imagine a new way to live, work and play
Australia has a unique opportunity to lead the world in creating places where communities can live, work and play, while having a net positive impact on their local environment.
We are blessed with a beautiful natural environment, an abundance of land, resources, and access to renewable energy. The ingenuity and pragmatic, can-do spirit of the Australian people lends itself to creating a new paradigm for how we live on the land.
ISSUE
We live in challenging times with rising cost of living & housing unaffordability. Covid 19 turned our world upside-down, floods & bushfires destroyed communities, and environmental destruction continues. Artificial intelligence now raises questions about the future of work, while global geo-political tensions have created economic uncertainty.
Pause and Reflect
The pandemic gave many of us the opportunity to slow down and reflect on life. We had time to consider what is really important. We recognised the value of community and that we are stronger when we work together. We also realised the challenges with global supply chains and the importance of local resilience. We have been presented with an opportunity to change the way we live, and to transition to a better future for all.
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
~Albert Einstein
The Great Reset
We’re in the midst of profound change. Technologies are changing the way we live. Environmental destruction is undermining social and economic systems. Our democratic freedoms can no longer be taken for granted.
This moment in history is also an opportunity. It is an invitation to reset our economic systems for a fairer society; one that is resilient, inclusive & sustainable.
The technological innovations of recent decades allow us to restructure environmental, social and governance systems. A more ethical framework of entrepreneurialism is needed, one where business is purpose-driven for the common good.
INSIGHT
Systems thinking
Rather than seeing each of our intersecting crises in isolation, we should see them as symptoms of a systemic crisis.
Similarly, the various solutions that have been developed can be viewed as elements of a new system.
How do we put these solutions together in one place to create a new system for living?
IDEA
Village as a system
Design each village as a system that provides the basic physiological and safety needs as efficiently as possible within it.
Build up the capacity of the local environment and harvest energy, water and food from the land around the shelter.
Share and work with neighbouring villages to satisfy more complex needs and wants, creating a connected and supportive network.
40 hectares of rural land for 200 people
maintain the rural character
Nature-enhancing infrastructure designed to regenerate natural ecosystems
Integrated food, renewable energy and water systems
Land for wildlife with carbon farming
How CEVs address climate change
MITIGATION STRATEGIES
Operate without fossil fuels
Built environment powered by a renewable energy micro-grid
Internal movement and external travel by foot, cycling, or shared electric vehicles
Carbon capture and storage
Food production with regenerative agriculture
Reforestation of part of the land
Constructed wetlands, designed for cleaning water are also effective at sequestering carbon
ADAPTATION STRATEGIES
Improve local resilience
By maximising local water, energy and food production, we minimise costs of transport and transmission.
Minimise commuting with work opportunities close to housing.
Planned resettlement
CEVs can be developed as part of strategies to resettle ‘at-risk’ communities.
IMPLEMENT
cevco are rethinking the way we build our towns and villages. We are creating an organisational structure that will finance, plan, design and develop a Network of Circular Economy Villages around Australia based on a “Lifestyle-as-a-Service” business model. We are seeking local, state and federal government support for transformative, affordable housing solutions.
cevco are currently planning a pilot project in Bellingen showcasing innovation in housing, energy systems, transport, water management and food production. We will then develop a network of villages around Australia, improving the model as we go.
We are all about the spirit of freedom, sustainability, and connection. Our vision is to inspire people to live more, with less…to #livealittle