EcoVillage Website
Mission
EcoVillage at Ithaca is creating a model community that will exemplify sustainable systems of living - systems that are not only practical in themselves, but replicable by others. The completed project will demonstrate the feasibility of a design that meets basic human needs such as shelter, food production, energy, social interaction, work and recreation while preserving natural ecosystems."
Description of Work
Now, sixteen years into the project, we have a well-developed demonstration project with 176 acres of land, two cohousing neighborhoods with 160 residents, two working organic farms, and partnerships with many different academic and community groups, locally, nationally and internationally. We are seen as an important model of sustainable community development - one that addresses twin problems of environmental degradation and social isolation, by creating a positive alternative that emphasizes strong community ties and ecological awareness.
Director's Bio
As the co-founder and director of EcoVillage at Ithaca (EVI) since 1991, Liz Walker has dedicated her full-time work to bring this internationally acclaimed project from vision to reality. Her book, EcoVillage at Ithaca: Pioneering a Sustainable Culture, (2005, New Society Publishers) has helped to introduce the concept of ecovillages to a broad audience in the U.S. and other countries. The book has been translated into Japanese and Korean. Liz travels widely to speak, lead workshops, and promote sustainable human settlements. She is frequently interviewed about her work on national and international media.
Liz brings a lifetime of grassroots activism to her work, from organizing non-violent civil disobedience campaigns against nuclear power and nuclear weapons, to teaching conflict resolution and consensus decision making, to co-producing a nationally distributed slideshow on energy alternatives, to walking across the U.S. to promote environmental awareness. She is delighted to be working on a positive, living alternative to some of our most entrenched societal problems.
Social Impact
EVI's message has reached literally millions of people through extensive media coverage. It has been the subject of national television shows in the U.S., Japan and Spain. Articles about EVI have appeared in the largest Arabic environmental magazine in the world, in the U.K., in Korea, and many other countries. In the U.S. it has been covered by special reports on CNN, PBS, NPR, Voice of America, and The New York Times, among others.
In addition to the media exposure, tens of thousands of people have had a more direct experience of EVI through tours, workshops and presentations in the U.S., Japan, the Phillipines and Senegal. Walker’s book has also helped to reach thousands of people with a message of empowerment and hope, and she is frequently asked to be an inspirational speaker to help catalyze a budding ecovillage group.
EcoVillage at Ithaca has helped to create systemic change as well. As just one international example, Mr. Hobun Ikeya, President of the Japan Ecosystems Conservation Society, the largest environmental group in Japan, believes that EVI is a key example of how Japanese towns and cities should develop in the future. EVI was featured in their 2006 Annual Report, and highlighted as an important part of a conference for 400 mayors from around Japan. In the U.S., EVI has helped to influence the cohousing and intentional communities movements to become increasingly "eco-friendly." Locally, EVI has partnered with Ithaca College, which has now become a highly recognized leader in sustainability education. From this community and college partnership, a new network, Sustainable Tompkins, has developed which is making large strides in organizing city and countywide sustainability initiatives. Ithaca was just named the "2nd greenest city in the U.S," in no small part because of the multiple initiatives named above.
In the 16 years since EVI was initiated, ecovillages have emerged from obscurity to become something of a buzzword. They are being seen as important "points of light" and experimentation for the emerging human paradigm of learning to live in harmony with each other and with the natural world. EcoVillage at Ithaca is seen as an important contributor to this trend with a model that resonates around the world, and that has been embraced by many constituencies - from inner city activists to developers, from professors to city planners, from farmers to architects. Our original mission of creating a model sustainable community has had ripple effects far beyond our highest expectations. As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."