#98 Our current p̶r̶o̶b̶l̶e̶m̶s challenges 

Suggestions on what material and utilities we need can be put here in update 13 +14: community.projectkamp.com/research/can-we-design-a-community-center-building

You could do a crowd fund where people can "buy a brick" & their name or initials get inscribed on it (for the internal precious plastic bricks) could be €10/20 depending on the amount of internal bricks needed.

I feel like you guys need minimum of 6 showers and toilets if you're going to be maxing out at 50 people 😆 really cool to see everything still happening, and love the move to focus in on a clear mission and vision for the camp

I would suggest borrowing goats for one week. Put them in the brambles and in one week the goats will prove their worth a hundred times over. No need to get your own goats because most farmers will lend you some for the free food. Everyone wins and you do not have to be goat herders unless you want them for milk.

Buildings. Do not worry much about 'replicable everywhere'. Every site/ location is different . Build what is best and most suitable for your situation and share that experience. I think these latest Community Building plans look promissing.

definitely go for chickens and goats. The chickens eat a lot of scrap food, and really help combat against insects. The goats can make short work of a lot of the brambles and rugged vegetation and perhaps also young mimosa plants? You would also have the benefits of goat milk and eggs for the people who don' mind consuming these products.. or perhaps trade them away with the locals.

the new plan for the community building looks very nice and modern. But 2 toilets for 50 people is not enough in my opinion 😅

A suggestions that is a little late: Could you make the community building modular ? So you could build different parts of it over a few years as money and other resources come in? It would also make the plans more usable for other people as they could pick the parts they need for their situation.

Julie casually waling up with two different socks is the energy I need for my Monday😊

So happy that you planned to scrap the existing building. Yes it did look very unsafe and not up to the job at all. Love the plans

Do you guys heard about earthships? It uses old materials to built (that you can get for free, like tires, cans and bottles), has high level of comfort and it's self sufficient. Usually they are designed for houses but maybe there is a way to create a community center with the same base ideia! Ps: I would love to join you one day, I'm waiting for a project that I feel comfortable with, to be a useful ❤️

The old bricks could be reused to build raised garden beds

I would like to make a suggestion for the community center roof, you should install a green roof, it will help with both heating and cooling, and it fits with the natural environment much better

I would consider redoing the building as an "earthshiip", there are few in Spain. I'm sure you can find an expert to come help you build one using the local rubbish dump for materials. Also you could use the dirt from around the farm

From the drawings of the community center, it looks like everyone needs to dress up to use it. LOL Seeing the woman in the dress and high heels in the concept drawing made my chuckle. This was a good update. Looking forward to what you all accomplish before the winter and season ends. Maybe the winter updates are simple things, like pet projects people are doing or just pictures of where people have gone. I like people's suggestions to sell bricks, or pieces of wood that is used in building the center and put their names on it. Gives the donators a sense of being a part of it even if they can't physically be there.

Whilst €300k is a lot of money, once spread out amongst all of us, it becomes much more manageable (as with everything you share with us through your content!). I like the idea of people buying a brick, or sponsoring the planting of native trees.

Very cool design. I wonder if you could flip the upstairs design so that the bathroom is above the mechanical room. Should simplify the plumbing.

I am impressed with all you folks put in to your projects! I mean, you started out with a few derelict buildings and look at where you are now! The way you approach things with viewer input, your own skills, the environment, the fire threat, the local laws and the practical reuse of materials takes a lot of research and work! Geeze! The thing is, you folks are pioneers at this! People can learn from your experiences! You have supplied a real service 'model' that can be followed for eons! You're doing awesome! Thanks for sharing your journey and involving your viewers!

For the walls i suggest looking at Laura Kampf's old house rebuild! She uses something similar to cob/hay&clay mix but prefab into bricks with a special pressed woodfibre outer layer to fully insulate and make the cob bricks waterproof

The planners have set you a challenge and done you a favour regarding the old ruin. The question section was very good, good questions and answers, especially about community living. I also loved seeing all the different nationalities present, just wish the world thought the same way.

You should definitely use hempcrete/hemp lime. It has several advantages: 1) Easy to use and safe. Which would cut down on skilled labour. 2) High insulation value. 3) Fire resistant. 4) Environmentally friendly. It actually acts like a carbon sink and can be easily maintained and even re-used. 5) Deals well with high humidity and prevents mold growth. 6) Quick. With a small team, a pan mixer and some plywood or other similar sheeting, you can put up the walls within a week.

For community building documentation, it would be good to have a process for exit interview of anyone who visits and be recorded for data collection and psycology part of the project

20:42 Respect for Tincho for the yerba mate

I like how you get so many different people answering the questions. I'd love to live a similar kind of life, but I'll probably never get the chance to now, so I'll live it through you guys!

Nice video, and I liked the Q&A format. I think that for the community center you'll have to limit how much wood you are going to use, a big building makes it harder to maintain. Where I live that feels pretty similar to the climate of your camp I'm used to seeing external timber being re-painted every couple of years (but with chemical coats and paints) or the wood after a few years gets moldy and starts decaying. For a small construction is not a big deal to take care of but for the community center...

Good to see y'all thinking about an integrated modular master plan for Project Kamp. Some thought points - I'm sure y'all must've thought of these & many more and incorporated some as per convenience already! 1) Work day division - work time / community cultural time / meditation or exercise time / personal time / etc ... along with credits system. 2) Content creation / product creation should preferably be a part of every one's routine. Recipie / work plans / documentation / small gift items / drawings / etc. 3) Create a physical library and assign duties to keep it up to date. 4) interface with acedemia - in order to keep yourself updated and to get some acredation (if possible) so as to be able to issue some certificates to people enrolling in Project Kamp on some skills. 5) invite people for stays / workshops from other such efforts worldwide to share best practices. Idea #1 - wood chips + fine mud + limestone powder / crushed stone powder could help you make building blocks that could be Sun baked (Summers) or fire baked (Mimosa) + reinforced with iron bars. Tree sap can be repurposed as a glue (people have done these things before).

18:08 I spy a big digger in the top left corner. What is that doing I wonder?

People love a building project! You might be surprised at the support to be gained by some sort of crowdfunding opportunity.

You should probably use stone,granite for the structure and you should remove the bricks because they are a strucual hazzard

Suggestion: If you get the right equipment you could probably recycle a lot more plastic. Recycling a lot more plastic will help overcome a number of challenges. A. you can probably set up a deal with the municipality for them to bring the plastic to you (for recycling) and to pay you for taking it which will help with the monetary challenge and help secure steady funding. B. Recycling the plastic would be a good use for the extra energy that you produce during summer. C. The thing that you can make with the plastic during summer is building blocks to use later for building during winter. Plastic blocks are good insulators, strong, long lasting, water resistant, And could be made into easy to use and functional building materials like blocks or sheets. D. The blocks could be used to build the walls in the building you're making and later be covered with hempcrete to protect the blocks from the sun and prevent microplastics and offgasing. This will provide a safe affordable & easy to use building material. It will help with your mission of living sustainably. It will provide more money to the camp. And it will strengthen your connection to the local community. While also converting your extra energy that currently is going to waste into useful materials at virtually less than zero cost.

One of the most important sustainable factors is your energy and your interest. As far as I can tell from the video updates, it seems like you are keeping these factors in mind, and balancing work and rest, mission and leisure. I also appreciate that your pace seems sustainable - while you all work very hard, you don't seem to be burning yourselves out. If I am incorrect in this observation, please address in a future video.

For the community building could you make it out of shipping containers? Making the building modular and then arrange them for footprint/space to make it more repeatable for other locations. This would also make them temporary structures - easy to add too as crowd/need increases.

Goats would definitely help manage the land if you have a movable containment system. And you can sell the milk and the babies. Or make soap and cheese for sale. Letting the goats maintain the areas you can't mow would create free time for other projects.

I grew up on a goat farm and they are wonderful animals, ours were as friendly as dogs. They will eat and eat, BUT they will eat everything you don't want them to touch and completely ignore the areas you want them to maintain. If they're going to free range, I suggest really good fencing around your food gardens/orchard to keep them out. And any flowering plants that you're partial to, I've watched them strip a rose bush in under 10 minutes...thorns be damned apparently 🤣 Otherwise...YES!!! get goats, I love them!!

Great video! And some excellent suggestions popping up in the comments! I agree with all these: earthship, more toilets! Keep the plumbing short by having all “wet” nearby, goats and chickens.

Have you considered building the community center using the rammed earth technique? Low cost but labor intensive.

Firs time I send you a comment and I am doing it because I feel it's right inside me : st tx for your videos, sharing your experiences on the land (this makes my Mondays)))). Now about this particular video, zillion tanhks. I found it very profond and interesting in terms of questions you raised about replication of your project, trust building among stakeholders, your approach about sustainability and more others items that sounds deep into me (and to others, most probably..). I want to encourage you and wanted to thank you for all this. I feel like being fed by your videos and this means a lot to me )))

Hi, maybe you should try to use a polarizing filter, it removes glare from the leaves and it would look greener, the sky would be bluer. Overall it would be a good upgrade.

I need to say a huge thank you for realising that government & bureaucracy MUST exist in any new society we may create. Rules and regulations will still be important to protect the vulnerable amongst us from those who would exploit them for their own purposes and ends.

Desde o Brasil acompanho o projeto de vocês. Gostaria de sugerir o tijolo solo/cimento ou mais conhecido como tijolo ecológico como material construtivo. Esse material apresenta excelentes índices térmicos, tem bom isolamento acústico e é um material que não demanda queima, podendo ser produzido por vocês mesmos. Além disso, o tijolo solo cimento elimina várias etapas de acabamento. Toda a construção pode ser executada por vocês e em Portugal já há regramento desta técnica construtiva e fabricantes de formas deste material.

Ads are a great income source for a project with such a platform like yours, and that shouldn't be disregarded.

I like the way you also focus on the inner community building and the vision

I'm working with a local group who have some very similar goals to you folks, and I came up with a specific vision for them that might work well for you as well. I call it the Politics of Art. Specifically, the aim is to use traditionally proven techniques to create spaces (physical, emotional, and intellectual) that support individual exploration of artisanal solutions to individuals' needs. It's complex, but the gist of it is having a centralized system that does the groundwork, and only the groundwork, for giving individuals the freedom to explore and create unique, personal options for taking great care of themselves and others. Another way to say it is the organizing that has to happen to achieve maximum meaningful play.

Sad to learn that the old brick building is very unstable and falling apart, and will have to be partially disassembled for a new structure to be build at its place, but seeing those designs being so modern yet reusing materials like the plastic bricks, can't wait to see what becomes of this area.

You need a draft horse to help with moving the cut down mimosas, pulling stumps, or pulling a cart!

Hey everyone. I watch every video since the project camp started. I love the philosophy. And I see there is 600+ subscribers. I know if I had an easy way to give £1 I would and it takes half of subscribers to give 1Є/£1 to reach 300000 for new project.

Loved the style of the q&a. Great banter

Dirt superadobe or hyperadobe bags. Outside the bag cost it is just labor. Dirt can come from your own land. Structure cost is very economically priced compared to other sustainable building methods... also look up Earthships. That is even cheaper as it uses used tires. cams and bottles and can be completely off grid.... This is what I believe you are looking for. As it would use the hillside to cool in summer and the mass would aid in heating cost. Most earthisp recycle 100% of your bio waist in built in gardens... Earthships Is the most exciting and fits your land in so many ways as the best way to go forward...

Regarding the community centre maybe you could think about implementing some earth ship principles. The Eco first thinking of earthships would be a perfect fit for project kamp. Keep up the great work. Greets from Germany

nice moderator and film maker. very pleasant and authentic

I think you need goats, pigs and some cows in order to have them feeding amongst the trees and keeping the mimosas down, whilst keeping the fruit and oak trees. You will also need the more sails to force more water into the ground and the animal droppings for fertilization. maybe you could only seasonal "rent" animals to do that, thus you do not have to worry about caring for the animals in winter

Secure the funds first and plan it with a additional support for when stuff doesnt work out. ... And the 2 years i am certain there are ways to get an extention but ... still in 2 years the outer shell should be possible.

YES Goats would be GOOD! Take care of your brambles and if you park them close to the mimosas sprouting again they will also take "care" of that problem. And in return you get, Bramble and weed control and "poop" (which is great for biogass generator), Milk, Cheese, "Natilla"

You could buy & ship 300 expensive containers..or buy the sheet metal machine for 15k to make the containers,fill the grounds with containers without planning then cut the red brick/local stone/wood/no natural fabric/plastic recreate any facade. A nod to the original build and the practically of the containers . Also definitely guniea pigs & rabbits for the forest ❤💚

what you do now with all the greywater from shower and kitchen? with so many people connecting it to a gardensystem would be a neet idea. would also be a nice video developing a closed loop system already nice with the compost toilet..30 people should create a lot of good soil. :D video about your compost system would be nice to see as well.

Goats are a risk. If they escape, then anything you have planted for food, you can almost guarantee that those plants will be the first thing that they will destroy/eat to the ground. If you are going to tear the old building down, have you considered breaking the bricks up and then using the pieces in the ditches on either side of the tracks. Hopefully, this would stabilise the tracks and stop erosion of the centre of the tracks??? Perhaps on sections where the water wants to cross from one side of the track to the other and dig a new channel across the track, stabilise the new channel with mimosa wood and broken bricks. It's recycling at its finest. I have come to really look forward to your Monday upload. It's my time to chill. Thanks. 😊😊😊❤❤❤😊😊😊

Mimosa usage: Biochar on site with killn method. no need to drag the stuff around to much. and after inacculation work it into the land directly. can use the stems and make the char from the branches. can use stems after drying for heating in winter or build warmwater boiler for heatedshower, or maybe make a siteproject build a sauna cabin. btw the debarked and dead trees should be dried enouth to make charcoal directky without much smoke.

A great progress ahead - with nice plans... But nowadays it is quite basic for each room to have its proper bathroom with toilet. E.g. 6 people could be put in one room with separating curtains / paper walls in between to make it more comfortable and intimate. This means that you need ca. 8 of these rooms with 8 bathrooms with toilets plus min. 2 toilets with washing basins outside, by the dining room. You could ask for some money for this comfort... Good luck! 😊

Goats are a great way of keeping areas from growing back after you have cleared, but only if you can control where they will be. You could end up with a bare herb garden and overgrown undergrowth.😬👍

50 people is a lot. You probably need multiple living spaces, bathrooms, and should absolutely consider a library space. People will want to disperse and collect into smaller groups so having multiple spaces for people to collect (and have meetings) is something I would consider. Depending on what you envision for the future, you may also want to set aside a recording studio (is that the technical space?).

Yes! Goats please! They are so much fun watching them jumping around. They are also great for mowing the lawn for free. No electricity needed. Lol! I vote for goats and chickens if you ever want a second animal. Love your videos and watching the progress over time.

Thank you team, a very informative update. Wishing each and everyone a chill downtime. You deserve it.

You guys love the term sketchy, but that building is on another level in that regard!😮

Loving watching this channel evolve!

One issue, If you want to build a building as community space and be in a way that everyone can use the design the building should be built in a way that can accommodate for disabled people with wheelchair and having the toilets facilities upstairs is not gonna work unless you build a open lift that wheelchair can be lifted up and down between the floors. Just an observation 😊

I love how the videos are made by the whole team! Juanita, love your thoughts on how to approach building a vision, and what that looks like with multiple people involved!

Looking good....the interior is mostly hard surfaces, and the sound might reverberate to much, making it less comfortable. Suggest improving the acoustics with soft surfaces.

Thank you for the update. The design for the community center is super cool, I can't wait to see what it will look like. Also, I definitely like the idea of getting animals. They can help you so much, even beyond the food they can produce. And what about producing some of your own food? Do you have any plans for growing your own crops?

every week has so many beautiful camera shots and very neat and informative for all the vidoes about the current challenges and strategies that you guys use to create wonderful community spaces shipping containers for dried food storage and tools and recycled materials storage including the sustainable poop toilet you guys built from cans for the roof that was pure magic you guys also create amazing vegan and vegetarian meals with sustainably sources and grown fruits and vegetables from your neighbours every meal is very colourful and you also create amazing toturials of how to create amazing rich and fresh loafs of bread and baggutes . You guys should invest in getting hydroponic farming towers because there great for growing herbs/spices and vegetables they would be a great fit in the new plan of creating a community space that can accommodate 50 people . Carbon fibre panels for native plants are great for planting native trees/flowers/bushes and flowering mosses and great sizes for small and big decks thank you guys this video had so much useful and helpful information to get creative about building community spaces/tiny homes or cabins !

One option to consider is a modular design for the community center, which reduces the initial cost, grows with the project, and may be easier for administrative work with the municipality. And I think it is more sustainable by allocating resources when they are needed.

The 2nd or 3rd plans look good but i would build a 4 season green house on to it to help begin your growing season(starters) and grow some tropical plants . Plus you can use one outside wall for the green house , as an idea.

Mimosas has been cut very high they grow again , the overs without "BARK" are going to die that is better for Fire safety. I understand it is an over job but it is the price of a fire-safety.🤔🤐🤨😉😊 Very well vidéo. Bon courage to each of the community.👍👍👍👍👍

Go for the crowdfunding! Happy to chip in for the great content, vibes & love you’re putting out there.

You should strip the community center to just the bare essentials to get it approved structurally so you can start building, that way you can probably get it to under 100-150k which is manageable through a burst of crowdfunding. With the plans not dependent on the interior you can then start using the space (with just the walls and a roof) and slowly build it out further over time.

best repel flies include oil of lemon eucalyptus, lemongrass, catnip, citronella, & cinnamon. Maybe plant a few of these around camp; see how it cuts back on the bugs.

Q 1please use granite, clay and straw rebuilding it🥺😊 2and if you ask me, you can make a fund and if you dont get enough money, do something else with it (build a farm or buy a tractor for example) 3Maybe make a collab with acorn land labs?

you on right track with Solar ....but dont forget WIND in the winter.....and the building will grow as the community grows

What about aircrete bricks?Lighter, stronger, fire resistant & good insulation. Plenty of YT videos on ‘how to’ DIY. Foam generators can be built for as little as 30 bucks. You could make your own molds too based of blocks currently used in the construction industry & with weather like you have, there’s no problem with curing. Solar panel roof. Goats will eat everything right down to the dirt. Sheep & chickens if you’re thinking about livestock.

Granite or field rocks is a great material for foundations or walls. It's durable pretty, easy to work with CHEAP!!! But it is HARD work dragging rocks and to make them into useful structures you need cement which is not very environmentally cool. But the structures will last pretty much forever.

As a sociologist this is such an interesting journey I have to say! :D Especially with the questions of how to document all of this! Really fascinating episode this week!

Saw this really cool rammed earth (like concrete) walls that use on site dirt to make. There’s also earth ships which use a lot of recycled materials. Hope to see something cool.

you can rent/loan the land to local goat farmers, they pasture their animals and you get free landmovers, or you can trade your pastures for goat cheese or learn how to make goat cheese this way you don't have to own the goats. The community center can be registered as an academic/research institute maybe the country (portugal or EU) could help to invest or mantain, because thats kinda what your organization is really about.

Did I spot some bright yellow earth moving equipment peeking out from behind the office building at 18:10? Being used to remove tree stumps perhaps?

Goats are probably the best fit for the landscape, and will help keep the mimosa under control (so long as they DO eat mimosa!), but they're crafty creatures. It'll be worth it though, because CHEVRE (and their manure, etc etc)!!!

For cheap way of planting trees, you should try 'AIR LAYERING'!!!

I'm a high school student living in HK moving to UIUC for chemistry, however I did some university research on biodigesters, specifically micro-bubbling for sewage treatment systems for urban cities. I'm really interested in the project and there's a few projects/experiments I want to try out. Consider bio digesting sludge to produce methane gas for energy, keep an ideal temperature and build a system for constant stirring, it will increase rate!

It would be very interesting to see Project Kamp to expand to where there could be several different Project Kamps around the world with communities in each one documenting the process in where they live. It'd be sick

Goats would be awesome. Some sheep too so many cool options for the wool!

Have you thought of planting olive trees and cork trees? Olives to make your own olive oil and cork to (one day) provide an income from selling the cork bark. Investigate government grants, farming subsidies and money from charities such as Lottery to fund building work. Thanks for sharing Project Kamp.

So much smarter for the long term health and viability of the building to not be limited by the current structure. It will allow you to really put things where you want them, better insulate and better use the building. I would use some granite and then also hempcrete since you are relying in possibly unproffesional labor to do the building. Hempcrete is easier to work with for amatuers.

Include at least a granite facade, as it is typical of the area to have old granite buildings, it might get you some points with the municipality project approval. Also, the goats are proven to be good for managing the flora, but add a lot of overhead in time and resources (shelter, healthcare and feed). If you could arrange with a local Sheppard to include your property as a periodic stop maybe would be the best of both worlds for you. Cheers

so it would oversimplify gardening if you got chickens, what you do is have 2 chicken runs and run 1 gets used for a 3-5 month growing season, and run 2 is used for the chickens, and then after you harvest you swap them. what is good about this system is the chickens fertilize and remove weeds, and it makes managing a garden much easier

Yes to goats & chickens please. Putting resources into chicken coops and goat fencing can pay off, but you need a plan. Your neighbors will probably be able to help & give advice, maybe even sell you hatching eggs and so on.

I have always wondered: do you know of the "Open Source Ecology" project ? they have done research on machines and a few building structures.

Great explanation of the building regulations, thanks.

I always struggle a bit who really owns this entire thing. If I spend a summer to remove mimosa for free board and lodging, I enjoy a nice summer in portugal, gotya. But If I really invest time and money with a vision to live there, Dave is still owner. No chance for being a stakeholder which is a bit risky. In the end, many people are working to generate a more worthy property which Dave can resell at any given time!

You might want at least one bathroom on the kitchen level in case someone has difficulty with stairs? Granite should help mediate temperature between day and night if done right. Cork insulation or wool or denim. Can you build a medium sized building first (say 50k euro) then move into the big one? Could be an event space, like if someone wants to get married on a farm. Or build the shell then finish as you go? I think incorporating some kind of earth-bermed or earth-sheltered structure would be wise. Dig deeper into the earth - no upkeep on that buried, plus it regulates temperature and will not burn. As others have suggested, that is basically an "earth ship". But there are other earth bermed structures for example I would also suggest the design of the "Hockerton Housing Project" in the UK. It's a very similar vibe of what you're doing - they have beehives, solar, water cleaning on site and because the houses are earth bermed they use much less energy for domestic needs. Plus the temp is well regulated in hot AND cold weather. Yes, it may be an up front CO2 cost for concrete, but the long-term CO2 expenditure on heating, cooling, plus the resiliency of an earth-bermed structure to fire, maintenance... really good design!

Goats could really help with mimosa and brush control if you have a sufficient number of them. They can be hard to control sometimes. They will eat your garden and prize trees besides weeds! There are some better fencing solutions available now. With any animals you have to have the ability to control your attachments to what are essentially livestock, not pets.

Goats are probably your best choice for maintaining grounds and controlling weeds and non-native tree growth. And maybe even getting a bit of goat milk. I'd do some research and see how many you'd be able to sustainably have to maintain your size of grounds. In the U.S. there are people that have herds that they take around to clear weeds out of areas naturally, so the goats could be a potential sources of funds there. So you potentially could have a larger herd a bit larger than you need. Angora, Spanish or Nigerian goats would be your best choice there I think.

in all the project drafts I didn't see any tech room for M&E central! It's a new hope for being sustainable, please think about a big battery buffer or gravity battery! think about subservices connection! no sewage no toilets :) A layout as it is with dry toilets is less expensive than a one connected ( but no option for an inner one! )