SDG13 Climate action

Climate action is the most important SDG as in the future it will be the cause of a great deal of problems. That’s why Ecodorp Boekel is designed to be climate positive and climate resilient.

Climate positive: There is 808 tons of carbon stored in the biobased building materials of the 36 houses of the ecovillage. The rest of the building materials is 100% circular, made from waste and designed to be recyclable. We have won three sustainable building awards for the many problems we solve by building this way. The energy we use to heat our houses is so innovative that it produces no carbon for the next 100 years.

Climate resilient to extreme hail: In 2016 one hail storm in the Netherlands caused almost a billion in damages. The ten year average of costs of all hail storms was € 30.000 up to that year.
We have Glass Glass Solar panels that are resilient to extreme hail. Our roof is covered with circular EPDM which has proven to be resistant to extreme hail.

Climate resilient to extreme rain: We catch rain water from our roofs and store it into nine tanks of 10.000 litres of rainwater.
We have improved our soil quality around the 40 trees we planted, since then excess water seeps into the soil quickly. We are going to make a wadi on the rest of the places where rain runs to.

Climate resilient to drought: Our waste water is filtered on our location in a constructed wetland and then infiltrates into the soil. That means in periods of drought each day thousands of litres of water is added to the ground water! Our food production will change from annual crops to food from trees and shrubs with roots long enough to reach ground water level.

Climate resilient to heat stress: Our houses have 36cm thick walls of hempcrete that can really block the heat from the sun and our roof is even better insulated! We have planted 40 trees around the houses to provide shade and decrease the heat.

Climate resilient to extreme storms: Our houses are build in a circle and in the middle of the circle the wind is less strong. We are going to make shutters on the outersides of the circle to protect the windows.

Climate resilient to sea level rise: Boekel is situated at 16m above sea level. In the Netherlands there is a website where to check how high above sea level you live. In 2050 is predicted that all Dutch islands will be flooded by the sea. But one third of the Netherlands is already below sea level. Insurance companies are talking about stopping insurance on houses below sea level. That will mean you cannot sell your house anymore as the new owner needs insurance to get a mortgage!

Do you want Ad Vlems to explain more about his experience of this SDG and how to implement this SDG yourself in your own project or community?

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