How to Create Your Own Ecovillage

There are communities sprouting up around the country and around the world built on living a sustainable lifestyle. These are self-sufficient communities that produce everything they need to live right in their own backyards. It takes full cooperation from all of the residents but it is possible to create and live in an ecovillage.

Sharing. The staple of creating and living in an ecovillage is something you learned as a child--sharing. Instead of individuals using energy, food or other resources, the residents of ecovillages share these items instead. It may man limiting Internet access to a central location that everyone can access rather than in individual homes, carpooling or sharing cars. It's estimated that ecovillages can save between 50 and 60 percent on energy use.

Renew, reuse and recycle. Ecovillages also tend to use renewable energy sources, compost, recycle or reuse everything that they can. The rewards of this lifestyle can go beyond helping to save the environment. An ecovillage in Los Angeles, for example, offers reduced rental amounts to homes that don't own a car.

Build it green. Ecovillages tend to build green--using sustainable materials, solar energy and hot water designs, high-efficiency appliances, super-insulated roofs, high-performance windows, straw bale insulation, rainwater collection, composting and more.

Ecovillages grow the majority of their own food, so there is typically one or more organic gardens within the town limits. Ten acres of land devoted to organic farms can feed up to 1,000 residents. Family-style meals where everyone in the community pitches in to feed the community is also a common trait of an ecovillage. While some communities serve family-style meals three times a day, other communities do it a couple times a week.