A small, owner-managed village near Pretoria where eight households live around a shared community centre, generate their own power, harvest their own water and share the things most households own alone.
01Vision and principles
NewFuture is a property development where people can live and work in one place, and where most of their energy, water and, over time, food is produced on site. It is an ordinary, legally structured development with four deliberate differences:
- Shared resources reduce private ownership and the cost of living: one solar plant instead of eight, one laundry, shared tools, e-bikes, e-cars and trailers.
- Community reduces loneliness and isolation: shared meals, learning sessions and work mornings are built into the week.
- Self-reliance reduces dependence on utilities and large corporations: off-grid solar, a shared borehole, rainwater, greywater reuse and a biodigester.
- Fresh produce improves health: herb and tea gardens and an orchard on site, with the main farming area on separate land.
The underlying idea is the sharing economy. When a group pools money for a resource, the resource can be bought and run at a higher standard, and it is used far more: a washing machine used every day instead of once a week, one large solar system instead of eight small ones.
02The site
The site under consideration is Portion A of Derdepoort 326-JR, north of Pretoria, off Sysie Road. It is one of three portions on the proposed subdivision (Portion A 1.4 ha, Portion B 1.0 ha, Remainder 1.8 ha), drawn up by Barnard and stamped by the City of Tshwane.
| Area | ≈ 1.4 ha |
|---|---|
| Boundaries | ≈ 89 m north · 146 m east · 95 m south · 159 m west (measured from the 1:1,500 plan, ±3–5 %) |
| Orientation | Long axis ≈ 19° east of true north |
| Access | Proposed 10 m private servitude for right of way and services from Sysie Road, shared with the Remainder, ending in a 25 × 25 m turning circle at the plot’s north-east corner |
| Services servitude | Proposed public and municipal services servitude running east from the turning circle |
| Slope | Contours 1253–1256 m: ≈ 3 m fall from east (high) to west (low) |
| Vegetation | Fully wooded bushveld |
| Climate | Summer rainfall, ≈ 700 mm a year (assumed); winter noon sun ≈ 41°, summer noon sun ≈ 88° |
03Site layout
The layout is a square loop. The road enters through the east gate beside the shared turning area, runs west past the car park at the north end, then turns south into a one-way loop with rounded corners. The loop wraps the commons and the community centre. Eight stands sit around the outside of the loop: three on each long side and two at the south end. The four corners are shared spaces.
Zones, north to south
- Arrival and commercial: a motorised, access-controlled east gate, visitor bays, a solar carport with 33 bays, and the workshop and offices with the co-working space.
- Arrival band: bins, recycling and parcel lockers on the west; eight lock-up storage units on the east, opening straight off the entry road. Nobody’s front door faces the rubbish.
- Residential ring: the loop road, eight stands and four corner pockets.
- Commons: inside the loop, a 40 × 76 m space with the community centre, an event lawn in front, the lapa behind, herb gardens, rain garden and kids’ play.
Why a loop
Every stand fronts the road, so deliveries, moving house, maintenance and emergency vehicles reach every door, while the centre of the village stays car-free. The loop is a 4.5 m shared surface rather than a street: residents park at the north end and walk. The loop is for deliveries, building work, emergencies and e-carts.
04Stands and tiny houses
Each household rents a private stand with road frontage, a utility connection point and room for a house, deck and garden.
| East and west stands (6) | ≈ 27 × 16 m · ≈ 430 m² |
|---|---|
| South stands (2) | ≈ 23.5 × 16 m · ≈ 375 m² |
| House envelope | Up to 12 × 4.5 m: a 40 ft container, a trailer home or a natural build all fit |
| Orientation | Long axis east–west, main glazing north. Houses are turned ≈ 19° inside their stands so they face true north while the stands follow the plot |
| Shading | 0.9 m north eave plus a pergola with a deciduous vine over the north deck: shade in summer, sun in winter |
| Rainwater | 5 kL tank per stand; ≈ 45 m² roof harvests ≈ 25 kL a year for the garden |
| Greywater | Shower and basin water to a mulch basin under bananas and fruit trees |
| Connection | One utility pillar per stand on the road frontage: certified (MID) electricity sub-meter, water meter and network point |
| Boundaries | Indigenous screening hedges between stands |
05The community centre
The centre is the heart of the village: a place for relaxation, connection and community, where people eat together, meet, learn, exercise and do their laundry. Work stays out of it: the co-working space is in the offices beside the workshop. It is a compact two-storey building of about 12.6 × 12.6 m, roughly 318 m² over two floors, with a covered veranda to the north and an outdoor kitchen and braai to the east.
Construction
- Ground floor: compressed earth blocks, 300 mm, pressed from the site’s own soil. Heavy walls hold warmth into the evening and keep the building cool in summer.
- First floor: an insulated timber frame, light and quick to build.
- Floor: a slab over the ground floor, carried out over the veranda as a roof terrace.
- Roof: pitched at 20° with the ridge running north–south: one slope east, one west, both covered in solar panels. Glazed gables north and south.
- Heights: ground floor 3.0 m, eaves ≈ 6.3 m, ridge ≈ 8.6 m.
Ground floor (≈ 159 m², step-free)
Living rooms face north onto the veranda; service rooms line the cooler south side.
| Dining and meeting | 49 m² |
|---|---|
| Chill room, library, games | 34 m² |
| Kitchen (for 30 people) | 25 m² |
| Hall and stair | 18 m² |
| Bathrooms: accessible WC, 2 WCs, 2 showers | 16 m² |
| Laundry and tool library | 10 m² |
| Utility room: battery, inverter, water treatment, network | 7 m² |
| Covered veranda | 38 m² |
| Outdoor kitchen and braai | 18 m² |
A folding wall between the dining room and the chill room turns them into one 83 m² hall for the Sunday learning sessions and lunches.
First floor (≈ 159 m², stairs only)
| Yoga and dance studio (sprung timber floor) | 83 m² |
|---|---|
| Fitness studio | 44 m² |
| Landing and stair | 13 m² |
| Changing, WC, shower (above the kitchen) | 11 m² |
| Mat and equipment store | 8 m² |
| Roof terrace over the veranda | 22 m² |
06Commons and shared spaces
About 3,850 m² of the site is shared open space: the commons inside the loop plus the four corner pockets.
Event lawn
North of the centre in full winter sun, opening straight off the veranda for gatherings, games and outdoor sessions.
Lapa
Behind the centre on the south side, next to the braai: a shaded, quieter gathering place away from the event lawn. There is no pool: it adds a lot of cost and is a risk for small children.
Herb and tea gardens
Beds on both sides of the centre, close to the kitchen.
Rain garden
On the low west side, collecting runoff from the road swale.
Kids’ play
In the south of the commons, visible from the centre and the stands.
Corner pockets
Quiet garden with fire pit (NW), shared orchard (NE), biodigester (SW), retained bush (SE).
07Arrival, parking and commercial
- East gate straight off the shared turning area: motorised, with access control, and six visitor and delivery bays beside it.
- Security: a high electric fence around the whole site.
- Solar carport with 33 bays in two rows: about three per household plus spares, enough for the shared electric cars and some private cars. Charging for e-cars and e-bikes is built into the carport. Residents park here and walk home; the carport roof is the village’s main solar plant.
- Workshop and offices in the north-west corner: a workshop with common tools for wood and metal on the ground floor, and offices with the co-working space above.
- Storage units: one enclosed 6 × 3 m lock-up per household, eight in all, in the arrival band beside the entry road, so they are easy to reach by car or bakkie.
08Energy, water and services
The village is designed to run off-grid. Power comes from the solar roofs and water from the shared borehole on the adjacent property; both follow the loop in rings. The centre’s utility room is the plant room, and every stand connects at one pillar on its road frontage.
| Supply in | Water from the shared borehole on the adjacent property; fibre along the 10 m servitude. A grid connection only if the City of Tshwane requires one, and then kept on standby, not used |
|---|---|
| Solar | Off-grid. Roof space for ≈ 80 kWp on the carport and ≈ 34 kWp on the centre (estimates at ≈ 0.2 kWp per m²) |
| Storage | Battery and inverter in the centre’s utility room |
| Distribution | Power and fibre in a ring in the outer road verge; water in a ring in the inner verge |
| Metering | 8 utility pillars, each with a certified (MID) electricity sub-meter and a water meter, so levies follow actual use |
| Water | From the shared borehole, treated centrally in the utility room (filters and UV); rainwater for the gardens |
| Internet | Fibre to the utility room and Wi-Fi across the whole site |
| Rainwater | Centre roof ≈ 105 kL a year · carport ≈ 230 kL a year · each stand ≈ 25 kL a year |
| Stormwater | The road falls inwards to a planted swale that drains west to the rain garden |
| Sewage | Sewer in the road, falling west by gravity to a biodigester and reed bed in the south-west corner. The digestate becomes compost for the gardens and the agricultural area |
| Greywater | Treated on each stand in mulch basins |
09Build phases
Each phase is lived in before the next one is paid for, so the village proves itself as it grows.
- Base camp. Electric fence, motorised east gate, gravel loop, entry road and services trench. Four containers under one shade roof where the centre will stand: energy and water, kitchen with a covered eating area, workshop and storage, and bathrooms. Residents rent stands for tents and caravans. First carport row and first solar panels.
- Tiny houses. Each household builds on its own stand, either in a container, on a large trailer or from natural materials. Utility pillars are connected, and each stand gets its rain tank and greywater basin. The roads get their final surface. The base camp carries on as the shared kitchen and bathrooms.
- Community centre. The permanent two-storey centre, the lapa, lawns and corner pockets, the second carport row, the workshop and offices, and the storage units. The start-up containers move on to storage or the workshop.
10Ownership and governance
- The property is owned and developed by a private company, NewFuture (Pty) Ltd, which starts with two directors: Johann and Saskia.
- Stands are rented from the company. Residents own their own movable tiny homes.
- Later, committed residents can buy into the company and become part-owners.
- The monthly rental includes use of all facilities in the community centre and the commercial area.
- Monthly levies repay the financing used to set up the infrastructure. Metered power and water are billed on actual use.
- Labour: residents do as much of the work as possible. Each resident either works 8 hours a month or pays the equivalent.
- Governance: Johann and Saskia develop and run the property at first. As residents commit and buy in, more control passes to them step by step.
11Community life
Saturday mornings
Project mornings from 9am to 1pm, followed by a shared lunch in the community centre.
Sunday mornings
Shared learning from 10am to 12pm (yoga, meditation, books, practical skills), then a community lunch from 1pm to 2pm.
Shared resources
Central solar power, central water treatment, laundry, shared electric cars, e-bikes, trailers, Wi-Fi internet, community gardens, composting, waste management, work spaces, tools and the workshop.
12Key figures
| Site | ≈ 1.4 ha (Portion A) |
|---|---|
| Households | 8 |
| Private stands | 6 × ≈ 430 m² + 2 × ≈ 375 m² ≈ 3,330 m² |
| Shared open space | ≈ 3,850 m² |
| Loop road | 4.5 m wide, ≈ 240 m, one-way |
| Community centre | ≈ 318 m² over two floors + 38 m² veranda + 22 m² terrace + 18 m² outdoor kitchen |
| Parking | 33 carport bays (≈ 3 per household + spares) + 6 visitor bays |
| Storage | 8 lock-ups, 6 × 3 m each |
| Security | Perimeter electric fence; motorised gate with access control |
| Water | Shared borehole on the adjacent property |
| Solar roof space | ≈ 115 kWp possible (estimate) |
| Rainwater | ≈ 535 kL a year from all roofs (estimate) |
13Open questions and next steps
- Zoning and consent: confirm with the City of Tshwane what is needed for eight dwellings and the community and commercial uses on Portion A.
- Exact survey: get corner coordinates from the SG diagram or surveyor, and confirm whether the turning circle sits inside Portion A or on the servitude.
- Tree survey: map significant and protected trees before fixing stand and building positions.
- Fire access: check the loop width and corner radii with Tshwane fire services, and plan for bushfire risk.
- Shared borehole: a written agreement (and servitude) with the neighbouring owner, plus yield and water-quality tests.
- Grid connection: confirm whether the City of Tshwane requires one for approval.
- Electric fence: must meet South African electric-fence regulations and be certified.
- Structure: engineer’s check of the timber first floor on earth-block walls, and of the terrace slab.
- Tool library: it currently shares ≈ 10 m² with the laundry. Consider moving the tools to the workshop building.
- Agricultural area: the farming land is separate and will be planned next.
- Extra land: the plot is 1.4 ha rather than the original 1 ha brief. Decide whether to keep eight larger stands or plan for more stands later.