In a time when the Brazilian government wants to go against public opinion by building a huge hydro electric damn that will put enormous areas of untouched rainforest under water and destroy the habitats of the millenary indigenous culture of the Xingu tribe, it is motivating to develop alternative methods for supplying electricity.

As a project focusing on creating small scale models for sustainable development the Terra Una Eco-Village therefore intends to show that it is possible to provide electricity for an entire village in a manner that generates no greenhouse gases, leaves the local ecosystems intact and costs only 15.000 USD to design and install.

Since we are in a mountainous region with great differences in altitude it is possible to generate substantial amounts of electricity using very limited amounts of water to drive a “Pelton-wheel” connected to a generator. Since the energy will be used locally there is very little energy loss, as opposed to large-scale systems where more than a third of the energy is lost during distribution. Another difference is that our system will function 24 hours a day, all year around, where as large systems often cease to produce during the dry season.

In the Terra Una eco-village electricity is used for lighting, powering machines, power tools, kitchen and household utensils, and information technology such as computers and equipment for recording and editing audio and video.

Surplus electricity for the Micro Hydro Electric Power System will be used to heat water for showers and kitchens, thus diminishing further our ecological footprint by substituting firewood or gas. Excess electricity can also be used to heat our solar dehydrators during the rainy season when they are less efficient.

Although we already have a design for the project as well as skilled labor for it’s implementation, we are very interested in designing and implementing it in cooperation with engineers from other organizations in any area of the world who could use it as a case study and opportunity for information exchange and networking.

Total budget for design, equipment and skilled labor: 15.000

With greetings from John Harding, Brazil