Well me and two family members had an idea. We have had somewhat similar thoughts in the past but didnt think it feasible with the financial means and knowledge we had available in those times.

But recently land was acquired which fits our requirments and we have learned more about cheap green building methods(straw bale, cob, sandbag + cob etc). So we had the thought to build cheap but long lasting habitations. And a communal building for toilet and shower stalls. As well as a large building where community gathering could occur if desired for group meditations, conferences or any other spiritual type practice a building like this would be needed for.

We plan to plant fruit trees of many kinds and to have an organic garden big enough to provide enough food for all (In case one day gas prices cause grocery stores to shut down hehe). This is a limited project, with about 15 acres to work with. But we hope it could start something big by spreading. More and more people are getting tired of being slaves to the machine. Living on places such as these we hope people can become more in tune with nature and more spiritually aware(well more aware in all things).

Thats a simple summary of what we would like to create. We are starting a website soon with forums. To connect with people out there that this is of interest too. And to gather ideas and knowledge of how this can be done in a green manner using as little money as possible. We are aware of no places such as this. But if there are similar places we are greatly desiring to know of them so we can see what they have done and maybe connect in some fashion.

We have questions about how this should work financially. We are not doing this to make a profit but there are some not insignificant costs to creating our dream. Say we build a building with 8 living quarters, and someone interested comes along and wants to move in. What would be a fair and proper method of give and take in this situation.

We understand a whole is a sum of all of its parts. And if for example a person who had skill in organic gardening came along we would probably feel it a very good exchange for them staying if in return they took a proactive effort in the care of the community organic gardens. And various other skills could be quite handy to have in an Ecovillage. The persons using and teaching these skills would be welcomed. And those who had the means to help financially im not sure of how the exchange will work. So suggestions and stuff are much needed.

So any thoughts or ideas on this are appreciated. I do not want to make this first post to long, will elaborate further if interest is shown in this.

The layout and design of the buildings is undecided as of yet. Our first thought was to build individual cabins but 4-8 living quarters in an ice cube tray layout per building may be a more efficient use of space. An the communal living quarters spaced to where bathroom and shower facilities can be easily and quickly accessed by all. And the communal bathrooms would have privacy for those that prefer it(stalls, curtains or something).

Where is this place being built and what relevant skills do your family already possess?

On the border of SC and NC. Mostly trade related skills in traditional home building field and related stuff. So they should come in handy with alternate building techniques.

How many people roughly do you think you want? Because on the food side of things 15 acres is good enough for a modest number of people but alot is dependent on the diet you plan on having.

Really intersting project, I wanna see how this progress's

Yeah i was thinking this too. Am trying to figure out how much the land can support atm. As far as what we want to plant, everything that would add to a well balanced diet and that has the highest yields.
Peace

http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/yabb/forum.pl

GREAT resource

Jesus, thanks for that link mate, lots of good shit there.

Yup. I'm RyanMercer over there