Huge opportunity for Permaculture!

Hi everyone,

Stumbled upon this this morning

http://www.ribacompetitions.com/tristan/index.html

The archipelago of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic, the most remote island in the world, is holding a competition for designs to be submitted, to increase the sustainability of the settlement and for an increase in the standards of living for its inhabitants.

It appears that almost every aspect of the community is open for ideas and designs.

The only caveat that limits most individuals from submitting is that there must be an architect in the design team, and the need for a 5 Million GBP insurance later on in the project, if accepted.

This is a huge opportunity to either send to the "big guns" of permaculture, or to pool our resources!

Adrien

Wow, great find! This is indeed a wide open door for permaculture to walk through and say "let's get to work!"

I merged your stuff with the following thread. I hope that is okay by you.

I do not know if this is the right place to post this... but please let me know where to repost or feel free to just move it yourself.

I just learned about the island Tristan and I have to say that a design challenge in the most remote inhabited place on Earth sounds super interesting. I hope some Permaculturist Architects get on Board. Can you imagine what they could do there? Please pass this on so that this island gets a sustainable future and helps get the word out on Permaculture.
http://www.tristandc.com/newsgovernmentRIBAcompetition2015.php

I really think this is an awesome challenge.

The entire population was moved to England for a few years during a volcanic event decades ago. Most residents didn't return. Young people in particular were attracted to the bright lights of London.

Any plans, should include tourism, an increase in cultural events, and improved connectivity to the rest of the world. Remote places often have one major export, their children. Families split and go for many years without visiting, due to distance and cost. This used to be the norm in Newfoundland, Canada's most easterly province. It's still a major concern for many native communities in the north. Young people travel for work and other opportunities, and seldom return home, due to the very high costs. The internet and communication subsidies have helped.

Remoteness is a real concern, that must be considered at every step.

Thanks for the merge, it was my first post and I did not see this thread that was already there.

Remoteness is a big deal, and the problem is the solution also. This place would make a great refuge and homestead. From what little I have read, they are really seeking to be as autonomous as possible. I am thinking it would be a great place to put a seed bank also, its remoteness is protective also. I think you are right about the tourism. But it would need to be sustainable and well planned, or it would ruin it and it would just be forgotten for a long time. The key would be to have a plan to put the tourism money back into the island. I think it would be a good thing to create local coupons and alternate currency to keep value built in the site and not leave the site. Disaster prep would also be important for the volcano, shelters and perhaps a way to funnel lava flows etc away from the settlement.

My degree is in mechanical design. I do heating, cooling, electrical, and air movement. I'm a computer geek and do wired and wireless networking, How can I help? I have completed Geoff Lawton's online permaculture class. I believe in the concepts of permaculture.

Let's rock this town.

I have 20 years of design experience, mainly in restaurants but the CAD experience is valuable and super accurate, within inches. Nobody can build as tight as I can design.

What do you think of the winner?

http://www.ribacompetitions.com/tristan/T9.html