On June 6th 2009, activists converged on a piece of derelict land at Kew Bridge in south west London to create an eco-village community based entirely on sustainable technology and construction techniques. 5 weeks into this project Jason Ramasami and Dean Puckett went to check it out . The project is still going and is now in its 5th month for more info you can join the facebook group www.facebook.com a film by www.whatisyourworldview.com http

www.facebook.com Map data ©2010 Tele Atlas – Terms of Use Map Calling on all freemen/women that would like to live differently, be independent, take down interest based money and all acts (excepting those that support the common law), especially the 4000+ private acts of enclosure beginning in 1600s and being completed with the General Acts of Enclosure of 1836, 1840 and 1845. The eco villages will be set up using the law of the land , establishing permaculture practices and harnessing the free energy available from suppressed technology, such as Nikola Tesla. Anyone who has land in mind that needs protection from corporates, so called derelict land that needs our loving attention or land that needs opening up to the public; anyone with skills to share, practical, artistic or otherwise; anyone who enthusiastically wants to support these projects and is willing to muck in and get involved; anyone who wants to learn as much as possible about living free, taking back your power please know that you will be most welcome. A new site has just been opened at 1 – 7 Pier Road, Woolwich, E16 just opposite woolwich foot tunnel on north side of the river nearest stations: Dlr – King George V Woolwich Arsenal Mainline Station Please pop along and introduce yourself, New people are always welcome

Eko Imanje Blatusa, EkoSense www.obilje.info

A model ecological village in the progressive town of Ithaca in upstate New York. Currently developing its 3rd neighborhood called TREE — become a new member! For more information go to tree.ecovillageithaca.org .

eco village silfiac

the 22nd week of occupation at the kew bridge eco village

Sustainable Living

In the last fifty years, the population of the world has more then doubled. London is not exempt from this problem. In urban environments such as London, problems are arising quickly. We now have to deal with carbon emissions adding to the pollution and housing problems caused by overpopulated areas. This is all happening within the same time period as the credit crunch, meaning we cannot afford to spend too much on new research or technology or methods to assist in reducing these problems.
Sustainable living means reducing your own and society’s use of the Earth’s natural resources. Governments across the world have been trying to develop ways to make their economies become sustainable in many ways. The following are some examples of this:
In the way we travel; hundreds of millions of cars release air pollution every day, resulting in climate change. Across the world each country is fighting a constant battle against this. In Cairo they have started building the Cairo metro system, an underground railway designed to get people out of their cars and starting to use public transport. In Darabi, Mumbai where the majority of the population are devastatingly poor, people are paid to divide the rubbish into sections of plastics, this way it is far quicker to recycle objects leading to a more sustainable environment.
How we eat; recycling cannot be achieved with all objects however. In the United Kingdom only 40% of waste is recycled compared to India’s 80%. The packaging on our foods is held accountable for much of this. Less packaging (like the packaging in this picture) means less waste and growing our own foods would be even better. Organic foods can now be bought from most supermarkets. Organic means no pesticides or fertilizers are used during the process of growing the crop, which is yet another way of acting sustainably. Below is a picture of different organic foods

Where we live; most of our life we are inside, therefore isn’t it obvious that our homes should be sustainable too. Every material is given an assessment of how sustainable its life cycle is. In order to be sufficient we need to be using the materials with a high sustainability factor on our roofs, windows and walls. Insulated walls are important because they take away the need for heating and cooling of the house, thick walls do this best. Aside from heating, the other three main ways we spend our money in the home are through the use of water, electricity and gas. Water can be stored to save money by special draining systems or by plants called sedum.
In the way we receive our energy; there are two groups of energy sources, renewable and non-renewable. Non-Renewable energy comes from the ground and will run out eventually; these include gas, coal and oil. Renewable energy will last almost forever and is harnessed through everyday things such as light, wind and water. The main way governments are trying to be sufficient is through the power of renewable energy. The graph shows the percentage of energy used by each part of society. Industrial business uses the highest amount of energy with 33%.

Eco-villages are villages in which everyone in the village is being carbon-sufficient. An example of this is BedZED in South London. Here they use only bicycles, not cars; have thick walls keeping their homes warm; use solar panels like in this picture on every house and use Sedum plants that contain water under ground.
It is unrealistic to assume every town can change to mirror this though as the cost would be huge and renewable energy sources just aren’t as powerful as non-renewable energy sources.
By 2080 the world will run out of non-renewable energy and will have to start being sustainable or it will be too late.

An inside look at a community in Los Angeles that works together to minimize its carbon footprint dramatically. Check local listings for airdates of Tavis Smiley on PBS. For more information, see www.pbs.org

So, I’m interning at an Eco-Village in South Africa, and because my university degree was in English Literature, the director thought it would be a great idea for me to write a brochure and a leaflet for the introductory course they do here.

Now, I’m fine with writing the body text, but they also want me to give the course a new name – something which I have always been terrible at. The course is in ecologically safe and sustainable living, with an extended look into eco-architechture and ecologically friendly farming. The idea I had was "Eco-Tech" but it got rejected (because it’s rubbish, no shock there) and my supervisor thought "Sustainability in Practice" might work – but I need to come up with a couple more before I settle on that.

They want the title to cover all three elements. I know this might be a long shot, but can anybody else think of any more? I’ve hit a dry patch here as far as creativity is concerned.