What’s it like to live in an off the grid straw bale house, use solar power, grow your own food, and collect rainfall from your roof? What if your father was a famous actor turned green activist? Nick News documents the lives of kids living alternative, ecological lifestyles in their new A Kid Off The Grid television program. The show features three kids’ stories from Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in northeastern Missouri, a sustainable off the grid community, and that of Hayden Begley, daughter of Ed Begley Jr., the popular environmental celebrity.
The ‘Ecovillage’ movement is not new, but, along with many other green ideas, it is growing steadily these days.
Ecovillages come in different varieties, but they hold a few basic characteristics in common. They try to combine great ecological sensibility and responsibility with innovative social environments that are supportive and fair. Different communities use or establish different systems of governance, but they tend to stand apart from the larger societies in some clear ways, whether it be their own system of rules or laws or just a very clearly defined sense of community.
Many such societies also address spirituality or religion to some degree or another, but it is not the case in all places. Ecovillages vary from one to another and it is up to the people who live there (and especially founding members) to bring different issues and ideas to the forefront of their community.
There’s something that’s been made increasingly apparent to me living in an ecovillage for the past year: environmental sustainability requires a change in culture. Society cannot achieve this sustainability through simplified living alone. Growing organic food, using renewable energy, and decreasing one’s ecological footprint are all positive things, no doubt, but true, holistic sustainability comes along with a culture that values cooperation and community.
At Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, there exists a unique culture distinct from that of mainstream society. Of course, this is to be expected: every group develops its own culture over time. (Think of something as ordinary as a college dorm or office: these places too have their own special microcultures.) Although it would be hard to define Dancing Rabbit’s culture and exactly what makes it what it is, there are certain shared values that certainly help to shape it.
Ecological sustainability is the core value of Dancing Rabbit’s culture. Beyond that, cooperation and a sense of community are highly esteemed values, too, and these are achieved in many ways.
Hi. I’m Brian, a new writer here at Planetsave. For the past eighteen months, I have been living off-the-grid at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, a rural intentional community located in northeastern Missouri.
Dancing Rabbit is a community composed of 45 individuals dedicated to sustainable living and creating cultural change. Renewable energy from solar panels and wind turbines powers the entire village, which is made up of natural buildings constructed using earthen (such as straw bale and cob) and reclaimed materials. All drinking and cleaning water is collected using rain catchment systems, and three biodiesel-fueled vehicles provide the entire group with transportation needs. Much of our food is grown in our organic gardens.
This week, the writers at EcoWorldly will explore ecocities around the world. Stay tuned to this topic by checking in daily at EcoWorldly, or subscribe to our RSS feed to receive email updates.
Having just heard from Keith Rockmael at San Francisco’s Ecocity World Summit 2008, we decided to take a closer look at ecocities, starting with the question “what makes an ecocity?”
When you think of a modern "sub-division," what comes to mind? Treeless cul-de-sacs? Expansive golf courses and expensive country clubs? Brand new homes with over-manicured lawns? Well, EcoVillage Ithaca (EVI) and others like it are attempting to redefine what it means to live in a small neighborhood outside of the city.
While many say the trend began with the communes of the 1960s, the eco-village movement within the United States gained most
Photo Credit: 611 EcoVillageDeciding to explore my own cityscape for some local green inspiration, I recently discovered the 7-year old Oakland Ecovillage and its founder Dan Antolioni. Talking with Dan today, I was again reminded that ecovillages seek to both address our impact on the environment and also focus on how we can create sustainable social ecosystems in the world around us.
This week, the writers at EcoWorldly will explore ecocities around the world. Stay tuned to this topic by checking in daily at EcoWorldly, or 
Photo Credit: 611 EcoVillageDeciding to explore my own cityscape for some local green inspiration, I recently discovered the 7-year old Oakland Ecovillage and its founder Dan Antolioni. Talking with Dan today, I was again reminded that ecovillages seek to both address our impact on the environment and also focus on how we can create sustainable social ecosystems in the world around us.
