Education is one of the topics that community founders think about most seriously, and sometimes most contentiously. How and where children learn shapes their development profoundly, and parents in intentional communities often have strong views about the kind of...

One of the most practical challenges facing any community land project is money. Land is expensive. Infrastructure costs are substantial. Professional services, legal advice, engineering, planning, all add up quickly. The conventional answer, a bank mortgage, is...

There is a reason that almost every intentional community, across cultures and centuries, has placed shared eating at the centre of community life. Food is one of the most fundamental human needs, and the act of preparing and sharing it together is one of the most...

It is a question that does not get asked enough in the early, optimistic stages of community formation: what happens when someone wants to leave? Life circumstances change. People's needs evolve. Relationships break down. A community that has only planned for people...

Animals are often an afterthought in discussions of sustainable community design, or they are treated as a controversial topic, with debates about veganism and ethics dominating conversations that might otherwise focus on practical ecology. But in a well-designed...

One of the most common questions from people interested in ecovillage living is some version of: "Do I have the right skills? What would I actually contribute?" It is a good question, and the answer is almost always more encouraging than people expect. Ecovillages are...

Land is not just a physical resource. It is the foundation on which a community's future is built, and the legal structure through which a community holds that land shapes almost everything about how the community functions, who has power, and what happens when...

In the conventional economy, waste is an endpoint. Something is used, and then it is thrown away, transported to a landfill or processing facility, and forgotten. In a well-designed ecovillage, waste barely exists as a concept. Almost every output from one process...

Building an ecovillage from the ground up is a long, complex, and deeply rewarding process. We reflect on the journey so far and the lessons learned along the way. Every ecovillage that exists today began as an idea, a vision held by a small group of people who...

One of the most common questions about ecovillage living is whether it is financially accessible. The answer is more nuanced than you might think. A common misconception about ecovillages is that they are expensive, the preserve of the wealthy or the ideologically...

For many families, the draw of ecovillage living is the promise of a richer environment for children, with more space, more adults, and more connection to the natural world. Here is what that looks like in practice. It takes a village to raise a child, as the proverb...

The transition to renewable energy is well underway, and community-scale energy projects are proving that independence from centralised power grids is both possible and practical. The cost of solar photovoltaic panels has fallen by more than ninety percent over the...

Biodiversity is not just an environmental value. It is a foundation for human wellbeing, food security, and resilience. Ecovillages that protect and restore biodiversity are investing in their own future. When most people think about biodiversity, they think about...

Grants can provide critical support for ecovillage and community land projects, but navigating the funding landscape requires strategy and persistence. Here is what you need to know. Grants are a form of non-repayable funding provided by governments, foundations, and...

Natural building methods use locally available, low-impact materials to create homes that are comfortable, beautiful, and in harmony with their environment. Here is an introduction to the key approaches. The buildings we live in account for a significant portion of...

Joining an intentional community is a significant decision. We walk through the key questions to ask, the common pitfalls to avoid, and how to find the right fit for you. The idea of joining an ecovillage or intentional community is appealing to many people, but the...

Ecovillages and regenerative land projects have an important role to play in addressing climate change through soil carbon sequestration, reforestation, and sustainable land use. Climate change is the defining challenge of our time, and most of the conversation...

A food forest is a deliberately designed multi-layered planting that mimics a natural forest while producing food, medicine, and habitat. Here is how they work and why they matter. Imagine a garden that produces fruit, vegetables, nuts, herbs, and medicine year-round,...

Physical design matters, but the social structures of an ecovillage are equally important. We look at how communities create belonging, resolve conflict, and make decisions together. An ecovillage is not just a physical place. It is a community, and communities are...

Water management is one of the most important design challenges for any ecovillage. We look at the strategies and systems that keep communities hydrated and their landscapes healthy. In Australia, water is never something you can take for granted. Climate variability,...