Week 46

Week 46

Tractor in bits.

Not as bad as it looks; it just comes apart like this - in this case to get to the fly wheel which needs a new starter ring (cogs or teeth).

Weather.

Turning nasty now. We have had very warm days (for here).. ie not as cold as it should be! I'm still rattling through the firewood though, as I figure we have already paid for it so I might as well use it instead of doubling up on the gas bills. We have had the stormy, windy weather which dumps all the leaves in my front lawn. Our work experience lad has blown them all away and it was even dry enough to mow "one last time" for this year. And now we have the rain which leaves the ground sodden for the next few months..... unless it snows, which they are predicting for next week.

Clients

We have Thomas for 5 nights a week under strange circumstances which I can't really go into here. Basically we are helping out until he gets put into institutional care as his Mum doesn't want him to go to foster parents. We prefer the latter as he just needs to be cared for and loved, which he is not getting at home. We have our moments here but nothing extreme. Maybe it will become more of a problem as he gets older and falls further behind kids of his own age. I'm actually teaching him to speak English which he is rather good at - and it is a bit of fun for me. Janny and I take turns on doing the night shift through the week - otherwise it would be costing us money to pay personnel.

Building Project

We have just about sorted out the quotes and settled on a Builder, but as usual, I am concerned that any misunderstandings on my part will only end up costing us money. So, I need to sit down again with the chosen company to go through it all again. The floor heating is not going to cost as much as I feared, so that is one good thing.

Winjewoude Engergie Neutraal (WEN)

http://wijnjewoude.net/energieneutraal/

In my own words: The idea is that everyone in this village can live "energy neutral" by 2025. I couldn't get to the last meeting as I was "working", but from the meeting before, I understand that we have formed a "Corporation" as one step on the way to achieving the goal for our village. There are more than 400 villages in Friesland and I have heard of at least a couple of others who are trying to do something similar. I'll have to write more at a later time - when I understand it better. As an example of how it could effect us - if we had enough money we could invest it at the moment and make yearly savings of €15000 to €20000 a year.... or.... there are already companies that that will provide the solar panels and other infrastructure and we get to "own" it after a number of years (7)(??). In the interim they use the power that is produced. On a village-wide scale they are talking of "large roof areas" (like ours) generating electricity for others who don't have the capacity. There are already subsidies in place for houses in the built-up areas (of villages in our Local Government Area) and which are under a pre-determined rateable value. We know of two people who were accepted for this within a couple of days of applying.

Via Google Translate:

The Dream Is:

In 2025 we produce in Wijnjewoude least as much renewable energy as we need in our village. We are become richer, live comfortably and are completely independent of commercial parties. There is a great togetherness and we are very proud that we have delivered on this sustainable dream together. Our village is known for. People want to be like to live. Everyone is used to it, we would not want to go back.

With WEN - an initiative of Local Importance - we work as village together to save energy and at the same time we are going to produce renewable energy. As a result, we jointly generate at least as much renewable energy in 2025, we meet the village needs.

As we work together for a sustainable future, everyone's energy costs go down and are no longer dependent on commercial energy companies, so we can use the profits for our village. The WEN is organized by a group of enthusiastic volunteers.

WEN is a pilot project for which the municipality Opsterland our village invited in 2014. The project is supported and accompanied by various expert bodies and governments.

WEN, sustainable village dream that we can make true together.

Step by step we are TOGETHER:

Saving on energy costs

Green energy generation

Working towards a sustainable future

Acquire and deploy smart subsidy for the village

Work in the Sheltered Workshop 

A local Church asked us to prepare an "end of year" gift for it's members - about 250! So the clients have been hard at work - it's good for them to have a sense of purpose.