Help me build an ecopod saving people and planet

Help me tackle the climate crisis, youth mental health and homelessness. 

I'm building a working prototype of a low / zero carbon designed modular camping pod

This winter, myself and a friend, also a Social Worker in Birmingham, want to help get people sleeping rough off the streets and use the pod to provide food, warmth, love and friendship that hopefully will lead to more permanent solutions that we can connect people with.


Hi, I'm Richard  and with my family, we love our holidays.

 

The purpose of this fund raiser is to address three main aims:

 

 

We have been fortunate enough to experience the package holiday, of sun, sea, swimming pools, fancy hotels and all you can eat food.

 

But over the years I've realised these holidays cause harm (flying, food waste, exploited labour), but also represent an escape - from work, school, life - and holidays should be about adventures, not running away! Life is for living! Holidays become a bit 'samey'.

 

The package holiday rarely afforded me true freedom and adventure and opportunities to learn about new places and people.

 

 

Then about a year or two before COIVD, as part of an organising team I was in attendance at the David Middleton Sustainability Conference . Where Chris Crean of Friends of the Earth , ran an activity. A post card to your future self. What commitment would you be willing to make to your future safe to save the planet.

 

My commitment was to not fly. My name was mud where my family were concerned. I needn't have bothered, and obviously could not have foreseen that there was at least for 12 months no need to make this commitment.

 

No one could fly realistically and its still difficult and expensive with COVID. Since travel restrictions have lifted, we still can't realistically fly anyway because during COVID I was made redundant.

 

But I wasn't worried because we have a little camper van that has taken us in one holiday very cheaply through 5 countries - the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy and France. Our girls call it the Haynes 5x5 Holiday. And it was amazing!

 

Our van however uses diesel for fuel, camping gas for cooking fuel. There is a 100watt solar panel that powers the fridge and small charging devices. However I could see much more potential for renewable and low carbon footprint family and adventure holidays in a specifically designed pod that can be towed behind a primary vehicle - but it is NOT a caravan.

 

Its a modular ecopod that enables low footprint camping with drying and storage for a multitude of activities for adventure and freedom.

 

 

 

 

The inspiration for this project is the great sadness I have for the loss of our planet. 68% loss of specie populations  since 1970's, 96% of mammal populations are either human (34%) or pets or food (62%), which means just 4% of mammals live in the wild . We live in an almost empty eco system and we need to change.

 

We know corporates and governments will find it hard so we need to do what we can on a system level. Well 3 of us are vegan and vegetarian, we are not flying. COP26 appears to have been a failure  setting us on course for nearly 3 degrees of warming within the century and this will be truly appalling . So what else can our family do?

 

When our eldest daughter Lily was out with us Christmas shopping, at a young age, maybe no more than 5 or 6. Lily noticed a lot of homeless rough sleepers. This is something we have been active in doing our part in trying to help.

 

 

 

CLICK HERE: Meet the Family Helping the Homeless ITV

 

However, I now see that climate change/ crisis/ crime (if you look further in to ecocide your perspective may change like mine and see the climate crisis as a crime), is driving up homelessness through climate induced migration (this is happening now in the UK not just globally).

 

So here is my idea. I'd like help building, a 'modular ecopod':

 

 

 

The use cases will be to:

 

 

So ideally this winter, if I can raise the funds, we want to take the pod in to Birmingham and other cities, and offer a place of warmth, some food (making home made pizzas together with people without a home - a great social activity to connect on a human person to person level). And connect with people who are struggling and at least on below freezing nights, get people off the street.

 

But ideally, talk to them and use our skills (from health, social care and housing backgrounds) to connect them with relevant services and do the online research and the phones calls with them. Not easy when you have not money.

 

If you would like to know more, please get in touch.

 

Will be setting up a social media page to keep people interested up to date with progress.

 

Funding will help towards:

 

 

Timeline

 

The basic specification I would like to achieve is to have the pod on the road for this winter to help rough sleepers

It will definitely not be the finished article, the above spec by then, but what we should be in a position to do is:

Cook pizzas with people sleeping rough and have a warm dry place that is safe from freezing temps and a space to connect with people to signpost to services

The trailer has already been purchased new and first layer of foil air wrap insulation and sealed with foil tape

 

Thank you!

 

If you can help us achieve this stage in time for the harshest of winter and when Christmas comes, that would be amazing. It might even be that we cook a bushcraft/ camper style Christmas meal with people sleeping rough. That would be amazing!