Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Dec/January 2020 | Page 63

C
urrently South Africa produces 108 million tons of
waste per year. A total of 90 percent of the waste ends
up in landfills and only 10 percent of waste is currently
recycled.
Does it not then make sense to relook at the way we live and
improve the way we build? To that end I’m going to look at the
issue from two perspectives – that of the resident and that of
management.
More than building methodologies and green solutions,
developers need to focus more on how village developments
operate, how residents live, and use that knowledge to reduce
waste and impact other areas.
Residents
Modern-living results in an inordinate amount of waste. This
can easily be sorted and sold. Plastic pricing varies from around
R0.80 a kg to as much as R5 a kg – depending on the type of
plastic. Paper is another material that can be easily collected
and sold, and the added income generated can add up over
a year. Examples of what you can recycle are newspapers,
magazines, cardboard boxes (from cereals, etc.), office paper,
small appliances (such as toasters, irons, pots, pans, plastic),
batteries and computers.
Organic matter dumped in landfills (where it lacks the air
to decompose quickly) generates methane gas, accelerating
climate change. Here is another opportunity for residents and
the village to work together by collecting compostable waste,
that added to a worm farm tea, can greatly improve and enrich
the soil of a garden.
Nutrient-rich food is imperative at any age, especially as
one ages to offset illness. Growing organic vegetables to add
to the kitchen or supplement each resident’s groceries would
be an attraction to perspective residents – with the added by-
product of providing those residents with the green finger bug,
an outlet and fulfilment by contributing to their community.
Management
Part of the attraction to most retirement villages are the
gardens. Great gardens start with soil that has plenty of
microorganisms enriching the soil.
Instead of using lawnmowers and costly fertilizers, take a
leaf out of the book of the Urban Shepherds, that over 12 days
in Paris, demonstrated how sheep can be used in an urban
environment to control grass and weeds. The added benefit to
the quality of the soil is sheep excrement.
A weekly dam levels report (issued by the Department
of Water and Sanitation) depicts a bleak reality of how water
levels are declining consistently week on week. The national
water storage levels declined from 59.6% to 58.4% in two
weeks. This is a far cry from 69.4% that was recorded during the
same period last year.
Cape Town and other towns across the country have all
experienced water shortages to greater and lesser degrees. One
must relook at where water is coming from and how it can be
managed. Water retention into an aquifer (which boreholes
tap into) increase dramatically the more vegetation there is, to
capture and retain the moisture in the soil that feeds the aquifer.
Using the water wisely is the next step. Israel turned the
desert into an oasis by developing the drip system. It saves
water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the
roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried
below the surface.
Every retirement village has at least one blue sparkling and
inviting pool. They look great in photographs and incredibly
inviting on a hot summers’ day, but they are full of chlorine to
keep the algae at bay. In saltwater pools the natural process of
electrolysis turns the salt into chlorine. Here is an opportunity
to explore eco pools that recreate pristine swimming ponds
and mountain pools found in nature. The water is kept
sparkling clean by circulating it through a living ecosystem
of water plants. The result is a lush indigenous aquatic garden
cradling a clear, natural pool, the water of which is perfectly
clean, soft on the skin and infused with healing energy – no
salt, no chemicals, no sterilisation equipment.
“Nutrient-rich food is imperative at any
age, but especially as one ages to offset
illness. Growing organic vegetables
to add to the kitchen or supplement
each resident’s groceries would be an
attraction to perspective residents.”
This approach can be further enhanced by tapping into
the natural vlei’s, stream or rivers running through the site
of the retirement village – thereby tapping into the natural
ecosystem. Grey water can also be reticulated from the
common laundry, sinks, etc. that can be implemented into
residential homes. This approach would be best implemented
when building rather than retro fitted.
I recently had the privilege of visiting a retirement village
that is not only built totally off-grid, but also uses a building
methodology of S.M.P (Structural Modular Panels) that is far
quicker and more energy efficient. The retirement village
developers will be sharing their knowledge and experience
of building to scale with delegates at the Retirement Village
Developers Summit and has also been included as part of the
tour programme for delegates to see for themselves.
So why does this all matter? It makes business sense, as
most of the suggestions reduce running costs in the long-term
once the initial investment has been paid off. We are also
living so much longer, which must impact the way we view
our retirement-living and the intention to make it uniquely
meaningful.
There is a global trend for early retirees to give back to
their communities through volunteering and caring for
the environment. A developer that can tap into that need
and (coupled with solutions to our unique service delivery
challenges) will reduce the reliance on the municipal services
and I believe, would be ahead of the curve.
SOURCE urbanshephards.org
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine DECEMBER/JANUARY 2020
61