On a global level there is an increasingly urgent need for positive models which demonstrate a viable, sustainable human and planetary future. Ecovillages address this need, looking at sustainability not only in environmental but also in social, economic and spiritual terms.

The ecovillage model is a conscious response to the extremely complex problem of how to transform our human settlements, whether they be villages, towns or cities, into full-featured sustainable communities, harmlessly integrated into the natural environment.

Over the last twelve years ecovillage principles have be applied equally to urban and to rural settings, to both developing and over-developed countries, providing solutions to human and social needs, while at the same time protecting the environment and offering an enhanced quality of life for all.

The study and application of the ecovillage model is not only for ecologists. The model must be presented [to the public] in a systemic way, in a non-linear methodology, to generate a critical mass and a point of transition. Ecovillages can take people out of poverty and create jobs through the sense and spirit of community. They can restore human dignity in a profound way. - Fritjof Capra, Fundacao Gaia

Ecovillage Findhorn Social design Ecological building Renewable energy systems Ecological waste water treatment Organic food production Sustainable economics Ecovillage education