Eco-village:Housing estates are flying up all over the country, creating more commuters and congestion. The Village in Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, is an entirely different type of development: a sustainable community with big ideas. Iva Pocockhas been involved since the beginning - and seen the dream approach reality
Seven or so years ago I was talked into handing over £1,000 towards setting up an eco-community, called the Village, to be built somewhere within 160km of Dublin. I hadn't a clue what it would look like, or any notion of what I'd be doing there, but the idea of creating a home where everyday living considerations would aim to nurture rather than destroy the planet held great appeal.
At the time I was driving about 70km a day, heating my home with oil (I still am, for that matter) and shopping about 20km away. Socialising almost always involved getting in the car. It all jarred with my professed passion for saving the planet, but little did I know what I was letting myself in for when I signed up as a member of Sustainable Projects Ireland.
The scope of what the group is trying to achieve began to sink in only after a few years' involvement, and of course our ambitions for the project have evolved and matured along the way.
In essence we are a bunch of people - now more than 130 households - developing a community: locating the land; drawing up the infrastructure plans, with playgrounds and community buildings included; setting ambitious eco-building standards for our homes; coming up with innovative ways of raising capital; and ensuring there's space for growing food, planting trees and generating renewable energy.
We're also giving time and attention to boosting the local economy and ensuring livelihoods can be made without hours of commuting. In striving for these goals we are developing sophisticated community decision-making processes that tap into the energy, skills and creativity of all involved.
Within this overall vision, everyone has their own motivations. What follows is just a glimpse of the project as seen through the eyes of a few members, myself included.
Where is this eco-village to be built? After months of searching we settled on a 67-acre farm adjoining the small town of Cloughjordan, in north Co Tipperary. It filled all our criteria: enough land for buildings, farm and woodland; an already existing community with lots of amenities; and the possibility of building a new street directly on to the main street rather than having an entrance a few hundred metres down the road. The town's railway station, on the Nenagh spur of the Dublin-Limerick train line, was a welcome bonus.
To top it off, Cloughjordan's existing residents were very welcoming - after voicing some understandable concerns. The initial reaction of Helen Costello, who has lived there for 26 years, was fairly representative: "I thought you were a very suspect group of people. I didn't want you coming in ruining our village at all."
Thankfully, Costello, who is now the eco-village's office manager, and other residents kept an open mind, ensuring that the prediction of a north Co Tipperary friend came true. "If any village in the country will welcome you, it's Cloughjordan," he said.
After huge amounts of work by the original eco-village staff, we succeeded in buying the farm on July 27th, 2005, and later that afternoon learned that North Tipperary County Council had granted planning permission for our master plan. Time to crack open the champagne.
Since then our good fortune in choosing Cloughjordan has become more apparent by the day, as our fledgling community begins to take shape. Already, 25 member households have moved to the town, even though we haven't started building yet, so there won't be the sort of sudden population explosion associated with the development of new housing estates on the edge of rural towns.
Other members visit regularly, as most of the monthly meetings are held in the town. And, of course, our office is on Cloughjordan's main street.
The desire for community, closely linked to a better quality of life, is one of the main reasons many members have joined the eco-village. Many have young children.
Mollie Barrow, who is originally from Florida,was determined to escape her isolated life in an estate on the edge of Dublin, where none of the neighbours knew one another, the nearest shop was three kilometres away and her son's class of 35 junior infants had one teacher.
"I was looking at a life of commuting two hours each way until I retired on a subadequate pension," she says. "I love Cloughjordan. On my second day it took me two hours to get a pint of milk, because of everyone asking me in for tea. I love that I can walk my child to school and pick him up. Here he's able to run free, make his own friendships and have his own adventures."
Jenny Fahy also fancied it would be a better place to rear her seven-year-old son, Connor. In their previous home in Oughterard, Co Galway, there were no near neighbours and they had to travel everywhere by car.
As the birth of my own first baby is just a few weeks away, finding a good place to bring up kids has climbed up my list of reasons to move to the eco-village. Call me what you may, but my idea of child-rearing is very much of the "Get out now and play while it's sunny and don't come home until it's dark" school. But I'd better heed those endless warnings of "Nothing can prepare you for it! And forget all your plans and notions!"
Critical to the nurturing of our eco-village has been the work we've put into making our decision-making processes more democratic, and tapping into the huge range of skills and experience that we collectively bring to the project.
If you are picturing 100 people sitting around for hours upon hours trying to come to an agreement, forget it. We like to think we've moved into another realm. It's all about engaging positively, taking responsibility and trusting that you and others can leave egos aside and make decisions for the greater good. Relearning how to live with others is vital for weathering the huge ecological, social and economic changes which we see ahead.
"I think the abundance of cheap energy has allowed the unprecedented individualisation of society. I mean, everyone has a car each," says Mike Holden. He has tried to live sustainably in west Co Cork for the past 14 years but can't escape driving everywhere - for work, for friends, for gigs. "It's all me, me, me. People don't knock on doors because they don't need anyone else's help any more. But that's going to change in an energy-efficient world."
Our building standards are also geared towards stemming the effects of climate change and coping with a decline in the supply of the oil that currently underpins our every move, from powering the computers we use to transporting our food and heating our homes.
Our houses will incorporate excellent thermal properties and rainwater harvesting. We're planning a community solar and woodchip central heating system as part of a wider European-funded energy initiative co-ordinated by Tipperary Institute. The plan includes upgrading the green specifications of existing buildings in the area.
Our allotments and farmland will be essential for producing food, and this month we hope to start planting thousands of native trees, which will help mop up some carbon dioxide and boost biodiversity.
Transport remains an issue, and we're tackling the problem of commuting by studying our different business skills and plans. Our goal is to create sustainable local employment, and we are liaising with North Tipperary County Enterprise Board. Already two new businesses have been started by members in Cloughjordan, as well as a healthstore opened by Caoimhin Woods and Áine Ahearne in Roscrea in 2005.
The Cloughjordan Cycle Co-op will undoubtedly play a role in reducing car travel. It was opened a year ago by New Yorker Joe Diomede, just five months after he visited Ireland for the first time. With 18 years of long-distance cycling in Latin America and Asia behind him, Diomede knows his trade. Sheelagh na Gig, a bookshop, gallery and cafe on Main Street co-owned by Barrow and Elizabeth O'Shea, is also going well.
And when will we be able to start building our eco-homes? With luck some houses may start going up before the end of this year, once the infrastructure is in place.
Yes, it has been a long time since my initial investment, back in 1999, but it will be worth the wait. After all, life's about the journey, not the destination. And this is about a lot more than building a green housing estate. It's about being part of a community, making friends, learning new ways of interacting and taking control from anonymous housing developers. It's also about creating a model for a very different future.
• The Village's website is www.thevillage.ie