Central and Eastern Europe is home to many eco-villages, where residents show how to live well without hurting the earth By Evgenia Tasheva Photo: MTA CASE STUDY: organic food roams through a garden in the form of chickens. The people of Central and Eastern Europe do not have to look very far if they want to see what sustainable development means. The region is filled with sustainable villages, which are small communities demonstrating that the human impact on the environment can be dramatically reduced - without a reduction in quality of life. An eco-village can be located anywhere, from a busy urban area to a rather remote and secluded site; the inhabitants can be settled families, young volunteers, orphaned children, or disabled people. What eco-villagers have in common is their desire to attain self-sufficiency and self-perpetuation as a viable alternative to consumerism and its devastating impact on the earth's life-support systems. Eco-communities seek to lead an environmentally sound existence through a cooperative relationship, following a holistic, integrative approach to the ecological, social and cultural aspects of life. This is achieved through a variety of means: Eco-architecture uses insulation, careful location and design for optimal temperature maintenance and the maximum efficient provision of energy. Organic food-growing methods exclude the use of pesticides, herbicides and sometimes even synthetic fertilisers, substituting them for integrated pest control, application of compost and other chemical-free options. Renewable energy sources include solar conductors for heating air and water, solar-powered cookers, wind power or photo-voltaic solar panels for electricity production, burning of biomass (wood and other combustible organic materials) for energy, etc. Careful waste management usually entails minimising the volume of waste generated; composting of organic waste; recycling of paper, metal, glass, plastics and other recoverable materials; and installing biological wastewater treatment systems, such as reedbeds, which filter sewage wastes, and composting toilets. In essence, an eco-village attempts to serve as a living example of its particular conception of the sustainable community of the future. The key phrase here is "small is beautiful " - eco-communities are pitting small-scale local systems against the increasingly visible adverse economic, social and environmental effects of globalisation. Most eco-village inhabitants live a simple, communal existence, based on self-reliance and collective sharing of goods. But achieving true economic independence is a challenge. While some eco-life initiatives simply "squat " a deserted building, others prefer the security of owning their land. Start-up projects can be very capital-intensive, due to the need for land and equipment purchasing, construction, etc. In addition, the seasonal cycle of agricultural products does not allow for a self-sufficient food supply. For these reasons, some eco-villages are almost entirely dependent on external support from donor agencies, such as the European Union. In addition to grants, some income flows in from visitors, who are normally charged a fee for lodging and catering. Often, summer schools, various training courses, seminars and festive events provide an additional source of revenue for eco-villages. Volunteerism is another widespread practice among ecovillages. It provides a source of cheap labour, and sometimes of income, because volunteers may be asked to pay for their accommodation and board. As more and more eco-villagers gain increasing experience in managing their communities, they are learning to become financially, as well as environmentally, sustainable. Further information about eco-villages, and the practices they use, can be obtained from these sources: Global Ecovillage Network: www.gaia.org. Ethic Democratic Ecovillage Network: http://users.skynet.be/ecovillage-eden/. International Communities: www.ic.org. Evgenia Tasheva has researched the region's eco-villages for CEU

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