Ecovillages: Lessons for Sustainable Community

by Karen T. Litfin

In a world of dwindling natural resources and mounting environmental crisis, who is devising ways of living that will work for the long haul? And how can we, as individuals, make a difference? To answer these fundamental questions, Professor Karen Litfin embarked upon a journey to many of the world’s ecovillagesÑintentional communities at the cutting-edge of sustainable living. From rural to urban, high tech to low tech, spiritual to secular, she discovered an under-the-radar global movement making positive and radical changes from the ground up.

In this inspiring and insightful book, Karen Litfin shares her unique experience of these experiments in sustainable living through four broad windows - ecology, economics, community, and consciousness - or E2C2. Whether we live in an ecovillage or a city, she contends, we must incorporate these four key elements if we wish to harmonize our lives with our home planet.

Not only is another world possible, it is already being born in small pockets the world over. These micro-societies, however, are small and time is short. Fortunately - as Litfin persuasively argues - their successes can be applied to existing social structures, from the local to the global scale, providing sustainable ways of living for generations to come.

You can learn more about Karen's experiences on the Ecovillages

Genres: Solarpunk, Nonfiction, Sustainability, Science, Nature, Environment

224 pages, Hardcover

First published December 9, 2013

Reviews

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Ecovillages attract two kinds of people: those who feel a sense of urgency to build another world and those who crave a deep sense of community.”

Ecovillages are Solarpunk in action and are the most hopeful things I’ve ever read.

Starting in 2007 Professor Litfin visited fourteen ecovillages on five continents and came back to start her own. Her stories and perspectives are an inspiration!

As of publication, there were 400 ecovillages worldwide and the movement has grown! Aardehuis, an Earthship ecovillage pictured above, was pouring foundations in 2012. Now it’s giving workshops. EcoVillage Ithaca’s discussed third neighborhood has sold out.

This stuff makes my soul dance!

Resources from the book:
https://ecovillagebook.org/ecovillages/
https://ecovillage.org
https://gaiaeducation.org/face-to-fac...

[T.L. Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really excited about reading and reviewing Ecovillages: Lessons for Sustainable Community by Karen T. Liftin before I even opened the book, but I don't believe I allowed my excitement for the topic to interfere with my objectivity. Ecovillages addresses several topics I find relevant to the day and to our future. Liftin took an entire year to spend time at ecovillages around the world. She explores what each of these ecovillages are doing to create a better Earth and a more sustainable lifestyle. There is a thread of living simply throughout the book that supports much of my own point of view. She addresses what she refers to as E2C2, shorthand for ecology, economy, community, and consciousness as the components that make up any society. She discusses in detail how each of the ecovillages she visited address each of the components of E2C2. While we may have these images of ecovillages of hippie communes, Litfin points out various ways in which this stereotype is far from the truth. I like that she ends the book by discussing how the ideas these various ecovillages employ can be scaled up to be introduced into communities already in existence. She addresses the reality that we can't all move into ecovillages and that it might not even be prudent to do so. Liftin makes her points well in an easy to read fashion that makes her message and the message of the ecovillages she visited very clear. Ecovillages is a discussion starter. Many times I stopped reading just to discuss points with my husband and to think through not only what she wrote in the book but the implications on my own life and the lives of those I know. Liftin writes with passion and clarity in every portion of the book. Her ideas and discoveries are presented well even when her topic leaves the reader with questions. Liftin provides a thought provoking analysis of her experience within the ecovillages. Ecovillages isn't just about sustaining the Earth but about sustaining a sense of togetherness and community through less consumption and more interaction.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, though there wasn't much new information for me. Litfin visited 14 ecovillages and the book is her attempt at finding the commonalities and comparing the differences of these villages as well as her thoughts on attempting to live according to ecological values and how sometimes it's not so simple. I liked the writing style and the book was well structured to bring out the four most important aspects or themes of ecovillages. This book was a very inspiring and hopeful read and it gets the rare honor of staying in my bookshelf even now that I've read it.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent tour of ecovillages around the world forging a new model of sustainable living.

[Freeread · Rating 4 out of 5]

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