Part #3: Who Builds TerraCores and Why it Matters

Right now, we do. We are Terra Global Developments (I’m co-founder, on the board, and currently wear two hats: COO and CTO), and our emphasis upon “the ability to afford” (vs “affordable”) means that we orchestrate truly holistic solutions with integrated wrap-around services where everyone lends a hand.

That includes:

• Veterans

• Parents priced out of stable housing

• Local developers looking for a more ethical model

• Policy makers looking to reduce homelessness without massive overhead

• And communities who are tired of being told to wait for permission
  
  

Why It Matters

In recent months we’ve been asked to reconsider the redevelopment and reunification of a country as they mend the scars caused by war. The TerraCores model is a perfect fit for a country prepared to become their region’s newest start-up nation.

TerraCores aren’t a master plan. It’s a starter seed.

It’s a way to scale down complexity and scale up community, so that what used to cost $10M in bureaucracy and decades in permitting can be prototyped for 1/10th the cost and 10x the humanity.

And the truth is: we’ve already started.

Wait. Haven’t there been other models like TerraCores?

Job creation and vocational education is built into the TerraCores plan, which makes use of the Bene Esse business model, ensuring the communities are not reliant upon extractive models that create a dependent and subordinate population.

Yes.

We’re not reinventing the wheel; we’re making sure it keeps rolling when the pavement ends.

That’s the TerraCores model: not a break from the past, but a system built to thrive where the old road gives out.

Because for millions of people - veterans, grandmothers, young families - the systems we were promised never showed up, but that doesn’t mean we wait. It means we build.

For those new to the concept of Minimally Viable Communities (MVCs) - what we now call TerraCores - imagine a replicable building block of resilient, self-governing life. TerraCores begins with a small cluster of families or neighbors who agree to a social contract and start by meeting essential needs (food, safety, communication, learning) before moving into shared economic participation.

Let’s briefly discuss prior models and how the TerraCores model improves upon them:

1. South Africa’s RDP Housing (Reconstruction and Development Programme)

• What it was: A post-apartheid effort to deliver basic housing, water, and electricity to underserved populations.

• TerraCores takeaway: RDP proved that government-backed housing can scale fast, but without economic integration, these communities often remained isolated and under-resourced. Furthermore: the quality of household construction wasn’t altogether high-quality.

• TerraCores evolution: We embed governance, micro-economy, and shared ownership into the pod itself, rather than relying on downstream support.
  
  

2. Israeli Kibbutzim

• What it was/is: Collective agricultural and residential communities based on socialist and Zionist principles. Often successful in tight-knit, mission-aligned groups.

• TerraCores takeaway: The kibbutz model demonstrated that shared ownership and labor could sustain a community long-term.

• TerraCores evolution: TerraCores offer opt-in cooperation and economic diversity without requiring ideological conformity or full collectivism.
  
  

3. Co-Housing Communities (Denmark, U.S.)

• What it is: Privately owned homes clustered around shared amenities (kitchens, gardens, rec areas), with emphasis on intentional neighborliness.

• TerraCores takeaway: Design fosters interaction, shared responsibilities lower costs.

• TerraCores evolution: We layer in economic systems (marketplace, childcare, food production) and governance infrastructure to sustain the model even across varying income levels.
  
  

4. “Safe Rest Villages” (Portland, Oregon)

• What it is: City-funded transitional villages for houseless individuals, often in tiny homes or shelter pods.

• TerraCores takeaway: Physical infrastructure alone isn’t enough; when wraparound services were removed due to funding cuts, success rates dropped.

• TerraCores evolution: TerraCores design for economic self-sufficiency and governance from the start, not as a downstream dependency.
  
  

5. The Farm (Tennessee, U.S.)

• What it is: A self-sufficient intentional community founded in the 1970s, based on principles of shared labor, vegetarianism, and pacifism.

• TerraCores takeaway: Values-aligned communities can thrive, but often rely on lifestyle homogeneity and closed-system thinking.

• TerraCores evolution: We design for pluralism, with modular systems that flex across cultures and environments.
  
  

6. Tiny Home Villages

• What it is: Small-footprint, low-cost housing communities that prioritize affordability and speed of deployment.

• TerraCores takeaway: Proves the value of scaling down, but often lacks integration of water, food, governance, and economic opportunity.

• TerraCores evolution: TerraCores are systems, not just shelters, with coordinated infrastructure across housing, food, water, and governance.
  
  

7. EcoVillages / Transition Towns

• What it is: Environmentally sustainable, often semi-off-grid communities that focus on permaculture, local economies, and consensus governance.

• TerraCores takeaway: Aspirational, beautiful, and values-driven, but often not accessible to low-income participants or replicable at scale.

• TerraCores evolution: TerraCores retain ecological wisdom but use digital tools and financial strategies to make the model distributable, not exclusive.

Convergence: Minimally-Viable meets Effective, Low-Cost Miniaturization

The TerraCores model is ideal for a nation state that may be interested in providing a “rooted” model for community that’s ready-made to receive a large influx of persons from another region, such as a people fleeing a natural disaster or a war. As a reminder: until 2018 I served as CTO for an Amsterdam-based company that created tools for self-governance for stateless and refugee populations, and our work earned us the UNESCO NetExplo award for our work with Syrian refugees. The TerraCores model incorporates many “lessons-learned” from these experiences

Technological miniaturization has collapsed the cost, footprint, and friction of what used to require industrial-scale infrastructure, and that opens the door for localized, modular, and cooperative systems like TerraCores to thrive.

Here are some powerful, real-world examples:

1. Solar Energy: From Utility-Scale to Rooftop

Then:

• A 1-megawatt solar installation in 1977 cost over $80,000 per kW.

• Required massive land, financing, permitting, and grid infrastructure.

• Primarily utility-owned, centralized, and inflexible.

Now:

• A home solar system now costs around $2.50 per watt installed.

• Portable solar generators like the EcoFlow Delta 2 Max or Jackery Explorer can power appliances, recharge tools, and run communications systems; no grid required.

• Entire village microgrids now operate on repurposed shipping containers.
  
  

Implication for TerraCores: Small pods can deploy solar incrementally - powering kitchens, devices, or entire clusters - without waiting for grid hookups or utility approvals.

2. Water Reuse & On-Site Treatment

Then:

• Greywater treatment and rain capture were industrial or military-scale operations.

• On-site septic or treatment required state permits, heavy machinery, and routine pumping.

Now:

• Greywater filtration kits are available at hardware stores.

• Systems like Bio-Microbics FAST or EcoFlo coco filters offer compact, low-energy onsite treatment.

• Atmospheric water generators (like EcoloBlue or Watergen) can now pull clean water from humid air, even in arid climates.

Implication for TerraCores: Water doesn’t need to come from a utility monopoly. It can be captured, reused, and treated locally, freeing communities from both scarcity and bureaucracy.

3. Net-Zero & Modular Construction

Then:

• Building energy-efficient or net-zero homes meant luxury premiums and architect-led design.

• Construction was slow, labor-intensive, and required high land and utility infrastructure costs.

Now:

• Pre-fab modular builders (e.g. Boxabl, Mighty Buildings, Plant Prefab) offer factory-built, zero-energy homes with integrated HVAC, solar, and water systems.

• Rammed earth, hempcrete, and compressed earth block (CEB) techs have been democratized by YouTube, CNC tooling, and local fabrication co-ops.

Implication for TerraCores: A pod of 3–5 homes can be built fast, off-grid, and in compliance with modern performance standards, often with local labor and reclaimed materials.

4. Communications & Governance Infrastructure

Then:

• Community organizing and governance required in-person meetings, flyers, long timelines, and opaque bureaucracy.

• Only institutions had secure voting, reputation, and record-keeping tools.

Now:

• Platforms like 214 Alpha offer communities turnkey governance, secure chat, identity verification, voting, arbitration, and banking - all from a low-cost phone.

• LoRa mesh networks and Starlink RV kits allow Internet access even far from fiber.
  
  

Implication for TerraCores: Governance, decision-making, and trust systems no longer depend on municipalities. Communities can govern themselves.

What once required grid-scale capital, federal permission, or city zoning now fits in a pod, on a phone, or on a roof. That’s what makes TerraCores not just feasible, but inevitable.

Up Next: Part 4 - How bundling “good enough” systems at scale changes everything