Multiple studies report that ecovillages, appropriate technology villages, and other intentional communities provide high-quality lifestyles while residents use anywhere from half to a quarter as much fossil fuel energy as their counterparts who are not living in ecovillages.[1] Researchers sometimes refer to reducing fossil fuel energy use to one-quarter as much, as making a "Factor Four" improvement.[2]
Although definitions vary widely and there is no specific set of defining standards, ecovillages are typically identified as communities working intentionally to achieve "ecological, economic, and cultural dimensions of sustainability . . . integrated into a holistic sustainable development model that is adapted to local contexts . . ., consiously designed through locally owned participatory processes."[3]
The Post Carbon Institute concludes, "[C]onventional forms of urban planning, design, and governance are poorly suited to our current reality or our collective future."[4] As one ecovillage founder notes, there is growing evidence that "conventional systems are failing" under the ecological pressures of the increasingly unstable global climate and rapidly increasing human populations. Such factors are leading more and more communities to consider and implement plans for sharply reducing greenhouse gas emissions.[5] Imminent needs include: learning how to best manage energy use while rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, documenting and cataloging best practices, and sharing successful approaches with many more (eventually all) less than fully-intentional communities.
This ongoing open-source research project aims to collect, categorize, and catalog the best eco-village tools, techniques, and practices for achieving net-zero carbon emissions and long-term environmental and ecological stewardship. The project goal is to identify and report on as many practical ideas and case studies as we can, about energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in ecovillages and other intentional communities around the world. Information is welcome about any and all ecovillage and intentional community practices, describing tools and techniques that are proving successful in reducing fossil fuel energy use.