Jake Glavis discusses the emergence of the world's first entirely self-sufficient eco-friendly residential community. With enormous implications for the rest of the world, this development in Amsterdam could make a tremendous difference in reducing our current fossil-fuel reliance.

1. ReGen Village

2. JustoutsideofAmsterdam,afantasticresidentialgreenbuilding
projectisbeingdeveloped.TitledReGenVillage,thetownwillbe
entirelyself-sufficientingrowingitsownfood,producingitsown
electricity,andevenmanagingitsownwasteallinone
environmentallyfriendlyloop.Indoorgardens,outsidegardens,
solarpanelenergy,andrecycledcompostarenotjustapartofdaily
lifeinReGenVillage,theyareresponsibleforit.

3. Think about it. Literally any and all
household waste that can be
composted will be, and it will go on
to nourish livestock or soldier flies,
which will then go on to feed fish,
whose waste will cultivate an in-
house aquatic ecosystem that helps
to grow fruit and vegetables. As for
the livestock’s waste, it will nourish
seasonal gardens that are located
throughout the neighborhood.

4. You may be wondering what
happens to the non-
compostable household waste.
Well, the town will have/does
have a biogas plant that
converts any non-compostable
household waste into power
and water. Just as well, a
water storage system acts in
conjunction with the biogas
plant to round up rainwater and
gray water, and it then
distributes that collection of
water to ReGen’s seasonal
gardens and aquaponic system.

5. While, on the surface, it may seem
unrealistic to grow enough food for
all the people in the neighborhood
on such little land, the fact is that
ReGen Village has sidestepped this
potential issue by utilizing the most
cutting-edge agricultural practices.
Between aeroponics, aquaponics,
permaculture, food forests, and even
high-yield organic farming, the
renewable town will grow far, far
more food than traditional farms on
a similar parcel of land. For context,
aquaponics alone produces literally
ten times as much produce as fruit
grown on land, with an astounding
90% less water (despite what the
name may superficially imply).

6. And that’s just food. The residential community
will also create its own energy by making good
use of a multitude of alternative energy sources
like geothermal, solar, solar thermal, wind, and
biomass. By implementing what’s known as a
smart grid, the town will be able to distribute said
energy as efficiently as is currently possible.

7. Perhaps the most interesting part to ReGen as a whole is its future.
Looking to install these environmentally-friendly communities across the
planet, James Ehrlich (the CEO of ReGen) claims “We’re really looking at a
global scale. We are redefining residential real estate development by
creating these regenerative neighborhoods, looking at first these green-
filled pieces of farmland where we can produce more organic food, more
clean water, more clean energy, and mitigate more waste that if we just
left that land to grow organic food or do permaculture there.”

8. While this is just the first village, it
does seem that there could be an
incredible market for eco-friendly
residential communities. I can only
imagine what the future holds.