Topic: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington

Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

We are a family (mum dad 2 kids) living in Wellington suburbs, wanting to find like minded people who want to invest in land with us and start an Eco village near wellington. We are ready to leave mainstream living and forge a way to live in harmony with nature. As there are no Eco communitys in the Wellington region that we can find and join, we would like to start from the land up. We have some money to invest in land, but not enought to purchace alone. besides we dont want to do it alone, not any of it.
I know there are people out there like us and so im writhing this post in the hope we can find eachother. fellow wellington Eco familys/people where are you?

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

I'm interested but lack funds although I expect to have some in the near future after my business expands. I have two children and am on my own.

An ecovillage is my ideal situation for security reasons and disaster preparedness. Ideally I would like a community that is close but has privacy and be able to practice agnihotra. See agnihotra.com.au for info about what that is and why incorporating it into a community farm is a smart idea.

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

Check out www.totarabank.com which is or was being developed by forum poster Andy Duncan. The project is located in the Wairarapa.

Seeker

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

Thanks for the info. There is another one up there...Strawberry fields or something?

I specifically want Wellington because my life is over here.

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

I might be interested. I would need at least 5 acres more or less flat land though, for my horse.

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

We are also a family with two kids thinking about the benefits of living in a community/eco-village. We came across 'Earthsong' eco village in Waitakere, and thought that if it was down in Wellington we would love to join. We thought that there is probably land in Makara that would be good but have not done any further investigation. Please have a look at the Eathsong website /www.earthsong.org.nz/index.html and let us know if this sort of thing was what you had in mind.

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

check out BBE as they are supposed to be involved with one just nth of Welly, & i heard a roumor that it had resoure consent, also had some details of a couple of groups a couple of years ago floating the idea, will look & see if i still have contact details. good luck

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

Earthsong is cool. I'd like similar with perhaps a bit more privacy.

BBE??? Who/what.

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

earthsong has ithink pretty good privacy, considering the economics of space & $ the rammed earth walls give very good sound insulation between dwellings. BBE are advertised on eco bob

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

Oh they're ARCHITECTS. So presumably a developer that has hired them then? I'm gonna build my own and contribute some sweat equity. Someone else can take the 30 year chain around their necks.

There are threads on ecocommunities springing up all around NZ. Google Ringing the Cedars Ning which will take you to a forum.

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

Hello 'luckie108',

I take from the capital letters that ‘ARCHITECTS’ are to be shunned? If so who will design your home and apply for the permit? Who will advise you on say the different characteristic of ‘green’ materials, or insulation and bracing calculations?

Its great having a dream but reality has a nasty habit of knocking you down if you ignore greater knowledge than that which you posses.

Good luck - Rex

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

i guess you didnt read their ad very much becausethey are a whole lot more than just architects! & yes a developer probabally aproached them, but they liked the idea so much that one of the directors is going to live there, & locate Welly office there

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

Thanks Seeker, but the Wairarapa is too far out.

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

We Agree Luckie108. its a difficult balance, being close to the city and creating an eco community.

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

this would need to be Rural zoned land too?

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

Yes yes Yes, without a doubt Earthsong is a great example. this is what we have in mind but in wellington city region

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

No, you imagined that is what I meant. Crikey I'm not gonna live in some kind of tacked together shanty!! LOL

Actually I was thinking of cost. If a group of us find the land/get the consent etc the cost is significantly lower rather than go through a developer. After all unless they are very clever with the set up they have to make up for the tax they pay.

A good way of doing this is to get a group and figure out resources/set up (critial to get the set up right as this type of community is likely to implode if set up wrong and there are disputes with use of land etc).

Then comes the difficult part that most people seem to want to avoid which is finding and purchasing the land or more specifically an option to buy (a contact attached to the sale and purchase agreement). By using an option to buy the consents can be obtained without risking big money.

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

Hello luckie108,

I was an Architectural Designer and land developer for a large building company. We produced many multi-unit developments from villages housing the elderly to ‘village green’ multi-use concepts.
I know very few skilled architects who would attempt to also act as ‘developer’. Both have different skills and specialised knowledge that takes years to acquire. It took me 20 years to learn to do a reasonable job at both, and I had the backing of a large organization with funding running into millions.

To put together a Town Planning proposition supporting say a dozen freestanding individually owned houses on unit Title with a co-operative communal hub, would likely require an Engineer, Architect, Developer, Financer, Town Planner, Lawyer, and sympathetic Local Authority (willing to overlook the problems arising out of similar schemes such as the infamous ‘Centre-point’, with which I was also acquainted).

As an example, it took me four years dealing with the Rodney County Manager (Sharplin), to produce a ‘Relocatable Home Park’ and that was only after redrafting regulations from central Government through a select committee process.

Now, I believe there is nothing wrong in being a free-spirit and giving ’anything a go’, but it should be from a basis of gradually learned experience and not blind faith – so if you do not intend to use those with this knowledge, I do not see how you can even get to the consent presentation stage.
Purchasing on an agreement subject to consent will definitely work (I have done this) but who will be funding the consent presentation plans?
Have you or your intended consortium a spare $20,000 plus to write off if you do not succeed?

Good luck anyway - Rex

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

Really just looking for people seriously interested in doing an Eco village in wellington at this time. Yes I believe this will require some financial commitment, we cannot afford to buy enough land by ourselves. I am sure there will be obsticals along the way, and people who don't want to do things that same way we do. its really just a matter of putting our hands up and saying lets talk about it some more.

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

Hay Rex you sound like a great person to get ideas and advice from.

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

Hello T.green,

I have been out of that field for over 15 years and I know from experience, that if you are away out for more than 6 months, you are already missing critical development and your peers will be way ahead of you. My advice now can only be of a general rather than specific nature.

I read about http://www.earthsong.org.nz/index.html and was impressed with their structure, and philosophy so you would do well to set up a meeting to talk directly to that Board of Directors and ‘pick the brains’ of people who are currently up with financial, legal and town planning requirements.

This will save you a lot of heartache and money so then you can progress with a sensible plan linked to your dreams.

Best regards Rex

Re: Lets start a Eco Village/community Near Wellington 

There is some land close to Wellington on the south coast where they are wanting to create something like that I think. Check out www.kera.co.nz