EcoReality Sustainable Land Use and Education Cooperative is developing an ecovillage in the South Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada. This ecovillage will be a model of sustainable development, and will feature public outreach and education as included goals.

We have agreed to acquire a 37 acre property next to a 63 acre "community farmland" site, backed by hundreds of acres of public parkland, all the way to the watershed divide. Habitation under rental agreement begins 1 June 2008, with purchase completion slated for 2 August 2008.

The combined public/private property has 50 acres of cleared, productive farmland (currently in hay), riparian and laucustrine areas, and young forest. The public parkland extends from the highest point on the island (Bruce Peak, at 704 metres), all the way to the ocean at Burgoyne Bay, and up the other side to the second-highest point (Mount Maxwell, at 579 metres, shown at right).

Every square foot of the 37+63 acre property is irrigated via a 2 acre pond and two year-round streams via an extensive buried irrigation system. The class-2 soils are in Zone 8-9. We are beginning a Permaculture design process for the combined 100 acre site.

Two houses with a total of nearly 4,200 sqft of living space have nine bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two kitchens between them, as well as ample room for meetings and home-based businesses. Four members will soon live in these buildings, sharing them with renters or additional members.

A garage/studio/workshop of about 1,200 sqft is currently rented, but will be used as a farm/craft retail space in the future.

We have begun a public education campaign leading to re-zoning that will enable construction of a number of additional dwelling units. Current zoning allows three additional houses and a cottage. We are beginning studies to determine the appropriate number of dwelling units, based on both carrying capacity of the land and agricultural labour needs. This will be a political process, with at least three government bodies and public hearings involved.

We are considering that all dwellings will be built using natural building techniques, with a considerable amount of community and habitant labour, and that all residents will perform some amount of agricultural work. Such requirements will help us obtain the zoning we need, as habitation density in this area is regulated by the Agricultural Land Commission, based on agricultural labour needs. We also wish to have a "poison pill" in our zoning, so conventional developers cannot subvert it to put "green suburbs" on agricultural land.

Current EcoReality members include an assistant professor of agroecology and two Permaculture instructors, as well as people with skills in natural building, alternative energy systems, videography, finance, information management, massage, education, alternative energy, and much more.

EcoReality Co-op was established in 2006, based on two years of research and experience with other such groups. We have established basic governance and other procedures, but have been careful not to lock in too much, knowing others would soon want to be involved in those decisions. We use consensus as a delegation and ratification method to empower stewards with authority and responsibility for accomplishing goals. All our decisions ultimately come down to compliance with a prioritized list of values, which we periodically re-visit — especially when new members join.

We are seeking additional members who can contribute approximately half the value of a typical North American suburban house to their sustainable future with us. Prospective members with outstanding skills who can contribute less are encouraged to contact us, as well. One of our core values is freedom from external debt, and once our no-interest, seller financing is paid off (late 2009), we will welcome others of fewer financial resources, as well.