On Monday I had a tour with Brandy Gallagher of O.U.R. Ecovillage where I got to see first hand some of the great work they are doing - not just in designing and living sustainably - but in teaching others how they can do so as well.
Eco-village is a sustainable learning community and demonstration site located in the beautiful Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Brandy took me on a tour of their gardens, workshops, buildings, and kitchen. I reflected upon how living sustainably means very different things to different people. I might think I am being sustainable by taking a bus to work. But living sustainably here means making much bigger changes. They harness solar power for energy, use well water and recycling systems, grow the food they eat, and use only natural and recycled materials to build their homes and buildings.
It sounds pretty tough, doesn’t it? But the buildings are beautiful, the gardens are green, and the food served in their Zero Mile Bistro rivals any restaurant you might find anywhere. What they teach in this demonstration community is that it is possible to make changes to how we live, with little if any personal inconvenience, for the greater benefit of our community and ourselves.
Take a look at a hay bale structure going up (http://ourecovillage.org/our-activities/education-2/2010-natural-building-workshops/small-straw-bale-100-square-feet/). This is definitely a course I will sign up for in future – I just need to figure out how to get my partner to agree to let me build this in the yard! But my job is all about selling good and responsible ideas to those who may be skeptical.
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