Village Homes Realty
Our place in the world
“The future depends on what you do today.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
On writing this column I began to reflect on the broader implications of what we are doing here at the Witchcliffe Ecovillage. For me and my colleagues, this project has always been so much more than simply a residential development. Sure, you can buy a lot and build a house here, but your reasons for doing so may be simple or as complex as the soil food web beneath your feet.
Whatever your reasons, above all, the guiding principle that unites us is sustainability.
Every day at the Witchcliffe Ecovillage office, we all stop work together around midday and take a seat around a shared lunch table on the verandah overlooking the dams. I look forward to these relaxed, diverse and interesting conversations because I’m always sure to learn something new. I feel blessed to work with such a learned mob of people from different backgrounds. Everyone brings something to the table (and I don’t just mean a curry or a cake).
Often, we revel in the simple joys of life, such as what we’re planting in or harvesting from our gardens, what changes the weather will bring or the social habits of our animals. Renewable energy technology is a favourite topic. Sometimes the conversations turn to discussing the ills of the world (climate change, waste, social isolation) and how we may contribute to their solutions, as we believe the vast majority of these issues come from poor design of our human settlements.
As a staff member and future resident of the Ecovillage, I firmly believe that what we are doing here at the Witchcliffe Ecovillage will contribute to making the world a better place. Our footprint may be small, but our influence has the potential to be vast.
Our goal is for the Witchcliffe Ecovillage to be a world class model of sustainability; one that invites scrutiny, encourages collaboration, develops understanding, shares information, promotes creativity, and challenges the status quo.
The reasons for doing this project, at this time in the world’s history, are too numerable to list. But the world is crying out for us to change our self-destructive habits and live better lives. And we’d like to think that the Witchcliffe Ecovillage can contribute to that in a positive and meaningful way.
Open Day 2019
We are excited to be planning our first Open Day, which is proposed for Sunday, 6 October (weather permitting). It will be our first major event and we will open up the Ecovillage site for guided tours, talks, demonstrations, information booths, food, music and family-friendly entertainment. This no-waste event will be a highlight in the local calendar and will showcase many of the sustainability features of the Ecovillage. It will also be our official sales launch and the first opportunity for keen buyers to secure a block through our pre-sales process.
Keep an eye on our social media pages and stay tuned as we develop our plan for this fantastic community event.
Social media update
For those of you who dabble on the socials, you’ll have noticed a steady stream of sustainable goodness flowing from our Facebook and Instagram pages. We’ll be delving into video soon to give you an even richer experience of this incredible development as it evolves. Be sure to follow us on Instagram @witchcliffe_ecovillage for superb photography that showcases our project and our region. Thanks to our talented photographer @russellordphoto for his evocative imagery.
In the press
We were delighted to be asked by PermacultureWest recently to write an article on the Ecovillage for its newsletter. We are long-time supporters of this community-based organisation and know there are many permies who are avid followers of our project. So of course, we were only too happy to oblige. You can read the article here.
We are still deliberately flying under the radar of the mainstream press for the moment but are planning a major media launch later this year. We look forward to telling the world all about the Ecovillage’s ambitious plans, which will set a new benchmark for sustainable residential developments around the world.
