We had the expert designers for the innovative North Whins “waste water” system[mfn]this is not bullshit, it’s about humanure and other human waste water products…[/mfn] onsite on Monday 29 July 2021 and the design phase will complete by the end of August!

Here’s some background to the current state of play, and the complexity of the environment in which PEThousing group volunteers are working.

2012 draft of existing wayleave for Foul Rising Main and Soakway at the Findhorn Ecovillage Community, The Park. PETs “North Whins” is situated above the north “East Whins” houses.

The Findhorn Foundation owns a  ‘Living Machine’ for the purposes of foul water treatment at The Park. The Living Machine is operated on the Foundation’s behalf by others.

NFD is responsible to the Title Holders’ Association for the upkeep and maintenance of various infrastructure systems at The Park, including the delivery of foul water to the Living Machine and the delivery of treated effluent to the Soakaway.

PET is in process of constructing affordable housing units at North Whins, The Park and has received confirmation of a Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) grant to support the construction of a wastewater-to-heat system for these units. The heat will be extracted from the wastewater that flows from the Living Machine to the Soakaway via pipeworks near to the site of these housing units.

Once the heat is extracted from the wastewater the cooler water will then be returned to the pipeworks and continue to the Soakaway and so be returned to the natural ground water system.

The pipework carrying wastewater from the Living Machine to the Soakaway is partly owned by the Findhorn Foundation and partly owned by Duneland Ltd. The section between the Living Machine and the Stop Worrying sign is owned by Findhorn Foundation. The section from the Stop Worrying sign to the soakaway and the soakaway inclusive is owned by Duneland Ltd.

An agreement has been reached between the different parties to ensure a continuing supply of wastewater to the above wastewater-to-heat system and soakaway.

Cooperation at all levels: innovate, adapt, overcome at Findhorn Ecovillage!

Here’s a brilliant example of cooperation in a complex community environment. Solid up/down lines of power hierarchy used to be the norm, but today’s world demands adaptive cooperators: groups that can move at the speed of change because they are values-led and responsibly self-organising, with fluid hierarchies led by the best person/group in that moment to do that job (not someone promoted into a permanent position until promoted up, sideways or out). Just as sociocracy has long been used at Findhorn, so other unifying team process examples include Agile, Holacracy, Management3.0 and more. These “simply” require guts&trust (values) to implement…

Congratulations to all the VISIONARIES in action[mfn]designers, engineers, philosophers and wastewater producers too[/mfn] concerned with this agreement!

Let’s have more of such functional, adaptable& sustainable and mutually profitable cooperation.