A Visit to Earthaven Ecovillage

A Visit to Earthaven Ecovillage01/24/2012   Yesterday, Saturday the 21st of January, Melinda and I were able to stop by Earthaven Ecovillage. As one of the more researched communities of our EVRP, I was really excited about the opportunity to catch a glimps of it while doing our cross-country tour. I’d like to share our brief experience at Earthaven, while pointing out some features we thought were interesting and informative. Located in Black Mountain, North Carolina – about an hour drive from Ashville – the 320 acre community is set back in the temperate rainforest Appalachian region. To confirm it was indeed a rainforest a consistent rainfall accompanied our drive and 3.5 hour tour! However, part of living on a rustic ecovillage is cooperating with and appreciating the various elements and so our group of 6 visitors and tour leader, River Otter, happily tromped through the chill and wet together.  As we arrived, part of me was expecting to see a grandiose welcome sign, people running around working and building, natural building houses posted with informative signs, etc. What we did find was a beautifully modest “Earthaven Ecovillage” sign, silent fields with evidence work-in-progress projects, and specklings of unique single or grouping of dwellings. We drove along the gravel road toward the visitor kiosk as hand painted signs encouraged us to drive slowly and “take your time”, it was pleasant. Once we parked and introduced ourselves to the other visitors, we set off for the common building to seek a bathroom. This is one of the few flushing toilets on the property as the rest are composting toilets that make use of the valuable “humanure” we all produce. Within the common building gathered a group of members that were preparing for a learning forum. We were later told this was a meeting of the educational non-profit section of the community that were to discuss the future development of their educational programs. This group of people would prove as an example of the majority of age sampling at the community – younger folks in their 20s-30s and older folks of retirement age. As our guide, River Otter, explained her age group of 40s-50s are less common as they are either career or family bound.  Our tour’s first stop took us to the Micro-Hydro station located near the common house, next to the river. Using a system of funneling the rushing water into successive smaller pvc pipes to increase pressure and spin turbines, the river powered a significant portion of the community. The rest of the power comes from passive/active solar and an occasional gas generator to afford them 100% off-grid energy. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the construction of the Micro-Hydro system was simple and “homemade”, not necessarily an expensive and intimidating packaged product. River Otter shared that during the 3-4 year search for this land a “Bold Water” presence was of primary concern. She explained that this meant the water source had to be significant enough to be tapped into to draw spring water and electric power from. She also insisted that when searching for land to build a community on, that one should seek out a space that already has some buildings on it and/or already cleared land – as it is easier to reforest than clear trees. She pointed out that all of Earthaven was forested when purchased and therefore all the open space for farming and housing we saw was created by various methods of low-impact clearing.  We continued on our tour across a slated bridge made from felled and milled trees from the land, as most of the timber used to build there is. As she took us through several of the fourteen “neighborhoods” in the community, River Otter explained the wide variety of building techniques used for the dwellings. There is an impressive range from bamboo slated stuffed with clay straw; primarily cobb; straw bale; timber beams and straw; rammed earth (earthship); and more. The types of dwellings ranged as well – from single room cottages, multi-level homes, co-housing buildings, and old trailers used for transition. Many of the homes don’t have kitchens or bathrooms, as members can choose to belong to one of the community kitchens and shared bath houses. This, of course, serves to decrease the need for expensive facilities and allows for a stronger sense of community while sharing meals and living space. Even though Earthaven has several shared kitchens and facilities, it also strives to be a very individualized community. This means that they are an “income independent” community that encourages economic self-sufficiency requiring annual living/leasing fees. Many of the members operate their own small business (Red Moon Herbs, Round Mountain Builders, Useful Plants Nursery, etc), are consultants, writers, workshop leaders, skilled workers (construction, massage, chiropractor), and hold several part time jobs onsite or near by (babysitting, house cleaning, etc). To encourage community and local economic practices, Earthaven has its own currency that the members can exchange for various onsite work in place of US cash. When asked what the top challenges of living in a community are, one long-time member expressed that often the “non-physical is more challenging than the physical”. She explained that the social and interpersonal elements of so many people (50+ members) can be difficult. To address this inevitability they have many meetings and workshops to explore conflict resolution and communication. I can imagine that the culmination of such a diverse population of people dedicated to both individuality and community most certainly offers the consistent opportunity for personal evolution! Another challenge this member identified was earning income. As I mentioned, many of the members are small business owners and multi-part-time job holders. By choosing to live approximately an hour from the nearest “big city”, members really have to get creative with income unless they are retired. This creative income challenge, however, is one that all of the members are open to and see as more fulfilling than the hustle-bustle of the career path lifestyle so common to most of us. An intriguing solution to this could be the integration of a larger community business, common to the various “income sharing” communities such as Twin Oaks in Virginia and East Wind in Missouri. These communities employ their members to work within the onsite business allowing them the benefit of health, dental, and eye insurance as well as a monthly stipend. Though sharing income is not always appealing to people (myself included), I see a large community business as a viable alternative to economic struggle for members that could free up time and energy for more creative and fulfilling pursuits. I’ll have to investigate an independent income with community business opportunity option for our DreemLand.  The final challenge this member shared was building codes and permiting. This is a common discussion when it comes to the world of green and natural building practices. Due to the codes and regulations, many of the methods of sustainable building are outright illegal for people to live in – even if they are completely acceptable to the inhabitants. These codes really inhibit the valuable experimental process needed to shift away from the present environmentally damaging method of building and force green builders to dance the line of legality. Many of the buildings at Earthaven are struggling to conform to these codes and there are mixed emotions about the urgency to do so. Intriguingly, there are also consistent debates between the “green builders” and the who utilize manufactured, high efficiency supplies while the “natural builders” frown upon manufactured and support recycled/reclaimed/natural building supplies. You can notice the difference as you tour Earthaven as the natural builders have bumpy, curvy, hand-made looking structures and the green builders sport a more modern corners and roofed style. I’d imagine that a healthy blending of modern high-efficiency and earthly proficient techniques is best in the end. As we ended our tour back at the common building, Melinda and I felt we gained a significant amount of information as to how this community pioneers on to seek new sustainable solutions. Earthaven is an excellent example of the ongoing adventure of creating community, educating oneself and others, and how to push the boundaries of our culture and selves to create a positive change in this world. I am so thankful to Earthaven for their openness and hospitality! ~Dani