Ecovillages are green communities on the cutting edge of sustainable human development. But what exactly is an ecovillage? Defining the term is challenging because, like “sustainability”, ”ecovillage” is used in many contexts with different meanings.
Robert Gilman offered an early and enduring definition in 1991 when he wrote
“an ecovillage is a human-scale, full-featured settlement in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world in a way that is supportive of healthy human development, with multiple centers of initiative, and can be successfully continued into the indefinite future.”
This is clearly a tall order. In fact, using a strict interpretation of this definition, one could argue that that there are no ecovillages on the planet today. So regardless of what definition we use, ecovillages are better thought of as communities striving towards these ideals rather than actualized utopias.
At Living Routes, we view ecovillages as living laboratories – “beta test centers” – for a more equitable, just and sustainable future. They are creating lifestyles that are both “high quality” with equitable access to resources and power and “low impact” with minimal ecological footprints. We therefore define ecovillages as “communities striving to live well and lightly together.”
Environmental and Social Responsibility
Using this simple definition, it becomes clear there are two directions towards the ecovillage model. Ecovillages within developed, resource-rich countries are typically intentionally created with members exploring how to bring their ecological impacts below local and global carrying capacities while maintaining high quality lifestyles. These ecovillages are also deeply examining the economic and political systems that put them on “top” and are often engaged in social equity and justice work in their neighboring communities, their nations, and the world.
Ecovillages within resource-poor, “two-thirds world” countries are generally indigenous, traditional communities working to elevate themselves above an “Equity Baseline” while maintaining their small footprints. They want access to adequate wealth and resources and the ability to affect political and social change. These communities also tend to have strong social bonds and are striving to honor, preserve and share their local cultures and stories, which often hold deep wisdom for how we can thrive in a post-carrying capacity world.
Both intentional and traditional directions are valid and necessary in our quest to create viable models of sustainable, human-scale communities. In this way, ecovillages are helping demarcate the “livable zone” in which all humans must enter if we are to survive as a species. Being optimistic then, perhaps we could say all human settlements are nascent or developing ecovillages.
Diversity of Ecovillage Models
The Global Ecovillage Network lists ~500 self-identified ecovillages around the world, but it’s likely there are over 1,000 and perhaps many more, especially if you include the ~1,800 member villages of the Sarvodaya network in Sri Lanka. There are also 300+ Transition Towns and a growing number of green-focused cohousing communities, but few self-identify as ecovillages.
The diversity of ecovillages is astounding.
- Some have fewer than 30 members and might be best thought of as micro-research, training or demonstration centers; others have very full-featured economic and social systems with hundreds or thousands of members.
- Some have a common “purse”; others have individual income & expenses.
- Some are part of national networks; others are more independent.
- Some are urban, but most are rural.
- Some are secular; others are religious; most are “spiritual,” with residents following their own unique paths.
- Few strive for self-sufficiency and most are well-connected catalysts for positive change within their bioregions.
- Some even have members who reject the label of “ecovillage” because they feel it falsely implies they have fully manifested their vision.
Ecovillage Commonalities
While models vary widely, ecovillages all share an intention to develop and integrate new and more sustainable forms of economic, environmental, social, and even worldview development. They are all conscious and participatory experiments in designing a more connected and livable future. Features common to most ecovillages include…
- Appropriate technologies and renewable energy systems
- Organic agriculture and community-based food systems
- Habitat restoration and stewardship
- Group facilitation, consensus decision-making, and community organizing
- Shared work and celebrations
- Communication skills, conflict resolution and mediation
- Mindfulness practices such as meditation and yoga
- Ecological design, green building, and community development
- Social-responsibility, environmental education and activism
- Cross-cultural and diversity awareness
- Social justice and equitable access to wealth and power
- Holistic health, nutrition, and alternative medicine
Ecovillages are not utopias
Humans are in kindergarten when it comes to developing sustainable relationships with each other and the planet. While ecovillages range perhaps from elementary to middle school, most are still at least partially embedded within wider resource & energy intensive infrastructures (e.g. transport, production, processing) and inequitable economic and social systems. As a result, few, if any, are both above an Equity Baseline and below local and global Carrying Capacity (i.e. within the “livable zone” described above).
For example, a study by the Stockholm Environment Institute cited the Findhorn Foundation (one of the oldest and best known ecovillages) as having the smallest ec0- footprint of any community in the developed world – half the UK average. While certainly a laudable achievement, if everyone on Earth lived like a Findhorn Community member, we’d still need several planets to support our lifestyles. Ecovillages are trying to prepare us for some major real-life “exams” humanity is facing, but they still have a long way to go.
Ecovillages are not finished products and are very much in process. Real people – like you and me – are developing these unique communities, often under very difficult conditions, Common challenges include inadequate financial and human resources, restrictive zoning, local fears and misconceptions, and even language barriers within these often very international communities. Ecovillages encounter the same hurdles any new business faces while at the same time building residences, decision-making structures and interpersonal relationships. This is hard work!
In addition, there is little being attempted in ecovillages that isn’t – on its own - being done better elsewhere. One can easily find more successful or cutting edge renewable energy facilities, green buildings, organic farms, and even decision-making processes outside of ecovillages. What makes ecovillages unique and relevant then are not these individual components, but that they are trying to put the pieces together into human-scale communities, into wholes that are more than the sum of their parts. Ecovillages are, in effect creating new cultures and ”stories” about what it means to live interdependently with each other and our planet.
Partner Ecovillages
Recognizing this core work, Living Routes is proud to collaborate with a select number of these ecovillages as “campuses” where students can learn about sustainability while actually living it. In addition to offering models of economic, environmental, and social development as described above, Living Routes’ partner communities…
- are diverse and “full-featured” and able to offer a rich academic and community experience.
- have good accommodations, classrooms, and internet access.
- have highly trained and educated professionals engaged in real-world sustainable development.
- are located in stimulating environments with minimal health and safety concerns.
Information on partner ecovillages that host Living Routes programs is available at:
- Auroville (India)
- Crystal Waters (Australia)
- Findhorn (Scotland)
- Monteverde Institute (Costa Rica)
- Ecocentro IPEC (Brazil)
- Huehuecoyotl (Mexico)
- Kibbutz Lotan (Israel)
- Sachamama (Peru)
- Sadhana Forest (India)
- Sirius Community (USA)
Ecovillage Resources
The following resources are recommended for further reading about ecovillages and sustainable communities.
- Global Ecovillage Network (GEN)
- GEN’s Community Sustainability Assessment Toolkit
- Four Dimensions of an Ecovillage
- Ecovillage Network of the Americas
- Fellowship for Intentional Communities’ list of Ecovillages
- Gaia Education
- Ecovillage Newsletter
- Living Together: Sustainable Community Development. (In Context Magazine issue on ecovillages)
The world of ecovillages is ever evolving, so please add your comments, thoughts, and questions so we can further our understanding together. Thanks!
(thanks also to Alexander Papouchis and GEN friends for their helpful suggestions and edits)
Thanks for posting this link on our Facebook page. Yarrow Ecovillage is 100 km east of Vancouver, BC. We have five acres of organic farmland under cultivation and are restoring the riparian zone around the creek on our property. We have ten more acres to farm, but we are currently developing 33 units of cohousing homes (Groundswell Cohousing) so that people have places to live while doing this exciting work together. Fifteen units are already occupied (or will be this summer). Everyone is welcome to check us out: http://www.yarrowecovillage.ca and http://blog.yarrowecovillage.ca/.
What would be really great, is if we could put this to VIDEO and post it on our YouTube Channel….that would be AMAZING, right??!! You know it would be…we should do that tomorrow….PS: If you need someone to go meet the wonderful people at Yarrow Ecovillage…I would be happy to do that…
Moe
Thanks Moe. Let’s try that. And I’ll let you connect with folks at Yarrow on your own.
Moe, you are certainly welcome HERE anytime!
Hi Daniel
really useful definitions and summaries… thanks, i will pass this link onto a few others. You covered this well, but the key point for me is that they are evolutionary pioneers, pointing the way to our future, a few steps ahead of mainstream culture.
love
Peter
p.s was in auroville last month and going to findhorn in a few weeks!
Great to hear from you Peter. Thanks for your comments. Enjoy Findhorn and I hope we get to connect again soon!
Hi Daniel,
Thank you for this deliciously clear description!
I’d love to post it on the GEN-Europe website with a direct link to your blog…if possible.
A few comments (against the background of being involved with more and more indigenous and traditional villages wishing to be recognised as ecovillages):
For many of these villages, Robert Gilmans definition is not such a tall order, but something successfully realized until ‘modernization’ starts rolling in.
Also, to say that ‘Humans are in kindergarten when it comes to developing sustainable relationships with each other and the planet’ does not ring true when visiting these communities. In many places, learning about sustainability is as much (or more) about remembering and honoring the wisdom from the past as it is about integrating new appropriate technologies.
In setting up guidelines for the recognition of indigenous villages as ecovillages, one of the most important aspects seems to be the fact that ecovillages everywhere are born from a conscious and participatory design process of the inhabitants of the community to design their own pathway into the future.
And choose a holistic design approach which integrates economy, ecology, the social and cultural aspects.
This makes all the difference between those villages that become vibrant and inspiring hubs in their regions, and those that do not.
I like to add both these aspects to a definition of ecovillage…
Love,
Kosha
Daniel, thanks for this beautiful summary. Many eco-villages provide brilliant models of human connectivity, land-based and non-polluting work, self-reliance, appropriate technology, and energy conservation. For years, I took students to visit L.A. Ecovillage and the Bicycle Kitchen co-op spin-off. Urban-based ecovillages have much to teach those mobilizing around Transition Towns and Post-Carbon Cities.
Thanks Rich. I’ve been to LA Ecovillage several times, but never to the Bicycle Kitchen co-op. Next time I’m in the area….
I’ve often thought of creating a Living Routes program in an urban ecovillage, but I’ve found a lot of the magic that happens on our programs comes from immersing students in human-scale communities where they can really see how all the pieces fit together. Students re-awaken to a deep tribal sense of belonging that I feel we have lost in our industrialized societies. I think a similar experience is possible in an urban setting, but it may require a bit more “holding” and contextualizing for students.
In community,
– Daniel
For anyone interested in New Zealand and the development of a truly ‘non-intentional’ and mainstream, educational eco-village, please see the Eden Village website at http://www.edenfoundation.org.nz.
We are currently developing an initial 5 acre site to site an educational campus opening later in 2011, whilst the main 250 acre site is under project development and architectural design right now.
Nice to meet you all.
Richard
Hi Daniel,
Thank you very much for including me in this mailing, and for sharing some of the comments you received. This post and some of the comments from GEESE folks are very helpful to my own ongoing exploration of ecovillages.
So first, thank you very much for providing this basic, clear, and very thorough definition. (And thank you for including Ecovillages newsletter as a resource!)
If I may, I’d like to suggest a further refinement. As I think you may know, 1999 Robert Gilman added the phrase “with multiple centers of initiative” to his ecovillage definition after being a residential advisor to Findhorn for several months to help the community resolve some internal issues. By this phrase he means that, in addition to the community itself initiating, funding, and managing projects, businesses, etc., that members and neighbors also do these things. So they come from multiple sources, not just one source.
Robert gave me background and details about this phrase in 2007 — please see the article “Robert Gilman on Multiple Centers of Initiative” in Ecovillages newsletter.
He inserts the phrase after “healthy human development,” like this:
So I suggest adding this phrase, and a brief explanation, to your citing of Robert’s definition.
And, may I use some parts of your blog in my ecovillage slide show, indicating you and Living Routes as the source? I revise it whenever I get new and more helpful or up-to-date information, and would love to include much of what I’ve learned from your blog post.
And . . . could I reprint it as an article with your byline in the next issue of Ecovillages newsletter? It would have information about Living Routes at the bottom and a link to your Sustainability Education blog and Living Routes’ website.
Thanks very much again for further illuminating what ecovillages are . . . and are becoming.
Diana
Hi Diana,
Thanks for your kudos and comments. I have added “with multiple centers of initiative” to Robert’s definition with a link to the Ecovillages Newsletter article. I also remember Robert talking about ecovillages as collections of communities, but I don’t think this is how the term has come to be used. Perhaps it is something for us to revisit and consider reframing many smaller ecovillages as “eco-communities”. This would bring the number of ecovillages down substantially.
And of course, you are very welcome to use my blog entries in your slide show and as an article in Ecovillages Newsletter with a byline and links to LR and this blog. Thank you also for offering to place a LR logo on the newsletter website. Please let me know if you need me to send you a jpeg. Take care Diana and I look forward to our next opportunity to connect.
In community,
– Daniel
(from a private email exchange):
Hi Dan,
This last statement in your email caught my attention and tickled my bone (if that is a valid expression) because actually GEN has had for some time a very good, albeit incomplete and much underused, assessment tool for measuring a community’s sustainability level. A “livable zone” indicator could certainly be added to it. In fact I would like to work further on this CSA (Community Sustainability Assessment) tool as a way to measure some of the goals and aims of existing and forming ecovillages around the world. It basically gives a state of the sustainability level of a community, rather than passing judgement on how sustainable or not a community is. This lets them decide how they want to close any gaps.
It can be found on the GEN web site http://www.ecovillage.org under activities. In fact it would be great to get some input from the GEESE about this valuable tool and ways to update it and make it more relevant to the EDE courses being taught everywhere. Please take a look and let me know your take on it.
Another comment regarding TTs. My understanding is that their efforts are to move communities towards resilience and closer to a sustainable state, especially regarding energy use, a local economy, empowerment, food, re-skilling, etc. This is not very different from what ecovillages are aiming to do. If taken all together every effort around the world to move human settlements towards a more sustainable level is in fact leading them towards an eco-community, eco-neighborhood, eco-town, eco-city, eco-home, and (why not?) eco-villages. So in that sense TTs are indeed ecovillage “kin” even if not using that terminology. The only missing ingredient might be “intentional community,” but by default TTs are intentional communities as well. This goes back to my position that we need to start seeing ecovillages in a larger vision, one where all human settlements, everywhere, can be ecovillages, at least in the way they are organized and run. At that point there will be no separation, only different approaches, different currents and strategies for getting there. I suspect that the reason TTs don’t identify with EVs is that EVs are still too radical and not recognized by banks, planners, and building departments in most municipalities, like cohousing and housing co-ops have. That is a big disadvantage for the movement, which forces it to be a fringe movement rather than a mainstream culture. But that will change rapidly as the world enters a higher consciousness and people become more aware of their local powers and nature values. As we become stewards of the planet and move away from being greedy opportunists.
Ah, thanks for this rich conversation.
Gio
Can I share?
Please do Gabby as long as you credit the source. Thanks!
Daniel,
How insightful. Thanks for your thoughts, and your comments on my blog as well. I’m very intrigued by your program. I think there is no shortage of amazing opportunities that ecovillages around the world can offer students interested in sustainability. I’ve dreamed of starting similar programs in the communities where I’ve lived and done research.
I couldn’t agree more with your contention about ecovillages not being “utopia.” The late Professor Andy Isserman, a mentor of mine, lectured on the difference between u-topia (translated “no place”) and eu-topia (translated “good place”). In my opinion, one frailty of the urban planning discipline of the twentieth century was its emphasis on trying to achieve utopia, which is by definition impossible. This modernist undertaking resulted in more problems that it aimed to solve. Instead of trying to achieve the impossible, I’m convinced that we can take advantage of eutopias and what Krueger and Ageyman (2005) call “actual existing sustainabilities,” or places that demonstrate regionally -grounded and relatively sustainable practices. Ecovillages are one of the best examples of such eutopias.
Thanks Robby. Yes! Let’s focus on “actual existing sustainabilities”! I’ve heard the distinction between u-topia and eu-topia, but it was a while ago. Thanks for reminding me. Take care and I look forward to our next opportunity to connect.