What is Real about an EcoVillage?

Many have tried to pass off a small commune on 5 acres as an EcoVillage. 
Why do you think that is? Marketing. It sounds good.
I am not going to use any names here. 
 
They will have to be asked to leave ENA because they do not qualify if the word EcoVillage is going to mean anything. They know who I'm talking about.
 
Shopping Centers and Strip Malls will also make use of the term. 
It will be exploited in many new ways. 
 
EcoVillage Resort Casino is a domain name I will be selling on ebay shortly. You will see this in just few years. 
 
It means nothing in itself unless we make it mean something here in ENA at least. The rest we cannot control. 
 
There really should be at least 300 acres for any Real EcoVillage and I say this only to help people think about these things.  But you are right. There are many other considerations to be considered as well. 
 
We at Eden are still only in the planning and promotional stages. We are not yet a real EcoVillage. But at least we have a real plan to create a real EcoVillage and are not just using the term wildly. We meet in May. - T    
 
http://edenvillage.net/18.htm

"E.Christopher Mare" <[email protected]> wrote:
Edenvillage writes:
I hate to be the one to say it but Size is important.


Of course size [scale] is important. Who would deny that there are
different design considerations for: a simple homestead, an eco-enclave,
an eco-hamlet, or an eco-village? Each individual scale of these
settlement patternings affords a unique corresponding level of 'emergent
properties, ' and, design challenges. "Village-scale' is most sustainable
[I propose] because it has the characteristics of 1) it is small enough so
that everybody is known - there are no 'strangers' - a social organic
unity results; and 2) it is large enough so that all primary, necessary,
specialized economic functions can be served entirely within that social
grouping. That is the magic formula [I propose]: that is why it is
coherent to ask: "What is it about an ecovillage that makes it a VILLAGE?

Ekistically yours,
Chris Mare
-VDI 

writes:
>
>
>I hate to be the one to say it but Size is important. You can't have a 5
>acre EcoVillage. Imagine a teenaged girl being invited to a party. She
>gets all done up and shows up ready to have a good time socializing only
>to find that it is just one or two guys who were pretending to be having
>a party just to see what would happen. 
> 
>We have the same thing here where people are parading around as
>EcoVillages who actually are not at all doing anything but exploiting the
>name. You must have real land or a plan to get some in my view of things.
>Sustainability is important. 30 people on 5 acres is not sustainable. I
>say it is more like One Person per every 3 acres as it is here in Eden
>where we have taken the trouble to think things through a little more
>deeply. - T

		
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs