A bit on the Ecovillage at Ithaca

I want to say more on our experience at the ecovillage, especially after the previous, what I consider rather depressing, weblog entry.

The ecovillage was so beautifully inviting that we decided to stay one more day. We toured the city on Sunday, visiting our good friend from India, Megan. The city, as I mentioned before, is proud of it's 'progressive' nature. Ithaca College and Cornell University have just pledged to work towards carbon neutrality, for instance, and there is a great farmer's market in the city multiple days a week. However, while dining at a little Mexican joint we read an article in a local paper talking about a youth media group working to expose the social disparities that still occur within the city. It mentioned how the term 'sustainability' is often only associated with the ecovillage, and not much else is being done within the city to help people with food, clothes, shelter, and water. However, I think it is great that such dialogue occurs in this city, especially coming from the youth.

So, a bit on the ecovillage. It is a community of about 160, mostly adults with about 20 children under 16. Many are home-schooled, and some attend local public and private schools. There are two neighborhoods within the community. The buildings remind me of the the Hampshire College Mods, but with more garden space. There is also a great community building where 3 communal dinners are held per week. Attendance depends on who is cooking, but it ranges from 30 to 70 community members. Some community members work at home, either through consulting, online work, or local pracitice (medical, therapeutic, etc). Many professors live in the ecovillage, and commute to the city on bikes. There is a car share program at the ecovillage, which was recently developed. It is a non-profit organization operated by students and staff of the business department at Ithaca College, and serves not only the ecovillage, but local students and residents. For the price of a membership fee, one can rent a car for an hourly rate (which covers the cost of maintenance, insurance, and gas). Cars can be picked up at convenient places across the city. The city also has a decend public transportation system. It is necessary, though, because Ithaca was built on steep hills, and it is quite a walk up the 2.5 mile hill from the valley which contains the main city to the Ecovillage or two educational institutions situated on the surrounding hills. I would not want to bike that every day.

Gautier and I were welcomed into the home of one community member, Heather, on Saturday night for a delicious dinner. We were also lucky enough to be present on the weekend of the annual "Weed and Feed" event at the Farm. Basically, all the CSA members help weed for a few hours at the farm and enjoy a pasta feast, complete with pesto from basil in the garden, garden-grown steamed veggies, and watermelon. Mmmm-mmmm-mmm! What fun to see so many people of all ages enjoying the fields and the food.

We left on Tuesday morning with a gift of fresh apples from the farm (Thank you, Todd!) and continued through rolling hills to Little Valley, New York that night. It was tough to leave the ecovillage; it already felt like home to me. But, this entire country feels like home.