The Somerville Ecovillage

Paul Antonelli, November 2003

The more people on the ground that are actively involved in sustainable activities the greater the impact which can be made in the area of sustainability. If we wish to see the philosophy of sustainability remain "sustainable" systems and processes need to be developed which satisfy the very basis of what sustainability means.The Somerville Ecovillage is a project which is doing just this.

Some of the goals of the project are to include a complete range of sustainable design practices and strategies. This will include use of permaculture principles, affordable housing, family-support systems, economic development, and upfront community development. All of this will take place in a framework of being financially and economically viable.

The Somerville Ecovillage will be a leading edge example of a sustainable development challenging many of the existing beliefs and paradigms. Through the development of careful processes and systems it has begun to create an approach for involving and gaining high commitment from a wide cross section of the community for a common goal and purpose: establishment of a world class sustainable development.

The challenge in this process is to strike the balance between the needs for systems and process and the essential needs of the people involved. The Somerville Project has identified key factors for consideration when evolving a sustainability based project. From these key factors the evolution of a strategy and philosophy was formulated to support the overall outcome: people in action on sustainability.

Sustainable development has now become the catch cry of the new millennium. What does it actually mean and how can we move towards it are some of the key questions being considered at the moment.

Sustainability begins in our own back yard. For us to move towards a more sustainable future it will be necessary to change old paradigms and the way in which we think. Taking this to the next step it will be necessary for us to change the way we live and what our expectations of life on a day to day basis are.

Fundamentally the entire concept of sustainable development is an approach in trying to ensure that the impact that we, as a species on this planet, have on this earth is such that it can be sustained. It is all about changing attitudes and then actions – without this there will be no sustainability. The ecovillage movement is doing just this.

There are many definitions for what an ecovillage is. One that I belive best represents the essence of ecovillages is the following, by Robertson Gilman.

An ecovillage is:

It is with this definition in mind that the Somerville Ecovillage Project has unfolded.

People that choose to move towards ecovillages as a way to live do so with community living being a key driver. Many of the other issues relating to sustainability are of importance but it has become clear that the issue of having a sense of place within a community is something that we all crave and in fact need.

This is nothing new – it is simply returning to a style of life and a way of living that existed half way through the last century. The advent of technology and a focus on economic goals has caused the undermining of this basic need and want of everyday life. Ecovillages are our hope for the future in recreating what we once had.

Ecocom Solutions Incorporated, along with its 100% owned subsidiary, Greenedge Solutions Pty Ltd are the entities behind the Somerville Ecovillage Project. Ecocom is a not for profit association with over 100 members. Through the resources provided by its members Ecocom was able to provide loan funds to Greenedge Solutions for the purchase of the land earmarked for the Somerville Ecovillage. In essence what this means is the land is indirectly owned by the members of Ecocom Solutions Inc. No external funding or finance was required.

The Somerville Ecovillage project is now at the stage of rezoning and obtaining necessary approvals for the construction of an ecovillage on the selected land. Greenedge Solutions will focus on this process and creating the physical ecovillage on the selected property. The "hard" aspect of ecovillage creation.

It is anticipated that future residents will be able to move By Paul Antonelli [Ed: the Somerville Village is in the Chidlow area, about 40kms north of Perth] onto the property and begin to build individual homes in approximately two years. It will be at this point in time that the hard and soft aspects will come together in the implementation phase of creating an ecovillage.

The Somerville Project is a model which not only provides a vision for what sustainable developments will look like – but is also at the frontier of establishing processes which provide an opportunity for the community to be involved in the creation of ecovillages.

The process started with a vision and then with the people – the potential community. It was this approach which is now providing the solid foundation from which the project will be able to evolve to the next level. This process is one of engagement, and a continually increasing level of commitment from key stakeholders.

The land had now been located and a large number of families had indicated an ongoing interest in the project over the previous year. It was now time to make a connection between the land and the people and move the project into the next stage. This is the phase where a higher level of validation and commitment would be required.

An association was formed, Ecocom Solutions and the first AGM was held electing office bearers. This now provided a formal framework for people to become involved with the project. At the first AGM there existed 23 members. These were in essence the pioneers of the Somerville Ecovillage project.

Also a project team had been created from the Ecocom members to begin to evolve the project to the next level.

In order to purchase the site $1.1 million dollars would need to be raised. It was decided that in order to be viable the land would be purchased with no external bank finance. This would test the commitment of people and determine how viable a project like this was.

After much research legal structures were created to facilitate the fundraising process. This was ground breaking activity, as nothing like this had ever been successfully undertaken. It was a difficult stage where an element of risk and uncertainty had to be accepted.

Following the creation of appropriate structures and documentation the required funds were fully raised from Ecocom members. This was based on a complete range of promotional and educational processes. This process was complete in less than 6 months.

The outcomes of this process were the successful acquisition of the land, now owned indirectly by the potential community, and the start of the future ecovillage community. This was made up of a diverse range of committed and highly motivated individuals. The two key raw ingredients of a successful ecovillage were now in place.

The Somerville Ecovillage will be a world leading example of sustainable development. The process to date has taken into account all core areas of sustainability and this will continue to underpin the processes and decisions undertaken in the future.

Sustainability is clearly not just about outcomes. It is about people, attitudes and evolution of the way in which we as a society choose to live, work and interact with each other.

For further information please visit the website www.greenedge.org

[Paul Antonelli wrote this article after spending a few days at Christie Walk with his family.]