PAL INITIATIVES
Think Solar !
The sun is the ultimate source of energy, and on Kaua'i it is abundant. We can all benefit by tapping into its resources and it is a key element to creating Permanently Affordable Living. Different types of solar panels can be used to heat water or create electricity. With solar systems household gas and electric bills can be reduced to little or no cost.
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Solar photo voltaic panels generate electricity for all your households needs. Most systems are connected to the power grid and when generating a surplus, provide a energy credit to the homeowner. At night when the sun is not generating electricity the household energy is supplied by the electric company. Systems that are "off the grid" use batteries to store the energy created during the day for use at night.
There are two types of active solar water heating systems; direct and indirect. Direct circulation systems circulate household water through the collectors on the roof and into the home. Indirect circulation systems circulate a non-freezing, heat-transfer fluid through the collectors and then water is made hot through a heat exchanger.
ATUs- What We Must Do!
ATU stands for Alternative Treatment Unit, Aerobic Treatment Unit or Advanced Treatment Unit. These are waste treatment systems that are different from traditional septic tanks. Generally they are more efficient and are better for the environment. They can be scaled to meet the needs of an entire community or just one house. Currently on Kaua'i, septic system and cesspool runoff create an environment disaster in our oceans and waterways during and after every rain. ATU's are a way to build affordable living that respects and protects the environment.
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Aerobic Treatment Units (ATUs) are similar to standard septic systems in that they use natural processes to treat wastewater. But unlike conventional systems, ATUs also use oxygen to break down organic matter, much the same as municipal wastewater treatment systems, but in a scaled-down version.
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Because ATUs decompose organic solids quickly, the wastewater leaving the system is cleaner. ATUs are useful in environmentally sensitive areas or locations that are less suitable for conventional or gravity flow septic systems, such as inappropriate soil conditions where the water table is too high to allow the drain field to operate effectively.
YIGBY - "Yes In God's Backyard"
The movement of YIGBY - Yes in God's Backyard - is dissolving NIMBY - Not In My Backyard - and BANANA - Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone ! YIGBY is an initiative to rapidly activate faith community properties, on Kauai, for the greater good to provide services and develop Permanently Affordable Living to solve the housing crisis.
E Komo Mai
E Komo Mai is an initiative to help the County of Kauai simplify the discretionary approval process to create affordable living so the affordable housing developers who have left the island will return to the island with their funding and resources. We will continue our success at accelerating the entitlement and development process by streamlining approval and construction processes, with the help of little-known statutes and good relationships with the Mayor, many County Council Members and Planning & Building Departments, etc.
Truly and Permanently Affordable Housing
This Permanently Affordable Living community is a prototype designed by PAL Kauai's "Permaculture Consultant" - Jenny Pell - as a walk to work community and includes shared transportation, solar power, water catchment, permeable concrete, ATUs to handle wastewater, edible landscape and community gardens, a business incubator and more. Container construction similar to the units described above are designed to be placed on site during construction to provide housing in months rather than years, or more. PAL Kauai is actively engaged in negotiations for the construction of this site and continually seeking properties for similar projects.