Village Homes Realty
The Witchcliffe Ecovillage is no ordinary residential community. This is a development unlike anything ever built before in Western Australia. In fact, we’d contend that its sustainability credentials and features rival the best in the world.
While there seems to be a growing societal awareness of issues like climate change, waste, clean energies and food security for example, truly sustainable developments that seek to address these issues at a local level are thin on the ground. There are few precedents to point to, even globally, and very few that go as far as the Witchcliffe Ecovillage.
However, we know there are misconceptions about ecovillages. We hope that by attempting to explain as simply as possible what we are and what we aren’t, that the exceptional lifestyle offered by the Witchcliffe Ecovillage will be considered by as many people as possible from all stages and walks of life.
What we are not: Debunking ecovillage myths
Ecovillages can suffer from an image problem. The word ‘ecovilllage’ often conjures negative images of ecowarrior hippies or communal living where everything is shared with little privacy or individual ownership. The Witchcliffe Ecovillage is neither of these things. And yet, we embrace anyone and everyone who wants to live in a diverse community that shares the values of caring for people and planet.
To be clear, the Witchcliffe Ecovillage is NOT:
- An intentional community (community-led and/or funded)
- A co-housing / communal living model
- A kibbutz-style agricultural village
- A hippy enclave
- An exclusive, gated community for left-leaning, eco-conscious wealthy
- An eco-retirement village for the 55+
What we are: sustainable, diverse, social
Ecovillages require a certain “buy-in” from their residents. While there are more do’s and don’ts than your standard residential subdivision, there are a myriad more benefits for residents that go hand in hand with these “rules”.
In its purest sense, we anticipate residents will have aligned values and a shared willingness to go the extra mile when it comes to sustainability in all its forms (social, environmental and economic). It’s this that will make the Ecovillage community unique and special.
Blazing a trail and creating new systems and documentation to support it requires a lot of work on the developer’s part and a commitment from future residents to adopt and maintain the vision. In other words, we expect those who choose to make a home within the Ecovillage will, for example:
- embrace the Permaculture ethics of “earth care, people care, fair share”
- adhere to the Sustainable Building Design Guidelines (BDGs) in the design, build, fit-out, operation and maintenance of their sustainable home
- actively participate in community life
We have based our philosophy on permaculture ethics and practices, implemented the best thinking in human settlement design, and incorporated state-of-the-art renewable technologies, engineering and digital systems.
But we are, first and foremost, humans who need each other. And so, we are striving to create a place in which people thrive. If that sounds good to you, then the Witchcliffe Ecovillage may be just what you’re yearning for.
NOTE: There is plenty of essential reading on the Document Library of our website including handbooks, BDGs and strata bylaws that cover all the major areas of information future residents need to know before buying a lot in the Ecovillage.
