Though we haven't been to the site for a while due to the weather and other commitments, just like spring bulbs, things have been growing unseen.
As a result of our outreach efforts, our lists of interested and active potential members have grown considerably. We could have as many as four families who, now having attended two community meetings, should be bringing their personal vision statements to the next meeting, this Wednesday. And there are still a dozen families that have expressed interest in Raccoon Creek and asked to be included in our e-mail announcements but have not been able to attend a meeting yet. Not everyone can easily get to Indianapolis for a short weeknight meeting, and for a few, the nights selected have not been open. We expect a few new faces this week.
In addition to the somewhat regular meetings, we are planning an event at the site for the weekend of May 6, 7 and 8. We will meet much of the day on the 7th and the morning of the 8th. Everyone will be welcome at the site for the nights of the 6th and the 7th. We sure hope the weather will reward our enthusiasm by being dry and warmer since most of us will sleep in a tent at least one of those nights.
We still are not ready to invite anyone to visit the site with whom we have not met or, in a few cases, at least spoken to a few times. So, if cannot attend one of the semi-monthly meetings but you'd like to join us in May, get in touch via the email address in the sidebar to the right so that we can arrange an alternative.
As the weather improves we hope to make on-site sessions a regular item on the community's schedule. Not only will that help us all get to know new members well, but we might actually get some real work done! What a concept.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Friday, March 11, 2005
Can you help?
Though some of us will live at Raccoon Creek, residences are only one reason that one might visit our community. Eventually we will have facilities to accommodate classes from elementary to graduate levels, plus other groups, that would study the forest, sink holes, springs and other natural aspects of the property, our water treatment system, solar electricity generation, organic gardening, and other topics.
To allow such educational activities we need meeting space, trails, parking space, tables and chairs, accommodations for handicapped visitors, kitchen equipment, added toilet facilities, and, eventually, overnight sleeping rooms.
We hope to pay for some of these things with grant funds, but much will have to come from donations of material, equipment and services. We would be grateful for your help in locating any of these items.
I have uploaded a plain-text document containing a list of ways to help and things we need, and provided a link to it in the column to the right. We will keep the list up to date as needs are met and new ones recognized.
To allow such educational activities we need meeting space, trails, parking space, tables and chairs, accommodations for handicapped visitors, kitchen equipment, added toilet facilities, and, eventually, overnight sleeping rooms.
We hope to pay for some of these things with grant funds, but much will have to come from donations of material, equipment and services. We would be grateful for your help in locating any of these items.
I have uploaded a plain-text document containing a list of ways to help and things we need, and provided a link to it in the column to the right. We will keep the list up to date as needs are met and new ones recognized.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Wire-less article
Today's Indianapolis Star had an Associated Press article titled "Modern pioneers go "wire-less". It does a pretty good job of describing part of what we want to do at Raccoon Creek. A few excerpts:
We're not 2 1/2 miles away from a power line, but the value of producing some of our own electricity is no less important. If these people, and, as the article notes, an estimated 1,000 others can be off the grid in Maine, we should be able to do as well in Indiana.
- Just because [they] live 2 1/2 miles from the nearest power line doesn't mean they have to live by candlelight and take cold showers.
- The inside ... looks like it's out of a home design magazine - not what you might imagine for a home off the grid.
- "... there's a misconception that you have to have this solar-looking house or live this crazy lifestyle."
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Go with the flow
We have discussed various methods of generating power at Raccoon Creek. After reading about wind power, studying the maps of reliable winds in the area, and recognizing the density of trees at Raccoon Creek, we decided that wind power wasn't a likely option for us.
Photovoltaics, of course, will always be in the mix. We will be siting our buildings for maximum exposure for solar exploitaion, both active and passive.
The power generation method that we still need to investigate more is micro-hydroelectric power. In general there are two schemes for generating power from water. One is situating a turbine at the end of a pipe that drops the water a sufficient height to spin the turbine and generate power. The other is to use a generator that looks somewhat like a propeller and is emerged into a flowing stream or river.
Raccoon Creek has ample continuous water flow, but across the entire property, even if we were to use the section that we don't intend to develop, the creek has only a fall (drop) of about 10 feet. And to make that ten foot fall useful, that is, to get much of that fall to occur within a short distance, we would have to run a very long pipe from upstream to a point near the buildings-to-be, a distance of up to a quarter-mile, and "drop" it onto the turbine. This would present other problems, like keeping the pipe from freezing in the winter, and the cost of supporting it over such a long distance.
That leaves us with the other type of generator, sometimes called a jack rabbit type. Though there is a lot of water in the creek, where it would be easiest to use, and closest to where we want it, the creek is from 15 to 25 feet wide and rather deep compared to other sections, maybe 5 feet in some places.
This wide, deep, stream section results in a very slow flow through that stretch. This type of generator requires a flow of about 8 miles-per-hour, and, as it is, we're nowhere close to that. If we can concentrate this flow into a smaller cross section, like a culvert, most of the flow will be available for power generation. If this can be done without adversely affecting the creek bank and without causing additional flooding during high water events, we will have a great, reliable power source.
The next steps are to accurately measure the flow, and then to contact manufacturers of this type generator for advice on how we might concentrate it. I'll report on progress on this front.
Photovoltaics, of course, will always be in the mix. We will be siting our buildings for maximum exposure for solar exploitaion, both active and passive.
The power generation method that we still need to investigate more is micro-hydroelectric power. In general there are two schemes for generating power from water. One is situating a turbine at the end of a pipe that drops the water a sufficient height to spin the turbine and generate power. The other is to use a generator that looks somewhat like a propeller and is emerged into a flowing stream or river.
Raccoon Creek has ample continuous water flow, but across the entire property, even if we were to use the section that we don't intend to develop, the creek has only a fall (drop) of about 10 feet. And to make that ten foot fall useful, that is, to get much of that fall to occur within a short distance, we would have to run a very long pipe from upstream to a point near the buildings-to-be, a distance of up to a quarter-mile, and "drop" it onto the turbine. This would present other problems, like keeping the pipe from freezing in the winter, and the cost of supporting it over such a long distance.
That leaves us with the other type of generator, sometimes called a jack rabbit type. Though there is a lot of water in the creek, where it would be easiest to use, and closest to where we want it, the creek is from 15 to 25 feet wide and rather deep compared to other sections, maybe 5 feet in some places.
This wide, deep, stream section results in a very slow flow through that stretch. This type of generator requires a flow of about 8 miles-per-hour, and, as it is, we're nowhere close to that. If we can concentrate this flow into a smaller cross section, like a culvert, most of the flow will be available for power generation. If this can be done without adversely affecting the creek bank and without causing additional flooding during high water events, we will have a great, reliable power source.
The next steps are to accurately measure the flow, and then to contact manufacturers of this type generator for advice on how we might concentrate it. I'll report on progress on this front.
Friday, March 04, 2005
Cutting edge technology?
Well that's not exactly what I've been working with lately, but you'll see the connection.
Recently I've been doing some work for the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice to help pay for a week-long Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Field Study this May at their site. So far my contribution has been pruning apple trees. We finished the first orchard today and started on the second, larger one.
If you are anywhere near Terre Haute you need to stop by and visit this site. Also on the site is the campus of Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods College, about ten minutes northwest of Terre Haute.
White Violet raises alpacas, harvests their wool, cards it, spins it, and either weaves with it or sells it. Each alpaca is a different color, so the skeins of wool from each is a different color. Beautiful.
They have a greenhouse currently filling up with this year's seed starts.
The starts are used in an extensive community supported agriculture program which is run by White Violet staff with the help of volunteers (plus the "captive" participants in the field study).
They keep bees, have a straw bale building on site, manage a wetlands, sell fire wood, manage a small library, promote environmental justice, ... and likely do lots more I haven't learned about yet.
The only problem is that they're not about 50 miles closer to Raccoon Creek.
Check for pictures of the alpaca babies (called "crias"), due after March 15th.
Recently I've been doing some work for the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice to help pay for a week-long Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Field Study this May at their site. So far my contribution has been pruning apple trees. We finished the first orchard today and started on the second, larger one.
If you are anywhere near Terre Haute you need to stop by and visit this site. Also on the site is the campus of Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods College, about ten minutes northwest of Terre Haute.
White Violet raises alpacas, harvests their wool, cards it, spins it, and either weaves with it or sells it. Each alpaca is a different color, so the skeins of wool from each is a different color. Beautiful.
They have a greenhouse currently filling up with this year's seed starts.
The starts are used in an extensive community supported agriculture program which is run by White Violet staff with the help of volunteers (plus the "captive" participants in the field study).
They keep bees, have a straw bale building on site, manage a wetlands, sell fire wood, manage a small library, promote environmental justice, ... and likely do lots more I haven't learned about yet.
The only problem is that they're not about 50 miles closer to Raccoon Creek.
Check for pictures of the alpaca babies (called "crias"), due after March 15th.
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