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It seems strange saying Happy New Year to you during these interesting times, but 2020 has started and at Narara Ecovillage, we are excited at the prospect. We have been under threat of fire and still the fire season has a way to go, but throughout this period we have witnessed some very sweet behaviours here, from offers of practical …
By Lyndall Parris 2019 has come and nearly gone, with a full year of activity behind us. It is time to say Happy Christmas, New Year and Holidays and give you an update on the extraordinary Narara Ecovillage (NEV) people and project. As the fires in our region continue as a threat to Narara Ecovillage, the solidarity within the community grows …
By Andrew and Megan Dobson As gardeners, winter is a reliable test for our patience, however when the growing season commences, a different and more immediate form of patience can heap untold rewards on the determined practitioner. At home in Wyoming, aphids bombarded our rose bushes. A preliminary hosing with water cut the infestation in half. Then we waited two …
The climate emergency and its impact on all life on the planet runs parallel with a crisis of disconnection between individuals, families and nations. Ironically the human groups with the greatest control over the resources of the world are also facing the highest levels of loneliness and mental illness, violence and rocketing rates of self-harm. For most of known history, …
Candy’s earthship at Narara Ecovillage (the first approved on the Central Coast) was designed by Australian earthship guru, Martin Freney of www.earthshipecohomes.com.au It’s a two-bedroom design for a small suburban block of land only 15m in the north south direction, and addresses principles of human needs: Thermo-solar heating and cooling Solar electricity Composting toilet Building with natural and recycled materials …
Who would have thought that in my 60’s I would be building a house and using words like ‘waffle pods’ and ‘thermal mass’ and attempting to understand how solar panels and normal/ grey/reticulated water all ties together. I’m an admin person who loves food, reading and music, and now the brain is being stretched to new levels! We’ve nicknamed my …
There’s movement afoot at Narara Ecovillage for some of Stage 2’s building lots to be co-owned and occupied by groups or collectives of up to 8 individuals. The legal identity of such a structure is yet to be nutted out, not to mention the compatibility of individuals, the building design and a host of other matters. For now, let’s just …
Hempcrete is relatively new to Australia with less than 50 houses using this sustainable building material in the whole country. Not only does it come from a renewable resource, using the stem of the hemp plant, but it provides a much healthier home due to it’s high breathability. good thermal and acoustic insulation breathable walls avoiding moisture build-up which prevents …
Our standards seek an outcome based on inclusive decision making, good design, good health and the well being of all community members. They encourage small and inexpensive houses knowingly designed to provide thermal comfort, low water use and low energy consumption. The standards also seek innovation from community members in the design of their homes and the use of recycled …
One of the pleasant tasks of life at the ecovillage is maintaining and regenerating the native bushland on the property. The village is situated next to the renowned Strickland State Forest, and forms with it an unbroken corridor of forest on ridge-land and slopes down into the Narara Valley. A volunteer team meets weekly to go into the forest and …
Cohousing is a model of residential light footprint planning that blends private space with shared resources. It originated in Denmark in the 1960’s and was adopted enthusiastically in America and the UK. Interest is now growing in Australia and innovative housing projects in both urban and rural environments, are drawing on the core elements of successful cohousing developments around the …
According to the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) website: An ecovillage is an intentional, traditional or urban community that is consciously designed through locally owned, participatory processes in all 4 dimensions of sustainability (social, culture, ecology, economy)into a whole systems design to regenerate its social and natural environment. Ecovillages are living laboratories pioneering beautiful alternatives and innovative solutions. They are rural or urban settlements …
We get asked a lot of questions about the way things work at Narara Ecovillage. Here’s a list of out top FAQs and the answers, in case they’re helpful for you too. Please note that you should not rely on these informal answers for any legal or financial matters. The formal legal documents of the Co-operative are the Disclosure Statement, …
What a privilege to have Angus Stewart and Tino Carnevale From ABC’s Gardening Australia visit Narara Ecovillage for our Mad About Dirt event, supported by the Central Coast Council. “Mad About Dirt” was a project of the Narara Eco Living Network Inc. Many thanks to Sam Freeman for making this video. More on the Mad About Dirt Event
It’s taken 20 years to get here, but, as the first houses are being completed, Lyndall Parris’ dream is finally coming to fruition. Lyndall has this month launched her memoirs, which tell the story of her life path leading her to establish the Narara Ecovillage. This Ecovillage, like all projects that seek to step away from the status quo, started as a series …
Narara Ecovillage aims to be self-sufficient for energy needs. The Ecovillage will continue to be connected to the wider energy grid, providing the opportunity to earn revenue by exporting unused surplus energy from PV panels. Another ongoing project is considering how the Ecovillage can continue to energise the Smart Grid during power outages in the wider energy grid. This will …
For the last 6 months, a troop of enthusiastic volunteers have been working away at improving the soil in our Triplespan Greenhouse to get the ground prepared for growing food. We chose the greenhouse because of its location down on the floodplain and because the old structure meant we could grow in an area protected from pests. We started by …
Geoff’s Hempcrete House My owner-build hemp house is ticking along slowly but steadily. After a 5 month wait my double-glazed Murray River red gum windows and doors have been delivered and installed. I think they look brilliant and well worth the wait. My roof is on and we are now all ready for the hempcrete workshop starting on 13 April …
