Sometimes, when we hear about EcoVillages, the first thing that comes to our mind is the place that consists of natural and spiritual surroundings, living between self-healing and returning to basics, respect for the environment, respect for the community and self-sufficiency. Is it Heaven or Reality?

Ecovillages are alternative and community-based society models in the form of uniformly self-reliant communities. Social groups formed on a common interest, with a well-organised preference for humanity and nature. An aspect of self-sufficiency and ethical principles, sharing, democracy and equality. They are the natural habitat that places humankind back at the heart of the environment.

Each Ecovillage is unique

There is not just one kind of Ecovillage, but almost as many as there are instances: like oriented towards agriculture, autonomy, ecology, with a social, economic or cultural plan, geographically remote from everything or combined with a village, or even in a city in the form of a dedicated district, with primary contexts which give a different value to each plan (architect, places, surface, climate, resources, etc.).

Principles of Ecovillages which supports healthy living and sustainability for Wellbeing

1- Basic principles of Ecovillages:

• Love for nature: A practice to balance between man and the land, maintain or restore local biodiversity, protect natural habitats, sustainability is getting food, optimize the use of natural resources, setting up a sustainable model of forest management, promote a lifestyle based on sustainable development. The heart of ecovillages activities is always around nature, the environment and ecology!
  
  
• Live together: On paper, the idea is beautiful, but be careful; however: what is a strength can also be a difficulty; by that, we mean all the constraints linked to community life and collective decision-making. A significant challenge in our world nourished by individualism, sometimes a source of failure, when "living together" is more complex than all the fundamental issues related to the environment or sustainable development.

• Ecology: Ecology is at the heart of ecovillages, but so are people. Without people, without families, without communities, there are no ecovillages. It is a whole community, between standard, democratic, and equality in the decision-making process, distributing tasks, sharing thoughts, and pooling expenses: community practices that promote personal development, social ties and intergenerational exchanges.

2 - General Objective:

Create a community of people who love and respect their natural environment, want to recover their healthy being at work, love their peers and communism as a social structure.

3- Specific Objectives:

There are many specific objectives that Ecovillages focus upon, which is essential from the community growth point of view and their surroundings.

- To have a place and resources that develop the community

- To give life to an uninhabited village or town

- To rehabilitate nearby village or town while respecting the culture of the area

- To create the necessary infrastructures for our needs

- To form a supportive organisation for the economic activities of the community

- Promote a healthy life with some organic food to eat

- Create a place to share ideas, workshops, courses, etc. for the benefit of community people

- Achieve the maximum possible self-sufficiency and sustainability from the community

- Minimize the environmental impact - ecological footprint

- Achieve maximum dynamic independence through clean and renewable energy

- Create an educational space for our children, teaching them the love of nature and their peers

4- Living Area:

The community looks for an isolated village or town to develop their action plan, giving life to create without people. The community needs housing where its members can live, places where we can carry out our economic activity (farms, fruit trees, workshops, classrooms, etc.)

5- Social Structure:

The social structure of Ecovillage is based on a community in which free members form with voices and votes in the assemblies. Therefore, everything related to the ecovillage and its cooperative is decided by a direct democratic vote.

Each year, the community can plant the number of trees equivalent to the kg of CO2 that ecovillage sends into the atmosphere during economic activities (vehicles, tools, gas, etc.)

6- Energy and Water:

The mission of Ecovillages is to have maximum energy independence through clean and renewable energy, also responsible for consumption.

Water for us is a treasure; without it, no living being could live, so the community takes care of it and does not waste it.

Community creates a system to collect rainwater to use in the orchards and for cleaning, etc.

7- Food:

Diet is based on predominately vegetables and fruit, always coming from organic farming and as long as the community grows.

To be free and develop the activities, the community need a healthy diet without chemical pollutants and can also use plants and natural medicinal remedies to cure the ills.

8- Economic Activities:

The community members will form the cooperative union to develop various economic activities to support the community.

• sale of organic vegetables and fruit
• sale of organic and free-range eggs 
• sale of handmade soaps
• sale of organic honey
• sale of organic bread
• sale of organic cheese and milk
• sale of natural medicinal and aesthetic remedies
• farm - a training school for children from nearby towns, etc.

9- Personal Growth

The community allows casting our views and opinions to develop ourselves as personal growth. The Ecovillage community also encourages the individuals to perceive change, behave, and live with everyone in the community. 

10- Social Relations With the Neighbors

In the same way, the community will try the good coexistence between all the community members; they will also look for good relations with the immediate neighbours, to whom they offer support and solidarity selflessly.

Communities create a barter network with neighbours to be more self-sufficient in the environment, creating a network of support and trust for exchanges of food, tools, etc.

For Growing with the same purpose, Orchard Ecovillage supports Good and Healthy Living and Sustainable Development for living a New Norm of Life. Where you can Live, Play, Grow, Learn and Work at the same place. The mission of Orchard EcoVillage is to develop sustainable, affordable communities and create a healthy world for people.