WE ARE A GROUP OF PIONEERS…
…and we search other people that shares a project of life that includes: the construction of an Ecovillage in complete respect of the environment that will hold us, with the use of simples and essentials materials, in contact with the Earth, in one of the nicest places in our zone, “Tretto di Schio”. The research of relationship more profound between the people, where the values of solidariety, sharing and sincerity will be the bottom of our relation. The desire to dedicate part of our time and of our money on collectives activities, and particularly on agricultural activities,… At the project can take part either single person or families. The times of realization are reasonably forseeables in three years.
The Ecovillage
Our aim is to create a set of buildings hosting a wide range of people: from families willing to have a significantly wide private space to singles or groups of people willing to make a more experimental choice where private spaces are considerably fewer compared to the common ones. Everyone would have the possibility/duty to keep and make use of common spaces such as heating rooms, laundry-drying rooms, a common activity room, reparation and manual activity labs.
We think that different kind of living spaces can take their place, together with a variety of common rooms and spaces. Terraced houses with a wide private space will be built for family use.
There will be also buildings with more opportunities for life sharing, having a two-three room private space and kitchen, living room, restrooms, hallway, etc to share.
Our aim is to reduce the environmental impact of the building construction. We will, for instance, keep down the excavations, we will use raw and sustainable materials such as wood and thatch. A high energy saving and attention on water spare are paramount. The design is going to be sober and neat.
We believe that the building costs could be kept down by using raw materials and self-building methods, meaning that those people with technical and building skills, together with time availability, will be able to participe in building the houses.
The costs related to residential zoning and urbanization charges are few, but we expect to end up with low overall costs compared to the construction market trends.The building land is located in the nearings of San Rocco, on Tretto’s plateau, situated in between mount Novegno and mount Summano, in back of the town of Schio (Vicenza), at an altitude of 700 metres, 10 minutes from Santorso and 15 min from Schio.
Relationships
We are nowadays 7 mil. on planet Earth and we can’t think about having a private space only for us anymore. It becomes more and more important that people, nations, continents look at each other with sympathy. Our small contribution for a better world consists, together with people sharing the values of this project, in finding a way of life based on genuine relationships.
We encourage solidarity instead of competition, inclusion instead of exclusion, we want to perceive less the “I” and more the “we”.
We are driven in the search of means to look beyond our earthly personality, well-aware that our truthful being is our inner man. We’re following the path that will make us overcome our miseries and the ones of whom’s with us. This common spiritual search is not a one-way of thinking philosophy, science, religion, discipline or tradition, but it is a free individual journey instead. The community will therefore live moments to share, but not under the same rules.
Group activities
We are asking to the ones joining in, to give, in the way and amount that it is possible for them, some of their time and assets to others. We would like group activities to take place with the only purpose of spending some time doing something that will benefit everyone. We include also activities done by singles for the community’s benefit.
Our community already handles some land in the vicinities of the area where the ecovillage will be built. This land has been let from generous people and will be used, from this spring on, as biodinamic and omeodinamic farming.
Farming will be a cohesive factor in the community, yet not the only one. The link to mother Earth we’ve lost, will find strenght through care, support and nourishment. Land will be cultivated in plots and shared fields avoiding each group to “cultivate one’s own garden”.
How to join in
There are several ways to participate to the project.
- Buying a property or part of it. In this case a financial availability is compulsory, as the costs are high, even if self-construction and other ways of contribution will keep the building’s costs at a medium-low level on the property market.
- Financing the construction of an estate or part of it to let it. We are thinking about someone generous, who has been gifted during his life in terms of material goods and who’s now willing to return part of it to the universe. This will give an opportunity to those who cannot afford to rent an estate at a reasonable price.
- Supporting the project through money or by donating tools or materials; for this purpose we are building up a non-profit association for social promotion use where donations would be collected.
- Giving a hand in ones own time and enthusiasm related to ones own abilities. We are thinking about someone with spare time to employ in activities or people liking to get to know this initiative and would like to temporarily live in this community.
- Telling about the project to your friends and anyone you want.
The values we share
Everyone willing to join in should ask oneself: can I agree to the basic values of the project? Someone could be attracted to the beauty of the places (which really is like heaven), but this is not enough. We would like the community to have a heart:
- A total respect for the environment, land, water, an eye for food quality (without being necessarily a vegetarian), an eye for what is used and thrown away as garbage.
- A wish to find a link with the earth we have lost during the past generations. This means to farm to produce genuine food of high quality and to work next to each other, conscious of the healing process that will take place.
- A research of genuine relationships between those willing to participate. Being on good terms with neighbours isn’t enough, we would like the group to create a welcoming and compassionate environment.
Completion times
We have just subscribed the premliminary contract for the land purchase. During year 2010 we will proceed with the land purchase deeds and defining the operation: how many houses, how much common space to create, etc. In 2011 we will have to build a first part of it.
We perceive this space sharing opportunity as a gift.
Someone or Something bigger than us is giving us this opportunity to overcome the bounds of our vision over our personal/familiar ego.We are approaching the project with humbleness, conscious of following the divine will: our responsibility is to follow the river’s stream, the responsibility of the stream and the river’s direction is not ours. Difficulties/shadows that will come our way will be greeted like moments of harmony/light.We are grateful from our hearts to this great power that rules life. Compared to this we feel small, borrowed, being on duty. It’s an evidence for us and the others. We are sympathetic towards each other, conscious that our soul encounter goes beyond our characterial one. We offer to our souls the difficulties that will arise, we offer our evolution marks to God and humanity.
(We thank for this translation: Chiara Marie Stagliano, Lisa Thibault)
