Future homeowners in Creil save money by doing their own groundwork

A group of future residents in Creil, a village in the Dutch province of Flevoland, are performing the preliminary groundworks for their new homes themselves.

They are preparing the land for seven terraced houses on Kiekendiefstraat. The neighbors coordinated to use their own heavy machinery, including a crane, a tractor, and a tipper truck. These machines are usually used for farming crops like potatoes and onions, but the residents are using them to prepare the site.

This collective effort allows the seven households to save more than 11,000 euros on construction costs. The group is using the Collectief Particulier Opdrachtgeverschap (CPO), a method where private individuals develop a housing project without a professional developer. This allows them to choose their own architect and contractor to manage the balance between price and quality. The residents expect to finish the groundwork by Friday, with the houses scheduled for completion in one year.