What Ecodorp Boekel does

Ecodorp Boekel is a non-profit ecovillage organized as a residents' association (Bewonersvereniging Ecodorp Boekel) in Boekel, North Brabant, Netherlands. Completed in summer 2021, it comprises 36 climate-adaptive, circular biobased rental homes (30 standard units plus 6 care/mantelzorg units, with 2 additional units reserved for statushouders/refugees with residence permits), arranged across three residential circles. The community owns no individual home equity; residents rent under a model designed for easy exit following European ecovillage precedent.

The construction stack is the principal technical differentiator: lime hemp prefabricated walls (RC-value 7, storing ~185 tons CO2), glass foam foundations from recycled glass, geopolymeer concrete without cement, Métisse denim insulation, and circular EPDM roofing achieve ~98% circular material content. The 36 houses collectively store 808 tons of CO2 (~22 tons per house) versus approximately 2.6 tons emitted in conventional Dutch construction. Operational systems include the CESAR heat battery (seasonal thermal storage at 450°C via noble metal slag, charged by ~600 rooftop solar panels), a rainwater harvesting system capturing ~400 m³ annually per circle with 40% drinking water savings, a helofytenfilter/algae-based wastewater treatment system (removing ~98% of common pharmaceutical residues per NIOO testing), and a permaculture food garden. Performance is validated externally: CBS (Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics) tracks social impact value annually, and Climate Cleanup substantiated the CO2 storage figure for an ASN Bank report at COP26.

The commercial and capital model is a hybrid. Direct revenue streams are modest — rental income from 36 households, customized group/company tours with lunch/workshops/program bundles, a treehouse hotel, and public donations. Capital formation is the more significant economic activity: €2.7M in subsidies (Province of Noord-Brabant, Dutch national government, EU/EFRO, water board), a €3.5M 30-year GLS Bank loan, a €1.2M Province loan, and ~€863K raised across three community certificate actions (offering 2% interest, zero interest, or treehouse overnight-stay redemption, with maturity to January 1, 2029). The province explicitly designates Ecodorp Boekel as a showroom and living lab, stating intent that all Brabanders should live this way by 2050. Membership in VrijCoop, ECOLISE, Global Ecovillage Network, and Ecodorpennetwerk Nederland positions the project as an anchor node propagating the cooperative housing and circular construction model to new ecovillages.

Name

Ecodorp Boekel

Legal name

Bewonersvereniging Ecodorp Boekel

Website

https://ecodorpboekel.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ecodorp Boekel is a non-profit ecovillage in Boekel, Netherlands, operating 36 rental climate-adaptive biobased homes with circular construction storing 808 tons of CO2, serving residents, care recipients, and refugees via a residents' association funded by government subsidies, bank loans, and community certificates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Ecovillage Housing

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps (7213), Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps (72131)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Operators Of Apartment Buildings (6513)

akta.pro primary industry

Eco-Lodges (Low-Impact, Nature-Integrated Lodging) (THAAAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Co-Living Property Management (BPAJAFAJ), Eco-Camps & Sustainable Camping Retreats (THAGAOAE)

Keywords

• Sustainable community housing
• Circular biobased construction
• Climate-adaptive ecovillage
• CO2-negative building materials
• Seasonal heat battery storage

Headquarters

HQ city

Boekel

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Housing Rent: 36 rental households including 4 for mantelzorg (care) and 2 for statushouders (status holders). All three circles with housing delivered summer 2021. Rental model allows easy exit for members as recommended by existing European ecovillages.
2. Certificate Investment Program: Certificate program with options: 2% interest, no interest, or saving for treehouse overnight stay. Certificates have maturity until January 1, 2029 but can be repaid earlier or renewed. Previous three certificate actions raised €863,000 combined.
3. Government Subsidies: €2.7 million in subsidies received from Province, national government, EU, and water board for sustainable innovations. Additional €1.2 million loan from Province of Noord-Brabant.
4. GLS Bank Loan: €3.5 million loan from GLS Bank for 30-year period, with bank requiring 90% of other financing (member contributions, certificate actions, and subsidies) to be spent before bank involvement.
5. Donations: Public donations accepted via bank account DE36 4306 0967 4110 1705 00 under name Bewonersvereniging Ecodorp Boekel.
6. Tours and Education: Customized tours for groups and companies including lunch, workshops, heisessies, presentations. Information afternoons and introduction days for potential residents. Education center being realized for SDG knowledge sharing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ecodorp Boekel operates a 36-home circular ecovillage of climate-adaptive, biobased rental homes built with 98% circular materials and supported by integrated off-grid infrastructure: CESAR seasonal heat battery, rainwater harvesting and Helofytenfilter wastewater treatment, climate-adaptive food gardens, and shared community facilities (Wereldhuiskamer). Residents live in a members' cooperative (Bewonersvereniging) rather than as owners; community-led tours, workshops, a treehouse hotel and a planned education center extend the model outward as a Dutch "showroom and living lab" for sustainable development.

Product overview

Ecodorp Boekel is a circular, climate-adaptive eco-village consisting of 36 biobased rental homes and 6 care homes organized in three residential circles. The core offering centers on sustainable community living with integrated systems including the CESAR heat battery for seasonal thermal storage, Hemel(s)water rainwater purification, and permaculture food gardens. Supporting offerings include the Wereldhuiskamer community house, treehouse accommodations, and an planned education center. The ecodorp serves as both a living community and a showroom/living lab for sustainable development, with guided tours and workshops for visitors. All residents are renters rather than owners, managed through a residents' association, with the community operated as a Voluntary Conservation Area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Circular Climate-Adaptive Rental Housing 36 climate-adaptive, circular biobased rental homes organised in three residential circles (30 climate-adaptive houses and 6 care/mantelzorgwoningen), built with ~98% circular materials including lime-hemp walls, glass-foam foundations, geopolymer concrete, denim insulation and circular EPDM roofing; rented through the Bewonersvereniging Ecodorp Boekel to individual residents and families seeking sustainable community living.
• Wereldhuiskamer Community House Shared community house for residents and visitors where the ecodorp's mission of "sustainable cohabitation in connection" is physically realised; functions as the central gathering, knowledge-sharing and meeting space for the village.
• Climate-Adaptive Food Garden Permaculture-based climate-resilient food garden supporting resident food self-sufficiency and supplying circular Christmas trees that return annually to resident households; operated with volunteer support.
• CESAR Heat Battery Clean Energy Central Seasonal thermal-energy storage system developed with NICE Developments that stores summer solar heat at up to 450 °C in noble-metal slag to heat homes throughout the rest of the year, providing CO2-free winter heating to the village.
• Hemel(s)water Rainwater System Village-wide rainwater harvesting and purification system (MijnWaterfabriek) collecting ~400 m³ per circle annually from ~600 m² of roof, supplying toilet and washing-machine use via dual-pump + active-carbon filtration, achieving ~40% savings in drinking-water consumption.
• Treehouse Hotel (Boomhuttenhotel) Overnight treehouse accommodation allowing guests to experience ecodorp living first-hand and aligned with SDG 8 sustainable enterprise; previously used as an option in the certificate investment program ("saving for treehouse overnight stay").
• Education Center (Educatiecentrum) Knowledge and education centre being realised to help citizens apply practical solutions for climate action, biodiversity and food security aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals; targets governments, organisations and individuals.
• Guided Tours, Information Afternoons and Workshops Standard open information afternoons (first Sunday of each month), introduction days (first Saturday of each month) and customized tours/workshops for groups and companies, optionally including lunch, heisessies, presentations and team sessions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 808 tons of CO2 stored in 36 houses (22 tons per house vs 2.6 tons in regular homes)
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NICE DevelopmentscoreTechnology or IntegrationProvided CESAR heat battery technology using noble metal slag for seasonal heat storage. Technology converts solar energy into heat stored at 450°C for winter use. Partner in making buildings CO2-negative. Gonnie from CESAR credited Ecodorp for pioneering sustainable building.
• ECO+BouwcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerContractor for sustainable construction, collaborated on CESAR heat battery installation and biobased building implementation.
• MijnWaterfabriekcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvided rainwater harvesting system technology including concrete tanks, pump systems, and filter installations. Tanks chosen for stability, longevity, and positive influence on water quality through mineral reduction of biological development.
• Dun AgrocoreTechnology or IntegrationSupplier of prefabricated lime hemp walls from Groningen, essential for CO2-negative construction storing 185.22 tons CO2.
• A. Jansen BVcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerInnovative construction company from Son that placed geopolymeer (100% circular concrete alternative) and has written articles about circular construction practices.
• SQAPEcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvided geopolymeer technology, concrete without cement made from recycled materials. Essential for 100% circular foundation construction.
• Geocell (Geomaterials)coreTechnology or IntegrationSupplier of glass foam foundation material made from recycled glass waste. First Dutch construction project using glass foam, with their homepage featuring Ecodorp Boekel as showcase.
• Huub van Laarhoven (Van Laarhoven Combinatie)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNature architect who designed both the Biobased Expohuis (first to test lime hemp) and the entire ecodorp masterplan based on Healing Architecture principles. Without this architect, the high ambition could never have been realized.
• VrijCoopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch cooperative housing network (following German Mietshäuser Syndikat model) where older housing communities support newcomers both financially and with experience. Ecodorp Boekel joined to support new ecovillage initiatives.
• ECOLISEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean ecovillage organization. Ecodorp Boekel contributed to policy development for EU Crisis and Recovery Act concept to be implemented across Europe. Participated in European Day of Sustainable Communities.
• Global Ecovillage Network (GEN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network of ecovillages. Ecodorp Boekel is a member, with thousands of ecovillages united under this network globally.
• Climate CleanupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental organization supporting CO2 storage techniques. Calculated CO2 storage of 808 tons in Ecodorp houses for ASN Bank report presented at COP26 Glasgow. Scientifically substantiated calculations of construction carbon impact.
• Waterschap Aa en MaascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional water board supporting sustainable water innovations. Helped improve water plan and addresses pharmaceutical residues in wastewater, with helofytenfilter removing 65% of residues.
• Dr. KnippenbergcollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSecondary school with 20 Bèta Challenge students developing technical solutions for the project, with three contributing to Biobased Expohuis design.
• AchmeacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInsurance company collaborating on indoor air quality monitoring with 9 sensors installed in houses. One house has its own Twitter account for air quality tweets. Partnership on healthy living environments.
• AlliandercoreTechnology or IntegrationEnergy network operator. Circular power cables from Prysmian were specifically designed for ecodorp and according to innovation expert from Alliander, set the standard for all future cables.
• NIOO (Netherlands Institute of Ecology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTesting algae filter in ecodorp greenhouse that removes 98% of common pharmaceutical residues from wastewater.
• Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirector Erik Pool designated Ecodorp as 'Vaandeldragers van de Nieuwe Werkelijkheid' (Flag Bearers of the New Reality) and sent officials to study Spanish ecovillages. 17 ministry directors visited the project.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/ecodorpboekel/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/EcodorpBoekel
• Instagraminstagram.com/ecodorpboekel
• Xx.com/ecodorpboekel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ecodorp-boekel

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ecodorp Boekel