On the 13 January, the foundations were dug for the first home at the Lynedoch Ecovillage (and it just so happens that it is my home). It will be the first of 42 dwellings in what will become a mixed income residential development designed and built along ecological lines to reduce capital cost, monthly household cost and overall ecological footprint...
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| Adobe bricks baking in the sun at Lynedoch |
Besides the ecological imperative, the core vision of the Lynedoch Ecovillage is to create an authentically integrated community which is socially mixed and child centred, democratically governed and free from the influences of private power. Sixteen of the forty-two plots are government subsidised for low income families.
In addition to the low energy benefits of using unfired natural building materials sourced in close proximity to the site, houses will use solar energy for water heating and will acquire an increasing proportion of their electrical energy from renewable sources (wind and solar).
The ecovillage will treat all sewerage onsite using shared septic tanks, a biolytic filter and a vertically integrated artificial wetland system. Water from the wetland will be recycled back into the homes of the village for flushing and irrigation. Further measures such as water saving equipment in all houses and rainwater harvesting will also be employed to increase water efficiency.
The ecovillage forms part of the broader Sustainability Institute, a learning centre in partnership with the University of Stellenbosch and Spier Wine Estate which currently comprises a primary school for 475 children (90% of whom are farmworker's children) and a creche. The Sustainability Institute also runs two Master's programmes which are acredited by the University of Stellenbosch - an MPhil in Sustainable Development Management and Planning and the soon to be implemented MPhil in Sustainable Agriculture (to commence in January 2005).
 
