The BCI provides the growing populations of developing regions with reliable, renewable energy, clean water and other basic services, building resilient communities, facilitating local food production and reducing carbon emissions. We will bootstrap a change in the way of living and housing by providing communities with tools to enable their self-development and offer our innovative infrastructure model to other communities.
The BCI partners with prominent global consultants to analyse and value the existing infrastructure of potential development sites and conduct feasibility studies of solution options, such as onsite renewable energy and water filtration systems. This process is the basis of a site assessment framework that can be replicated at any potential project location.
The infrastructure objectives of the BCI are to team with leading experts in their areas of sustainable infrastructure solutions, to implement cutting-edge technology and world “best practice”, to share knowledge with local communities and ultimately to lay the foundations for resilient growth capacity.
The major components of our sustainable infrastructure strategy are outlined below:
ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY:
As the technology matures and renewables become more cost-effective, microgrids become a viable option. This coupled with energy storage systems will provide rural communities with affordable and clean energy. For each potential site, the BCI will evaluate the feasibility to implement cutting-edge solutions, such as ultra-efficient onsite solar PV, hydrogen storage, biomass and hydropower technologies.
COMMUNICATIONS:
Access to communications technology provides a direct link to online markets and numerous financial services that could facilitate a more sustainable local economy. The BCI will connect communities to the digital marketplace by selecting sites with proximity to fibre-optic networks and will also assess potential alternatives such as satellite-based telecom technology.
ROADS:
Alternative road materials and construction techniques lower installation costs for rural communities. Various sustainable solutions have been developed in recent years specifically designed for developing market conditions. The BCI will adopt global “best practices” to optimize access to and from the community and will also ensure that new roads meet high standards of quality, drainage and durability.
WATER:
Technical difficulties in finding sufficient water sources and the high costs associated with drilling for water pose a challenge. However, there have been significant advancements in clean water technology which the BCI will explore, to find a range of cost-optimal solutions best-suited for each location, such as building or extending water schemes and combining them with proper treatment and sanitisation.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT:
The BCI will build communities that maximize green vegetated space with native and adapted species that naturally reduce runoff and better protect the community against intense future storms. Wherever possible, our stormwater management infrastructure will capture and store rainwater for re-use. The BCI team will also use climate change projection models to avoid building communities in flood or drought-prone areas.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE:
With overall infrastructure improvement comes better support for local agriculture. Urban agricultural producers in the BCI communities will benefit from greater access to markets and resources and will be provided with the necessary skills. Sustainable agriculture strategies come in many forms (e.g. agroforestry, permaculture, urban farming, hydroponic greenhouses) and will be selected based on locational feasibility.
WASTE:
The BCI communities will be constructed and operated using closed-loop principles. Our approach will be to minimise waste production during the construction phase and to maximise recycling efforts. The BCI also aims to improve local community awareness toward waste. Infrastructure and knowledge transfer will be provided to support recycling and green waste management (e.g. composting), potentially including biomass solutions.