Bio-dome
A Blueprint for a Bio-centric Ecovillage
Theme: Uniting Community Seed Banks, Community Sponsored Agriculture and Community Sufficiency with Regenerative Agriculture, Adaptation to Climate Change and Ecological Economics through Ecological Ethics forming a Bio-centric Paradigm Shift.
Background: At a remote village in the Arkhangelsk region of Russia eco-activists gathered from all over Europe in March 2020 for Seeds of Action: Post-Apocalyptic hope and hopelessness. One of the presentations was Seeds of Hope where a vision for a bio-centric ecovillage was shared.
After the presentation a working group was formed for prototyping based on the bio-dome vision. We agreed to move that working group to a virtual working group which you are hereby invited to partake in. The aim of the online working group is:
Background: At a remote village in the Arkhangelsk region of Russia eco-activists gathered from all over Europe in March 2020 for Seeds of Action: Post-Apocalyptic hope and hopelessness. One of the presentations was Seeds of Hope where a vision for a bio-centric ecovillage was shared.
After the presentation a working group was formed for prototyping based on the bio-dome vision. We agreed to move that working group to a virtual working group which you are hereby invited to partake in. The aim of the online working group is:
- To make a visual blueprint which can be shared in relevant groups so that the vision can be reproduced and evolve into many forms of actualization.
- To ensure that the blueprint is a structurally sound design which as much as possible relies on local materials and uses as little energy as possible.
- To spread the vision to relevant groups (like the Deep Adaptation network and Eco-village Networks).
- Result in one or two concrete locations where the concept can be tested by 2023.
- Break down the dualist culture/nature divide
- Biomimicry
- Anti-rivalry
- Entropy offesting
- Reproductive and productive
To break down the nature/culture divide we have to move from an anthropocentric to a biocentric world view. This does not mean to remove people from the equation, rather it means to place the biosphere in the centre and to incorporate humans into that reality.
Taking the typical Permaculture zone map as a point of departure, we want to remove people from the centre and place the biosphere there instead.
Taking the typical Permaculture zone map as a point of departure, we want to remove people from the centre and place the biosphere there instead.
We then want to mimic nature as much as possible where nature has found truly sustainable and regenerative solutions. We start with the cell, one of the oldest emergent properties in biology.
Thus, the centre of the design is a geodesic dome.
The design is anti-rivalrous, which means that we are focused not on competition and individualism but on webs of cooperation between the biosphere and people on as many emergent levels as possible.
Thus, the centre of the design is a geodesic dome.
The design is anti-rivalrous, which means that we are focused not on competition and individualism but on webs of cooperation between the biosphere and people on as many emergent levels as possible.
The design should be entropy offsetting. This is a big subject but in brief it means that we maximize photosynthesis, fill as many biological niches as possible, minimise use of energy and maximize storing energy and cycling nutrients. And that we focus on reproduction over production, which is the final principle.
The initial design was a 1000 m2 geodesic dome surrounded by 16 tiny houses. The Tiny houses circle the bio-dome like wagons circling the camp fire.
At the centre of the bio-dome is the "nucleus" which is a multi-function space that can be used for plants and sprouts in the spring, and for social gatherings the rest of the season. The nucleus could be covered by a second dome so that we only need to heat the nucleus during the winter months.
The rest of the bio-dome is reserved for high quality biosphere reproduction/community sufficiency. The seeds that are reproduced in the bio-dome (zone 0) are to be used right outside the bio-dome in zones 1,2 and 3.
The tiny houses are in zone 1 so as to ensure that the most intensely cultivated zones are a constant interplay of reproduction and production of the ecosystem with humans acting as the keystone species.
You can ask questions about the concept and creation of BioDome, join the working group, declare your readiness to create such a dome on your land by writing Andrew a letter in English or in Russian to the address amcmillion@mac.com.
The rest of the bio-dome is reserved for high quality biosphere reproduction/community sufficiency. The seeds that are reproduced in the bio-dome (zone 0) are to be used right outside the bio-dome in zones 1,2 and 3.
The tiny houses are in zone 1 so as to ensure that the most intensely cultivated zones are a constant interplay of reproduction and production of the ecosystem with humans acting as the keystone species.
You can ask questions about the concept and creation of BioDome, join the working group, declare your readiness to create such a dome on your land by writing Andrew a letter in English or in Russian to the address amcmillion@mac.com.
