What do a businessman, an engineer, an architect, an IT specialist, an anthropologist, a landscape gardener, an environmentalist and a pensioner all have in common? Answer: a vision of a sustainable future, living together in a self-sufficient village community. You might have a concept of an eco-village in your head, likely to be ever so slightly derogatory, picturing a smelly bunch of lank, longhaired, self-righteous, but gentle, preaching types.
Sustainable Projects Ireland Ltd is not the first of its kind, but is a charity with a difference. The general ethos of the company is holistic, taking a multi-faceted approach to the project it has been established to promote: to build a village community on the principles of sustainability on a 100-acre site within an hour's radius of Dublin.
The Village is just one example of a growing trend of similar projects. The Global Eco-Village Network (GEN) represents sustainable communities from all over the world. However, the Village and other new projects are shying away from the term "eco-village" since it seems to conjure up the stereotype of tree-hugging vegetarian hippies. Some projects prefer "farm village" to convey an agricultural emphasis.
Central to the idea of the Village is that of catering for the real human needs of community and creativity, while respecting the limits of the land. Sustainability requires that whatever is taken out of the ecosystem is essentially restored, and that the land is preserved. Permaculture is at the heart of sustainability and, in practical terms, translates to multi-layered systems of output-yielding input, forming a cycle of self-perpetuating input.
Gavin Harte, the project co-ordinator, says the Village concept has been meticulously researched and planned. The basic infrastructure will comprise around 40-45 houses, a community centre, an arts and enterprise centre and common land, including ponds, orchards, walks and forests.
The project currently has the backing of 25 supporters who have each invested an initial sum of £700. It's only the first step in a marathon.
Harte and Co have already seen some suitable sites, but the next step is approaching local authorities for planning permission. This, plus substantially more investment, is required before a site can be purchased.
Major provisions will be made for the development of small businesses within the Village. Opportunities include an organic farm, a bakery, a restaurant and pub, a hostel, a whole-food shop, a conference centre, an environmental building and design company, a publishing company and a green quality mark. Far from rejecting modernity, the Village will avail of the very latest technologies, applying them in advantageous ways, such as ISDN and tele-working to limit the need for travel.
Investors who have purchased the right to a plot, which will come when they have invested £30,000 in the company, must agree to abide by an Ecological Charter in terms of building requirements but will have plenty of freedom in terms of design and materials. Ecological building techniques likely to feature in the architecture of the Village include timber-frame, straw bale, rammed-earth, earth shelter and dome.
Rainwater will be collected for use in the bathroom. The Village will operate a reed bed system to purify both sewage and grey water. This biological waste-water system will not only treat contaminated water but also provide a natural habitat and a useful supply of compost.
Buildings will be super-insulated, while the Village will be connected to the National Grid certainly for the first few years, with the long-term aim of becoming self-sufficient. Windmills, solar cells, bio-mass generators and mini hydro-turbines will all help to achieve this aim of autonomy in energy provision.
"It's not a wacky idea," explains Harte. "There's a strong tradition of people building co-operative housing." The idea is to build a village which looks like any other indigenous Irish village. He emphasises that each eco-village "reflects its own turf", which is why the project cannot advance much further until the site has been found. The peculiar landscape of the chosen site will be the foundation of far more specific planning. Building and planning will have to mould and compromise around rivers, ponds and wooded areas.
People are drawn to the idea of the Village for a variety of reasons. For the majority, it seems to be the combination of all factors involved which lends particular appeal to the project, adding essence to the holistic ethos.
"The Village appeals on lots of different levels," says Caoimhin Woods, a landscape gardener who lives with his girlfriend and baby son. "On an idealistic level, it provides an opportunity for living sustainably and within my means. It is very empowering to be part of a project to build not only a house but a community on ecological, social and ethical principles."
Davie Philips, an environmentalist originally from Scotland, says "it gives me the opportunity to `walk the talk'. For the last four years, I've been telling people about sustainability while living unsustainably in the city."
You can contact Gavin Harte on 014781216, e-mail: info@thevillage.ie or visit the website: www.thevillage.ie The group meets on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month at 7.30 p.m. Contact group for details.