Banyan Treehouse School
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first steps towards a Green Economic Zone
Independent School
Banyan Treehouse School is a fantastic Tropical Jungle Sanctuary. So far, it exists as an afforestation and construction project for a free and independent boarding school in Zambia. Planning stages are concluded.
A novel method, developed by German Engineering Bureau TSPC using thousands of fast growing vines in a special pattern, will grow SuperTrees able to support multi-story treehouses. The method has been published.
The Treehouse School will open the invisible gates to Nature and Sciences with daily experiences, fun and adventure. Education will be a process of self-determination and individual support the the bright-minded children of Zambia.
Dormitories
Each treehouse for 5 children has a modern kitchen and a bathroom with two showers/toilets. TSPC* air purification systems will remove all odors, CO2, moisture and insects in all rooms. The smart ventilation is also the central heating- and cooling unit, connected to a powerful Seasonal Heat Storage underground.
There will be state-of-the-art water treatment with bio-gas production.
*TS Prototype-Creation in Germany is the construction engineering bureau behind the project. Development of BTHS started in 2021, the R&D for SuperTrees begun in 2006 for a Desert Greening Urban Development Masterplan in Ras Al Khaimah. UAE
Banyan trees
From a construction viewpoint the Strangler Fig, or Banyan tree, is a miracle. It is a fast growing vine commencing growth from any location where seeds fall. Aerial roots and branches have the capacity to gently grow over any surface and shape. Load-bearing SuperTree structures can therefore be created within a few years placing thousands of plants on a tower, or living Host-SuperTree (TSPC IP).
Prop roots growing into secondary trunks supporting branches, make the Banyan more stable than any other tree. It is resistant to wildfires, storms, earthquakes, flooding and logging. Roots have been found 120m deep and the height reaches 70m under natural conditions.
Children
need Adventure
...Excitement, Challenges, Fantasy and Mystery.
They need Inspiration and Beauty.
We owe them and we are responsible, now that we have the opportunity, to create better Architecture and Infrastructure...
Scale - Speed - Self-Assembly
20,000 Banyan trees will be planted for each module of 20 SuperTrees and connected to resemble the ancient trees in India. In a specific combination with other plants and construction the SuperTrees will be able to support heavy treehouses. A module for 100 children will cover 3 hectares. The school will have a Food-forest and Permaculture garden, a tree- and Bamboo plantation for construction material.
The building is mostly created by Natural Molecular Self-Assembly in which CO2, sunlight and water are converted into the load-bearing structure in situ - the ultimate sustainable and regenerative Architecture including the closed water cycles.
services and jobs
The project will create many good jobs in several companies. There will be housing, sports- and music facilities, community dining and a kindergarden for the on-site staff.
Health care will be provided through a doctors practice. A general store will be located at the entry gate, with free potable water, open to the neighborhood.
A healthy fast food joint according to the wishes of the students, staff and guests is envisioned.
We plan to add one module each year until a campus with 200 treehouses for 1000 students is established. During that time Banyan Treehouse School will evolve into a Green Economic Zone. About 100 businesses, community services and other projects are planned so far.
Green Economic Zone
The Campus with 1000 students, staff and companies will provide jobs for many local construction companies. Hundreds of new tree-nurseries in the area are required to raise the 50,000 trees and Bamboo plants.
600,000 poles of all sizes will be needed. Kiri-trees and Giant reed will be raised on site. Construction companies can open up new branches for the processing and value editing of Bamboo construction profiles. Knowledge transfer from Germany to local companies will accelerate the growth of production and quality of products.
Resilient, decentralized water- and energy infrastructure is the foundation for BTHS and will spread in the region.
Campus Design
The 20 treehouses of each module are connected to the main building via canopy walk-ways at 8m height. Wheelchair access is provided to all areas on solid, illuminated walkways. Children from all over the country will come to visit the fantastic forest, botanical garden and enjoy the water features.
The lucky children living in the luxurious Boarding School will not have to walk for miles to get to school, through traffic, or the savannah where wild animals can attack. Not even stray dogs can reach the children in the golden zone under the canopies of the trees. They enjoy fresh air and Beauty each day.
image: design for main building with classrooms
SuperTrees with main facilities
Strategy
All afforestation will be draught- and wildfire resistant and not endangered by logging in the future. There is no point in planting more than a few trees if the long term safety can not be ensured. Trees and forests are long term projects.
BTHS is building relationships, people, networks and resources. We will generate new water, fertile soil and clean air. The on-site water treatment will provide irrigation water for the Super-Trees in the dry season and energy for cooking all year.
The low running costs for teachers, staff and some of the food not grown on-site, will be covered with tuition from a few percent of foreign-, or paying Zambian students.
Triciah Nchimunya Mwaamba
Mrs. Mwaamba is the advisor to BTHS, future owner and CEO. She is an exceptionally accomplished personality and professional in many ways. She grew up in a SDA church where she showed rare leadership qualities. During her time in Zambian boarding school, she became renown by engagement in multiple clubs, her initiative and leadership. She founded the "Young Farmers Club" which had up to 150 attendees 2-4 times a week. Her stories are being told to students till today. Mrs. Mwaamba speaks the 5 main languages of Zambia and English as native speaker. She is a self-made business woman and tailor living in Germany since 2021. She is the most loving, caring wife and mother that you`ll ever meet.
Nicol-André Berdellé
Mr. Berdellé is the founder and developer of BTHS. He has 4 decades of experiences in Social Entrepreneurship having grown up in the Pentecostal church.
With his company TSPC he has been working on projects featuring parts of BTHS and the Green Economic Zone for 27 years.
He has been working with the «Egyptian Presidential Advisory Council of Senior Scientists and Experts» for water solutions, afforestation and green urban development since 2010. His area of specialization is the combination of sustainable settlement design with the restoration of eco-systems.
Triciah and Nico are married with two wonderful daughters. They live in the Rhein-Main area of Germany.
Banyan trees
Kapok trees
Befree Thinktank
BTHS has been one of the first projects of Befree Thinktank set in motion in 2020. The active think tank for projects in Zambia, Egypt, Goa, Hainan, Sochi and Russias Northern territories works on the roll-out of previously developed IP of TS Prototype-Creation for Natural Restoration and Re-creation of Forests in combination with Green Urban Developments. Not only new strategies for afforestation and water management, but national strategies for large scale restoration of Life-Support Systems with Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration.
Befree has developed FMNR variants to solve the water crisis at Lake Tanganyika and a Biogeotechnology solution to avoid tailings tam disasters in the future.