We are excited to welcome visitors to our Ecovillage each month at our Open Day, as well as at a range of Ecovillage events and workshops – click here for regular events. We offer site tours as well as private tours by appointment.
Please watch this page or our Facebook page for updates and new event listings. For further information please contact us on 02 4328-1588 or [email protected].
Are you interested in Narara Ecovillage or perhaps already considering living here?
The Open Morning Talk & Tour shows what Narara Ecovillage is all about, and shows how we are putting our ideas around ecological, social and economic potential into action:
* shared food growing, natural retreats and Permaculture spaces
* shared community and workplaces
* examples of highly efficient low-carbon homes now and in the next stage
There will be several tours in small groups, departing from 10.30am
Talk & Tour tickets
* $15 contribution per adult
* NELN (Narara EcoLiving Network) members free
* Under 18s free
Booking
$15 per person – please book at https://march-2025-open-day.lilregie.com
Kids free!
MAKE A DAY OF IT! A UNIQUE WORKSHOP. From 1.30-4pm you can also register for a very special opportunity to hear ‘The Story Of Dorothy’, a geriatric Queenslander brought to Narara and brought up to 21st century eco-standards, and explore issues around retrofitting, with the architect of the project and its co-owner. See next calendar event or click here to book in.
Looking forward to welcoming you to Narara Ecovillage!
Contact
If you have any problems accessing the booking site, email [email protected] and precede the Subject title of your email with the words “Open Day”.
Learn valuable ways to make older homes more comfortable and energy efficient
1. Tour Dorothy – a retrofitted Queenslander featured on Restoration Australia (ABC iview)
2. Learn how to plan a retrofit
3. Practice on a real example
Enjoy this experiential workshop where you will learn about principles of passive solar design applied to retrofitting for energy efficiency. Tour a retrofitted ecovillage home, Dorothy, as seen on Restoration Australia and meet the owners, Rosemary and Rafaele. https://iview.abc.net.au/video/DO1911H006S00
Join with other participants and experts to have fun creating your own retrofitting plans for an existing home.
MAKE A DAY OF IT – Come along at 10am to join in our Open Morning Village Tour and talk before a delicious lunch at Neville, our Coffee Cart. See calendar entry above or click here to book the Open Morning tour.
This unique workshop is being co-led by GRAHAM HUNT (www.dhwdesign.com), a Thermal Comfort Assessor with Delisle Hunt Wood Architects who strive to deliver sustainable, connected and considered architecture. Graham was the architect responsible for transplanting Dorothy and bringing her up to 21st Century standards. DHW’s designs aim to be affordable and practical with people in mind. Graham was an architect for over 35 years and has been a NatHERS assessor for 25 years. A member of ABSA (Australian Building Sustainability Association) since its foundation. He was doing QA audits for ABSA for ten years. Between 2016 – 2024, Graham represented the AIA (Australian Institute of Architects) on various national government committees in relation to the NatHERS system and energy efficiency in the building regulations. Graham is a longtime member of Renew – www.renew.org.au and has been involved in the committee of the Sydney Central branch since its formation around 2008. He is currently Renew’s Board Secretary.
Graham’s co-leader is Adjunct Professor Rosemary Leonard, co-owner of Dorothy, and Chair in Social Capital and Sustainability in the School of Social Sciences at Western Sydney University. Rosemary also leads the Research Group at Narara Ecovillage. Her research interests include community development, the role of not-for-profit organisations in a variety of contexts, including community responses to sustainability issues. She was a Principal Research Scientist with the CSIRO for more than 5 years where she worked on Australian’s attitudes to climate change, and led projects which addressed the effects on communities of coal seam gas development and water-sensitive urban design.
For a list of publications please see: Google scholar https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=gICev9sAAAAJ&hl=en )
ResearchGate profile (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rosemary-Leonard)
The Rainforest Information Centre presents DEEP ECOLOGY with John Seed and friends
FROM JOHN SEED:
I have worked for worldwide rainforests since 1979. Although many of our efforts succeeded, for every forest saved 100 have disappeared. Clearly, you can’t save the planet one forest at a time. It’s one green Earth or a bowl of dust. Without a profound change of consciousness, we can kiss the forests goodbye, the ones we’ve “saved” alongside the rest.
Deep ecology is key to the change we need. To deep ecology, underlying all the symptoms of the environmental crisis lies a psychological or spiritual root – the illusion of separation from the rest of the natural world which stems from anthropocentrism or human-centeredness.
In this interactive day course, learn practical skills of Sociocracy to help make your meetings more effective. You are also welcome to register for the other events on this quarterly Open Weekend, and to stay in our accommodation on Friday and/or Saturday night (CLICK HERE FOR STAY DETAILS). Sunday starts with a Tour and Talk around the village, and in the afternoon you are invited to register for an ‘Energy-Efficient Buildings – Designing for Sustainability’ session (details in the two entries below this post).
Sociocracy is a method of inclusive decision-making used around the world in organisations and groups of all shapes and sizes – even individual families or households.
In this hands-on workshop you will learn about and apply some of the key tools of sociocracy, helping you to:
Tap the ‘wisdom of the group’
Develop practical aims
Make decisions effectively
Are you interested in Narara Ecovillage or perhaps already considering living here? Make a weekend of it, with a variety of accomodation options for Friday and/or Saturday evenings – CLICK HERE to see options – or drop in on Saturday or Sunday – or both days.
The quarterly Open Weekend of activities give you a more in depth opportunity to engage with the village and its members.
On Saturday 26th, 9.00-2.30, we’re running our popular session ‘Introduction to Sociocracy’, the non-hierarchical and participative system of governance we use across our structure, and from which it is easy to take ideas and features to incorporate into your own groups, or work, or possibly even your own life practices.
This weekend, the open Morning Talk & Tour is on Sunday 27th April and shows what Narara Ecovillage is all about, and how we are putting our ideas around ecological, social and economic potential into action:
* shared food growing, natural retreats and Permaculture spaces
* shared community and workplaces
* examples of highly efficient low-carbon homes now and in the next stage
There will be several tours in small groups, departing from 10.30am
On Sunday 27th afternoon, 1.30-3.30, we have a seminar on Energy Efficient Buildings – Designing for Sustainability (see next event) – we’ve got possibly the best and most varied collection in one place anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere and you’ll get to learn about and visit a number of them, with performance of up to 9 stars (we now require a minimum standard of 7.5 stars. You’ll find out what this means and feels like in practice).
Half day Talk & Tour tickets
* $15 contribution per adult
* NELN (Narara EcoLiving Network) members free
* Under 18s free
Booking $15 per person – please book at https://april-open-day-2025.lilregie.com
Kids free!
MAKE A WEEKEND OF IT! A UNIQUE WORKSHOP. Looking forward to welcoming you to Narara Ecovillage!
Contact If you have any problems accessing the booking site, email [email protected] and precede the subject title of your email with the words “Open Day”.
This workshop is part of our quarterly Open Weekend – why not make a weekend of it? We have a range of accommodation options for you to stay on Friday and or Saturday evening – CLICK HERE – or drop in for the Saturday or Sunday – or for both days!
- Learn the principles of passive solar design
- Gain an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of a range of natural building materials and construction methods including rammed earth, straw bale, hempcrete and earth bag.
- Hear from first-hand experience the lessons of doing owner-builder from design, to DA approval, to construction (including natural building workshops) and certification.
- See practical examples of passive solar design and carbon neutral living.
- Learn how the village runs on its own solar energy 24/7 and the role that EVs will play in powering our future homes.
Spend a weekend exploring edible gardens across the Central Coast. The event runs all weekend, but we are open 10-3pm on Saturday. Tickets are purchased through the Central Coast Edible Garden Trail. More info at their website: CLICK HERE
Make a Weekend of it right here! On Sunday 4th May we are also one of the main destinations for Sustainable House Day, with a wonderful range of houses to visit and free talks (CLICK HERE FOR LINK). Have a full and wonderful weekend and stay on Friday and or Saturday evenings in one of our accommodation options: CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS
Sustainable House Day 2025 (Narara Ecovillage)
The open houses are:
- The “Hobbit” studio – natural build
- Donna’s Hempcrete House
- Geoff’s Hemp House
- Heritage House – retrofit
- “Dorothy” – retrofit Queenslander (featured on Restoration Australia)
- Candy’s Earthship
- Karl and Annie’s House
- Ecovillage community battery and switch room
Talks
Two talks will also be held in the Village hall. Free but registrations essential:
9.15 – 11.30 Retrofitting sustainably for energy efficiency and comfort: Dr. John Shiel (sustainable building expert) and Kel Lupus (energy efficiency and thermal comfort) with visit to retrofit Queenslander “Dorothy”
1.30 – 3.30 Setting up Microgrids and Community Batteries: Toby Roxburgh (online) (zero emissions consultant) and Dave Parris (Electrical engineer and member of NEV Power team) with visit to the Ecovillage’s community battery and microgrid switch room.
“Neville” our community coffee cart is open for food, including lunch, until 1.30pm and coffee until 2pm. Please pre-order lunches on the day.
Make a Weekend of it! On Saturday 3rd May we are one of the destinations for the Central Coast Edible Gardens Trail. Have a full and wonderful weekend and stay on Friday and or Saturday evenings in one of our accommodation options: CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS
Are you interested in Narara Ecovillage or perhaps already considering living here?
The Open Morning Talk & Tour shows what Narara Ecovillage is all about, and shows how we are putting our ideas around ecological, social and economic potential into action:
* shared food growing, natural retreats and Permaculture spaces
* shared community and workplaces
* examples of highly efficient low-carbon homes now and in the next stage
There will be several tours in small groups, departing from 10.30am
Talk & Tour tickets
* $15 contribution per adult
* NELN (Narara EcoLiving Network) members free
* Under 18s free
Booking
$15 per person – booking link to be added soon
Kids free!
MAKE A DAY OF IT! A UNIQUE WORKSHOP. From 1.30-4pm you can also register for a very special event – More information to follow.
Looking forward to welcoming you to Narara Ecovillage!
Contact
If you have any problems accessing the booking site, email [email protected] and precede the Subject title of your email with the words “Open Day”.
Are you interested in Narara Ecovillage or perhaps already considering living here?
The Open Morning Talk & Tour shows what Narara Ecovillage is all about, and shows how we are putting our ideas around ecological, social and economic potential into action:
* shared food growing, natural retreats and Permaculture spaces
* shared community and workplaces
* examples of highly efficient low-carbon homes now and in the next stage
There will be several tours in small groups, departing from 10.30am
Talk & Tour tickets
* $15 contribution per adult
* NELN (Narara EcoLiving Network) members free
* Under 18s free
Booking
$15 per person – booking link to be added soon
Kids free!
MAKE A DAY OF IT! A UNIQUE WORKSHOP. From 1.30-4pm you can also register for a very special event – More information to follow.
Looking forward to welcoming you to Narara Ecovillage!
Contact
If you have any problems accessing the booking site, email [email protected] and precede the Subject title of your email with the words “Open Day”.
Are you interested in Narara Ecovillage or perhaps already considering living here? Make a weekend of it, with a variety of accomodation options for Friday and/or Saturday evenings – CLICK HERE to see options – or drop in on Saturday or Sunday – or both days.
The quarterly Open Weekend of activities give you a more in depth opportunity to engage with the village and its members. On Saturday, we will have a tasty workshop on Bread Making. More information to follow.
The open Morning Talk & Tour is on Sunday and shows what Narara Ecovillage is all about, and how we are putting our ideas around ecological, social and economic potential into action:
* shared food growing, natural retreats and Permaculture spaces
* shared community and workplaces
* examples of highly efficient low-carbon homes now and in the next stage
There will be several tours in small groups, departing from 10.30am
In the afternoon, we’re running our hands-on session ‘Herbal remedies and tinctures’. More information to follow.
Half day Talk & Tour tickets
* $15 contribution per adult
* NELN (Narara EcoLiving Network) members free
* Under 18s free
Booking
$15 per person – booking link to be added soon
Kids free!
MAKE A WEEKEND OF IT! A UNIQUE WORKSHOP.
Looking forward to welcoming you to Narara Ecovillage!
Contact
If you have any problems accessing the booking site, email [email protected] and precede the Subject title of your email with the words “Open Day”.