Earthworks was approached by the Greenhouse Enterprise Centre, an eco-development firm to design an Eco Growing Village in Eastern Ontario on a 75-acre river-front organic farm with south-sloping organic fields that offered unique features suitable for an eco-community.
Earthworks was commissioned to design this interesting eco village based on permaculture. After years of searching, the group behind this project found a beautiful and ideal piece of property for this project, with 75 acres of organic fields and possible renewable power generation sufficient to provide for the whole community.
The potential for a self-sufficient lifestyle would be achievable with this canvas and strategic investments in infrastructure. The site provided the necessary physical resources to create a sustainable community.
The design included operations buildings, greenhouses, six Earthships as residences, a business center and education center. The village was designed as a self-sufficient community where participants in this project could enjoy the real possibility of economic, food and energy security in a healthy and nurturing environment.
Earthworks designed a permaculture infrastructure of ecological food production, renewable energy, eco-residences, plus a green business and education center, as well as plenty of edible forest parkland along the river valley providing recreational nature trails and camping and swimming facilities.
This design demonstrated that on 75 acres it would be possible for a community of up to 60 people to live, learn, create, work and play all in the context of ecological principles of our natural world.
This project had great potential, but like many intentional community projects we see, community governance issues and lack of funding to implement the plan slowed the progress of the project.
In this case, the “Winding Roads” community has struggled to become a reality and has only developed some of the organic farm elements of the design so far. So in this case, only time will tell if it fulfills its potential.
