Todays’ treat!
Radhika reflects on three months at NEV
At the end of March I attended a fascinating talk about the Auroville Ecovillage (more an ‘Ecotown’ with over 3000 residents!) in India by Radhika, a delightful young engineer who has lived there for 7 years, and who had recently arrived to spend a few months at NEV, thanks in part to Tanya and the Global Ecovillage Network. Hard to …
Crisp morning mists
Winter nights are crisp but the mist rises from the forest and the days are glorious!
17 A & B Gugandi
Jonathan and Sue are building a modular 3 bedroom house adapted from a Parkwood Homes design at the front of this site on Gugandi Rd, the main ‘spine’ road of the village, close to the Village Hall and Coffee Cart and to our recycling collection point. The dual-occupancy site will ultimately include Tanya’s 2 bedroom home to the rear as …
When can I move in?
There are usually a handful of completed homes available for rent or sale, since families grow, people age or downsize, and unexpected changes do happen. You can see some of these opportunities by clicking the link at the bottom. For those wishing to build, we have nearly completed sales of the 550m2 lots on stage 2, and expect to have …
What Life is Like in this Ecovillage
After 28 years of dreaming, progressing and living the Narara Ecovillage Dream, Lyndall Parris reflects on some of the aspects of Narara Ecovillage that she loves. It is fun living at Narara Ecovillage (NEV): when the NEV band plays gigs in the Village Hall and I dance with people my height and kids up to my belly button when I walk the …
Narara Ecovillage 6-point Strategic Plan 2022-2030
Dave Burrows In a collaborative process lasting several months, members of Narara Ecovillage developed 6 objectives for 2030 in the areas of biodiversity, food growing, collaboration, regenerative business and carbon emissions. The Plan has six objectives which the Ecovillage will seek to achieve by 2030. For each Objective, a Circle or Working Group has been designated to develop strategies, implement …
Biodynamics Workshop
By Rafaele Joudry Last weekend, five members and five visitors spent a wonderful two days learning about Biodynamic compost and other wonders of Biodynamic gardening methods. Teacher Diane Watkin attended despite having an infected leg, but she said the whole experience was so delightful, feeling the gentle welcome and peaceful atmosphere of our community that she felt restored by being …
House-sitting at the Ecovillage
A big and sincere thank you to all the wonderful villagers who through their kindness made our summer holiday the most amazing stay ever. Through your thoughtfulness and generosity, we were able to enjoy the beautiful bird singing every day, having the scenic views over the surroundings, spend time amongst the nature every day learning catchy tunes of the butcher …
Plotting our progress – Evaluating Narara Ecovillage’s social, environmental, and economic projects
Rosemary Leonard Narara Ecovillage (NEV) is a living experiment in how people can work together at the local level to create a thriving community. NEV members know we need to explore new ways not only of regenerating the environment and our communities but also our economic systems – because they all work together. One of the most exciting aspects of …
Revising our Aim
Background notes Nurture: some people did not like the word “develop” because it sounds like a mainstream housing development. “Create and Build” were in the last aim and are not suitable because we will have built it before the end of 10 years. “Grow” sounds a bit odd! So we landed on ‘nurture’, a word requested several times during the Picture …
The Bulk Food Store (aka ‘the Food Co-op’)
by Annie McCluskey Early this year, I started volunteering at the Narara Ecovillage bulk food store for two hours each week. I really enjoy this role, as it allows me to meet more village members and learn about food, while contributing to our community. Six village volunteers run the store, which opens at least twice a week. The store was …
The curious tale of reciprocity, camaraderie and circularity in the building of a tennis wall
by Lyndall Parris A couple of us saw the usefulness of a fun, exercise-friendly, focal hub in the Ecovillage, particularly as a wave of our kids are maturing. We developed a proposal to build a tennis wall on an existing flat bitumen surface, sought lots of input and discussion, then received consent from the relevant community team to go ahead. …
School Options (around the Central Coast)
A conversation between families in the Ecovillage who have chosen different schooling options for their children. Which schools are great in the Narara area? What are considered to be the best schools on the Central Coast? How do the local Steiner, Montessori, Home School and Public Schools differ in aspects of classroom sizes, homework and use of technology? Which dovetails …
CL@N: Collaborative Living at Narara – Sharing ownership to create an intergenerational ecovillage
By Lyndall Parris The original and key aim of Narara Ecovillage is to, among other things: ‘research, design and build an intergenerational, demonstration ecovillage’. Currently of the 190 Nararians, 37% are under 50 years of age (20% of these are children); interestingly, no one in their 20s, perhaps for very explainable reasons. We recognise the importance of intergenerational living as …
Sociocracy: How we get things done at Narara Ecovillage
People often ask us how we make decisions and handle our differences. We use a method called Sociocracy: an evolution beyond democracy and beyond consensus. Sociocracy includes many practical elements such as: 1 Decisions are made in smaller or larger groups meeting as circles In a circle, each person’s voice is valued equally; we take turns speaking and listening. The …
Ecovillage Living: Intangible Benefits for Kids
By Deb Mohr I love that my two kids enjoy lots of free play, climb trees, help with the weeding and the community chooks and have access to so much more land than we could afford to maintain ourselves. This was definitely one of the draw cards for us, when choosing to move our family to Narara Ecovillage. But some …
Collaborative Living at the Ecovillage
Chris and Jazz share a block of land at the Narara Ecovillage. We get a tour of their place for this year’s online Sustainable House Day.
Triplespan Growing Experiment
What happens when you get a bunch of permaculturalists, landscapers, growers, botanists, and people who like good food in the one place? The veggie patch version of a cosmic explosion! Join us to chat with Marg from the Triplespan Growing Group about the niche growing ideas used in the Triplespan Greenhouse here at Narara Ecovillage. There’s sure to be a …
After school at the Ecovillage
-by Megan Wallace My son rushed in the door, so animated after sharing a ride home from school with our neighbours. After a quick chat and snack he hears our home schooling buddies riding by and rushes out to play. I take the opportunity to walk over to our common area and am delighted to progress our idea of a …