Our Ecovillage
An ecovillage strives for ecological sustainability and living lightly on the earth. Given that sustainability is a large part of SDF's mission, what amount of non-conventional utilities, regulations and sustainable infrastructure do we want, how quickly can we implement it and how will we pay for it?
At the highest level, our ecological sustainability could look something like this:
The houses/homesteads will be eco-friendly, non-toxic and off-grid (and built in accordance with Design Review Criteria the cofounders establish): we will use only natural and reclaimed or sustainably-procured building materials (such as strawbale, cob, adobe, wood, natural plaster); we'll either have composting toilets or be hooked up to the community's ecological wastewater treatment wetland; our power will come from solar, wind, biomass, biodiesel and other renewable (non-fossil fuel) sources; and we'll harvest rainwater and recycle graywater. Conventional cleaning products, soaps, shampoos and other toiletries will not be allowed because they are polluting and not compatible with our graywater treatment system.
We'll utilize energy-efficient building construction; we'll compost and recycle; and we'll run our tractor, farm vehicles and power tools on biodiesel, if feasible - unless we decide to use draft horses, which I think is a very responsible and beneficial choice for small-scale farmers.
We will store water in ponds to irrigate our farm utilizing gravity and solar pumps. Drinking water will come from an underground well and rainwater catchment and will be stored in cisterns which also function by solar pumps and gravity.
We will aim for a "closed loop," meet all of our own energy, water, and graywater/blackwater disposal needs, and reduce our footprint on the land and ecosystem.
We will promote ecological diversity and balance and be good stewards of our land.
We will try to strengthen the local economy of the region where we live by buying locally-produced food and goods whenever possible. We will also develop a robust local economy within our community through the use of an alternative currency and having various on-site member-owned businesses.
Part of our concept of ecovillage is the concept of homesteading, broadly defined as a simple life of agrarian self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency generally refers to producing much of what you need by your own hands on your own land. Ecovillages and homesteads are nuanced slightly differently; the concept of ecovillage emphasizes environmental friendliness and harmless integration of human activities into the natural world, while the concept of a homestead emphasizes simplicity and self-sufficiency. Of course, aiming for environmental friendliness often leads to self-sufficiency and methods of self-sufficiency are often sustainable and environmentally-friendly. For many people homesteading is a way of life that goes beyond the technology of sustainability; ecovillages also go beyond the technology and mechanisms of sustainability and stress the importance of local economies, moral purchasing and healthy human development. Unlike ecovillages, homesteading emphasizes self-sufficiency on the individual or family level, while ecovillages aim for ecological sustainability on the community level; homesteads are more often self-sufficient, self-contained land-based single-family units, while ecovillages are human-scale, full-featured ecologically sustainable communities. Both concepts will be useful to us at SDF.
These are very ambitious goals. If we have enough interest, resolve, resources and knowledgable people on board, we can get most of this done.
The cofounders will meet and outline our ecological sustainability goals.
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