Each facility will consist of four (4) groupings of three houses (triplexes) especially designed to create the sense of home and family for all of the children living there. This arrangement will also contribute to the connection and development of community among all of the houses and their occupants.
Land Donated for The Spark of Light Village
The complex will include a large barn for raising goats and chickens for fresh milk and eggs. Additionally, there will be crop acreage surrounding the physical buildings where necessary food, medicinal crops and cash crops along with orchards and beehives will be grown to feed, and help support the village.
The compound will be orderly, clean and beautiful with spacious common grounds, trees, natural and cultivated fields, and well-planned flower, herb, and vegetable gardens surrounding each house.
Each triplex (three adjacent houses) will have the capacity to house 8-12 children. The layout will feature a large living room with a wood stove, large kitchen, five bedrooms and two bathrooms, solar sunspace, and a wrap-around porch on the main floor.
A preliminary cad drawing of the Visitor's/Education Center
The First Phase of building will produce one triplex, the Director's House and the barn and chicken coops. The land will be cleared and graded, orchards and vineyards will be planted, fields parceled and cultivated and gardens created around the houses. We will assess the needs of the existing medical clinic and apply upgrades.
The Second Phase will attach another triplex to the first. Gardens will be planted around the new houses and beehives will be set up, along with the planting of additional orchards and vineyards. Within the community, we will begin the construction of a full service library.
The Third Phase will add another triplex and complete the library. We will also be working with the schools to enhance and upgrade their equipment and buildings. Educational programs in adult literacy, agriculture, and computer science as well as other pertinent classes will be introduced.
The Fourth and Final Phase will add the last triplex. The Visitor's Center, which will also double as an Educational Compound, will be added during this phase. This center and its facilities will be made available for special guests and teachers. The last of the parking lots will be cleared and graded and various pathways/recreation areas will be finished. Also by this time, the orchards, crop fields and gardens will be producing and the beehives will be well established.
Preliminary Arial View of the Spark of Light Complex
Each compound will be constructed as an energy independent facility, utilizing solar/ wind power as well as energy efficient construction. Every building will conserve energy and be built to heat and cool itself with only a minor amount of backup heat from the woodstove when needed. Specific designs for electrical generation, drip irrigation, bio-fuels, etc. are underway and will be finalized within this phase.
Each year, the village will need funding in an ever decreasing amount. At minimum, this facility is projected to be 70-80 percent (70-80%) self-supporting within 5 years of completion.
