Benefits & Considerations: Katywil benefits to homeowners
It's never been easy to predict the future, but it now seems more difficult than ever. Global warming, political instability in the Middle East and elsewhere, our fragile national economy, peak oil, and the likelihood of unfunded or under-funded Social Security and Medicare are just a few of the factors we now face.
Our goal at Katywil is to mitigate as much as possible the effects of these factors for those who live here. The modestly sized, more efficient, passive solar and superinsulated houses, for example, along with possible micro-hydro-produced electricity will greatly decrease anticipated steep rises in utility costs. The very-low-maintenance house exteriors and the small lawn space at Katywil will reduce buyers' maintenance costs. A built-in sprinkler system will lower home insurance costs. Should we evolve as a community and agree to share vehicles, then car insurance, car payments, and fuel costs will shrink.
Houses at Katywil can comprise fewer square feet because of social space, guest rooms, a library, storage, an exercise room, and crafts and woodworking space in the upper and lower community lodges.
On-site gardens, berry patches, beehives, and fruit and nut orchards will lower food costs--even more if we decide to, say, add chickens. Community dinners and parties bring friendship and connectedness. The village, designed for community feeling, but privacy, can offer the advantages of a private home and the benefits of living in a sustainable community.
The site's natural beauty and its rural, but not isolated, location, near the Greenfield, Amherst, Northampton, and Berkshires social, arts, and academic communities can be healing to the soul. And Katywil'ers will very likely be able to stay in their homes longer, thanks to our incorporating Universal Design and Americans with Disabilities Act standards for independent living. We're also using local or regional materials where possible, minimizing transportation costs, and employing low-volatile organic compound (VOC) cabinets, wood, tile, paint, etc. It's all planned with green in mind.