EcoVillage at Ithaca :: Communities Directory

Formed: 1992 Established: 1996

This page last updated:2/21/2012

EcoVillage at Ithaca

Ithaca, New York,

United States

Located in the beautiful region of New York's Finger Lakes, Ecovillage at Ithaca has two thriving cohousing communities with plans for a third underway. The village features cooperative dining in the common houses, a swimming pond, neighborhood community gardens, hiking trails, play spaces, and sixty passive-solar, energy efficient homes in a multigenerational village-scale community.

The pedestrian village is surrounded by woods and open meadows. We have a 10-acre organic fruit and vegetable farm on site that provides produce for residents as well as the wider Ithaca area, and a 5-acre CSA berry farm that has delicious organic u-pick berries.

Our goal is to build a replicable model of a cooperative, environmentally sensitive village that can also serve as a demonstration site for teaching principles of sustainability and permaculture.

Our nonprofit educational organization is affiliated with both Cornell and Ithaca College. Our developing educational program provides hands-on training in community life and on building sustainable communities. We have helped to initiate and contribute to a sustainability movement in our locality that is bringing about profound changes in the region.

EcoVillage is located on 175 acres, two miles from downtown Ithaca, and three miles from Cornell University and Ithaca College. Ninety percent of the land is preserved as green space for organic agriculture and wildlife habitat. For more information about EVI, read Liz Walker's book, "EcoVillage at Ithaca: Pioneering a Sustainable Culture," New Society Publishers, 2005. It is available from our website.

Website: http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us/

Contact:

EcoVillage at Ithaca
115 Rachel Carson Way
Ithaca, New York 14850 United States
Phone: 607-272-5149

Community location is placed at the center of the zip/postal code, city/state, or city/country (not based on street addresses)

Former/Other Names: EcoVillage at Ithaca, EVI

This page last updated:2/21/2012

Visitors Accepted

(Must arrange a time with our Visit Coordinator. No drop-ins.)

Visitor Process: People are welcome to come to our free public tour at 3 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month. If that doesn't work for your schedule, you can arrange a private tour by contacting our visit coordinator at least one week in advance (visit-coordinator@ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us). We ask that people who take a private tour join our nonprofit educational organization as members ($35/single, $50/household) in exchange for our time. We have some overnight accommodations available; check with the visit coordinator regarding availability.

Network Affiliations:

Ecovillage Network of the Americas

:: Fellowship for Intentional Community

:: Coho/US

:: GEN - Global Ecovillage Network

Statement of Housing Non-discrimination:

Our community does not discriminate in regards to housing based on race/color, national origin, religion, sex/gender, family status (i.e. having children, not having children, or being pregnant), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, ancestry, source of income, age, creed, personal appearance, political affiliation, HIV infection, military/veteran status, unfavorable military discharge, gender identity or expression, receiving public assistance, or being the victim of domestic abuse.

Population Members(adults and children): 155 Non-member Residents: 10 (Renters who are members of community but not shareholders.) Open to new members: Yes (TREE (Third Neighborhood))	Government Decision Making: By consensus Identified Leader: No Leadership Core Group: No	Labor and Money Financial Style: Members have independent finances Labor Contribution: Expected (2-4 hours per week) Join Fee: Yes ($75 to get on waiting list. No fee to join.) Regular Fees: Yes (There are monthly maintenance fees for each cohousing neighborhood. Plus an annual membership fee to the Village Association.)
Land and Buildings Other (We're on the edge of a small town. Our land includes farmland.) Area: 175 acres (70.8 hectares) Land Owned By: Another form of Non-profit (EVI, Inc., the educational non-profit which started the project, owns most of the land. The Village Association, made up of residents owns the land surrounding the village.) Number of Residences: 60 (There are 30 duplexes. All homes are attached.) Cohousing: Yes	Food, etc. Percentage of Food Grown: 21-50% (lots of veggies, some fruits) Share Community Meals: 2-5 times/week (There are two Village-wide meals a week, plus one limited to each neighborhood. All are optional.) Dietary Choice or Restrictions: Diet is up to each individual Dietary Practice: Primarily vegetarian (There are a wide range of individual dietary choices from omnivorous to vegan.) Alcohol Use: Used occasionally Tobacco Use: Prohibited (Never in Common Houses but there is no policy against general use. However no members are tobacco users.)	Social Factors Common Spiritual Practices: No Which Spiritual Traditions(s): Other (We have a wide variety of spiritual traditions practiced.) Educational Style(s): Home schooling :: Private school at the community :: Private school off the property :: Public schooled (Plans for a Sustainable Secondary School are underway.)

Cohousing Details

Cohousing Status:

Completed

(Third neighborhood underway)

Year Completed:

2004

(Second Neighborhood homes were completed in 2004. First Neighborhood in 1996. Third neighborhood is in the design stages.)

Number of Units:

30+30

Architect:

first neighborhood...Housecraft Builders, Jerry Weisburd second neighborhood...multiple

Developer:

In each neighborhood, the residents were the developers, but we used development managers. For the first neighborhood Housecraft Builders was the development manager. For the second neighborhood residents Liz Walker and Rod Lambert were development managers for the pre-construction phase.

Commercial Lender:

Tompkins Trust Company

Become an Editor Current editor(s): evi, evieducation

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