– Wendell Berry, "The Work of Local Culture"

I. Introduction

"Agraria" is intended to be an innovative Low-energy Use, Small, Sustainable Community. The Low-energy Use designation comes from the knowledge that global oil production will peak soon, followed by natural gas, and ultimately by coal and uranium. Low-energy, in the context of this document, implies a goal of using one-fourth of the current average energy used per capita.¹ Sustainable implies a community that can operate, to the extent possible, without inputs (particularly of fossil fuels) and outputs (such as trash and sewage), but also of other materials. Small is a designation based on the founding principles of our organization, Community Service, Inc., that states smallness itself is a value for positive social organization. And finally Community implies a way of living together and is also based on the principles of our organization which views a cooperative way of life to be preferable to current competitive ways of living.

Agraria is planned to be an attractive low-energy community that will serve as a model for similar development across the country as a response to Peak Oil. (Peak Oil refers to the point in time when global oil production reaches its maximum and begins to decline. According to the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas this may occur as early as 2007.² Read more here.) The organic gardens, low-energy building techniques and other aspects of the neighborhood-community design will be strong educational tools and even sources of income for some of the neighborhood' residents.

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II. Philosophy and Practicality

The current energy crisis in the world, and the high probability of it worsening, has generated a sense of urgency in developing alternatives. Thus there is a great need for low-energy-use agrarian models. Although this Agraria neighborhood-community proposal may include new ways of living that are unique, some compromise may be made to it in order to achieve early implementation or to fit within zoning or other limitations. One example is composting toilets which may be controversial and zoning that requires standard water toilets.

This agrarian development will be closely integrated with Yellow Springs, Ohio, taking its needs into consideration. Having it be part of a small town is based on a belief that Peak Oil will lead to a large migration from cities to rural areas (large meaning 10s of millions of people). Furthermore, as oil and gas diminish, society will require far more farmers and others who produce locally grown food and other locally produced goods. Agrarian-style developments will protect the agricultural land and provide housing for those working the land. The design also takes into account a future when food can no longer be transported the current average of 1200 miles, nor can we expend 10 calories of fossil fuel for every calorie of food produced.

Yellow Springs, similar to other small communities in the U.S., is dealing with the problems of declining employment, an aging citizenry and a declining population. The current economic system (based on high fossil fuel energy use) rewards population concentration and size while punishing smallness and community cooperation. Peak Oil will provide the opportunity for resurgence of small communities. Agraria will be a practical model for this small town renewal, including the revitalization of the many skills and traditions lost in the rush for industrial urbanization.

It is our view that new agrarian communities will be most successful if done in proximity to existing small communities. This will allow rebuilding of small towns while renewing and protecting nearby agricultural land. Thus Agraria is intended to be a "neighborhood" of Yellow Springs. This will enable a more successful implementation than would be possible if developed in a more remote rural area with limited infrastructure. Existing small towns will be enhanced by the development of nearby Agraria communities and provide a place for peak oil forced de-urbanization. This is seen as preferable to the alternative of developing Agraria communities in undeveloped areas.

The name Agraria has been selected for its association with the Agrarian tradition, as described in numerous books. It is in contrast to the existing world paradigm of Industrialism. Agrarianism and Industrialism are viewed as two mutually incompatible world views. Industrialism and the growth model of society have led to the decline of small farms and towns and the loss of valuable agricultural land. We project that declining fossil fuels in the next 10 to 20 years will reverse this trend until a more balanced state between urban and rural is reached. Industrialism will not totally disappear, but will be controlled by energy quotas and pollution limits. High-energy-use industrial agriculture and businesses must evolve to be sustainable, a state which is possible only with the curtailment of fossil fuel consumption.

Finally, Agraria is based on the social principles, which form the underlying philosophy of organizations like Community Service, The Land Institute, The Schumacher Society and The Fellowship for Intentional Communities, as well as writers like Wendell Berry, David Orr and Wes Jackson. Agraria is not a return to the past, nor does it imply that small, rural communities were the ultimate social organization. Rather it represents an evolution toward community living in a way that is frugal in terms of fossil fuel consumption. It also represents a return to high standards of soil fertility, with a minimum release of toxins into the environment. But it does not imply, for example, returning to a lower level of medical knowledge, education or other services.

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III. General Description

Probably the three most significant aspects of the current American, consumer-oriented, high-energy-use lifestyle are, large homes; large, low-mileage automobiles; and fossil-fuel-based, long-distance food supplies. Agraria addresses these directly. Agraria homes will be clustered with paths replacing roads, leaving over half of the land for gardens, orchards and recreation. The Agraria neighborhood will not be completely "car-free" – that does not appear possible at this time. However, it will not be "car-focused". Agraria will not include garages, driveways and roads for cars. Thus cars will not be driven directly to each residence, but will be relegated to parking areas on the edge of the development, requiring one to walk or bike to their residence. However, due to the cluster concept, parking will be relatively close to the houses.

Homes. American homes are extremely wasteful of energy, both because of their size and because of current construction techniques. The goal of Agraria houses is to use one-fourth of the energy of a typical new house built in the U.S. in 2004. The first step in achieving this will be to reduce the size of the house from the current average of 2,272 square feet (2004)³ to a size of approximately 1000 square feet (average house size in 1950 was 983⁴ and the average house size in most of Europe today is 926). Much higher insulation requirements for walls, floors, ceilings and roofs will double the savings of conventional building practices. The two combined will result in a 4 to 1 or higher improvement in energy efficiency.

Today's typical 2300 square foot house on a 1/4 acre lot, when including garage, driveways, walkways and roadways, might cover 3200 square feet of land.⁵ The rest of the lot, about 4500 square feet, is typically covered in grass (sometimes referred to as "biological pavement"), that requires fossil fuels and pesticides for upkeep. An Agraria development might have three homes on one-eighth of a 1/4-acre lot, each one taking 1100-1200 square feet for house and pathways. This would essentially have much higher density, but would leave more land available for farming, gardening, woodlands and recreation.

Major energy savings will also be possible with appliances. Flash water heaters or solar water heaters will replace conventional water heaters. Heating the houses will be provided by single source heaters rather than a forced air system and will use multiple fuels – wood, coal, natural gas. Heat pumps may also be used, possibly powered by PV solar cells. Air conditioners and clothes dryers will not be available in Agraria houses. Refrigeration will be replaced or reduced by the use of SunFrost (or equivalent) thick-walled refrigerators and freezers. Root cellars may be part of the house design, depending on soil conditions. Community laundry facilities will provide extremely energy efficient and low water use clothes washers.

Automobiles. The American car averages about 21 miles per gallon, is driven 15,000 miles per year, and typically carries 1.1 occupants per trip.⁷ Car covenants will encourage all Agraria residents to drive cars that average 50 miles per gallon or greater. The community may provide such vehicles with a surcharge that encourages more people per-vehicle, per-trip and participation in the car-sharing program. The community aspects of Agraria will encourage people to work locally, by having office and shop spaces available as part of the development. Local work and recreation facilities within Agraria will significantly reduce the miles traveled per year. The goal is for Agraria residents to use 1/4 of the gasoline of the average American.

Food. Since Agraria homes will be clustered on the lot and will have minimal yards, more land will be available for gardening and farming. Larger Agraria developments will include community structures for food production such as greenhouses, barns, storage sheds, root cellars and, when appropriate, retail areas. The community buildings will include food preparation and dining areas. Sustainable approaches, such as Permaculture and organic growing, will be the basic methods of gardening and farming. Animal traction will eventually be used as oil and gas become more expensive. Long term food storage facilities will be provided.

Sewage and Trash. One way to help achieve Agraria's goal of a low-energy lifestyle is to reduce loss of "energy" through loss of resources. One of the greatest losses of resources with the American high-energy lifestyle is trash and sewage. Agraria will take an aggressive stance on recycling. This will begin at the input level by trying to reduce excess packaging coming into the community. It will continue by direct recycling of metals, plastics, and glass and by developing creative uses for waste (such as crushing and polishing glass into "sand" to be used as an inorganic mixer with compost). At the far end of the process, Agraria will compost much of its organic wastes, will cycle its greywater for use in gardening, and will biologically process its blackwater, possibly to produce bio-gas, greywater, and compostable sludge.

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The following are highlights for residential buildings:

• Both single- and multi-family dwellings

• A variety of construction types – stick framing, straw bale, insulated block, cordwood, rammed earth, earth berms, "thick shell" construction, etc.

• Must meet R20-30 wall thickness, R50-80 roof/ceiling/floor

• A maximum 8-foot ceiling will be standard

• Window sizes will be small and triple-glazed

• Insulated window coverings (interior or exterior) will be used to reduce heat loss at night

• 50-amp or lower electric service

• One bathroom – composting toilet and water toilets

• Solar panels and wind turbines with battery backup systems – individual and/or central

• A variety of energy gathering and storage methods will be used: passive solar, active solar, conventional, heat storage by water, rock and Thombe walls, and greenhouse extenstions

• A single heat source (rather than forced air), using a combination of wood/coal/gas

• Reducing heat loss

• No air conditioning – temperature/humidity variations are assumed

• Goal – be able to maintain a 50-degree temperature in winter without external heat sources

• Root cellars for storing food to minimize use of freezers

• Thick-wall, SunFrost-type refrigerators and freezers – can be run on a single solar cell each

• Rain water catchments and storage (cisterns)

Grounds Specifications

The following list describes the grounds area:

• Clustered parking at periphery of dwellings – cannot drive cars directly to houses

• Pathways for walking, biking, utility vehicles

• Minimal lawns mowed by push mowers

• Concentrated housing – 10-20 buildings per acre; some multifamily/townhouses

• No street lights

• Fenced area around neighborhoods for child safety

• Clotheslines for drying clothes

• Edible plantings

• Gardens, crop fields, orchards

• All lawns, gardens, and fields will be maintained organically

Community Buildings

Agraria is a neighborhood-community rather than simply a housing development. This will require specific neighborhood design that fosters community and implies a high degree of social interaction among residents. As a low-energy use community, striving for sustainability, developing work locally, and providing local recreation is important. The following list describes some of the non-residential buildings:

• 5,000-10,000+ square-foot community building – the Commons

• Guest rooms and laundry facilities

• Canning and food preparation area

• Community dining areas

• Social Area for parties, ceremonies, common dinners, musical and theatrical performances

• Offices and other places for work and shops

• Tool and equipment buildings

• Teaching and lecturing facilities

• Community library and possible internet stations

Recreation Facilities

Recreation is a very important part of life. Taking this into consideration will result in more social cohesion and better health. Some of the space and facilities listed below will be developed to meet this need.

• Tennis court

• Basketball court

• Squash court

• Handball court

• Ping pong tables

• Volley ball court

• Badminton court

• Pool tables

• Horseshoe pits

• Croquet fields

• Lawn bowling

• Swimming

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The current method of building houses is extremely expensive. The country's method of financing houses is through the banking system, funds of which are provided by deposits and which are re-loaned with several percentage points added. In addition banks set suite and housing standards. This invariably increases the cost of the houses and the amount of energy necessary to maintain them.

Efforts will be made to avoid the conventional financing mechanisms. There are numerous possibilities, including financing by founders, sweat equity, town bonds, phased development and move-ins, occupation of buildings before completion, financing of foundations and site work by founders with completion by owner, and possibly rental availability while self constructing the homes.

The focus of Agraria is to develop the physical skills to live in a low-energy agrarian world. In most cultures around the world, and in the American culture of the not too distance past, a typical young couple would have the skills to build their own home and to raise most of their food. Constructing one's own home ranks high among the positive experiences in life. The enthusiasm of the expected member of Agraria will aid in countering the lack of skills. Building designs will accommodate self-building.

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VI. Sustainable Occupations

Agraria supports the concept of local economies. "Local economies" suggests a major change in the current distribution of goods and services. This change will be a move from highly centralized production facilities owned and managed by large corporations to decentralized facilities managed by small local business owners. Centralized corporations require large economics of scale of production which are extremely energy intensive. A second major change will be in the mix of goods and services delivered. Our current society is focused on consumer goods which have a high content of energy, both in manufacturing and shipping costs, and a low labor component. Agraria will be focused on products with a low content of energy and a higher labor input.

The occupational implications are that high tech, high energy consumptive jobs will decline. More labor intensive jobs with a high level of manual skills will replace them. Less fossil fuel energy implies more human labor. In addition these jobs will tend to be local because high gasoline prices will encourage working locally rather than commuting.

Craft products will replace low cost manufactured goods and this implies an increase in trade and craft skills. As plastics decline and wood reappears, classic woodworking skills will be reborn on a local level. The same will occur for mechanical metal materials and local custom manufacturing will prevail. A community is more than a set of houses – it includes skilled people. The low-energy use and the sustainability parameters require that certain trades be available within the community itself. Some of the more obvious and most important ones are: farmers/gardeners, food preservers and woodworkers/builders.

The goal is for Agrarian residents to work and live within their community. Some residents might work on premises to maintain gardens, grounds, common buildings, shared equipment, or may run educational programs from the community. Common space includes business space (offices and shops) and business incubator space as well as space for farming and orchards. There will be a major shift to growing and storing of local food and the associated skills will be developed. Provisions in the covenants of the community will insure that such personnel are always resident in the neighborhood-community.

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VII. Limitations on Energy Use

Fossil fuel depletion is a major problem facing the world today. It is leading to resource wars, environmental destruction, increasing income inequity, increasing wealth inequity and a general decline in the public welfare. Agraria will make it a priority to develop frugal ways of living to avoid compounding the coming crisis.

Agraria first addresses the energy problem by dramatically reducing the amount of fossil fuels consumed. Fossil fuel quotas will be set using efficient home heating systems, car pooling and walking/biking. Electricity usage will be reduced significantly using sun tubes, florescent lights, appliances that are not maintained at a temperature for quick starting, and a reduced use of entertainment machines. High quality hand tools will replace many small appliances.

Water quotas will be established depending on one's location in the country. Water drawdown will be as serious a problem as limited fossil fuels in the not too distance future and irrigation will decrease. Petrochemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides will be replaced by organic and permaculture growing.

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VIII. Transportation

The automobile is possibly one of the most destructive technologies invented in terms of toxic pollution, deaths, injuries and the destruction of community. Over 40 percent of energy used is devoted to some aspect of the automobile. Millions of lives have been lost and tens of millions of people have been injured. The automobile has destroyed community and family. A new value of "rootedness" must replace the value of mobility.

Agraria views the automobile as a temporarily necessary tool until society evolves to a different way of transportation. This will take decades and initially Agraria can only limit its use. Individual car owners in Agraria will drive high mileage cars. The community may purchase high mileage cars for shared use. Sizes will be as small as possible. A few larger utility vehicles will be available for builders, farmers and the transportation of large loads.

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IX. Other Low-energy Examples

There are hundreds and hundreds of ways to use less energy. In fact, these ways represent much of the accumulated lore of centuries of wise living, unfortunately recently lost in the decades of very high energy consumption. This section is included to give a sense of the possibilities and hopefully generate other ideas that can be incorporated.

The following list provides some examples of a low-energy way of living:

• Clotheslines replace dryers

• Flash water heaters reduce natural gas use for heating water

• Using cold water for showering, dishwashing, etc. reduces the need to heat water

• Solar water heaters replace gas water heaters

• Rooftop water collectors and cisterns replace city water

• SunFrost-type (thick-walled) refrigerators replace conventional refrigerators

• Thick-walled freezers, run by a solar cell, replace conventional freezers

• Canning and drying to reduce freezing of food

• Root cellars extends winter storage of some foods and reduces refrigeration needs

• Thick-wall construction of houses, reduces furnace size

• Triple-paned windows with covers reduce heat energy use

• Passive solar and thermal storage reduce heater/air conditioning need

• Single-source heaters replace central heating

• Fluorescent lights reduce electricity use

• Hand tools replace electric tools – mixers, dicers, cutters, grinders, etc.

• Composting toilets and earth toilets reduce water use

• Composting toilets reduce soil nutrient loss

• "Stewards of the earth" replaces "Cleanliness is next to godliness"

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X. Zoning Environment

Agraria may not be possible if there is no change in the zoning laws that currently exist. Laws reflect the culture and the American culture is based on high consumption of fossil fuels resulting in a life style that is not sustainable. A key component of the American culture is ignorance and often a contemptuous attitude toward the Agrarian concept, as exemplified by the deplorable state of our small farmers. Examples abound. For thousands of years mankind has dried its clothes on bushes, trees and clothes lines. In many places in the U.S. it is illegal to use an outside clothesline to dry clothes. Instead people are urged to use high-energy consuming clothes dryers. Similarly, livestock is often banned from a neighborhood or town (pit bulls are legal while sheep are not). Many building codes require garages be provided to house automobiles, adding to construction and energy costs.

Currently zoning laws are designed in such a way as to create sprawl covering the good agricultural land. They also force a division of the functions of a community into designated geographical areas that separate work, shops, schools and residences. Such laws assume the ongoing use of automobiles in society. New approaches must be designed.

Zoning laws that reflect America's high-energy-use lifestyle are the single most important hurdle to overcome in developing Agrarian neighborhoods in small towns. Fortunately Yellow Springs is developing a new Planned Unit Development zoning ordinance which will allow flexibility for low-energy sustainable ways of development. Agraria communities should work with their local governments to develop alternative sets of zoning regulations (as opposed to changing current zoing regulations).

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XI. Cultural Values

A low-energy lifestyle is not simply a question of economics. High-energy-use living has not only changed the way we live – it has also changed our values, beliefs and attitudes toward life. One can view the high-energy lifestyle as humankind's highest level of development or as an aberration that could possibly destroy life on the planet. A low-energy-use lifestyle can also be viewed either positively or negatively. It can be considered as a way of living with extensive cooperation and social interactions as the basis for happiness. Or it can be viewed as a lifestyle which represents a terrible defeat for mankind. We prefer the former view:

• Emphasis on relating not competing

   Face-to-face instead of face-to-tube

   Conversation as an art form

   Learning from each other

• Emphasis on people, not possessions

   joy of belonging rather than having belongings

   learning and development as life purpose

   staying home a lot – not leaving for excitement or entertainment

   reading more

   walking and biking – not hopping in a car

• Community values not consumer values

   learning from ways of intentional communities, co housing, eco-villages...

   pleasure in working with ones hands and outside

   convenience and comfort are not high priority values

   living without the addiction to electronics – use only as tools

   less TV/VCR

   Community support, interconnectedness replaces isolation

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XIII. Leisure and Recreation

Our current industrial culture enjoys its large homes, its powerful – high-energy-use automobiles, and an industrial food system that provides cheap plentiful foods, which rely on cheap fossil fuel and often the exploitation of Central American labor. The Agraria philosophy is contrary to this world view. In modern time our culture's media supports the addictive desires for these products. More than any country in the world and any country in the past history of the world, the American culture is determined by the various forms of media. Thus media now "mediates" our experience.

The verb form of media is "mediate" and its definition is: a-acting through an intervening agency; b-exhibiting indirect causation, connection, or relation. Thus Americans gain their view of life, their values, and their cultural mores by observing myriad forms of media. To many, life is principally what is shown on TV and read about in magazines. Yet this very media is controlled by the car, house, and food industries which universally define a lifestyle based on heavy consumption of fossil fuel.

Today the average person watches TV four hours per day and spends approximately another four interacting with some form of electronic screen either at work, at leisure or at home – much of this being the famous "surfing" of the Internet. Americans have less and less face-to-face interaction. Some parents and their children interact by "instant messaging" from different rooms. Just as in the beginning of TV, which was supposed to be a phenomenal educational tool and ended up being a stupefying experience overall, so Internet surfing may soon prove to be equally deleterious to community life. Agraria will offer an alternative to the electronic alienation that increases with each release of software and new chip.

Arthur Morgan, the founder of Community Service, put recreation near the top of the requirements for a successful small community. The Agraria ideal places a strong emphasis on various forms of recreation, including physical recreational activities which improve physical health and teamwork. Recreation in all its forms, including sports, games, lectures, studying, music, learning and social interaction are vital to a strong community. Time for these activities will come at the expense of the time spent fixated on the media screens.

This view is not based on the issues of wasted time, advertising, sex and violence, or other aspects of electronic media. Rather it is based on a concern that a community oriented low-energy use way of life will be difficult to achieve and one of the greatest difficulties will be to change the value we currently place on a high-energy use way of life which is supported by electronic media interactions. The antidote will not be forced limitations but the creating of a powerful recreational program which will draw people into more healthy interactive forms of entertainment.

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XIV. Conclusion

This document is a preliminary description or specification for a low-energy neighborhood-community which will use energy in the limited amounts that are likely to be available in the next few decades. Agraria is intended to be an addition to the existing community of Yellow Springs, Ohio. It is offered as a strategy to enhance the community and to offer an option for a truly sustainable healthy society. This development will provide "homecoming" places to which those currently living in non sustainable cities and suburbs can move.

All readers are encouraged to comment, object and recommend. All comments will be greatly appreciated.

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Appendix I – Resources on Agrarianism

Barlett, Peggy 1993 American Dreams, Rural Realities: Family Farms in Crisis. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Berry, Wendell 1986/1997 The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

Berry, Wendell 2003 Citizenship Papers. Washington D.C., Shoemaker & Hoard.

Joanna Burger et al Protecting the Commons: A Framework for Resource Management in the Americas. Washington D. C.: Island Press.

Burger, Joanna, Elinor Ostrom, Richard B. Norgaard, David Policansky and Bernard Goldstein (eds.) Protecting the Commons: A Framework for Resource Management in the Americas. Washington D. C.: Island Press.

Nicky Chambers et al 2000 Sharing Nature's Interest; Ecological Footprints as an indicator of sustainability. London: Earthscan Publications.

Chbnik, Michael (ed.) 1987 Farmwork and Fieldwork: American Agriculture in Anthropological Perspective. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Donahue, Brian Reclaiming the Commons: Community farms and Forests in a New England Town. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Freyfogle, Eric T. 1998 Bounded People: Boundless Lands: Envisioning a New Land Ethic. Washington D. C.: Island Press.

Freyfogle, Eric T. 2001 The New Agrarianism: Land, Culture and the Community of Life. Washington D. C.: Island Press.

Jackson, Wes 1996 Becoming Native to This Place. Washington D. C.: Counterpoint Press.

Kains, M. G. 1973 Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook for Small Farm Management. New York, New York: Dover Press.

Logsdon, Gene 1994 The Contrary Farmer. White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Company.

Milani, Brian 2000 Designing the Green Economy: The Postindustrial Alternative to Corporate Globalization. Rowman and Littlefield.

Norwood, Ken and Kathleen Smith 1995 Rebuilding Community in America: Housing for Ecological Living, Personal Empowerment, and the New Extended Family.

Sale, Kirkpatrick 2000 Dwellers in the Land: The Bioregional Vision. Athens: The University of Georgia Press.

Stephen Wheeler and Timothy Beatlay (eds.) 2004 The Sustainable Urban Development Reader. Routledge.

Todd, Nancy Jack and John Todd. 1994. From Eco-Cities to Living Machines: Principles of Ecological Design. North Atlantic Books.

Vitek, Willaim and Wes Jackson 1996 Rooted in the Land: Essays on Community and Place. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Western, David and R. Michael Wright (Shirley C. Strum, Associate Editor) 1994 Natural Connections: Perspectives in Community-based Conservation. Washington D. C.: Island Press

Wirzba, Norman (ed.) 2002 The Art of the Common-Place: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry. Washington D. C.: Counterpoint Press.

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Appendix II – Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Agraria?
A: Agraria is proposal for a low-energy usage, small, sustainable neighborhood-community to be built in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The low-energy use model comes from the knowledge that Peak Oil production will occur within this decade. In order for its residents to live a sustainable lifestyle, it will include farm land in its design.

Q: What is Peak Oil?
A: Peak Oil is the point in time when, on a worldwide basis, we will be extracting the most oil per day from the ground that we ever will. After the peak, global oil production will begin its decline, causing rising energy prices as demand exceeds supply. North American natural gas production will also reach its peak in the coming years, resulting in shortages and higher prices.

Q: What will Agraria look like?
A: Residences in Agraria will be in high-density clusters so that the majority of the land can be conserved as green space to be used for gardens. Homes will be small – no larger than 1000 square feet – and highly energy-efficient, employing the latest techniques in ecological design and using various low-energy appliances & technologies.

Q: How will the undeveloped part of the land be used?
A: This land will be primarily preserved for organic vegetable gardens, herb gardens, orchards, and pastures. Other areas may be conserved as natural woodlands, wetlands, and ponds. Some will be used as common areas for recreation.

Q: What are the purposes of the community buildings?
A: The community buildings will provide space for occupations and may include shops, studios, and offices. They may also provide space for social events, educational activities, religious services, guest rooms, common dinners, food preparation, food processing, and storage. Communal facilities like laundry and internet stations may also be included.

Q: What makes Agraria different than a typical development?
A: In a typical development the homes are extremely energy intensive, both because of size and energy wasteful standard construction. The average new house built in the U.S. is 2,300 square feet. Roads and individual driveways, garages, and petrochemical-intensive lawns result in developments that lack common areas and green space. The goal of Agraria houses is that they will use _ of the energy of a typical new house built in the U.S. in 2004. Because of the commitment to sustainability, the high-density cluster design coupled with protective agricultural easements will leave more land open for community gardens and natural ecosystems.

While typical developments often create "bedroom communities," where there is little interaction among neighbors, with common areas and community buildings Agraria will seek to become an inter-dependent and coherent community.

Q: What will the homes in Agraria look like?
A: Homes in Agraria will be a combination of single-family and multi-family units and will all be designed to use little fossil fuel. Varieties of construction types will be used, including, but not limited to, conventional stick framing, straw bale, insulated block, cordwood, rammed earth, and earth berms. Other elements may include passive or active solar design, heat storage, "thick shell" construction, triple insulated glass, insulating shutters, solar hot water systems, composting toilets, and cisterns.

Q: What are the values of Agraria and how do they differ from conventional society?
A: Cheap, abundant energy has not only determined the way we live but also has changed our values, beliefs and attitudes toward life. A low-energy lifestyle is one where extensive cooperation and social interaction are valued. The emphasis is on relating over competing, people over possessions, and community over consumption. In addition, Agrarian values will include taking responsibility for our damage to the earth.

Q: How will Agraria involve the Yellow Springs community?
A: Because Agraria is a neighborhood of Yellow Springs, the residents will be fully integrated in the Yellow Springs community, benefiting from all of the cultural and social amenities. In addition, other Yellow Springs residents can become involved in community gardening, can purchase food from the farm, participate in social events, and enjoy the recreational open space. Far from being a "private" or "exclusive" place, Agraria seeks to share its unique experience with all who would be interested.

Q. How will the population issue be dealt with in in Agraria?
A: The exponential population growth of the last century has been based upon the availability of cheap, abundant oil. Peak Oil implies a lower population by dieoff, violence, or voluntary restriction. China now has a one child per family policy. Germany and Italy are at an average of 1.5 children per couple. Japan's population is dropping rapidly. Since the average American consumes so much energy it is to the world's advantage if we reduce population as quickly as possible. Though there will be no restrictions on family size in Agraria, the community will support and encourage families to have fewer children.

Q. Will Agraria address the coming financial crisis of Social Security?
A: One could view social security not as a savings account but as a system dependent on a growing population. If the population or population growth declines, Society Security will probably fail. Residents of Agraria may be encouraged to plan for a common future supporting multiple generations.

Q. Will we provide medical care?
A: As peak oil occurs, America's healthcare crisis will worsen and more and more people won't be able to afford it. There will instead be more of a focus on preventative care and living healthy lifestyles. Because Agrarian residents will eat healthier, walk and bicycle often, and engage in more physcial labor, they will rely on conventional medical care much less.

Q. How much will we make at Agraria?
A: Agrarians will probably earn less money on the average. But they will be interested in low income activities and frugal living for the sake of the world or their children. They will also need less as they replace material abundance will social abundance.

Q. How much will I have to garden?
A: The sowing, harvesting, canning, storing, and preparing of food, along with other garden, kitchen, and storage management tasks, is very labor-intensive and requires the input of time and money from all residents. However, Agrarian residents will choose how much, when, and in what activities they will participate. This will determine how much money they will have to pay for the food grown in the community. For example, one resident may choose to pay higher prices for their produce rather than work in the gardens and another may choose to work intensively for low-cost food.

Q. Will we have any animals in Agraria?
A: The production of meat requires much more fossil fuels, water, land, and other inputs. Therefore, the production of meat will be a smaller priority compared with vegetables and fruits. A vegetarian diet, or a mostly vegetarian diet, is much more energy-efficient and less wasteful. However, we might want to have small animals, such as chickens and rabbits, for eggs, manure, and meat. In addition, larger animals may be used for traction and transportation if enough land is available.

Q. Will Agraria be "wired?"
A: The average time Americans spend watching TV is four hours per day. This is now addictive to most people. Agrarians may have to work harder and longer hours in the community so they will have less time for this. However, because the internet now allows many people to work in their homes, thereby reducing long commutes, we may have internet access either in individual homes or in offices in the community building.

Q. How will decisions be made?
A: Agraria will help its residents to develop skills in group interaction and conflict resolution and encourage dialogue in all situations. The community may use a variety of techniques from Roberts Rules of Order to consensus. The residents will design the process they wish to employ, with help from organizations such as the Fellowship of Intentional Communities.

Q. How will waste recycling systems be used?
A: Though it is often taboo to discuss the recycling of human waste, it is critical to the sustainability of any community. Currently we concentrate waste and dump it in our water. Not only is this deleterious to our water systems, it takes vital nutrients from the land without replacement. Composting toilets, greywater systems, and other waste recycling methods will be employed and may actually decrease the cost of development, as sewer lines are very expensive.

Q: How can I find out more about Agraria?
A: For more information, visit The Community Solution office at 114 E. Whiteman St. or call us at (937) 767-2161. We also invite you to explore the rest of this web site.

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