Ecovillages & Sustainability
The ecovillage movement rose to “put bioregional thought and permaculture methodology into practice at the community level" (Esteves, 2017). In 1995, The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) was established to connect communities with a similar sustainability mindset (Pais, 2015).
GEN defined ecovillages as “an intentional or traditional community using local participatory processes to holistically integrate ecological, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of sustainability in order to regenerate social and natural environments” (Hong et Vicdan, 2016). The foundation of this sustainability movement aims to satisfy present needs while keeping the lives of future generations in mind (Mischen et al.,2019). GEN released a framework for sustainability that incorporates social (cultivate inclusive, responsive, and transparent decision making), cultural (nurture mindfulness and personal growth), economic (reconstruct the concept of wealth, progress and growth) and ecological (renewable energy and replenish sources and cycle of water) dimensions (Pais, 2015).
This theory of sustainability works in tandem with self-sufficiency and sharing responsibility through community-based efforts that involve producing, distributing, and consuming their own goods and services (Adam-Hernández, 2020; Bartels, 2022). Making self-sufficiency a priority for many ecovillages (Pais, 2015).
Studies have shown that these sustainability goals have also come with challenges for ecovillages worldwide (Sham et al., 2021). Cultivating food organically, finding financial security, social isolation and energy efficiency are found to be common challenges.
In an effort to further understand and document the sustainability of ecovillages, seven case studies were explored with a focus on the following questions:
How is GEN’s sustainability framework applied to ecovillages in the South of Spain and Portugal?
What are the similarities and differences in the implementation of this framework in ecovillages?
References
Esteves, A. M., Bauwens, M., Roque Amaro, R., Carvalho, C., Campbell, S., Dregger, L., Alleveldt, M., Ayalon, U., Alves, F. M., Vizinho, A., Penha-Lopes, G., Sass-Ferguson, R., Sobral, D., Nachtrub, M., Ewig, J., & Baigler, J. (2017). “Commoning” at the borderland: ecovillage development, socio-economic
Hong, S., & Vicdan, H. (2016). Re-imagining the utopian: Transformation of a sustainable lifestyle in ecovillages. Journal of Business Research, 69(1), 120–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JBUSRES.2015.07.026
Mischen, P. A., Homsy, G. C., Lipo, C. P., Holahan, R., Imbruce, V., Pape, A., & Reina, M. (2019). A foundation for measuring community sustainability. Sustainability, 11(7), 1903.
Pais, Nora (2015). The History of the Global Ecovillage Network: 1991-2005.https://ecovillage.org/gen-history/
Sham., R., Mohammad, I., Csabai, D., & Mohammad, N. M. N. (2021). Ecovillages, environment and sustainability practice. Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 6(17), 243-249.Video: Global Warming from 1880 to 2022 – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. (2023).
