PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Chocolate Factory, Marketplace and Community Center
From the heart of the Kallari Association, program spaces of the chocolate factory spiral outward from the satellite hub to symbolize the empowerment of mind, body and spirit through integrated and adjacent functions.
Mind: Offices and Computer Learning Center
Body: Factory Floor, Greenhouse and Living Spaces
Spirit: Community Center and Satellite Hub
Visitors and eco-tourists like us come to the site to experience the spirit of the place and its people. After parking, we are greeted by local folks selling their goods under the fabric awnings of the outdoor marketplace. Progressing along the spiral through the market toward the chocolate and coffee bar, we see the sacks of cacao beans being unloaded from trucks with muddy wheels fresh off the trail. We smell the pungent, rich aroma of cacao beans roasting nearby.
Purchasing a cup of coffee, we are offered a tour of the facility by its current director just coming down from a Kallari Association meeting in the community hall above. Walking together he begins to describe their mission here, a self-governing cooperative created to bring prosperity through fair-trade in the global economy, embracing technology while preserving cultural identity. “It is in this spirit,” he exclaims, “that we built that!” Pointing upward, we see his outstretched hand reach toward a monumental structure of triangulated timbers rising before us. “We have several smaller versions of these remote satellite uplinks dispersed throughout our region, and that’s what makes all of this possible.”
As we pass under the satellite hub and enter the main building, we begin to see what he means: dozens of people, adults and children alike, are busy taking a computer class. Quietly he whispers, “The children all want to leave and go to the city. It has been hard for our communities to adapt, but here they can learn how to make a living and still be a part of out lives.” A half-level down we see several young people operating the chocolate-making equipment. He turns to look down on the factory floor, and says “yes, but that’s not all we do. In addition to chocolate, we also sell our crafts over the internet and get much better prices by selling directly abroad.” Opening a door to our left he explains, “We use this studio to photograph our work and then upload it to our website. That’s what all these folks are learning how to do right now, so that they go back to their village and do it by themselves at one of our remote facilities.”
At the end of the hall we emerge back into daylight, squinting as our eyes adjust. He turns the corner and we follow him down into the greenhouse as he explains how the building works like a living system. “The entire building as designed from the ground up to be as sustainable as possible. Take this greenhouse for example. Louvers at the ridge open or close depending on how much natural ventilation we need. And these bathrooms,” opening the door, “look at those pipes running along the ceiling. All of our water is captured as rainwater funneled down from the inverted roof above and stored in steel tanks behind this reinforced wall. The whole system is gravity-fed, and we use solar hot water combined with electricity from our micro-hydro plant to add the last few degrees for our showers and laundry.”
Still standing at the doorway, I notice a slight breeze across my back and ask “why is all this air flowing through here?” He smiles as he closes the door behind him and says “Like I said, we designed this building to function as living thing, and that means nothing is wasted. The breeze comes in because it is being pulled through the compost toilets and up through a solar heated vent stack above. After several months of composting and the addition of a few cups of wood ash and enzymes, the waste becomes rich soil that we can use directly in this greenhouse to grow our own food.”
Finishing the tour, he points to the terrace on our left. “Those are the living quarters for people who work here at the factory. The greenhouse keeps their rooms warm when the temperature cools off a bit at night, and we wanted them to have privacy and enjoy the greenhouse as an indoor courtyard. After all, they are the ones who tend it.”
We turn to head back up the stairs he thanks us for coming to visit. “I have to get back up to this meeting, but I enjoyed showing you around. Please consider visiting one of our co-op villages, we have so much beauty and diversity to share. The man at the front desk where you bought your chocolate can help you set it up. And if you have a chance, you really ought to climb back up into the satellite hub and enjoy the view before you go.”
Summary of Systems:
Energy: 5 kW micro-hydro system with 1.2 kW supplemental PV array stored in flooded lead-acid battery array.
Water: 10,000 gallon rainwater catchment cistern for gravity fed potable water, solar hot water, and chiller for hydronic factory cooling and dehumidification.
Sanitation: Compost toilets with solar accelerator and gray water swale
Heating/Cooling: Natural ventilation, zoned AC (factory), wood burning fireplace
Solar Gain: Minimize with site orientation, shading with trees on east/west faces
Construction Materials:
Rebar-reinforced concrete block
Retaining walls and site work with on-site stone
Locally harvested round timber columns, milled beams, and wood siding
Corrugated metal roofing and siding
Corrugated translucent plastic at greenhouse
Wood and ceramic tile flooring
Broom-finished, sealed concrete flooring
Glass windows, Insect screen
Hemp canvas awnings
Steel tension rods and cables, Steel connection plates
Plaster walls over wood lathe
Corrugated culverts, Gravel for roadbed and foundations
Galvanized metal pipe for foundation drainage and micro-hydro
Remote Satellite Hubs
Our satellite hubs are cantilevered communications towers driven by technical, seismic and environmental considerations. Employing the golden triangle as the simplest and most seismically stable shape, we bear four locally harvested trees on concrete piers to form a pyramid 34’-0” high by 21’-0” wide by 13’-0” deep (Fibonacci numbers) for mounting the photovoltaic array, satellite dish and radio antenna. All structure is cantilevered off these four posts, with the inside of the pyramid enclosed to naturally ventilate air through the bottom. This intake air is drawn over coils of cool water that is recirculated through a closed loop of copper pipe that dips into the rainwater catchment tank below. This temperature differential, though small, is enough so that when the relative humidity exceeds 80% during the rainy season and we have plenty of fresh, cool water available. Excess water vapor simply condenses on the coil and drips back down into the shaded tank.
Internet connections are provided to the remote hubs via satellite broadband uplinks that are routed to fixed Inveneo workstations and broadcast for local villagers through directional Wi-Fi antennas to handheld devices such as VoIP-compatible cell phones. Unamplified cell phone range falls off within one half mile, but omni-directional ranges up to three miles can be achieved with amplified signals and added cost. Not including building materials, our specified system costs $11,000 each in required system components with a 2 year satellite service contract, as outlined below:
Cost Power (watts)
continuous peak
Satellite Dish (1.2m, fixed) 2000 110 550
2-yr Service Contract 500
W-Fi Router (Outdoor) 500 35
Modem N/A 35
Directional Wi-Fi Antenna 200
Lightning Arrestor 50
Controller 150
Inverter (handheld chargers) 100 3 375
Inveneo Desktops 1500 54
Inkjet Printer (with supplies) 300 7 37
Digital Camera 200
Battery Bank 3500
Water tank (5000 gallons) 2000
Water Pump 100 40
(Base Load) 230 (min)
$11,000 230 watt (min) 1246 watt (max)
Minimum demand: 2.75 kWh/day @ 12 hours on/off. Typical use of 6 kWh/day with 3 desktops @ 8 hours/day. Battery bank stores 24kwh at full charge, which provides up to 4 days of service without sunlight. All systems run directly off DC power, but a small inverter is provided to charge wireless handheld devices such as a cell phone.
thx, ineresting info
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