Kulyasova A.A. Sustainable initiative in St.-Petersburg and Leningrad region: Ecogroups // Sustainable Baltic – the First Steps.
Eds. E. Mahonina & A. Klecina. St.-Petersburg: Green World. 1999. p. 14-17.
Kulyasova A.A.
1. ECO DOM (ECOHOUSE)
Status: operating project
Geography: St.-Petersburg
Time/duration: started in the end of 1998, ongoing
Characteristics of the territory:
This building is located in Moscowsky district of St.-Petersburg, 9/2
Pulkovskaja street. The district is mainly residential area with apartment blocks. They
belong either to municipality or to housing cooperatives (HC) - houses built by
expenses of residents. Residential districts are often called "sleeping districts" since
they are far from the city center and from the main city enterprises and institutions.
This house was built in 1966. It has 470 residents (60% of them are pensioners), 287
apartments, 9 stories, 25 m high, 1.700 square meters, flat roof of 600 square meters.
The residents produce 300 kg food garbage daily in the summertime, 200 kg daily in
the wintertime.
The house belongs to HC so it traditionally has an elective body of selfgovernment, the Board of the Housing Cooperative. This is an advantage over
municipal houses where in fact the residents do not know each other and have no
experience of joint activity.
This typical building is going to serve as a model for St.-Petersburg and other
Russian cities. This project aims to support citizens starting from the grass-root level
in order to create a more democratic, efficient and sustainable society.
The key idea is to use the people living in the house to organize the work as
well as be responsible for the saving of common resources. Components of the project
are recycling, energy saving, compost and rooftop kitchen-gardening.
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Goals:
To develop and test the replicable model of city sustainable community;
To raise environmental awareness of community members;
To teach leaders the skills to share their experience with other interested
communities.
Background information:
In 1993 by the initiative of the Chairwoman of the Housing Cooperative Board
(Alia Sokol) the HC took part in the program of the Center for Civil Initiatives
"Kitchen-gardens in the city". On the flat roof of the building a kitchen-garden was
established. The agrarian program of the Center for Civil Initiatives was finished
because the financing from abroad had been stopped. Then the initiative group of
residents found a non-governmental organization "The St.-Petersburg club of city
horticulture" and continued the program "Kitchen-garden on a roof themselves. In the
cellar they started to breed red Californian worms which produce compost of food
wastes thus helping to raise the soil fertility.
In 1997 kitchen-garden on the roof started to cover the maintenance expenses
due to sale of grown seedlings. At the same time compost production exceeded the
minimal required level. Thus the closed resource cycle (kitchen garden - food wastes vermi-composting - kitchen garden) had emerged. Activists of "The St.-Petersburg
club of city horticulture" started to tell about the results of their program "Kitchen-
1
Kulyasova A.A. Sustainable initiative in St.-Petersburg and Leningrad region: Ecogroups // Sustainable Baltic – the First Steps.
Eds. E. Mahonina & A. Klecina. St.-Petersburg: Green World. 1999. p. 14-17.
garden on a roof at all public meetings, and the representatives of the TACIS
Environmental Awareness Raising Program (St.-Petersburg) proposed to develop a
joint project "EcoDom".
Programs on population training in eco-groups in consumption culture,
resource conservation (within as well as outside the building), separate waste
collection, and in organization of small enterprises on the basis of these programs
were added to already existing activity (composting and roof gardening).
In addition to the hot water meter a heat meter was installed in the building
with support of the TACIS program. It showed that in winter months the house
consumes 10% of heat less, and in spring 30% of heat less than it paid for before
(according to the city average norms). So, the Housing Cooperative can only pay for
resources that have been consumed in fact.
Saved financial resources are used to maintain the building and for other
needs. Also the commercial center of the heat accounting showed that the central
heating system had been badly regulated and needed to be repaired. It means that all
previous years the municipal service maintained the heating system inadequately. As
far as it was not the only complaint of the Cooperative members against their District
Communal Service (DCS) they decided to stop using their services and to start
maintaining and repairing the house themselves.
Project description:
The new decision of house inhabitants to maintain the house themselves gives
a real economic effect. In this case the Board uses the saved resources which were
paid to District Communal Service before. The Board defines the list of priority works
according to the residents' interests. HC has independently employed two persons who
take care of the stairs, yard and pavement in front of the house. Apartment owners are
mainly professional engineers. This resource started to be actively involved, two
residents who have special education and a permission to work with electric and
heating systems will be officially appointed to supervising positions.
Furthermore the development of small business enterprises has been started.
The project "City mini-farm on a roof " (2 vacant positions) is already drawn and the
project of chicory growing in the cellar (2-3 positions) is being developed.
The 1st stage of the separate waste collection is collection of food wastes to
feed the compost producing worms. This activity is already carried out by twenty
activists of "The city club of horticulture". To transport other wastes contracts with
"Autopark Ne 11"(motor car firm) and waste treatment plant in Yanino were signed.
The next scheme was developed: some fractions (plastic, glass, scrap paper) will be
separated from the wastes when collecting.
They will be sold to enterprises dealing with recyclable and hazardous wastes
that need special treatment. Other mixed wastes will be collected in a separate
container with an inscription on it "9/2 Pulkovskaja street, Experiment". It will be sent
to the plant where it will be proceeded for agricultural utilization. Presently, the
campaign is carried on among the house residents, and the closed area for separate
waste collection is being equipped (to prevent pollution by residents from other
houses who do not participate in the experiment).
The project has started in May 1999. In order to improve the effectiveness of
the project, cooperation and support from local self-government bodies and utility
agencies and companies is obviously to be welcomed. This is the next stage of the
project, currently being developed. All this happens gradually and has direct link with
the "EcoTeams" program under support of the TACIS foundation.
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Kulyasova A.A. Sustainable initiative in St.-Petersburg and Leningrad region: Ecogroups // Sustainable Baltic – the First Steps.
Eds. E. Mahonina & A. Klecina. St.-Petersburg: Green World. 1999. p. 14-17.
From December to April six EcoTeams had lessons in the house. People
learned to save resources and to correct their consumption in order to reduce pressure
upon environment. The groups are mainly attended by elderly people and teenagers.
One of EcoTeams consisted of chairpersons of Housing Cooperative Boards of
neighbouring houses.
The "EcoDom" experience is likely to be supported. In autumn the lessons will
go on. All the elements of the "EcoDom" project are to be implemented until the end
of 1999. Subsequently the project will be expanded.
Partners:
'EcoDom" is the joint project of "St.-Petersburg club of city horticulture" and
the TACIS Environmental Awareness Raising Program. There are partner
relationships with city and district administrations, local self-government, All-Russian
Institute of Crop Production, All-Russian Institute of Plants Protection, the "Fart"
company fabricating the products of vermi-composting, and with the waste treatment
plant.
Financing:
This project was financed from different sources. Now it is supported by the
TACIS Environmental Awareness Raising Program.
Results:
Using of water and heat meters allowed to reduce costs for communal services
of the house. The kitchen-garden on the roof is paying its way and provides food
products for inhabitants with low income, joint activities bring the inhabitants
together. The house neighbourhood became cleaner because of introduced separate
waste collection.
Barriers and conflicts:
District Communal Service possesses controller's emergency office and it
exerts pressure on HC threatening it not to provide emergency services if the contract
on maintaining services would not be signed. HC attempts to solve this problem with
the assistance of City Administration because they need the authority decision to ban
the District Communal Service monopoly on emergency services. The residents 25-40
years old are not active in the EcoTeams and other house environmental activities.
They find it unimportant for their everyday life, and mostly feel concern about
survival needs. It is not clear yet how to stimulate their motivation.
Replicability:
The project replication is an inalienable part of the project itself since one of
its tasks is creation of the legal precedent and drawing the package of working
documentation that could be easily used by interested groups in St.-Petersburg and
other Russian cities and towns.
Contact information:
Valentin Yemelin, Project Director, telephone/fax: +7(812)273-21-13, e-mail:
yemelin@rocketmail.com; Alexander Gavrilov, Project manager, telephone:
+7(812)356-99-81; Alla Sokol, Project coordinator, (Chairwoman of the Housing
Cooperative Board), telephone: +7(812) 127-00-80.
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