One man. 365 days. No job. No home. Just social media and “an epic digital nomad quest”. This is the story of the Living Ark project. Not to be confused with Noah’s Ark, this one is not a ship, but a sustainable dwelling that looks like a pimped out caravan.
Phil Campbell began his quest on December 1st 2010. Having cleared the first hurdle of acquiring land for the experiment (university grounds at Nottingham), Phil is now onto the second hurdle which is crowd sourcing the funding for the project.
The purpose of the Living Ark is exploring new ways of generating and using alternative technologies and off the grid living. Once the ark is set up, energy permitting, viewers can get a live stream of content and learning through twitter and video conferencing daily. It’s an experiment in social media, documenting Phil’s journey but also an awareness project around sustainable living.
He plans to kit the ark out with a solar shower, composting toilet, sheep’s wool insulation and other green design components. But, before he can get to the build stage, Phil has to explore what financing options exist for buying or mortgaging a zero energy home.
So far he’s put a month’s worth of video content on his blog here sharing his ideas, rational and frustrations in trying to set up the ark. You can support Phil through Indigogo and follow his journey.
Katherine Hui is currently the Social site editor at Green Thing, a web-based public service in London that inspires people to lead greener lives through creative content.
Before this, she worked as the Development Manager at Social Innovation Camp, an organization that encourages people to use web and mobile-based technology to mobilise social change. She oversaw 300 ideas submission and helped build 20 prototypes – five of which have gone on to get further funding or investment.
Katherine’s came over to the UK form Canada in 2007 for an MSc program at the London School of Economics. Before arriving in London, she managed a small environmental start-up in Vancouver called the Canadian Climate Change Alliance.
Katherine is football mad. She is a loyal supporter of Arsenal FC, plays for Islington Borough Ladies FC and coaches for Gunners in Islington in her spare time. Her second favourite hobby is kite surfing and she can sometimes be found chasing the wind.
