On behalf of Taman Petanu Eco Neighbourhood I am introducing here a very important place and a very important topic.

In the same way that Steemit is challenging the status quo of social media & current financial system, eco communities are challenging the traditional profit based model of property development by replacing it with something that benefits the common folk as well as the owners of the establishments....and most importantly of all they do not conflict with symbiosis of the surrounding environment.

After living in London most of my life where sustainability is very low on the agenda of the average person, I have been blessed to finally discover a community in which every possible measure has been taken to intelligenly work in harmony with Mother Earth to minimise the impact on our planet and maximise our connection to nature.

THANK YOU STEEMIT!

Before I start this post I want to say a huge thank you to Steemit for completely empowering my life in a way that I couldn't possibly have predicted. I posted on Youtube for two years and earning almost nothing. Yet here I have 'banked' over $315 in just a few months and I know now that I will be posting here forever, not just for the financial benefits, but also for the opportunity to share what I have learned with intelligent, open-minded folks like yourselves, who are much more likely to take notice and actually do something about it. So, thank you to one and all for all your comments and upvotes. I am eternally grateful and look forward to the future of this platform eagerly :)

WHY ARE ECO COMMUNITIES IMPORTANT?

I would like to think that the answer to this question is obvious, yet there are so few eco communities in existence one must ask why? Personal profit has become more important than the sustainability of life on this planet. But eco communities are breaking the mould and looking to the future. And we must do our best now to learn how they are doing this.

The exact location of Taman Petanu Eco Neighbourhood.

This wonderful part of the valley has been designed around sustainability and educating others to follow in their steps with a dedicated education centre and 'living classroom' which will sell the organic produce grown here and teach the locals how to successfully convert to organic farming. There is a naivety here in Bali surrounding the side-effects of chemicals and I regularly see the farmers applying the pesticides all day long to their endless rice terraces.

This can only be resolved through education and Taman Petanu is the first place I have found which aims to do exactly that, for the better good of the all those who live in this area.

There are a number of key features which make Taman Petanu Eco Neighbourhood particularly special.

INTELLIGENT HOUSE DESIGN

Constructed using local materials, these houses have bamboo in their walls, permitting them to bend with the earth in a way that concrete & brick houses cannot. This is essential here where they do have the occasional earthquake.

This is our home. And like all the homes here it is perched right on the edge of the valley with an open-plan design. Only the bathroom & bedroom have four walls. In this way, the wind is able to pass through naturally, keeping us cool when temperatures rise.

RAINWATER HARVESTING

To put it simply, Bali is running out of fresh water. There is an aquifer under the island which is quickly being drained by the ever growing number of wells, which each year must be drilled deeper and deeper as the water level drops. Eventually the aquifer will run dry and consequently fill up with sea water, making the problem irreversible. And all fresh water will then have to be imported. There are those who work towards re-filling the aquifer using rain-water drainage systems feeding back into the wells and there are those who tap into the earth's most abundant resource, rain-water. And of course there are those who are completely ignorant of this subject or simply blinded by short-term personal profit, with little interest in the situation they are creating.

Our roof and guttering are designed specifically to maximise rainfall catchment, storing it in a pool sized tank under the house. The water goes through a filter before coming out of our taps. This is the only place I have found in Asia where you can drink your tap-water. Not only that, the used water goes from our home to a 'grey water' system where it is cleaned and used again, this time for the surrounding plants, of which there are many.

THE ECO POOL

This is no ordinary swimming pool because there are no chemicals in it. Instead there are a group of friendly fish all born here in this very water, so completely accustomed to us humans. One must shower before getting into this pool, to wash away any man-made chemical products that might mess with the living eco-system. It is a favoured spot for the frogs too, who commune at night to paddle around to their hearts' content!

It is an infinity pool which overlooks a stunning valley and the Petanu river which winds its way into the distance, as far as the eye can see. You can just about make out my little family in this shot below.

The water is aerated by fountains & an intelligent design tier pool system. The fish nibble at my feet when I stay still for long enough and sometimes when the nights are hot, I will float on my back, looking up at the stars listening to the concophony of insect noise from the jungle valley beneath me. Simply put, it is heaven :)

THE ABUNDANCE OF LOCAL ORGANIC FOOD

We are litterally surrounded by our food. And it is 100% organic. Fruit trees & vegetables of all varieties can be found in the grounds of Taman Petanu, with herb gardens too and moringa trees growing everywhere.

Moringa just happens to be one of the most nutritious plants in nature. Put a little of this in your smoothie every day and your immune system will be strengthened greatly.

CREATING HARMONY WITH THE LOCAL WILDLIFE

We share our homes with the wildlife here. There are huge geckos living in our rafters, columns of ants which appear the moment you leave food out on a surface, giant bats which swoop around the house at dusk, eating the mosquitos and then there are the monkeys.

With the abundance of bananas around the homes, they are generally satisfied to take what they need and move on. Though on a few occasions the more brave amongst them have wondered into the house and had a snoop around, looking for food.

The frogs come out from their cool hiding places at night and hop around the house and pathways.
Even in my office, I have many unexpected visitors who I do my best to treat with respect.

This Praying Mantis likes to sit on my computer screen at night, watching me work. The way he rocks from side to side is mesmerising.

Above you can see our compost heap and the lizards that help themselves to our organic waste. In the kitchens there are conveniently placed organic waste shoots, leaving little excuse for not turing it into nutritious compost for the plants.

Even the toilets here have a massively reduced water usage upon flushing and have the ability to separate and collect our faeces & urine for dilution and further use in the fields. Simply put, there is no such thing as waste here.

My baby son Esteban may not remember his time here when he grows up, but there is no question that he has already been influenced by it. He is so very connected to nature and has witnessed and come to love a plethora of wildlife already.

Okay my Steemit friends, that's it for now. I am going to do a few follow-up posts on Taman Petanu because there are so many other eco features I would like to share with you.

I finish this post with a shot of our glorious Milky Way seen in the dead of night from our community, where there is no light pollution. If you look carefully, you can see the intermittent green flashing light of a fire-fly passing through my long-eposure shot from the right of the image.

Hope you enjoyed and keep watching for more...

To learn more about Taman Petanu... or better still to book yourself that much needed educational holiday in paradise, please contact me here and I will set you up. It is with pleasure that I do my best to spread this most important message.