Maui Community College’s ecovillage

LIVING THE SUSTAINABLE LIFE
By Don Ainsworth

A group of Maui college students is awakening to the challenges and benefits of sustainability. Maui Community College Instruction in Sustainable Technologies. (MIST), a program funded by the Department of Energy, a grant from the Sohn Foundation and community donations, is not only educating students about sustainable technology, but also hopes to impact resource use island-wide.

Since 1994, student interns have been learning both theory and practical applications of alternative energy and conservation-related systems. This semester, 16 students enrolled in two new courses are designing and constructing an "ecocottage" as a demonstration project for the community. Because of the desire to utilize these technical skills throughout Maui County, students from Hana, Lanai, and Molokai are participating.

The ecocottage, located on the Maui Community College campus, will be a prototype used to demonstrate the potential of resource conservation and the ability to live in areas without access to electricity, public water and sewers. As the work progresses, the structure will be visible from Kahului’s main thoroughfare, Kaahumanu Avenue. Information will be disseminated to the community through traditional media, tours, an on-site FM radio broadcast and video presentations on MCC's cable television channel.

From Cottage to village

After completion of the ecocottage, an ecovillage will be constructed which will consist of five, three-bedroom dormitory units surrounding a pentagonal main building used as a common area. The central building will house classrooms and labs for students studying for an Associate of Science degree in Sustainable Technologies, as well as provide recreation and meeting facilities.

The buildings, sited in a cluster configuration, will make efficient use of trade winds and solar paths. Both the ecocottage and ecovillage will provide students an opportunity for hands-on experience in the design, installation and maintenance of sustainable systems, as well as create a research facility for real-time testing and development of energy-related products and systems.

The ecovillage will incorporate the following technologies: 1) Solar stills and filters to treat water from an existing brackish well on campus in order to provide drinking and utility water; 2) Composting toilets, gray water systems and mechanical conservation devices. A biofilter meander will process the gray water and provide biomass for composting and, eventually, bioconversion; 3) Passive cooling and ventilation utilizing architectural systems as well as landscaping and siting; 4). Solar power to heat water and provide basic electric power, utilizing building materials with built-in solar thermal and photovoltaic system components; 5) An energy management system that will accept input from solar, wind, on-site generation and electric grid sources and maintain power storage bank integrity; 6) Propane-powered refrigerator, generator, range and back-up water heater; 7) Biomass anaerobic digestion conversion system to convert green waste, wet kitchen waste and biomass crop into soil extenders, fertilizers. and methane gas. The methane gas will be used to eventually eliminate the need for propane.

Reuse Principles In Action

The dorm units will be designed and constructed in such a way that they can be sold and moved from the site. New buildings, incorporating the latest technologies, will then replace the initial units. Sales from the older units, in addition to dorm rental income, use fees and non-credit seminar income will provide. continuing financial sustainability.

The ecovillage residents will be the students themselves. As members of a sustainability team, they will be responsible for the caring and feeding of the systems. Living in the units will give the students an understanding of not only the technology but the lifestyle changes required in a sustainable setting, such as altering times for use of electric power and limiting water use.

To support their involvement with sustainable technology, the students will have access to e-mail, the Internet, the University of Hawaii HITS television instructional system, MCC's Skybridge outreach learning system and the CU/CMe video interactive communication system.

Maui Community College offers not only an innovative sustainable technologies program, but also the only one in the state. Ground-breaking and blessing ceremonies for the ecocottage were conducted in February. Building and site tours will be coordinated through the campus MIST office. For more information, call Jane Yamashiro at 984-3262 or Don Ainsworth at 984-3384. The ecovillage will offer "real-world" study of sustainable technologies that can be practically applied in Hawaii. It is the program's goal to demonstrate that these technologies are of value now and in the future to conserve our valuable resources.

" Don Ajnsworth, M.Ed., Colorado State University, is program coordinator for the Sustainable Technologies Pr9gram at Maui Community College. He can be contacted at Don.Ainsworth@mccada.mauicc.Hawaii.Edu

This article is reprinted with permission from the March 1997 issue of Hawaii Pacific Architecture.
For more information please contact Editor Jamie Campos at (808) 621-8200, extension 237.