LOS
OJOS DE DIOS INC.
Ecological
Model In Latin America
"Los
Ojos de Dios” is a project of life, in which all participants
develop, through daily routine and activities, a holistic
vision of their future task; their responsibility to society
and the environment in which we live. It has been directed
to the very foundation of our society…our children.
Especially those children who due to their vulnerability,
may represent potential burden and social danger, if not
rescued and redirected. Especially challenged babies who
are not only neglected, but lack love and affection, are
the reason for our life commitment. We need to turn their
lives around. They need us to teach them the necessary skills,
not merely to overcome their lot in life, but to allow them
to positively participate in their community, by becoming
active members of society as well. That is our goal.
In
order for us to be able to transmit the values our children
will have in the future, we must be congruous from the start.
That is the reason why we have decided to make changes in
the conventional, traditional concepts of construction.
This is their home for years to come, their source of education,
everyday training and learning activities. Their own home
has to set an example.
WATER
Children
have contact with water on a permanent basis. They learn
to care for this vital resource by using and re-using it
in the irrigation of their small parcel under their care,
depending on each individual capability. They also learn
how to optimize its use while maintaining the farm, gardens,
orchard, and keeping the green-house. While learning these
simple, basic tasks, they also learn the importance, origin
and destiny of water.
To
achieve this goal, soapy, murky water is separated and treated
in the aerobic-dynamic Water Recycling Plant processed through
earth-red worms, river pebbles micro-organisms, and bio-filters,
while also converting organic material to compost, 100%
utilizable as all natural fertilizer for our own irrigation.
The excess, if any, is canalized to the subsoil, to find
its way toward water reservoirs. Rainwater is stored and
utilized.
Our
orchard and greenhouse is maintained by hydroponic systems.
The children learn how to keep them in optimal conditions,
so that they may consume its produce, as part of their emotional
rehab process and senses development. Farm animals are fed
by natural compounds, produced in our own facility.
SUN
The design of our buildings is strategically oriented, so
that they use solar radiation as the main source of energy,
by means of 16 solar panels, four back-up eolic generators,
charge controllers, load inverters, 32 electro-solar batteries
to naturally heat-up living spaces, as well as the water
for bathing, cooking, and cleaning. This innovative system
provides our sole source of energy.
These systems contribute to save gas and fuel when generating
electricity, while avoiding carbon monoxide emissions, thus
make efficiency and operation sustainable.
THE
SOIL
Our
40cm. thick fences and walls have been built with recycled
soil (bagged-adobe) from our own land. This creates natural
insulation, resistant to extreme outdoor temperatures all
throughout the year. As a consequence, our living spaces
are weather resistant, require low maintenance thus eliminate
the need for conventional heating/cooling devices. Also,
by utilizing the same soil removed from our site to build
our foundation, we avoid polluting the air, as trucks are
not required to dump it elsewhere.
No
chemicals are used to paint our walls. We color our home
by mixing natural colorants extracted from the soil.
THE
AIR
We take advantage
of the strong air in the region and convert it into useable
energy as a result of four eolic generators on high posts
which produce 400W each. The design of our living spaces
allows us to have a “crossed air circulation”
for cooling, and “ locks” to let warm air out
in the summer. Heat is stored and used both at nighttime
and cooler, cloudy days, which leads to significant power
savings.
As
part of their responsibility and learning experience children
are in charge of opening doors and/or windows to let clean
air circulate and renew. That would not be possible if we
were to install conventional systems of heating and cooling,
which use the same air time and time again, leading to potential
unhealthy conditions that would consequently be the perfect
field for bacteria and virus reproduction that would easily
incubate, grow and spread.
INTERACTIVE HANDS-ON
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Needless to say,
in order for these innovative systems to work efficiently,
the participation of our children, families, employees and
volunteer personnel who live in the premises is required,
as we all share interactive spaces which provide high quality
standards of culture and values to children while developing
awareness, appreciation, perception, conservation and care
of natural resources.
In
sum, the use of natural resources, fuel saving, low energy
consumption systems and equipment all throughout our green
buildings, as well as the organic treatment of solid waste,
and the optimization of power, involves our entire population.
The architectural/bio-technical design of LODD has been
carefully planned by Directors-Founders along with Universidad
Autónoma de Cd. Juárez.
We
wish to actively contribute to the reduction of pollutants
and contaminants, in accordance with international treaties,
such as “The Kyoto Protocol”.
|
