Creating Community
(Page 4 of 8)
June/July 2003
By Dan Chiras and Diana Leafe Christian
Central to the members' ecovillage vision was the preservation of 90 percent of their 176 acres as open space for organic agriculture, woods, meadows and wetlands, and the establishment of 50 acres as a permanent conservation easement, administered by a local land trust.
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GREEN CITIES, GREEN ACRES
But not all ecovillages focus on preserving green acres. A testament to this is the ecovillage growing in the heart of one of the most populous cities in the United States: Los Angeles.
Founder Lois Arkin began Los Angeles EcoVillage as a response to the 1993 riots in that city. At that time, racism, crime and drugs were prevalent in the Latino/Korean neighborhood that Arkin calls home. Graffiti sullied the walls of apartments, houses and commercial buildings; families were leaving in droves.
To stop the mass exodus, some serious community building needed to take place. Arkin and a few of her neighbors launched a neighborhood networking newsletter, went door-to-door to meet people, and organized neighborhood events, from planting fruit trees on the parking strips to hosting a brunch in the middle of an intersection.
"People thought we were crazy," Arkin says, "but traffic did slow. And some drivers even stopped to join us for tea!"
Through Arkin's efforts, the nonprofit sponsoring organization, Cooperative Resources and Services Project, raised more than $1 million in low-interest loans to buy two 80-year-old apartment buildings, which provide permanently affordable housing to residents. LA Ecovillage is now in the process of buying the buildings from the nonprofit to take the next step in economic self-reliance and create their own resident-owned housing co-op.
Today, the village is 35 "intentional neighbors" strong. Besides sustainably renovating the apartment buildings, residents have established several small organic gardens, planted 100 fruit trees in their neighborhood, and set up shared compost and recycling facilities. They're retrofitting their apartment buildings with environmentally friendly materials, and are creating plans to add solar hot water. Resident T.H. Culhane's apartment is entirely off the grid. Twelve solar panels on the roof and a backup hike-powered generator power an air conditioner, freezer, phone, computer, radio, TV and VCR, lights, generators, pumps and Culhane's electric guitar (though not all at the same time).
LA Ecovillage neighbors meet weekly to make consensus decisions about the buildings and the community, and gather for Sunday potlucks and spontaneous midweek meals in the courtyard garden or lobby.
About a dozen of the residents make some percentage of their living at home, offering services to their neighbors such as maintenance and repair, remodeling and housecleaning. Embryonic businesses onsite include a bike repair co-op and a bed and breakfast; future entrepreneurial plans include a healing center and a food co-op and cafe.
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