So, what defines a green community? You may come to the same conclusion that I did: mindfulness about those resources that we share, and a commitment to do so more efficiently,  with a eye towards future generations’ access to these resources… natural and other.

As such, I invite you to join me in a multipost (and multiblog) exploration of green community. What are the models? How well do they work? What can we learn from them as we move towards a (natural) resource-constrained world? I don’t know that I can provide all of the answers to these questions… but, as an online community, I’m sure there are ideas we can share…

What is an ecovillage?

The ecovillage concept is a great starting point for this discussion because its likely the most radical, and most holistic, vision of green community out there. Tony Sirna, one of the founder of Northeastern Missouri’s Dancing Rabbit ecovillage, defined this admittedly broad concept as”..places that are aiming for a village-like quality…,” which he defines as

• places that allow for a full scale of human activity: “A village is … a place for work and play, birth and death, trading of goods and services, celebrations, and all aspects of healthy lives.”
• places that operate on a “human scale”: “…a population where it’s still possible for people to know each other as people and not as anonymous masses…”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?”

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Here’s part 2 of Brian Liloia’s documentary “Life with Thomas” from the Dancing Rabbit ecovillage in NW Missouri. Part 1 is available here.

You may remember NW Missouri’s Dancing Rabbit from Morgan Spurlock’s 30 Days television series. Resident Brian Liloia is the village videographer, and part one of “Life with Thomas” (shown above) is a part of his DRTV series. Enjoy…!

While many say the trend began with the communes of the 1960s, the eco-village movement within the United States gained most of its founding momentum in the early 1990s. Since then, people have been attracted to the communal nature of the villages and the quality of life they offer.

While ecovillage enthusiasts are quick to point out that these groups are not communes, one can see why the assumption could be made. The members of EVI share nearly everything- from transportation to food production; ownership is not the name of the game in these communities.
In fact, EVI now runs its own independent organic farm that supplies most, if not all, of the community’s produce needs. Members share all the gardening work, including planting, tending and the final harvest. Further, the collective also cooks and eats together several times a week, reducing the energy that goes into food preparation and clean up.

Spanning 175 acres, EVI has everything from individual homes and a small pond, to community spaces and ‘green places’ for the kids to roam free-range.

Founded in 1991, EVI has since grown to over 160 members and 60 homes. Most of the homes are duplexes, to save on energy, and many share amenities, such as a root cellar for storing their harvested goods. The houses also utilize passive solar design, energy efficient lighting technology, double insulated windows and a recycling and reuse program that dramatically reduces the amount of waste they produce.

As one can imagine, the chance to belong to such a community does not come cheap. In EVI, homes can reach as high as $300,000.00, but many residents say the quality of life is well worth the money. Aside from providing a place to live, EVI provides its members with something much more valuable: a sense of community and shared ideals. Being part of something they can be proud of is one of the trade-offs that make the price to live in EVI that much more acceptable.

As great as EVI is for its members, it also contributed to various community outreach programs and even works with nearby Cornell University. At Cornell, members of EVO teach classes on subjects like environmental collectives, hoping to open the eyes of as many people as possible to the wonders of living in an ecovillage.

Like I said before, EVI is not the only Ecovillage out there. According to the Global Ecovillage Network, a global organization dedicated to the living of sustainable lives, (GEN), there exists over 379 ecovillages worldwide, with over 47 located in the United States. Further the GEN website states that "ecovillages, by endeavoring for lifestyles which are successfully continuable into the indefinite future, are living models of sustainability, and examples of how action can be taken immediately. They represent an effective, accessible way to combat the degradation of our social, ecological and spiritual environments. They show us how we can move toward sustainability in the 21st century."

A large part of what the ecovillage movement is about is setting examples. Many members if the ecovillage community want people to know that living a sustainable life is not only possible, it is also rewarding. Ecovillage members chose to see what they are doing not as an isolated, righteous action, but as a guide for others.

Further, many Ecovillage members believe that an ecovillage is a paramount place to raise a family. As one author puts it,

An ecovillage is a place where being a kid is fun - where children may roam all over, without fences, without danger from fast-moving vehicles; where they may learn from just being, watching and participating… [an] ecovillage envisions a world of people living sustainably, an Earth based education, thinking independently, making decisions cooperatively, and nurturing healthy children. Living in [an] EcoVillage offers children (and adults, too) a great opportunity to experience natural environment and life lessons that will enhance their emotional intelligence and observation.

Above all, I believe that an ecovillage provides a community in which to raise a new generation of environmentalists. A generation who not only believes in sustainable principals, but also who knows little else. By creating this generation of "eco-children," ecovillages are helping to ensure a future generation of progressive minded adults with the skills and mindset to promote sustainable living on nearly every level.

To Learn more about EcoVillages, or to find one in your area, check out

Global Ecovillage Network

Wikipedia: Ecovillage

Answers.com: Ecovillage

Those of you familiar with the term ‘ecovillage’ may now be picturing some form of a rural, off-grid community with a bunch of old hippies who grow their own food and sing songs around campfires. But, as Dan states, “You don't have to live twenty miles down a remote dirt road to live in harmony with people and natural systems. Nor to make an enormous difference to a lot of people, by visibility and community activities.”

Starting with the goal of creating an environment conducive to constructive social energy, Dan bought a courtyard and its surrounding fixer-upper houses in the gritty paradox of West Oakland urban hostility.

He often gathered work parties together to help remodel the urban pair of houses with low voc-paints, earth plasters, reclaimed and sustainably forested wood, tubular skylights to emphasize daylight, and a greywater system hooked up to feed the courtyard plants with clean used water from the washing machine and fed through various purifying wetland plants outside the house. The latest green addition is a salvaged hot tub, soon-to-be powered by solar energy and contributing to the greywater plant-feeding system.

As well as promoting non-toxic sustainable practices between the houses, having a respectful relationship with the community and recognizing everyone as a part of the social ecosystem is a huge part of what keeps the Oakland Ecovillage alive and thriving. As Dan said in our conversation today, “The environmental impact is only one aspect of the larger vision. There are lots of people helping to recreate Oakland as a greener city, from green collar jobs to addressing larger issues of socio-economic inequality.”

If you’re interested in learning more about the Oakland Ecovillage or its sister rural ecovillage-in-the-making in Laytonville, check out
www.611ecovillage.com