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adamkatz — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:32:17 CDT

Welcome to Floatingman.

If you got this far, you probably know something about us. But here is a quick intro to the project.

A group of slightly crazy, creative people are looking to buy a 21-acre island in Lake Nicaragua, Nicaragua to create a permanent artistic community and Burningman-like festival. We're looking for people to join us.

This is intended to be a not-for-profit project, so you shouldn't join with an intent to make a profit. With your share you will have the right to build a hut on the island and to come and stay for as long as you like, whenever you like (though still subject to Nicaraguan immigration laws).

After the project is underway, guests will be able to stay on the island paying a camping fee. This income will be used first to fund necessary project expenses (mortgage, taxes, etc.), remaining funds will be spent to fund art projects on the island or charitable projects around Nicaragua.

We are looking for 100 people to jointly own this project. The initial down payment is $100. That'll reserve you a share. As soon as 100 people have signed up, we'll ask for the other $2900, and move towards buying the island. So, sign up now!

You can also get directly involved by joining in on the discussions on the tribe, helping out with the todos, or joining one of the subteams.

The next meeting of our leadership committee is Sunday, April 6th at Noon PST. Everyone is invited. (Send a friend request to geekeasy on skype before the meeting.)

Our tribe:

http://tribes.tribe.net/floatingman

The wiki pages for our subteams:

http://floatingman.wetpaint.com/page/Greeters

http://floatingman.wetpaint.com/page/Marketing+Team

http://floatingman.wetpaint.com/page/Finance+Team

http://floatingman.wetpaint.com/page/Survival+Guide+Team

http://floatingman.wetpaint.com/page/Real+Estate+Team

http://floatingman.wetpaint.com/page/Legal+Team

http://floatingman.wetpaint.com/page/Process+Team

And the list of todos:

http://floatingman.wetpaint.com/page/todos

If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask.

Please post a brief introduction on the tribe telling us a bit about yourself, your interest in the project, and how you heard about floatingman.

Introduce yourself here: (http://tribes.tribe.net/floatingman/thread/8d61ec6c-16dd-4dca-9c50-b03aa8bdccb0)

- Adam & Trae

todos

adamkatz — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:46:06 CST

Add todos here:

Note - If you are volunteering to do something, please add your name next to it, to claim it, so that we don't duplicate effort.

* Surveys
- Adam: update survey
- Seek out more volunteers
- Divide up tribe
- Adam, Jason, Trae: Send out surveys and tally responses

TODO - does anyone want to contact the ADM people and tell them about Floatingman? Sent - let's see if they respond. If they do, I'll move this to completed.

TODO (someone): Mail these guys (www.fincalasnubes.com) to get their experiences as a community of foreigners in Nicararuga.

TODO (adam/trae): Talk about sailing to Nicaragua

TODO (legal team): Write up legal contract protecting the use of the name and images from the event.

TODO (trae): Look into notary costs for trademark

* Survey other groups - ecovillage, eplaya,...

* Trae - set up PO Box
* Trae - set up paypal payments

* Find the lowest prices for shipping containers from Oakland to Nicaragua.

* Costs for various housing options? Dependent on what materials are availabe locally.

* Costs for sustainable energy setups?

* Liability risks? Insurance? Personal health insurance?

==================

DONE!

TODO (adam): Post meeting date / time of next meeting on website.

TODO (adam): Post more photos from Nicaragua

TODO (adam): Write up homepage for wiki. This might be very similar or identical to the greeter message.

TODO (adam / trae): start sending out greeter messages

TODO (adam): Write up greeter message

TODO (adam): Mail Tim
TODO (adam): Mail Brett

Greeters

haroldf — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:01:15 CST

The team of people who welcome new members into the community. Initially, we'll welcome new members into the tribe. Later on, we will be the group responsible for welcoming people to the island and giving them any info that they need.

We may also take it upon ourselves to do a survey of the tribe, to see what the silent majority of the tribe thinks of the project.

If you're interested in joining, or leading this group, post in the tribe.

Current tribe welcomers:
Adam
Trae
Harold

adams todos in nicaragua

adamkatz — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:23:57 CST

BOATING AND TRANSPORT

1) Is Rio San Juan navigatable from the Caribbean - what size of boat?

I've heard contradictory reports. But the latest info seems to be that the rapids have been replaced with locks, and that the river is indeed navigatable - but I still don't know what size of boat (keel depth) can move up the river.

I also don't know the fees and permits, if any, necessary to take our own boats up and down the river. I'll look for details when I get to San Carlos. And might even take a quick trip down the river myself.

2) Feasibility of transporting boat overland from Pacific

At the very minimum, there are boat loading docks here in Granada.

The website for the docks is here.

www.marinacocibolca.net

Tel: 228-1223, 0552-6330

gerencia@marinacocibolca.net

I talked with the people at the marina If we need a place to keep a boat before we get the island, this seems like the best place to store it. There is more than 6' of depth at the boat ramp, so small keeled sailboats can be put in here. The price for long term storage of a boat is US$0.40 per square feet (length x beam). They haven't had people living in their boats before, but they are open to the idea. I haven't yet talk to him about short term storage, but I do know have the email address for followup questions.

Next, I'll head down to Rivas and La Virgen and check out the docks there.

I found someone else, Gary, who is attempting to do the exact same thing - moving a 46' sailboat from San Juan del Sur to the lake. We'll be able to learn from his experiences.

3) Laws and regulations for houseboats on lake. Both for Granada, and for the island.

No one seems to know yet. Some guy named Alf knows about boats, but he's a bit hard to track down. Another guy named JJ, lived on a houseboat in the lake, but he's an odd character who won't necessarily help us.

A boat vendor told me that I need to get permission from "Ministerio de Transporte" here in Granada.

The expat who runs Zapatera Tours has apparently imported a boat from Florida. He's the guy who I really need to talk to.

There was a houseboat ("Casa Flotante") for sale, but when I asked the price I was told that it's "private". At least I got the number of the person selling the houseboat - they should know about the legal restrictions (552-7804, cell: 879-7232). I'll try calling this number if the Zapatera guy doesn't have the info we need.

According to Gary, the boat needs to be under Nicaraguan registry and authority needs to be given by both the navy and the department of transportation. It's not clear is all of this is necessary, or just overkill. Or if it's just necessary if you run a charter service. I can't imagine that all of the small boats on the lake are registered.

4) Depth on the edges on Lake Nicaragua. Is a keeled sailboat even practical?

All I know so far, is that at the docks in Granada there is a 6'+ depth. The average depth of the lake is about 25'.

5) Import taxes

It seems that there is a massive 60% import taxes on boats that is either based on the assessed value or purchase price.

Gary is trying to avoid this by applying for the 10-year tax free status given to foreigners investing more than $30,000.

6) Boats for sale in Granada, San Juan del Sur, etc.

I found a couple of boats for sale in Granada. They were expensive. A cabin cruiser was for sale for $25,000. And a small 8-person dinghy (that's optimistic) was for sale for $1200.

7) Boats for sale in Costa Rica

8) Investigating backroute to island

CULTURAL, POLITICAL, AND SAFETY ISSUES

1) Hospitals in Granada and Chantales?

There is a hospital outside of Granada. But it was recommended to get a private physician who can help you get faster service at the public hosptital.

2) What expats think of the new President, specifically their business relations with his government.

People are generally unimpressed. But I haven't heard specific problems yet.

3) General safety info / drug lords

4) Cultural problems - a bunch of gringoes showing up

5) Search out hippy/permaculture communes on Ometepe - if they exist, ask about their experiences

I found a guy from this project on couchsurfing.com.

http://www.projectbonafide.com

We'll meet up when I get to Omotepe.

There is a very expensive, invite only, earthship type community.

6) The _other_ art commune island on Lake Nicaragua.

How about that! There is another art commune on an island in Lake Nicaragua.

http://www.solentiname.org/content/view/21/29/

I'll need to drop by and visit it.

7) What about the water quality?

No specific details. But from everything that I've heard, it's crap (literally) near Granada. And it's fine away from the main towns.

PROPERTY

1) On Ometepe?

2) Around Solentiname?

3) Zapatera

Apparently there is a 400 acre block of land for sale for $500,000. I'll look into it.

Apparently Zapatera is a protected natural reserve and any construction we did would be heavily regulated, so it doesn't look like a good alternate for us.

4) Why is our island called "Island of the dead"?

LEGAL

1) Check out property title

It just keeps getting more and more confusing. But we should be okay so long as we get title insurance, and read it carefully, when we purchase the property.

2) Lawyer Recommendations

Marlin Sanchez - Granada
858-1984

3) Legal status of Americans, and American companies, owning land

Tons of Americans own land down here. No problem at all.

3) Visa issues - how to get one? How to renew them? What about residency?

If you don't want to go through the hassle of getting permanent residency, here is how the visa system (apparently) works:

On arrival you get a 90-day visa. You can then extend that for another 90-days. After that, you have to leave the country for 3-days every 90-days, getting a new arrival on return. But this trip out of the country can just be a jaunt down to neighboring Costa Rica, and the 3-day limit might not be enforced. You might be able to cross over for an hour and then come right back.

Becoming a permanent resident is a bit of a pain in the ass. To quote Living in Nicaragua, "In essence, to become a resident you have to prove you do not pose a significant health risk, that you won't become an economic burden to the state, and that you are not a criminal." There is also a US$2500 deposit that they want in case they ever have to deport you - the $2500 means that you fly first class. Other than that, it looks not too expensive, just a stack of paperwork and a pain in the ass (if you qualify). That seems to be the word on that.

GOODS AND SERVICES

13) Availability of goods and services on the East Coast of the lake - boat transport, food, water, building supplies, etc. (prices for basic food and building supplies)

14) Availability of goods and services in Granada - boat transport, food, water, building supplies, etc. (prices for basic food and building supplies)

FYI - There is now a Costco in Managua. Though, you need a separate membership - you're US membership won't do any good.

15) Availability and costs of propane, and other cooking fuels for camp stoves

Propane looks like it's no problem here.

Process Team

adamkatz — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:49:00 CST

This group is responsible for creating and defining communication and decision making processes for how we should all work together.

We should always look at how things are running, see where the problems are, and see what we can do better.

If you're interested in joining, or leading this group, post in the tribe.

Legal Team

adamkatz — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:48:23 CST

The team for handling all legal contracts and dealing with any other legal issues in the running of this project.

If you're interested in joining, contact Adam.

Real Estate Team

adamkatz — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:47:40 CST

This is the team responsible for negotiating and closing the property deal. We will also be investigating other properties as potential backups.

If you're interested in joining, contact Adam.

Survival Guide Team

adamkatz — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:47:09 CST

This group is responsible for creating plans and contingency plans for everything that we will need to live on the island.

For ideas about how individuals/camps could work, we have full autonomy.

But for any responsibilities that will be given to the Org or Council, ideas need to be proposed to the main group for discussion and approval.

Along with comes up with these ideas, we will be responsible for creating a "survival" guide that will be shared with anyone coming to the island.

If you're interested in joining, or leading this group, post in the tribe.

Finance Team

adamkatz — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:46:38 CST

The team responsible for tracking and managing the expenses for the project.

If you're interested in joining, contact Trae.

Marketing Team

adamkatz — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:46:09 CST

The team responsible for the marketing and advertising of the project.

If you're interested in joining, or leading this group, post in the tribe.

construction techniques

adamkatz — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:36:38 CST

This page is starting as a survey of various construction techniques. But it would be great if it would grow into a detailed "how to" and "how not to", as we experiment with these techniques on the island.

General info

http://www.off-grid.net/

Adobe

Adobe is a natural building material mixed from sand, clay, and straw, dung or other fibrous materials, which is shaped into bricks using frames and dried in the sun. It is similar to cob and mudbrick. Adobe structures are extremely durable and account for the oldest extant buildings on the planet. Adobe buildings also offer significant advantages in hot, dry climates; they remain cooler as adobe stores and releases heat very slowly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/adobe.htm

Bamboo

When treated, bamboo forms a very hard wood which is both lightweight and exceptionally durable. In tropical climates it is used in elements of house construction, as well as for fences, bridges, toilets, walking sticks, canoes, tableware, furniture, chopsticks, food steamers, toys, construction scaffolding, as a substitute for steel reinforcing rods in concrete construction, hats, and martial arts weaponry, including fire arrows, flame throwers and rockets.

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/bamboo.htm

Cob

Cob is a building material consisting of clay, sand, straw, water, and earth, similar to adobe. Cob is fireproof, resistant to seismic activity, and inexpensive. It can be used to create artistic, sculptural forms and has been revived in recent years by the natural building and sustainability movements.

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/cob.htm

Concrete Pipe

Houses made inside large concrete pipes. What else is there to say?

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/06/25/dasparkhotel-made-from-pipes/

Cordwood

Cordwood construction (also called "cordwood masonry," "stackwall construction" or "stackwood construction") is a term used for a natural building method in which "cordwood" or short lengths pieces of debarked tree are laid up crosswise with masonry or cob mixtures to build a wall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthbag_construction

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/cordwood.htm

Earth Bag

Earthbag construction is a very strong, very cheap way of creating structures. It is a natural building technique that has evolved from historic military bunker construction techniques and temporary flood-control dike building methods. The technique requires only very basic construction materials: sacks, filler material such as sand or gravel, and barbed wire (using the barbs on the wire as well as the wire for reinforcing). This system allows for rapidly and inexpensively constructing temporary or emergency shelters or for long-term structures in milder climates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthbag_construction

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/earthbag.htm

Earthship

Earthships are earth-sheltered autonomous buildings made of tires rammed with earth, which are usually arranged in "U" or horseshoe shaped modules. Each tire is rammed full of earth manually using a sledge hammer. Windows on the sunny side admit light and heat. The "U" shape of the structure faces South in the northern hemisphere, and North in the southern hemisphere, so that the house will catch maximum sunlight in the colder months. An Earthship is designed to interface with its environment wherever possible and create its own utilities.

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/earthship.htm

Geodesic Domes

A geodesic dome is an almost spherical structure based on a network of great circles (geodesics) lying approximately on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and yet also distribute the stress across the entire structure. It is the only man-made structure that becomes proportionally stronger as it increases in size.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesic_dome

http://geometrydome.com/

http://www.cjfearnley.com/fuller-faq-4.html

Houseboats

A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a human dwelling. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houseboats

http://www.boatingsf.com/photothumbpage.php?&infocategory=houseboats

http://www.murrayriver.com.au/houseboats/underboats.htm

http://euler.sfasu.edu/Shantyboats/

http://www.boatdesigns.com/departments.asp?dept=7

Papercrete

Papercrete is a recently developed construction material which consists of re-pulped paper fiber with Portland cement or clay and/or other soil added. First patented in 1928, it has been revived since the 1980s. Although perceived as an environmentally friendly material due to the significant recycled content, this is offset by the presence of cement. The material lacks standardisation, and proper use therefore requires care and experience.

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/papercrete.htm

http://papercrete.com/cheap.html

Poured Earth

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/poured_earth.htm

Pumicecrete (Lightweight Concrete)

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/pumicecrete.htm

http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/materials/lwconcrete/description.htm

Rock

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/rock.htm

Rammed Earth

Rammed earth construction, also known as pisé de terre or simply pisé, is an age-old building method that has seen a revival in recent years as people seek low-impact building materials and natural building methods. Traditionally, rammed earth buildings are common in arid regions where wood is in scarce supply.

Rammed earth construction is a process of compressing a damp mixture of earth that has suitable proportions of sand, gravel and clay (sometimes with an added stabilizer) into an external supported frame that molds the shape of a wall section creating a solid wall of earth. Traditional stabilizers such as lime or animal blood were used to stabilise the material, but cement has been the stabilizer of choice for modern times.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rammed_earth

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/rammedearth.htm

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/01/shipping_contai.php

http://www.earth-auroville.com/

http://www.aureka.com/eace/index.php?categ=eace

Shipping Containers

Building living spaces using old shipping containers.

http://www.containerhouse.com/ch00002.htm

http://home.comcast.net/~plutarch/

http://www.demariadesign.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/01/shipping_contai.php

Strawbale

Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses straw bales as structural elements, insulation, or both. It is commonly used in natural building. It has advantages over some conventional building systems because of its cost and easy availability, and its high insulation value.

Although grasses and straw have been in use in a range of ways in building since pre-history around the world, their incorporation in machine-manufactured modular bales seems to date back to the early 20th century in the midwestern United States, particularly the sand-hills of Nebraska, where grass was plentiful and other building materials (even quality sods) were not.
Contents

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/strawbale.htm

Tipis

A tipi (also teepee, tepee) is a conical tent originally made of animal skins or birch bark and popularized by the Native Americans of the Great Plains. Tipis are stereotypically associated with Native Americans in general, but Native Americans from places other than the Great Plains used different types of dwellings. The term wigwam is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to a dwelling of this type.

The tipi was durable, provided warmth and comfort in winter, was dry during heavy rains, and was cool in the heat of summer. Tipis could be disassembled and packed away quickly when a tribe decided to move, and could be reconstructed quickly when the tribe settled in a new area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipi

http://www.manataka.org/page186.html

Underground (or partially underground)

http://www.simondale.net/house/

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/psp.htm

Yurts

A Yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurt

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/articles/yurt/

http://www.rdrop.com/~glacier/yurtPages/yurtGallery.html

http://www.shelter-systems.com/solor-dome.html

FAQ

adamkatz — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:33:28 CST

How will we support ourselves?

You are expected to provide anything you need for your self, just like at burningman. At the moment, the only service the floatingman org is definitely planning on providing to residents is composting toilets.

What is the water situation?

Endless supplies of freshwater are easily obtainable as we are on a freshwater lake. The lake is moderately polluted, but is fine for small-scale agriculture and swimming. Water from a well might be fine for cooking or drinking after it's been purified and/or boiled. Also, bottled water can be imported from Granada, and the bottles could be recycled into building material for boats or floating platforms.

Will we be able to rely on farming/agriculture on the island?

The size of the island, and number of residents will prevent any kind of large scale farming or agriculture. Most food will have to be imported from Granada city, or the neighboring villages by boat.

What about transport to and from the Island?

The island comes with three boats included. But we don't know what we're going to do with them yet. The floatingman org may provide transport to and from the island, but in the spirit of "radical self reliance" we think it might be better to insist everyone provide their own transport. In addition, that would force people to start buidling and acquring things that float - and "floating" is what we're all about.

Why an Island?

In part it's the dream. Our vision is "bridging the gap between fantasy and reality." The entire idea of having a private island is the fantasy; the dream.

But it's also the reality of being on an island. There is a very different experience in being completely cut off from the rest of the world by a body of water. The island will also give us a certain measure of extra freedom, since the authorities would need to take a boat trip should they ever want to come out and check up on us.

However... Islands are expensive, and there aren't that many of them for sale. For the price we're looking at it's unlikely that any island will be completely perfect. We're still open to other idea, but it's going to be very tough to find another place which 'excites the imagination' quite like a private island.

Definitions

We've been throwing around a lot of terms. It's important to define them so that we all know what one another are talking about.

"Investor"/"Owner" - someone who owns a part of the organization, and thereby also a part of it's assets, and has a voting share.

"Ticket" - something that allows you to visit and stay on the island.

"Forever ticket" - allows you to perpetually come and go as you please. Being an investor does not necessarily grant you a forever ticket (To be determined).

"6-month ticket" - allows you to stay on the island for 6-months from the day you arrive.

"Guest" / "Ticket Holder" - a non-owner ticket holder who comes to stay on the island and follows the 10 principles of Burningman.

"Tourist" - someone who somehow comes to the island to see it, but does not necessarily follow the 10 principles. We're thinking of throwing full moon parties for "tourists" as a way to raise funds for the organization, and also just to have fun!

"Friends & Family" - unlike other festivals, this will be a full-time community. As such, we need a structure so that friends and family of the owners or of long-term guests can come and visit. If space is available, they will be allowed to come and stay for a maximum of one week for a fee of $20/day.

contingency plans

adamkatz — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:38:22 CST

Contingency plans

=> equipment failure
** rescue boat + possibly the passenger ferry

Any repairs will be funded by the Org. Hopefully, someone on the island will have the skills to make the repairs saving us money.

Should this be managed by a representative of the Org directly, or should the island council manage it, and request funds from the Org?

=> fire
** what's local fire fighting capacity (extinguishers, pumps)
** who knows what to do

Managed by the Island Council?

Funded by the Org. Requirements set by the Org?

=> injuries
** medical access - who's got skills and equipment

The Island Council should work to ensure that someone knowing first aid is always available.

** transport

More details listed above under "boats". The island comes with several boats. The Org will fund the ongoing maintenance of one as a rescue/emergency boat.

** hospitals

There must be one in Granada - the nearest major town. But we should validate the quality of care.

** what's the situation with insurance?

No decisions yet. TODO.

=> crime
** immediate protection from, say, drunken locals "joining the party"
** intra-community crime - somebody punches somebody, somebody steals something, somebody gets accused of a crime on the island
** legal services - who's the lawyer people should be dealing with, who understands the place

Thoughts?

=> interfaces to bureaucracy
** what are the civil authorities which have a say over operations. In the States, that includes things like health and safety regs, building codes, and so on. What's the equivalent terrain in Nicaragua.

TODO.

=> disputes within the community
** how do we resolve non-criminal internal disputes

The island council handles internal disputes.

** how do we resolve internal disputes without references to external forces

Vinay - what do you mean?

** how do people transfer shares etc?

If an owner wishes to get rid of his share, s/he announces the intent to sell it. The Org then has "right of first refusal" and 60 days to purchase the share, before it can be sold to anyone else.

Divisions of responsibility

adamkatz — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:23:42 CST

Org
-----
Property
Toilets
Legal issues, taxes, etc.
Interfaces to the government.
Emergency boat, plus some first aid supplies
Passenger ferry (?)

Community
----------------
Infrastructure
Food, water, energy
Health, including making sure that someone trained in first aid is available
Defining rules for island life
Dealing with any issues that come up within the community

share price breakdown

adamkatz — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 23:11:53 CST

The $3000 share price was come up with this way:

$2700 per person for a 50% downpayment on the island.

$50 closing costs.

$50 title search (approx.)

$10 for three month severance for island housekeeping staff (It would be terrible if the very first thing we did by moving down there was to deprive a Nicaraguan family of a living. This will in part make up for that.)

That leaves $190 per owner, or $19,000 total as a buffer. The price of the island is "negotiable", so the buffer should actually be higher.

needs+mapping

adamkatz — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:40:02 CDT

STAYING HEALTHY

The Armed Forces - not necessary
The Police - ideally we won't need anything, but the Island Council could appoint some Rangers if necessary.
The Hospitals - 2 hours away by boat.
The Doctor - With some first aid training, people on the island should be able to take care of most sicknesses and minor injuries (inc. broken bones) until the person can get to the hospital. OPEN QUESTION - Is this good enough? (Book recommendation from a friend of Adam's: "Where there is no doctor")
The Medical Industry - N/A
The Pharmacy - N/A
The Sewage Plant - Initially using Arborial Toilets (Arborial Toilets), and then later more advanced forms of composting toilets. Feces makes great fertilizer.

PROTECTION FROM THE ELEMENTS

Your House - Tee pees, domes, tents, houseboats...
Your Clothes - Bring your own, buy them in town.
Your Tent (if you're a camper)
Your Sleeping Bag (ditto)
Your Vehicle - BIG OPEN QUESTION. Will the Org provide a ferry?
Power Stations - Wind. Solar. Generator.
National Grid - Probably not. But "camps" within the community can share power.
Gas Drilling - No
Gas Distribution Pipelines and Trucks - No

WATER

The Water Treatment Plant - Later.
The Plumbing - OPEN QUESTION

FOOD

Agribusiness
Megafarms
Agricultural chemical companies
Massive transport and distribution infrastructure
Futures markets (to pay for future crop production)

MOBILITY

Shoes
Bicycle
Car
Public Transport
Oil Industry
Gasoline Distribution Companies

COMMUNICATIONS

Phone Companies - Apparently we will have Nicaraguan cell service from the island. Text messages to anywhere in the world should be cheap.
Your Telephone
Postal Service
TV/Radio Companies
Your TV/Radio
The Internet - Discussions have been made about satellite internet service, but this would probably be on a "camp" basis rather than for the whole community.
Your Computer
Ham Radio

llc+financial+projections

adamkatz — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 03:12:51 CDT

There are 4 phases to this project.

1 - Exploratory Phase
2 – Purchase
3 – Build-up
4 – Maintenance and up-keep

1. Exploratory Phase

a. Income

There is a $100 partially refundable application fee for each person who wishes to join the project. This money will be used to cover the legal costs for the exploratory phase.

b. Create company

llc formation fees, $348

b. Hire a lawyer to be sure that the property title is valid.

$5000 is our very rough, and probably high estimate.

2. Purchase
a. Income
i. Investor shares

We are selling 100 shares in the island for $3000 each. In the exploratory phase, we received $100 from each owner, so we'll be collecting another $2900 here from each person who is approved as an owner.

We'll also be returning the $100 down payment to anyone who is rejected for membership.

b. Expense
i. Down payment

$270,000 for a 50% downpayment on the island. This is the _max_ value, as the price is indeed negotatiable.

ii. Closing costs

$5000 in closing costs. According to the real estate agent. So, this value may not be correct.

iii. Insurance

As of yet, we are have not discussed insurance and I'm not sure that we want it.

iv. Legal

Don't know yet. Maybe covered by the closing costs.

v. Travel

$0. Everyone on the project is responsible for paying for their own travel expenses.

NOTE - in the "purchase phase", income from selling the shares is intended to exceed our initial costs.

This will give us a buffer of funds covering our mortgage for at least the first couple of months.

3. Build up

a. Income

The intent is for the Org to maintain almost no infrastructure. I think that we will actually be selling off some of the items that come with the island. So the Org should have a small amount of income from selling boats, generators, etc.

We may also have income from ticket sales, but let's not plan on that yet.

b. Expense

i. Grading & foundation work

I don't know what we're planning here. The only thing that I see the Org doing initially is perhaps buying some materials to allow for some proper runoff from showers or kitchens to prevent runoff. But we need more input on this topic.

ii. Taking care of current property on the land (the house, the pool, pavement, …)

Zero. The org is not taking responsibility for any of this.

iii. Water tower

Zero. The org is not taking responsibility for this.

iv. Toilets

Minimal. I think that initially the Org will provide composing pit toilets, based on an african design.

aquamor.tripod.com/Arbook.htm

The only cost is a bit of cement.

v. Piers

There is no initial work. We have all the piers we need.

vi. Guest house (where will the guests stay when they come stay for six months? How about friends and family?)

There is no guesthouse created by the Org. But personally speaking, I'm imagining building a big pyramid (funded by myself and other owners) where the house used to be.

vii. Common tools, equipment and areas (one of the main reasons people get into intentional communities is to share stuff. For example instead of buying 150 shovels you just buy enough for everyone’s use. Common house, workshop, garden, … again in order to gather for a communal meal or work on a project together we need common facilities.)

Again, little or none. Groups of people ("camps") should join together to make this happen, but it's not the responsibility of the Org.

3. Maintenance

a. Income
i. Residents condo fee (aghh, i hate the term, but a fee to cover the mortgage, taxes, insurance and other misc. expenses)
ii. Guest fees

$500 for a 6-month ticket. [Maybe we should raise this a bit since our mortgage is higher than we expected] $600?

iii. Friends and family fees

$20/day.

iii. Tourist fees

We've talked about having full-moon parties. But we haven't planned out how much we would charge.

b. Expense
i. Insurance (property and liability)

Zero?

ii. Disaster recovery (for example put money aside for a building a protective wall of some sort if there is a land slide on one side)

?? We've talked about maintaining a buffer of funds to cover the mortgage, how much of a buffer to do you think that we need for other expenses?

iii. Maintenance of common areas (toilets, common workshop, …)

Zero or minimal.

iv. Legal

Hmmmm.... don't know yet.

v. Transportation (boat up keep)

Need to get an estimate from someone who knows boats.

I think that we've decided to keep one boat as an emergency boat for rescues or to deliver people with serious injuries to a hospital.

One of the biggest remaining questions is if we'll also keep a boat as a passenger ferry (owned and run by the Org) which will move people to and from the island. Is we decide to do this, then there will be significant expenses in terms of both maintenance and fuel.

owner+financial+projections

adamkatz — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 03:02:17 CDT

The 4 phases of the project

1 - Exploratory Phase ($100)
2 – Purchase ($2900)
3 – Build-up (???)
4 – Maintenance and up-keep (???)

1. Exploratory Phase

$100 semi-refundable deposit per applicant.

These funds will be used towards the legal expenses for creating the LLC, researching the property title, and any other associated legal costs.

Should the project fail to go happen, for any reason, any unspent portion of this deposit will be returned. The costs will be evenly split among all applicants.

If an applicant isn't accepted into the initial 100 owners, then the entire deposit will be returned.

2. Purchase

All approved owners will be required to pay another $2900 after the property title has been deemed okay.

This money covers initial purchase price, but there will be excess and that will give us a couple of month buffer on the mortgage.

3. Build up

This section is obviously going to evolve as time goes on. And it will never be anything other than a range of values, as the costs will directly correspond to the standard of living someone choses, and how much labor they chose to do themselves rather than purchasing pre-made items.

a. flight

Flight prices are always subject to change. But at the moment, I see tickets as cheap as one-way tickets from San Francisco to Managua for $425 one-way in December, and for $510 round-trip.

www.taca.com/index.asp

b. accommodation

Anyone who does Burningman should have basic camping gear. That would be enough to start with on the island.

Other options for slightly more advanced and comfortable housing could include yurts, tipis, hexayurts and domes. These seem to range be in the price range of hundreds to several thousand dollars. Then of course would be the cost of shipping the materials down to Nicaragua.

Does someone want to research the costs of various housing options?

Does someone want to research the cost of sending a shipping container from San Francisco (Oakland actually has the big port) to Nicaragua?

The best option though, would be to research what's available in Nicaragua and see what we could build cheaply using local materials and local techniques. I'll start looking into that when I'm in Nicaragua.

c. Sustainable energy, batteries, and internet (satellite)?

I'll mail wisecat and see if he can help fill in this section for us.

Again, it might make sense to look into the shared cost of a shipping container to move this sort of material down to Nicaragua.

d. Common spaces

These are certainly optional, but I think that it would be nice to eventually have one large common space for hanging out or sleeping (dome? pyramid?), and one large common space for construction (modeled after an airplane hangar?).

Should we start on cost projections for these?

e. Grading, foundation, and runoff

Anyone want to make any guesses here? There doesn't seem to be any way to determine this until we spend some time on the island. Can we do everything that we need with shovels and a bit of concrete? Or will we need bigger tools, or a bit of dynamite.

f. Common tools, equipment

Would $1000 be enough? That could provide a bunch of basic tools for the project. And split between 100 owners it's $10 each.

4. Maintenance

a. Mortgage

$60 / mo / owner. This value assumes that we cannot negotiate a lower price for the island. The actual value should be lower. This also assumes that there are no guests - any guest fees will go first towards covering the owners costs. With 10 ticket holding guests arriving each month the mortgage is covered.

b. Misc. Org Fees (property taxes, boat upkeep, required infrastructure maintenance, legal, etc.)

$10 / mo / owner. That's a very rough guess, and hopefully should be on the high side.

c. Food, medical, etc.

This site gives a value of $80/person/mo.

www.nicaliving.com/node/1310

That might be a good starting estimate.