How ReGen Village is Pioneering Sustainability

Blog posted On January 25, 2017

Self-sufficiency is not a new concept.  Before the modern age communities thrived for centuries without relying on trade and export from around the world.  Today, disconnecting from the grid is a new concept and one that challenges the idea of sustainability in housing and development.

One such community called ReGen Village, set to open early next year outside of Amsterdam, will serve as a test of how self-sufficient a modern community can be.  ReGen Village will be comprised of 200 homes and apartments to house a population of 600.  The luxury style of the community is aimed at a high-end audience, but all proceeds from the first village will be used to build similar communities in the developing world, where self-sufficiency could have more of an impact.

ReGen Village residents will grow their own food through high-yield organic growing methods like aeroponics, aquaponics, and food forests that use substantially less water and take up less space than more traditional methods of farming.  A biomass generator will convert animal waste into electricity, and solar energy will power homes and businesses. 

“A single ecovillage that’s producing more organic food and nutrient-dense soil than it needs [can help provide for] the surrounding community,” said project leader James Erlich, a California-based developer and senior technologist at Stanford.  “If you build enough of these, we can slowly prepare ourselves for the next 2 to 3 billion people coming to the planet.”

Sources: Fast Company, ReGen Villages