Sulcata Homes: Powered by InOurHands

We use new tech to build resilient, sustainable communities, combining novel, affordable, efficient, storm-ready housing with community-owned renewable energy solutions.

Coastlines are some of the most climatically vulnerable places on Earth, and the communities that inhabit them are bearing the brunt of the natural disasters being driven by climate change. Recent events such as Hurricane Maria and the resultant loss of life and destruction are a vivid example of the scale and scope of what is to come. Events such as Maria have led to the deaths of thousands, and left many thousands more without power, a roof over their heads, or a reliable source of income. These communities, lacking the physical means to adapt, cannot otherwise afford to invest in sustainable housing, reduce nonrenewable resource consumption, or support themselves and their families.

As of the current date, disaster relief efforts are still underway in Puerto Rico. Worse, these largely seek simply to replace the destroyed infrastructure with infrastructure that is equally vulnerable to future disasters. A truly robust solution for all coastal communities must combine cheap, disaster resistant, efficient housing with disseminated energy generating capacity. That is precisely what we propose to do.

We are InOurHands, a 501(c)(3) organized to fulfill one of those targets by providing renewable energy financing to marginalized communities. Though we have successfully funded our first project in Pine Ridge, S.D., we have rapidly learned that, in many communities, renewable energy financing is not sufficient without a concurrent improvement in the efficiency of the housing stock. To meet that need we have developed the primary subject of this application, The Sulcata Home (named for the African Land Tortoise from which the building takes its shape). This is a structure designed to be extremely cheap, easy and quick to construct, highly energy efficient, long lasting, and disaster resilient.

Sulcata Homes are built using earth-abundant materials, and are better insulating than many modern building methods. At one-tenth the cost of traditional construction, they are carbon neutral in a matter of years, eminently affordable, and expected to outlast modern homes. They can be built rapidly utilizing unskilled local laborers, and because they are monolithic, are relatively maintenance-free.

Our vision is to combine the efficiency of the Sulcata Home with renewable energy financing from InOurHands to provide coastal communities and others with a robust solution: homes that will stand up to the abuse of natural disasters, disseminated energy to power those homes, and the local knowledge necessary to perpetuate the solution on their own, under their own terms.

The use of airforms is a proven technique, but the use of airforms to create a mould, into which can be poured a highly insulating, structural material like cellular concrete is indeed novel. While not typically considered a structural material, when poured into a dome-like shape, its compressive, shear, and tensile strength is more than sufficient to withstand violent natural forces like extreme winds, pressure, and earthquakes. It is naturally resistant to fire, mold, and pests. Cradled in PVC-coated nylon fabric, they can be adapted for periodic flood zones, or made amphibious on a cellular-concrete foundation fixed to dock-piers.

On its face, our housing process is a rather low tech solution but it’s only possible given a number of relatively recent advancements. The raw material being used (foamed concrete) has not been used extensively for the purposes we’re proposing. Further, there are many variables involved in optimizing our solution (bubble size, bubble density, water cement ratio, final density, type and density of fiber reinforcement, etc.). This makes for a complex multidimensional parameter space which can be effectively optimized only with proper experimentation, testing technology, and priors that come with many years of experience in materials science.

We're building a 15’ diameter Sulcata prototype in Colorado, and plan to have a full size (~1000 sq. ft. two story) structure built on the Red Cloud Renewable Energy campus in Pine Ridge, SD within the next 3-5 months. In partnership with RCREC, we'll train Lakota people on the Sulcata building process, while continuing to support their renewable energy programs. We'll expand rapidly into New Mexico fighting homelessness, Baja California to provide quality housing for berry pickers, and Puerto Rico to demonstrate our complete solution as it applies to coastal communities.

We envision a period of rapid growth over the next three to five years. Because the cost of our homes is so low, we can leverage private capital to finance projects while keeping mortgage payments affordable. This provides socially conscious financiers with a diversified investment that stretches their dollars to the max, making the search for capital easier and accelerating our vision. The process requires few materials, most of which can be locally sourced in nearly any community worldwide. Because our solution requires no technical skills, communities can be rapidly trained, and they can in turn train others easily.

Partnering with NGOs, governments, local businesses, and online communities, we'll disseminate our message widely using new media. SOLVE provides access to a global network of do-gooders, which can be leveraged to extend the reach of our programs. We have already begun developing relationships with a number of communities through our non-profit work in the renewable energy sector that will serve as a great stage to demonstrate the benefits of our programs. Retaining customers is not particularly relevant as our solution is designed for longevity, and we will train local contractors to implement it on their own.

We expect to serve communities in Puerto Rico, Baja California, Santa Fe, NM, and Pine Ridge, SD within twelve months, building homes and installing community-owned renewables, while providing technical training for both. The raw number of people served depends on the level of financing accessible in that time. Harnessing private capital and government support should allow us to provide a variety of direct benefits to tens of thousands of individuals within the first three years. The more people we serve, the less carbon intensive our economy, and the more everybody else benefits from a healthier environment.

On the practical side, we have members whose combined experience in construction and solar installation spans decades. Further, most of our members have degrees in the sciences. This experience and knowledge give us the priors needed to quickly solve problems and understand what will or will not work from a viability standpoint.

To succeed and sustain an impact requires an understanding of implementing socially and environmentally responsible changes that support and engage the communities in question. To that end, three of our members have years of study in the environment and the economics of environmentally/socially responsible development.

1) InOurHands (the 501(c)3) raises capital in a way quite similar to a normal charity, but that is where the similarities end. Unlike traditional charitable models (raise, spend, raise ...), IOH finances renewable energy assets in marginalized communities. The difference? These assets actually produce revenue by keeping energy dollars local. That means the community can help itself with those dollars, and they can also pay IOH back over time -- i.e. our donations get spent over and over again. Once the model starts going, it doesn't stop.

2) Sulcata Homes will be a benefit corporation with a product that can be marketed. Imagine a 1,000 square foot, energy efficient home that, completely finished, only costs $40,000 with profit built in. At that price point it becomes possible to provide homeless and low income individuals with their own homes at monthly mortgage payments (FHA guaranteed loans) of only around $200. Sulcata has patented our technology and will produce revenue by licensing that intellectual property to developers building affordable housing communities.

3) Sulcata will be majority owned by IOH, so the majority of the profit redounds to the 501(c)(3) which then funnels that capital into the charitable model described in 1).

The Solve Community will help to greatly improve, disseminate, and finance our solution. As many in our organization are graduates of Amherst College, we fully understand how invaluable it is to have direct, easy access to experts in relevant fields. That access will help us to optimize the design on the Sulcata Home. Once optimized, our solution will require dissemination. Partners from the Solve community with local ties will be an essential link the the chain of implementation. Access to experienced, ethical financiers will allow us to expand and accelerate that expansion in an ethical, sustainable way.

This is not exhaustive. We expect logistical and legal barriers to operating internationally. Solve, with its global experience will be invaluable in this area. The Solve Community can also help optimize (ensure disaster resilience and longevity, while also optimizing the price per home) our solution via expertise in materials science and engineering. The Solve Community's existing relationship with coastal communities in disaster prone areas will help us gain the trust and local knowledge to successfully implement our solutions.