Since moving into the Ecovillage, our family of 4, have been settling in and having some great times with our neighbours.

There’s a real village atmosphere, which is a credit to the developers who had such a great vision for sustainable living and connecting people who live within it. Our two children are really enjoying it. They like having a home that is so pleasant to live in, with the added bonus of riding down the rapids on the creek on their boogie boards after the rain. We enjoy the country like atmosphere; the expanses of green all around and how fast our garden is growing. The community amenities are a focal point and we regularly ride our bikes for a swim in the pool to relax on a warm day. Our home is wonderfully livable and we plan to be here for a long time.

Will and Karen Collins

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We had been living in London for 7 years when we decided to move back to where we both ‘grew up’… and after a 3 month trekking trip and seeing first hand what was happening to the wildlife and environment in Europe (due to climate change) we decided to make as little impact to our environment when we bought/build our new home. How excited we were when we discovered that the Ecovillage was on our doorstep! We moved into our new eco-designed home just before Christmas and we love coming home to our ‘home’, where our home isn’t like the house next door. We have the most wonderful neighbours and that is ALL the people living in the village as well as those that live within our hamlet. We have tried to have as little impact on the environment as possible and we have timber in our house that you can’t even buy anymore – beautiful 2nd hand doors, the list is endless! Some parts of our home are over 130 years of age. My daughter and I can spend hours watching the wildlife and the views. Our latest thing to do is construct a living roof over our garage – what fun! She has so many little friends to grow up with.. what a wonderful place and way to grow up.

Kooyan Close family

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What a day that was! Our first day in our new home in the Ecovillage and lots of action, beds assembled and made up, desks and chairs brought in, boxes unpacked, rubbish everywhere, streams of well-wishing visitors, lists of things to do. At the end of it we sat down in the lounge room and congratulated ourselves on the days work and the years journey. In my quiet reverie I took in the rammed earth walls, the lofty pine clad ceilings, the views in all directions I’m pleased we persisted.

So what is a typical day like? It’s a mix of regular and random events. It may well start with my poring over the jigsaw puzzle on the lounge room table and then be interrupted by Peter suggesting it’s time for a bike ride. We’ve got two standard runs: up the Valley to Mt Cougal National Park or down to the beach and along to Coolangatta. That choice is a beautiful dilemma. We settle for the climb the air and scenery are sublime. Breakfast on the deck and discussion about the days chores probably some more shelves to be put up. Do we get a lot done? No, but we get a lot of visitors. Clare and Denis drop in on their bike ride, Chantal also comes by bike to give us something from her garden, Filippa and the kids walk past and stop for a quick chat, Steven and Meredith linger on their way back from a walk – pleasant conversation; lots of laughter.

At the end of the afternoon we go up for a swim in the pool but it’s really a chance to just paddle around and chat with whoever there. Then we have dinner on the deck, regardless of the weather. These are times for conversation and moments for reflection. All the doors and windows are open, the breeze blows and we’re secure. As the night falls we are reminded of the dark sky policy for the Ecovillage. Is that the best feature of this wonderful place? It’s got to be close to it. Or is the best feature the size of the allotments, the house designs that evolve from the community management statement or the greenways that will soon be abundant with growth? Or is it the warmth of the community that has developed with friendships developing across the ages, races and backgrounds? With that last thought the choice is easy.

Then, back to the jig saw puzzle! With some warm anticipation I know that tomorrow will be the same.

Dee Dee Lane residents

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Living in the ecovillage makes life a lot easier as we have everything we need at our doorstep, and inside our (more) sustainable house. We know almost all our neighbours by their first name and often share seedlings, fruit and celebrations. We virtually no water or electricity bills which is great. We pay body corporate fees to ensure our Caretaker can maintain the large property with his crew of tradespeople and gardeners. This includes maintaining the 24 metre long  pool which uses awesome EnviroSwim technology. We enjoy the pool, community centre, local climate and being near the beach the most.

The main challenges for the community probably include making good decisions within the tight body corporate structure, allowing everyone to have an opinion, using multiple communication channels and making quick choices about our many resources. The ‘villagehub’ and Circle services are two ways we can communicate more openly and quickly about events, issues, giveaways and parties. We share a lot and yet have as much privacy as we want as well.

We are learning a lot every day about a range of new things we’ve always wanted to experience including growing bananas, and sharing the occasional meal, all with help from our fantastic neighbours. We even received 14 days of dinners in a row from all our neighbours just for having a baby!  The ecovillage is amazing place, that we are probably already starting to take too much for granted.

Yagoi Place residents.