Category:Environment
Ecovillages are socially, economically and ecologically
sustainable villages of 50 to 150 people. This size is considered to be the maximum
social network according to findings from
sociology and
anthropology. Accordingly, communities of over 100 people are often divided into separate neighbourhoods to facilitate governance.
Larger towns of up to 2000 people are sometimes described as ecovillages, but technically, such
ecomunicipalities transcend the definition of a single village and more properly describe clusters of same, each, perhaps, focusing on a different aspect of economy. Settlements of less than 100 are sometimes called "''ecohamlets''".
An ecovillage is a small
community united by shared ecological, social or spiritual values (''see''
Intentional community). It is often composed of people who have chosen an alternative to mainstream power networks. Many see the breakdown of traditional forms of community, wasteful
consumerist lifestyles, the destruction of natural habitat, urban sprawl, factory farming, and over-reliance on fossil fuels, as trends that must be changed to avert ecological disaster. They see small-scale communities with minimal ecological impact as an alternative. However, they often cooperate with peer villages in a power network of their own (''see''
Global Ecovillage Network for such an example). This model of collective action is similar to that of
Ten Thousand Villages, which supports the
fair trade of goods worldwide.
In 1991,
Robert Gilman set out a definition of an ecovillage that was to become a standard. Gilman defined an ecovillage as a:
- human-scale
- full-featured settlement
- in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world
- in a way that is supportive of healthy human development and can be successfully continued into the indefinite future.
The principles on which ecovillages rely can be applied to
urban (''see''
cohousing) and to
rural settings, as well as to developing and developed countries. Advocates seek infrastructural independence and a sustainable lifestyle (for example, of
voluntary simplicity) for inhabitants with a minimum of trade outside the local area, or
ecoregion. Rural ecovillages are usually based on
organic farming,
permaculture and other approaches which promote
ecosystem function and
biodiversity.
An ecovillage usually relies on:
Its organization also usually depends upon some
instructional capital or
moral codes - a minimal
civics sometimes characterized as
eco-anarchism:
The term
ecovillage should not be confused with
micronation, a strictly legal, not infrastructural, concept.
See also
External links
eo:ekovilagxo
es:ecoaldea