Page 492 - Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

462 Sustainable Cities and Communities Design Handbook

La Ecovilla is about 1 h west of San Jose. Several houses have been built
with local wood. It is a community with people from many different coun-
tries. The houses are designed for living with low impact on the environment.
They are solar powered, with solar water heater, black water biodigestor,
gray water irrigation, habitat for wild life and share community resources.
This is a good example of perhaps expensive homes but with ecology con-
servation in mind.
Tacotal collective is located west of San Jose in the Avocado Mountains
of Costa Rica. It is a permaculture-based community ecovillage consisting of
diverse and passionate people who are artists, musicians, builders, tradesmen,
scientists, and educators. Their land is host to permaculture courses, natural
building workshops, biological research groups, bird watchers, and com-
munity of musical gatherings. From their website, “.The linear growth
model that currently dominates our societies has falsely oriented us in time,
and created an illusion of separation and independence from the natural
world. Understanding that our survival depends on a healthy Earth
ecosystem, a sustainable community works to re-integrate with nature, and
acts as a part of the whole, a cell in the Earth organism. We all have
indigenous roots, ancestors who lived sustainably for countless generations,
but many of us have completely lost contact with our ancestors’ traditional
knowledge. The Indigenous peoples around the world that have maintained
their cultures and traditions present inspiring models of sustainable living, in
which all physical and spiritual nutrition is sourced from the natural envi-
ronment.our search is for those projects and communities that are working
towards sustainability in a holistic way, knowing that these models and ex-
amples can help catalyze a greater movement towards sustainable living on a
mass scale.”