What is an Eco Village ? Why Everyone Is Talking About It Now At The End Of 2022

 

Eco Village

According to the Global Ecovillage Network, an eco village is “a deliberate or conventional group that uses native participatory processes to holistic view and incorporate environmental, civil, cultural, and social elements of sustainability to reconstruct social and natural environments.”

In essence, these communities are intended to have as little negative impact as possible on the environment through intentional physical design and resident habits choices. They are intentionally planned through progressive, locally owned processes to regenerate and restore the area’s social and natural environments. Although some are smaller and traditional eco villages are frequently much larger, an eco village typically has a population of 50 to 250 people. Networks of smaller sub-communities frequently exist within larger ecovillages.

It is a global concept. People around the world and countries are trying to adopt the eco village concept. Numerous villages can be found in India, where the majority of the population still lives. Today’s villages, however, are green, clean, sustainable, and self-sufficient. Remember the old days when villages were tiny, covered in dust, and outdated; rather, many of these locations have become eco village destinations.

Urban dwellers and numerous hubs are putting a lot of effort into making perfect, viable, and green spaces. Several Indian villages are being designated as “eco village” as a result of the government implementing policies and procedures that are beneficial to the environment to address the current situation. These villages have shown that, despite the difficulties, going to lead a sustainable life is simple if the right steps are taken, using self-sustainable practices like the creation of plastic-free zones and the use of renewable energy among others.

There are nearly 500 self-described eco villages worldwide, according to The Global Ecovillage Network. There are a few eco villages in India as well. We will see some of them below.

Khonoma – Nagaland

The beautiful village in Nagaland is a popular tourist destination for its ethereal beauty. What makes it so special today is the fact that this village, home to a 700-year-old Angami settlement, is self-sustainable and self-sufficient. The village was once the center of the struggle for freedom, and presently the residents are committed to safeguarding the environment, the culture, and the history of their neighbors and themselves. The village has taken numerous actions to return to nature, from taking control of the ecosystem to eco-friendly agriculture.

Odanthurai- Tamil Nadu

A panchayat in Mettupalayam Taluk called Odanthurai is renowned for becoming self-sufficient in producing electricity. It has a 350-kilowatt on-site windmill that was installed in Maivai, close to Udumalai. The energy production of Odanthurai is what distinguishes it as an eco village. And no, we don’t mean the kind of electricity that depends on burning fuel—we mean the kind that can be produced by using sustainable energy methods to draw power from the natural world. The area produces and consumes wind energy, and the excess is also sold to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, which contributes to the village’s financial well-being.

Piplantri, Rajasthan

Rajasthan’s Piplantri came to popularity when it began an innovative campaign to protect girls by tree planting! 111 trees are planted in the vast agricultural area in honor of a female child every time a woman gives birth to one. These trees not only help eliminate bigotry and abuse against girls, but they also increase the state’s vegetation spaces.

The parents are required to sign a legal sworn statement guaranteeing the kid’s future, and the panchayat even creates a fixed deposit in the name of the newborn girl. Approximately a million trees have been planted here in the past 14 years, and these are also shielded from animals.

Baghuwar, Madhya Pradesh

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was launched in 2014. Even before the  Swachh Bharat Abhiyan started,  Baghuwar, a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur district, achieved complete sanitation in 2007 and became an Open Defecation-Free village.  More than 55 biogas plants that produce fuel for cooking and lighting homes are also present in the village, along with an underground sewage system. In 25 pits built throughout the village, the cow dung used to generate the biogas is collected. Another interesting fact is, This cow dung is sold at an annual auction, and the proceeds are used to improve the village. Every resident of the village of Baghuwar is literate, which is another accomplishment of the community.

Hiware Bazar, Maharashtra

This Maharashtrian village, which is known for its irrigation system and water conservation programme, fought off a severe drought in 1972 with the aid of these measures. The village is situated in the Ahmednagar district. The villagers decided to stop growing water-intensive crops in the 1990s and began concentrating on horticulture and dairy products instead. The village’s monthly per capita income increased from Rs. 830 in 1995 to Rs. 30,000 in 2012, when there were 235 families and 1,250 people living there. Additionally, 60 families there made over 10,000 rupees per year in income. This, along with other water-saving techniques, helped restore groundwater levels, and as a result, the village’s 300 open wells are currently overflowing with water.

Auroville in Pondicherry

Auroville in Pondicherry, a charming French-inspired village is working to create an eco-India. Auroville is a place where violence—against people, animals, or the environment—is not tolerated. Nature’s reward money is freely given and freely received there. The community of Auroville, which serves as an example of sustainable living, offers courses on green lifestyle-building techniques and endeavors that are simple to incorporate into our regular urban lives.

These are some of the top 6 eco villages in India. There are a lot of ecovillages around the world.

Now the question is, why is the ecovillage concept more in discussion nowadays?

Eco Village is a New Norm for Healthy Living

They are the first carefully planned group that strives to have as little of an adverse effect on the environment as possible through deliberate, planned processes and thoughtfully made decisions by residents. There are a lot of benefits of living in an ecovillage. Living a sustainable life is good for both the environment and us as individuals.

As the number of people living sustainably increases, green house gas emissions fall, and our planet gradually recovers.

Being a part of an eco village has the following benefits for you personally

Consciousness: You’ll value belonging to a community that provides for itself when times are tough and regular retailers raise their prices or, worse yet, run out of supplies. In addition to growing their food, the majority of eco villages also produce their power, and those that don’t yet work to do so.

Health: Leading a green lifestyle helps you stay healthier overall. Vegetables, fruits, organic milk, eggs, and meat make up the majority of a person’s diet in an eco village. When you live in a greener environment, you’ll eat foods that contain the nutrients you need to stay healthy, which means that diseases associated with the expected lifestyle won’t be as prevalent.

Self-awareness: If you live in an eco village, you’ll learn to be more aware of yourself, and practice mindfulness.  And if you have kids, you’ll teach them to be aware of themselves as well. You can develop a deeper sense of inner peace by residing in an eco village, and once you do, you will start to alter your surroundings so that they conform to your values. As you become more self-aware, you’ll discover new ways to live a green and sustainable lifestyle, which is crucial for protecting the environment.

Living In Harmony

Living in harmony is important in self-sustaining cultures. Creating fairness among inhabitants is one way they accomplish this. You can anticipate being treated the same as the community’s pioneers when you relocate to one of the numerous eco-friendly communities around the world. No one is valued more than the others, and everyone is equal.

Conclusion

Eco communities contribute to preserving the environment for the next generation. Consider making one if you are unable to find one. The long-term effects of even modest daily adjustments can be significant. Even if you are unable to relocate to or establish an eco village, you can still make changes in your life and motivate others to do the same. The challenges of living in a self-sufficient village are numerous. Because these communities are self-sufficient, you might need to pick up some new skills and gain knowledge in fields that you haven’t encountered before.