Envisioning the Future Development of Oude Molen Eco Village

Abstract

Oude Molen Eco Village is a community of approximately twenty residents and twenty micro-enterprises in Cape Town started by a group of social entrepreneurs to preserve the unique potential of the land. Oude Molen has created a proposal for future development that encourages social, communal, and sustainable growth.  The goal of our project was to create a virtual three dimensional model that brings the Eco Village’s written vision to life in hopes to gain support from the Provincial Government and other stakeholders.

Introduction

Oude Molen Eco Village (OMEV) is a community located in Cape Town, South Africa that holds potential for a broad range of sustainable development opportunities including job creation, tourism development, environmental education, organic permaculture farming, hosting of cultural events, and renewable energy technology. Eco villages are communities that strive to reach these ideals by merging the principals of social, ecological, cultural, and economic sustainability. Oude Molen began as a vision by a social entrepreneur in 1997. Starting as an abandoned and vandalized mental institution, the area was transformed through the efforts of multiple entrepreneurs to a village hosting seventy-five micro-enterprises at its peak. The property was advanced through personal dedication; however, there has been difficulties obtaining a long-term lease for the property from the Provincial Government, and as a result investing in the property is risky for tenants.

The Provincial Government is reportedly looking to use the area in Oude Molen to develop commercial building and low-cost housing establishments. Current residents of OMEV are also hoping to make developments to create employment and housing opportunities, while embodying eco-village principals.  The Social Development Resource Centre (SDRC) is an organisation within Oude Molen trying to achieve this goal. They put together a planning document of their ideas and objectives for future developments in OMEV.  This document addresses issues of housing, jobs, and open space, and will be presented to the Provincial Government as an alternative to their current plan.  Oude Molen has the opportunity to lend itself as a self-sustaining, income generating, diverse cultural, and green public space, which could be used as a model for other communities.

Final Results

Executive Summary

Video Presentation