Dome-ophobic Pomona Reassesses Farm Project
By Bowen Patterson
A&F Writer

I have to admit, the first time I heard mention of the organic farm on campus, I pictured a big red barn, skittering chickens and lots and lots of corn (maybe it was just my Midwestern upbringing, I don’t know). But the first time I visited, I was blown away by what the farm had to offer. Over the past two months, I have become increasingly involved in the farm and what it stands for and I actually think I have found what many consider a college myth—I have found my “place” in the student body and my mission for the next four years at Pomona.

But it wasn’t just the farm environment that sucked me in. Just about every day from now until the end of the year, you can find a group of dedicated students, myself included, working on our own eco-revolution.

After a summer full of controversy, battles with the city of Claremont and the college, the farm’s human workforce has commenced construction of what is known to us as simply “The Dome.”

Inspired by the architecture of Nader Khalili, developer of the Cal Earth Institute in Hesperia, CA, the construction of the first dome was the first student-run project of this magnitude, and this second project will only surpass it.

Khalili first began using the Earth Dome design approach to find a way to create a more stable, suitable form of housing created directly from the earth.

“You can dig into the earth with your hand, and it will turn into gold,” Khalili said about his developments and building techniques, during a small speech I heard while on a tour of Cal Earth. “This is the architecture that builds you; it challenges you constantly.”

Khalili’s techniques and materials, used originally by inhabitants of Iran’s deserts, have caught the attention of both the United Nations and NASA, who have commissioned Khalili to develop moon housing, refugee housing and flood control measures, among other things.

More locally, Khalili’s developments have caught the attention of Pomona students. After the dome constructed last spring at the farm was demolished, students immediately began dreaming of possibilities for a new project.

“There was never a moment of hesitation over whether to build a second dome,” said Joey Prows ’04, one of the farm managers. “Nobody involved was going to stand for the destruction of the first one. There was, for me and for the locals who first saw it [torn down], an instantaneous reaction to build another one.”

The differences between this dome and the previous project start at the beginning –plans for the new dome were purchased directly from Khalili, and approved by both Office of Student Affairs and the city of Claremont prior to any physical groundbreaking.

All students involved have initiated a strong campaign to complete the dome successfully, including a fervent search for student involvement and a more professional approach toward working in sync with the administration. According to Prows, as long as the administration keeps their end of the agreement, everything should proceed smoothly.

“We’ve gotten everything we need to become permanent. We have the approval, we’re in the college’s master plan,” Prows said.

Professionals from Cal Earth continue to be involved in the project, helping workers and organizers along the way. Steven Gates, a former student of Khalili’s, worked on the original dome project and has returned as a liaison, and there will be several paid laborers on hand to ensure quality construction.

According to Prows, the dome will undergo several structural tests along the way in order to ensure the safety of all involved. He concluded that the rammed earth super-adobe construction will undoubtedly pass any tests presented.

While he allotment of $10,000 to the project by Pomona President Peter Stanley has allowed for the possibility of this project, those involved might have to raise an additional $3,000 to reach the $13,000 estimate Gates made for the entire project.

The students involved fully acknowledge the financial and administrative difficulties they may face in going through with the project.

“There are some things still to be worked out—it’s unclear how much money we’ll need,” Prows said. “We have enough to build the dome, but we may need to fundraise more. However, I think we have so much energy from students and community that it won’t be necessary. As Khalili says, ‘Once you start the project and commit yourself to it, the money and resources will materialize.’”

Khalili offered our group a professional’s perspective on encountering these types of obstacles along the way.

“[This is] what human nature is—you celebrate the obstacle, find the challenge, bring in creative solutions. That’s the most important part of learning,” Khalili said. “If you throw a rock into a stream, the water will find a way around it within seconds. The more passionate you are, the faster the solution will come.”

As shown by volunteers pushing 30 at recent meetings, the passion for this project is apparent within the five Claremont Colleges. Because it is the first student-run project of its kind, the success of it may be uncertain. But our group has faith in our dreams, and so does Khalili.

“That’s the only way valuable work is created—through grass roots and student involvement,” Khalili said. “Students are a group of souls with fires and they have that freshness and idealism unpolluted by business, competition and money. Whatever they create will grow naturally.”

While some involved in the project may have been discouraged after the loss of the original, most have transferred their energy onto making this dome as successful as it can be. “The second dome is kind of a blessing, because now we get to have more people involved. This one is going to larger, more beautiful and versatile, and ... in a better location,” Prows said.

The design for the new dome, called the “Moon Cocoon,” is much larger than last year’s dome-approximately 30 feet in diameter—and consists of a main room and three or four nooks off of the sides. These rooms will provide the farm with anything from student meeting space or library space to seed storage.

Because of the professional plans and extended budget, there are ample room and resources to work with luxuries such as window seats, skylights and other artistic aspects not tapped with the previous dome.

“Think big, think beautiful,” Prows said. “Once the dome is finished, we get to unleash the creative and artistic talent of the student population.”

The location has been specifically scouted out and the dome specifically positioned to allow for the most beneficial use of sun, wind and aesthetics. The interior of the structure will remain cool during the day and warm at night thanks to its thick, earthen walls, and moderately recessed below-ground design.

In closing, Khalili offered this advice to everyone involved in this environmentally, educationally and ideologically revolutionary project, “Build it. Because everyone is watching.”