Background
Plans to establish an ecovillage in Eide has been developing for more than ten years, but the dream started much earlier.
The early plans circled around Skorpa, an island on the other side of the fjord, right across from Eide. Those who lived on Skorpa in the old days had poor conditions and a hard way of life. Yet it was a way of living in accordance with nature, and it was always nature’s premises that were the foundation for life. Inhabitants of Skorpa were self-sufficient with what they fished and could produce on a small farm on the island. Today there are no inhabitants left on Skorpa. The last person left in the early sixties.
When the possibility of access to a farm on Eide came up, the dream went over in a phase of more specific planning. Magnar Eide, the founder of Eide Ecovillage, has through the years collected a lot of background information on eco communities. He has amongst other visited ecovillages like Findhorn in Scotland and Hurdal ecovillage north of Oslo to learn from their experiences.
An ecovillage is a community that promotes a sustainable lifestyle based on consensus democracy and combines a good socio-cultural environment with non-resource-intensive lifestyles that will be sustainable ecologically, economically and socially.
Ecological: Aim to create a very small ecological footprint – which entails putting a number on how much productive land and water area that is needed to produce what the village needs, and to absorb the emissions from the village.
Economic: Decrease costs and the dependency of monetary economy and creating local business. Local production of food and services.
Social: Buildings that creates safe frames for social community, with joint activities and places to meet.
Two key concepts that have given inspiration in the planning are:
“Into the yard” is personalized and quality assured welfare services on farms. The services will provide coping, development and well-being, were green care and green work are key concepts.
The welfare sector needs new ways to meet current and future challenges. “Into the yard” offers the farm as an service arena for health, care training, job training and integration.
Visit the webpages of “Into the yard”.
NaKuHel is short for Nature, Culture and Health.
It aims to contribute to comprehensive thinking and creativity around nature, culture and health and thereby contribute to better health and quality of life.
NaKuHel was established in 1994 by prof.dr.med. Gunnar Tellnes at the University of Oslo.
The NaKuHel center in Asker is very well established and Asker municipality is a relevant reference.
Eide ecovillage has had a very close cooperation with Hyllestad municipality, who has given good advice and helped to push the process forward.
Visit Omstilling Hyllestad on Facebook