This project describes how an ecovillage is beneficial to the environment. It also gives awareness to people that there is a Hawaii Ecovillage founded in Big Island.

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Hawai‘i Ecovillage Eyes a Site
by Richard Esterle, Jon Gendreau, Feng Ming Huang, Jameia McDuffie & Chioke Mims
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Many years ago a well known woman poet/songwriter wrote something about getting
“back to the garden.” The urge to return to the garden, and the return itself, occurs throughout
humankind’s history. Lately, the last 40 years or so, the urge has manifested and morphed into
the ecovillage movement. The local group, Ecovillage Hawai‘i, has its sights on a location in
Hilo town that is close to colleges and medical facilities that could possibly form a reciprocal
relationship with it.
Ecovillages
Ecovillages were defined in Sustainable Communities by Robert and Diane Gilman
(1991), as “A human-scale, full-featured settlement in which human activities are harmlessly
integrated into the natural world in a way that is supportive of healthy human development and
can be successfully continued into the indefinite future.” Many have said that ecovillages are
urban or rural communities of people attempting to integrate a supportive social environment
with a low environmental impact way of life.
Ecovillages have arisen around the world as a reaction to pollution and the growing
alienation directed towards nature. Some of these ecovillages are permitted by governmental
bodies and some are not. These villages provide an alternative way of living that is beneficial to
the environment and pleasant for individuals residing within the community. The school of
thought that served as a driving force in the development of ecovillages is the idea that humanity
has lost its connection to the natural environment. Thus ecovillages serve as a catalyst in
reconnecting people to the natural environment. Ecovillages use six intrinsic concepts as a
means of reconnecting its residents to the natural environment. These concepts consist of
ecological design, permaculture, ecological building, green production, alternative energy, and
community building (Gilman, 1991). With ecovillages dispersing all over the world there is
more hope for a better future for the generations to come. Ecovillages exist with like-minded
people who have a strong belief in healing our mother earth and coexisting with nature in a
harmonious and sustainable way. A google search of “ecovillage” gives a wide array of
viewpoints, and yet, in its simplest terms an ecovillage seeks to provide a healthy (and that
includes happy) lifestyle with a small footprint and as little waste as possible (ideally no waste).
Cohousing
Cohousing is essential for ecovillages. The incorporation of ecovillage design into a
settlement compresses homes on a few acres allowing for more interaction and resource sharing
among members, parking on the periphery green space, and most importantly, leaves the rest of
the land to be used for agriculture, recreation and conservation. Resource sharing means sharing
the land and improvements. Ownership of units at Ecovillage Ithaca is based on a cooperative
model with common areas shared. Individual units can be bought, sold or mortgaged and
buildings are permitted. Ecovillage Hawaii’s model is not communal.

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Cohousing embodies a self managed and maintained community. It is a contemporary
model for reestablishing a neighborhood with an environmentally aware, sustainable way of
living, a sense of belonging and the security that comes with it. It is a combination of private
living with the advantages of community living. Residents of a cohousing community make the
choice to come together to create a different way of living realizing the necessity of change from
current planet threatening ways of living.
The ecovillage community establishes its vision early on, and evolves through member
participation in setting the process in motion, such as project design, agreements and decisions
needed to create a suitable place to live together. While there are leadership roles, usually no one
person has authority over another, it is a non-hierarchal community, as all decisions are made
with consensus from all members. Each member takes on one or two roles pertaining to his or
her skills, abilities and interest.
Cohousing is designed to create a sense of community that is environmentally sensitive
and encourages social interaction. All residents contribute in the blueprint of the community.
Homes are built with awareness of being environmentally friendly, utilizing solar energy and
architectural design that take advantage of natural resources. All homes are located close to their
neighbors, but with the privacy of living in your own home. The majority of the land in a
cohousing community is in shared open spaces complementing the private residences and/or
cohousing units, in which each member is responsible for the maintenance of the communal
garden, animals, and the Common House. A large Common House is the heart of the
community, which is designed for daily use, a place where everyone can gather and interact with
all members in the community to stay connected through weekly shared meals, planned and
spontaneous activities. A cohousing community often is not a source of income for its members;
all resources are shared by all members. The economics of an ecovillage are varied and unique to
each one. A cohousing community is full of diversity, with people of all ages and background
supporting and understanding each other, creating a healthy and environmentally sustainable
community. Downsizing the carbon footprint and upsizing a sense of worth and belonging in a
community is what cohousing symbolizes and realizes in an ecovillage.
Hawai‘i is a melting pot of culture. People of all ages, background, interest, and talents are
gathered in the islands. The diversity of Hawai‘i is the best contribution to creating and building
an Ecovillage. Hilo is the prime location due to the availability of natural resources, native
plants, rainforest, and abundant rainfall to allow for a sustainable living.
Dr. Catherine Becker
Dr. Becker (her friends call her Kalama) is one of the founding members of Hawai‘i
Ecovillage that formed about a year and a half ago. Their website is www.hawaiiecovillage.com,

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her bolgspot is www.drbeckersblog.blogspot.com and her email is kalama128@gmail.com. In
May of 2011, the group gave a public presentation near Hilo explaining what they are about.
When Dr. Becker taught at Cornell University in New York, she joined the Ithaca Ecovillage of
which she is still a member. Their website is www.ecovillageithaca.org, and Kalama considers
the Ecovillage at Ithaca to be her “mother” site. What has worked extremely well for the
ecovillage in Ithaca is its proximity to colleges such as Cornell University and Ithaca Community
College. Many generations, including young children, seniors, students and teachers appear to
be benefitting health wise from their involvement in the Ithaca Ecovillage. Kalama would like to
see the same thing happen on Hawai‘i Island. There will be challenges working with the County
on zoning and building issues and yet these problems have been overcome in several locations
around the world. The website www.livingroutes.com offers opportunities to live and study in
some of them. Kalama speaks of combining “the best of the West”, including high technology,
with indigenous ways and spirituality.
Hawai‘i Ecovillage Meeting
On Sunday 11/11/12 a meeting at Dr. Becker’s home in Hilo took place with members of
the Hawaii Ecovillage group and a Hilo landowner. Communications students from the
University of Hawaii-Hilo (UHH) were invited to observe and then became participants. Ideas
were new and fresh.
Understanding the need for community support was significant as well as attempting to
gain support from UHH. The students represent the future and their involvement helps pave the
way to establishing an ecovillage in Hilo or somewhere on the Big Island. It was discussed at
the meeting that if student cohousing were incorporated like at the university level with dorm
life, then perhaps students could possibly get involved in a variety of ways. Later, one student
suggested investigating whether the university had vacant land not being utilized presently that
could serve as a launching pad for the ecovillage experience.
Different forms of cohousing are the way of the future, and in the long term scheme of
things are not as costly as they might appear. The perception that sustainable housing is more
expensive presents a real challenge for the ecovillage group. Many people may not understand
the long term benefits of building sustainably and that it can be cost effective in the short term,
as well as the long term. There will always be obstacles when presenting change, but it has to
start somewhere and for the Hawai‘i ecovillage group they are at that place near the beginning.
The thinking at the Hilo meeting was that if the residents in Hilo had a model or living example
that they could see with their eyes, then understanding and involvement will increase.
Hawai‘i Ecovillage is still recruiting members and considering other sites in East Hawai‘i
and Dr. Catherine Becker of UHH is acting as the contact person. She emphasizes that a key

5. idea is changing the development model from sprawling acre or more agricultural lots to the
ecovillage design which compresses homes on a few acres and allows for more interaction and
resource sharing among members, parking on the periphery green space, and most importantly
allows the rest of the land to be used for agriculture, recreation and conservation.
More to come…
It is obvious living here in Hawai‘i that we have a rich Hawaiian culture upon which to
draw from. The model of human settlements that feed themselves and contain the interaction of
all age groups is an old one. Networked globally these ecovillages support the educational and
physical return to the “garden”.
Again, to learn more about or explore involvement with the Hawai‘i Ecovillage group,
please go to the websites www.hawaiiecovillage.com or www.drbeckersblog.blogspot.com.
Sources: Gilman, Robert, (1991). Sustainable communities. Living Together. IC, (29), 10.
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