The engineers of the Cares4Pomo team have begun work on the renewable energy feasibilty. Read more about it here.

The Tribe were enthusiastic about the home design. Here is an image of the final physical prototype:

Julian Berg and Robert Ulibarri were also thrilled with the design from a technical standpoint, and it looks like the EPA might want to study the UCB/PPN partnership as an exemplar of sustainable housing. Go team!

You can see more images from the Final Presentation in the Gallery; just make sure to log in first!

Our visit yesterday with the Pinoleville-Pomo Tribal Council was a success..everyone there was very happy with the home design, and we received lots of great questions. The only downside is that our part of the project is done!

Some of my team mates will be posting pictures of the presentation here later on.

This is a conceptual design sketch of the proposed water system.

Click here to see a larger image of this design.

The water supply is a 20,000 or 30,000-gal storage tank downhill from the home; rain caught from the roof will be supplemented by groundwater from the well. Drinking water will be supplied by a small reverse osmosis system. A composting toilet, combined with grey water irrigation, will reduce water consumption by over 35%, while providing intensive, fertilizing irrigation.

The interim report, which summarizes the details of this system, can be downloaded below.

The teleconference we had with members of the Tribe this week included several members of the Tribal Council; their input allowed us to narrow down the sustainable engineering systems we will design:

1. The home will include a geothermal heat pump, which will be installed by a tribal task force. The heat pump will provide heating and cooling for the home at a fraction of the cost of conventional furnaces and air conditioners.
2. The grey water irrigation + composting toilet system was given the final okay; this system will reduce water consumption by 35%, will provide intensive irrigation for the garden. This garden will include herbs important to Pomo culture, and plants native to the local Ukiah region.
3. A rainwater catchment tank will be used to supplement the well; this tank will be installed underground. Cares4Pomo is currently researching two options for the water supply system: having a single booster pump at the site of the rain catchment tank, or having a smaller storage tank on the roof of the home, and a smaller booster pump at that site.
4. Cares4Pomo is currently investigating the pros and cons of radiant flooring versus forced air heating.

The interchange was informative for all parties, and as always, I'm excited for our next discussion!