We live in a rapidly changing world, which is transforming before our eyes. A multitude of pressing concerns such as food security concerns, inequality, climate change, biodiversity loss, and unrestrained urbanization are calling for our immediate attention. Over exploitation of natural resources, misuse of chemical inputs on farms, has created challenges that has threatened life of biological organisms and existence of planet Earth. Eco village can be used as a solution tool in today’s world addressing all the above issues. An Eco-village is one of the important Technology used in a traditional or intentional way with the goal of becoming more socially, culturally, economically, and/or ecologically sustainable. An Eco village strives to produce the least possible negative impact on the natural environment through intentional physical design and resident eco-friendly choices. Eco village development design can be adjusted according to existing available resources and goals made by the community. It mainly focusses in balancing between life in community and available natural resources. With the overwhelming increase in the world population, it is bound to destroy nature. Trees are corrupted, water is tainted, Air is poisoned and the land is minified. If this continued for long, there won't be enough food to eat, safe water to drink and salubrious air to breathe. We cannot stop all these factors today but we can try to make the world better tomorrow. We can at least take some mitigating measures to cope with the environment.
Globally, we throw out about 1.3 billion tons of food a year, or a third of all the food that we grow. This is an alarming stage. Around 9 million people die every year of hunger and hunger-related diseases. This is more than from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.
The main focus and working model is consciously designed through locally owned participatory processes in all four dimensions of sustainability (social, culture, ecology and economy to regenerate social and natural environments). Eco villages help to implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Agreements on local levels. Many social innovations developed in Eco villages can be transferred and replicated and local solutions to global challenges add up – over time, Eco villages become a force for positive societal transformation.
Learning from the positive impact of Eco villages should be committed to catalyzing the power of communities for a regenerative future. Existing eco-villages as demonstration sites of replicable and transferable social innovations. One of the ways Eco villages, can work is by scaling up to achieve to the Sustainable Development Goals and measuring that, is through its Eco village Impact Assessment every year.
As the Sustainable Development Goals has 17 main goals, and Eco villages’ aims for the achievement of all those goals for the sustainable development of any community. So it is an integrative and collaborative approach which addresses social, spiritual or cultural, ecological and techno-economic discrepancies and instabilities through involvement of community members deeply in planning and implementation, while also giving those tools for improvement of the livelihood. Empowerment of people and their organizations, conservation and utilization of eco-system, Eco- and health-friendly production systems; equitable access to natural productive resources and public services and Sustainable technologies are the important tools of Eco villages. Eco-village has social, physical, cultural and ecological structures. Each system has subsystems that interact with each other to address livelihood-related issues at micro level, which helps to achieve SDG 1 No poverty. The community people of Eco village aims to achieve overall food sovereignty with the help of environmental friendly practices, which is relatable to SDG 2 zero hunger by end of hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Community can achieve overall sustainability only when the people of that community can ensure healthy lives and promote overall wellness and wellbeing for all at all ages. Eco villages urges this issue seriously not only by promoting community health centers but also promoting use of medicinal herbs available in the environment and counselling centers, which is also relatable to SDG 3 Good health and well-being. Education should receive by everyone in the community, as education acts as a strongest pillars of development which is the top most priority of Eco village development. The education should be inclusive and equitable and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This helps to achieve SDG 4 Quality education. Social based discrimination doesn’t help for development. So, achieving gender equality and empowerment of all is important steps of Eco village development, which helps to achieve SDG 5 gender equality. As the main focus of Eco villages is to maintain spaces which offers cleanliness and sanitation around the community people, clean water to drink is one of the basic requirement of the community people, we follow SDG 6 clean water and sanitation to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Eco-village aims for installation of innovative and clean reliable sources of energy sources which is very relatable to SDG7 ; affordable and clean energy.
Eco Villages should have various active community groups (social cohesion) or networks. It believes each member of community must have access to information/educational institutions and structures like child care center and formal schools, women health resource and counseling centers, bio-intensive farming- farmer’s field school/model demonstration farm. Active participation of community in natural resources and conflict management is another fundamental tool of eco-village. Also, Conservation and promotion of Local Culture, Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Technology is must be promoted. Active participation of community to address impact of climate change and ecological variation. Model society with collective leadership and social justice are the main goals of achievements, which can be achieved only when members of the Eco village community plan the achievement with the local bodies like CBO’s, Stakeholders, and Governmental bodies.
Humans can scale the highest mountains and live in the harshest deserts. But we all live precarious lives: ones not far from death if we lose access to simple things like water, food, or even sleep. Every person and situation is different, though the "rule of threes" gets at the desperate nature of what our bodies need: three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, and three weeks without food.
If all the "rule of threes" are to be in the fading phase then we are in the utmost danger. Eventually, we won't be able to exist on this earth. So, to exist in this world we have to collaborate with nature turning poison into medicine, barren ground into prolific land, contaminated air into refreshing air, corrupted water into holy water.
The concept of Eco-village is versatile and humongous. It works on many aspects such as social, environmental, technological, economic and political stability (SETEP). Social: The World Health Organization (WHO)’s latest report on Violence against Women that was released in June 2013 indicated that in some regions of the world, over 35% of women suffer from partner violence. With these staggering numbers, it is a very real possibility that every one of us knows a woman is facing (or has faced) domestic violence. The concept of eco-village could eradicate violence against women, gender discrimination and respect other ethical groups present in the community. The indigenous knowledge from different groups vary accordingly among other groups and are useful in several ways. In this modern generation, where all the traditional or indigenous knowledge is about to extinct, the ethical indigenous knowledge must be promoted. Eco village’s construction requires neighborhood revitalization, affordable housing, food security, accessible transportation, senior citizens associations, environmental protection/conservation, community sustainability, humanitarian/disaster response, medical relief funds, youth homes and centers
WOREC has been working for different marginal rural communities under 'Sustainable Livelihood Program' for promotion of 16 eco-villages in 5 districts of Nepal. The concept of transformation of traditional villages into sustainable eco-village where human made norms, values, concepts, attitudes, behaviors and practices are changed into human friendly, non-discriminatory, socially acceptable, ecologically non-degradable and economically profitable one from the perspective of human rights and social justice. Our Eco village has criteria and indicators which are based on understanding among selected traditional villages for transformation of traditional villages into eco-villages. Our working module has been working for the settlement with all members committed to sustainably manage locally available natural resources with integrated comprehensive human right based approach to meet their social, spiritual, psychological, physical (including technological) band economic needs without any negative impact on natural ecosystems, resources, climate and health. In Udayapur, Baireni, Hadiya, Nepaltar, Chaukibari and Uttaraitol have been selected for the transformation of villages to Eco villages.
An Eco village is not a particular outcome, but an ongoing process. Each Eco village is a living and learning center for a regenerative future, a place of continuous exploration. Eco villages are not designed by outside developers, architects or experts, but by communities themselves. Empowerment of youth women and elderly people to sustainably manage natural resources and strengthen capitals is the motto of the Eco village.
By Purnima Chaudhary and Absishek Byanju
The author are Programe officer in WOREC district office Udayapur.