Hi Everyone! Today I MAY have had an epiphany. They don’t happen very often, and it’s hard to say if it is the best idea I ever had or not. It’s hard to say because I don’t know enough about the block-chain and the math behind it all to say! That is why I am writing this post, because I need your advice! If you understand the ins and outs of Steemit and how to make an Alt coin, and also like the idea of off-grid living please do read on!
Have I stumbled upon a way to FINALLY be able to offer the world an alternative to mortgage enslavement, debt, and the whole package of modern life? Have I found a golden jewel and just need some help to manifest it? Time will tell, and for now this is a very new idea with many details to be ironed out. I have chosen Steemit as the base for this because it SEEMS to work well for this ecoVillage model. This is an ecoVillage idea like no other, because it’s paid for and backed by a cryptocurrency that I will make called ecoVillage Coin. So, how does this work?! Please do read these bullet points. They outline the main concepts of this whole vision and demonstrate a way in which ecoVillages could grow and expand around the world, and in a whole new paradigm! The block-chain may be the answer to the sustainable building and living conundrum! People who want to live and build self-sufficiently generally can’t afford to build, and don’t know how to either! There is SO little eco-building going on in the world, despite great need and great desire. I would love to hear from you if you understand the following points and the math of Steemit:
- The Back End System
The entire system would be Based On Steemit Open Souce Codebase with some modifications.
- Where Does the Money Come From?
Money for the purchase of land and building will come from Mining ecoVillage coin. The percentage of mining that goes to building would need to be determined. There would be a certain amount of pre-mining that happens to fund the initial build, and the first buyers of the ecoHomes would pay a deposit and would most likely be the main buyers of the ecoVillage coin in the beginning. I hope to be the first buyer! These building projects would run at very low cost compared to a traditional build, and would utilize volunteers and skilled workers. I am confident I could build at extremely low cost as I have 15 years’ experience and a great network of connections with ecoBuilders. I am currently writing about a $5,000 small Earthship home we built a few years ago!
- Collective Ownership
The ownership of land and property of the ecoVillage will be held by the ecoVillage Trust. This prevents unauthorized re-sale of properties by homeowners. ecoVillage members would have a lifetime lease with their next of kin automatically eligible for the same or smaller home in the event of death. The house owner is responsible for their ecoVillage account (like Steemit), and has their private posting key. The master key and active keys are held by the Trust.
- Rewards For Builders
Those skilled people who volunteer their time to help build will be rewarded with ecoVillage coins. They will also have priority in owning one of the homes when built.
- Price Stability
The purchase of an ecoHome will be very cheap relative to a normal home. That payment will be made in any cryptocurrency or FIAT and held as ecoVillage Coins. Their buy in amount will be powered up VESTS just like Steem. This means that people are buying in with no risk of loss of their home but with their investment supporting the coin and remaining powered up. This holds the price up and continues the purchasing demand or ecoVillage Coin as this expands.
- Exit Option
In the event of an ecoVillage member wishing to leave or sell their home, the Trust would manage this process. It would involve powering down and the new member would be determined by the Trust. 20% (apx) of any profits of sale would be given to the departing ecoVillage member, with the trust receiving the balance in ecoVillage Coins.
- Cashless Community Trading
Trade within the community will be done using the ecoVillage coin. It may be done using a dollar pegged coin with a minimum $1 value just like SBD does. That way people can trade and hold the coin with a chance of increasing their value and the ability to sell for other currencies or FIAT on the open market.
- International Communities Can Be Created
This entire process can replicate itself in new and diverse locations around the world. Once the first ecoVillage is established and proven to work, the same can be done elsewhere, which will further increase the value of the coin due to purchasing of new ecoHomes.
- An Option To Live Internationally
People will have the option to change ecoVillage if they desire. Once there are villages around the world, people can house swap permanently or even have a ‘free’ holiday.
- Upvote Rewards For Projects
ecoDollar (SBD) and ecoVillage coin rewards will be given to those people who are deemed to have added value to the community. ecoVillage rewards do not need to be powered up and members may do as they wish with them. The voting system would work as it does now on Steemit, perhaps with a few tweaks and some more community features. People can post and blog what they are doing, for example they may be making a new biodynamic food production area, or a child play area, and so they can receive community support for their projects very organically. This system is one that would reduce the number of ‘meetings’ that would be needed to form a consensus, and allow for a lot of development to happen quickly and in a very transparent way. This system will empower the community to be proactive and try to do great things, just like on Steemit. This voting power also encourages people to power up since they can have more influence in the ecoVillage. There will be a maximum power allowed by one person!
- Home upgrades are possible without FIAT
ecoVillage members can also move into larger homes as their families expand. EcoVillage members will not need FIAT to upgrade their home but can use their ecoDollar (SBD) savings or their ecoVillage coin rewards. To upgrade, a home a member would increase their vested power (if they haven’t done so already) to cover the amount required. The old home would also be sold to a new home owner. This will therefore increase the support and stability of the ecoVillage coin as this grows.
- No Bills
The ecoHomes that I make will be truly off-grid and self sufficient. There may be some very minimal costs for gas, but things like power, heating, cooling and water will have no monthly bills. This means true security!
- Homes for the Poor
A certain percentage of ecoHomes will be allocated to people with low or no incomes. The exact details will depend upon many factors, with the main concept being a diverse and multi-class as well as multi-cultural village.
OK, that is the basics! These points are mainly focused on making the idea work and not too focused on the details of the community, which is a whole other story! I am an anarchist and so I just Love how Steemit works and how power and money is allocated. Could it be that this model could provide us with a way to offer cheap and sustainable homes to everyone?
With my limited knowledge of how the math of Steemit works, this looks very interesting to me! There could be significant sums of money coming in, and all of it held and powered up indefinitely. There could be an entire community(s) using and trading this currency, and as it expands the total market cap of the coin also rises as people buy in and power up. Even when people leave and property is sold, we bring in more external investment as property prices are usually on the rise!
I’m sure I must be missing some elements and so I hope you can help me to understand some of the details that I may be missing!
A QUESTION FOR THE TECHNICALLY MINDED
- Would it make sense, and would it even be possible, to mine only when a new ecoHome purchase is made. This would mean the the market Cap of the ecoVillage would be directly related to the assets of the community and it wouldn't suffer from inflation. I'm not sure about the details of mining to understand this side of things very well. If we mine all the time then may that dilute the currency too much and cause deflation? Any info about these things would be appreciated as i haven't discovered these answers Online!
Please do let me know what you think in the comments!