

applied based on the techniques of natural farming. Natural farming is a method of

farming based on four principles.

No tillage

No fertilizers

No pesticides

No weed or herbicides

The founder of this method named Masanobou Fukuoka, a farmer, philosopher and ex

plant pathologist has also called it do-nothing farming. Natural farming differs

radically from scientific farming as well as from organic farming, because the

philosophical departure point is the view that Nature is perfect while human

knowledge is limited and imperfect. The natural farmer's basic goal is to serve Nature,

to create a fertile soil, then healthy plants and at the end to attain economic

sufficiency. In Natural farming soil erosion problems, earth fertility improvements

and problems regarding insect attacks and diseases can all be confronted by

combining a variety of plants living together in harmony.

(http://www.naturalfarming.eu/index.php?

option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=53&lang=en)

Natural farming and permaculture share a profound debt to each other. The many

examples of permaculture throughout the world show that a natural farming system

can be applied everywhere. Fukuoka believes that natural farming proceeds from the

spiritual health of the individual. He considers the healing of the land and the

purification of the human spirit to be one process, and he proposes a way of life and a

way of farming in which this process can take place (Larry Korn, 2003).

In Greece, a Natural Farming Center was founded by a group of volunteers in the

summer of 1999 and is located in Klisohori, 2 km to the north of Edessa. Its Goals

include:

1. The establishment of natural farms and vegetable gardens in Greece and other

countries.

2. Seedings for the revegetation of the barren mountains and deserts.

3. Practical training of first and second degree students in the context of

environmental education.

4. Collecting seeds that can be used for the various seeding activities.

The revegetating efforts in Greece started in 1993 from a small group of volunteers

and up to 1998 seedings were realized over small areas with positive results. Then in

1998 there has been organized one of the largest ever seedings on this planet, over a

10000 hectares area. More than a hundred (100) tons of seedballs were sown over the

mountains surrounding Lake Vegoritis and about 3.000 volunteers participated from

different countries of the world. Fukuoka himself participated in those two seedings in

March and October. The results were very poor due mainly to the heavy abrasion of

the area by sheep and goats. In 2000 the volunteers organized seedings over an area of

1000 hectares on mountain Pekilon in western Athens with very good results. The

seeding activities continue up today the last one being in eastern Athens on the

mountains of Keratea. The results have been very encouraging. The Natural Farming

Center organizes Pan-Hellenic and international meetings as well as educational

practical programs in order more people to be trained on the methods and techniques

of Natural Farming

(http://www.naturalfarming.eu/index.php?

option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=56&lang=en).

One of our main priorities before starting farming activities will be to study and get

trained in Permaculture and Natural Farming from experts, even from abroad, and of

course welcome as much help as possible from such initiatives as the Greek Natural

farming centre.

Having searched mostly for tree crop varieties, as Pelmaculture suggests, that could

both flourish in the selected geographical area, in the Prefecture of Drama, where we

aspire to establish our ecovillage, as well as be able to respond to natural farming

techniques, we discovered that there is lately a growth in the production of new and

alternative crops productions, mostly in North Greece. These crops have all very low

maintenance costs and requirements and therefore can all be organically cultivated.

They include:

a) the Hippophae, which is being cultivated mostly in the areas of Xanthi and

Kozani, a fruit from which extracts oil and juice and its peel is used by forage

companies for the development of new animal food kinds. The bushy plant has great

yield per acre and an according financial yield.

b) The Truffle, black or white, is considered a very hopeful crop for the Greek

farmers especially of the mountain or semi-mountain areas. It has huge financial yield

(about 2000 Euros per kilogram) , as it is very popular especially abroad, where it is

considered a luxury, but its cultivation is quite prohibitive as it is very time-

consuming requiring about 15 years till it can yield a considerable amount of product.

c) The industrial Rose has been started to be cultivated in the Preference of Kozani.

From these roses it is distilled the rose water used extensively in the confectionary

industry as well as the very expensive rose oil used by the cosmetic and

pharmaceutical industry. Rose oil prices reach 5.000 to 6.000 Euros per litre but there

are required about 3,5 tones of rose petals for such a quantity.

d) Stevia, is considered the plant of the new millennium. It is a plant very popular in

Latin America and Japan, but totally new in Greece, that provides a calorie-free sugar,

which is considered to be very good for the human nutrition. The approval by the

European Union to use Stevia as new food and substitute of sugar is currently in

process and it is expected during the first half of running year. European Committee

of Safety of Foods (EFSA) has already given its approval and if also the European

Union gives the “green” light then Greek farmers could probably start the cultivation

of Stevia from 2012. This appears to be a very promising opportunity for us and with

very good financial yiels as the prices per kilogram can reach the 150 Euros and the

yield per acre is about 100-600kg.

e) Pomegranate, is also a very promising tree crop that started to increase the recent

years in North Greece. Its cultivation has low production cost and a good yield per

acre (1500-3000 kg). The producers’ prices for the biologically cultivated

pomegranates reach the 2,4 Euros per kilogram.

Other promising new cultivations are also those of Mirtillo, Krana and Faskomilo.

In our case we have to take firstly into consideration the two limitations we have, the

one have to do with the available acres, which will be about 35 for the 4th zone of our

land design, as well as the budget restrictions we have for a high variety of crops in

the beginning. What we are searching for our crops with high yield both financial and

per acre in order to start to have revenues even from the first year of our operation.

We need a variety of crops not only for our natural farming and Permaculture concept

but also for minimizing the risk of being dependant to the flourishing of only one

variety. For this case Stevia is the most appropriate kind because in Greece is a yearly

plant and its market opportunities at the moment are very high. We have chosen also

to cultivate industrial roses and learn to apply its distillation techniques as these bring

a very high revenue from the sales of rose water and rose oil after the 3d year of

cultivation. Our third choice has been the Pomegranate both because it’s a very good

variety for our Permaculture concept, which is favouring fruit trees, but also for its

satisfying financial yield and its high market potentials. We will start with these three

varieties and if growth allows us in the future we will enrich our crops with even more

varieties.

Farming will not only serve though as a source of revenue but also as a source of

nourishing resources for the habitants and the guests. All food will be cooked by our

own cultivated vegetables in the gardens located in the 1st zone very close to the

houses. Every owner will be responsible for his own garden but the products will be

shared for cooking also in the common shared dining area of the village. In the second

zone of there will be cows and the chicken coop. Having found that an average cow

produces 1800 litres of milk per year, meaning 5 litres per day and taking as an

average consumption of milk per person the 0,5 litre per day (used also in food), we

concluded that we needed about 4 cows in order to serve daily 32 people (12

permanent habitants and 26 guests). Accordingly, an average chicken produces about

200 eggs per year. In order to have 1 egg for our 32 inhabitants the day we need about

60 chickens that serve also very well our Permaculture concept.

In every zone will be set up home-made composting systems as a natural fertilizer and

as a fruitful way of waste management.

ECO-AGRITOURISM

One of our main goals as an eco-community is to advocate our way of living to

individuals from all kind of backgrounds in order to adopt a more balanced, healthy

and sustainable living. We would like our community to aspire effective team-

working, personal Growth, relaxation away from the large city capitals, bonds with

nature and environmental responsibility. Therefore we will offer various workshops

and retreat programs that will aim to communicate and develop to our guests all the

aforementioned. These include the following (In all prices are included

accommodation and 3 meals per day):

1. “Living in community” workshop: This is a program for anyone that wants to

experience the daily life of our rural eco-community. The participants will take

active part to every activity of our daily life like cooking, gardening, farming,

composting, distillation, animal feeding, cows’ milking and eggs collection

straight from the chicken coop as well mountain hiking and biking, morning

spiritual yoga sessions etc. The “Living in community” program is a 3-day

workshop during the winter season (16 October - 14 May) and a weekly workshop

during the summer season (15 May – 15 October). Costs are 120 Euros for 1

person, 100 Euros per person for 2 people/couple, 80 Euros per person for

Families of 3 and more.

2. Spiritual yoga retreat programs: As the initiator of our eco-village is a yoga

teacher, experienced in Tibet, he will run spiritual yoga relaxation programs for

anyone wanting to find his inner balance of body and soul. Spiritual yoga sessions

will take part once a month for three days (Friday and weekend) during the winter

season and for one week in the summer season. Price during the winter will be

250 Euros per person and for the weekly summer program 450 Euros.

3. Youth experience camp: As the new generation represents the future, we are

more than willing to communicate them our concept and develop them

environmental consciousness. Youth experience is a fun camp program that will

bring children from 12-17 years old in touch with nature and with concepts such

as energy saving, recycling, sustainability etc. Youth experience is a weekly

program taken part in the last week of July and the first week of August.

Participation costs is 250 per child per week and if someone from the first week

wants to stay also the second week the fee is extra 150 instead of 250, but booking

in advance is required. Children in the Youth experience will stay in tents and not

in the guest house.

4. Permaculture and Natural Farming Seminar: The weekly seminar and

workshop will take place twice the year (preferably October - November and

April- May, in order to have good weather conditions) in collaboration with

experts from GEN Europe institute or other equivalent organizations. After the

seminar the participants will have get familiar with the concept, principles, ethics

and core techniques of Permaculture and natural farming both in theory and

praxis. Cost of participation is 470 Euros.

5. If someone wants to stay in the village further than his planned programmed

days he/she can stay in the guest house with a cost of 30 Euros per day including

3-course-meals.

All programs would be available for booking also through our websites online

booking system through credit card, Paypal or bank deposit.

FINANCING

The cooperative portion required for someone to take part in our Agricultural

combination is 30.240 Euros per house. That means that this is the amount of money

required regardless if it is one person, two or a family that buys the house. As 6

houses will be build in the first year of operation the start up capital will amount to

181.440 Euros.

Total investment expenditures have amount to 606.040 Euros, including (See Excel file

“Investment” table):

purchasing of 50 acres land in the price of 2000 Euros/m2

construction of 6 houses, a central community building and the guest house,

energy in the price of 200 Euros/m2

Installation of energy-saving technologies e.g. 8 solar panels of 9000 Euros

each and 3 wind-turbines of 9000 Euros each

Transportation means: 2 community common used vans and 30 mountain

bikes

Recycling centre of 3 bins costing 540 Euros and 8 composting bins of 150

Euros each.

Crops purchase and installation with an average cost of 1500 Euros for 35

plants per acre

Purchase of animals: 4 cows 2000 Euros each and 60 chickens 30 euros each.

Machinery costs including, computers, distillation machinery, kitchen

appliances etc. are estimated to 30.000 Euros

Furniture of the community building and the guest house are estimated to

40.000 Euros.

Website development with online booking system will cost about 12.000

Euros.

The building and furnishing of the community building and the guest house as well as

all transportation means can be financed by the funding program LEADER+ of the

preference of Drama, that is supporting agritouristic investments with 60% financing.

Applications for participating in the program and acquire funding start again from

April 2011. This 60% covers an amount of 144.600 Euros. The rest 280.000 Euros

required to cover the investment expenditures will be acquired through bank loan with

an interest rate of 7% as it is formed currently.

A ten-year long feasibility plan has been conducted in order to see if our investment

will be viable in the long-run using the Net Present Value method (NPV):

When we are using the discounted cash flow technique of NPV in the context of

evaluating capital budgeting projects, then the NPV formula is ammended to make

room for the initial cash outlay,CF0, which is subtracted from the sum of discounted

net cash flows. In our case this is represented by the 60% LEADER+ program

funding discounted at the bank interest rate of 7%. Using the Net Present Value

(NPV) method we ended up to a positive NPV of 1,42 (See Excel file “Cash Flow”

table), which demonstrates that our investment is well worth trying.

REFERENCES

http://www.oikorama-ngo.gr/index.php/2008-10-26-20-18-44.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentional_community

http://www.abroadview.org/avmag/2008spring_kessler.htm

http://gen.ecovillage.org/iservices/publications/articles/ av_08_spring_ecovillages.pdf

http://gen.ecovillage.org/index.php? option=com_content&view=article&id=92&Itemid=175

Debbie Van Schyndel Kasper, 2008, Human Ecology Review, Vol. 15, No 1

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