3 minute read
Coast Community
Narara Ecovillage is a sustainable, intergenerational residential community on the Central Coast. We asked Founder, Lyndall Parris, to tell us a bit about how it works for families.
Dave and I – retired from our careers in accounting and engineering – are living the good life in this Intentional Community. My grand kids, Zinn (12), Cam (10) and Clem (5) live here too. People of all ages choose to live at Narara Ecovillage because they want to know their neighbours and be neighbourly. That doesn’t mean we agree on everything, but having such intentionality means that we are committed to working through issues relating to the common–good decisions for our community. We say: Out in the community, it’s about the ‘we’ and in our homes it’s about the ‘me’.
There are currently 200 Nararans, 60 of whom are children. About 110 are living here, with another 90 or so building their homes over the next few years. In the meantime, they are getting to know their future neighbours at the various events we regularly hold, just as our visitors can do as well.
Children in the ecovillage attend all types of schools and some are homeschooled. They learn to interact with adults of all ages and cover topics like bush regeneration, seed raising, growing food, building and so much more through both conscious and unconscious assimilation. Ride sharing during school term is easy, and scheduled, and some parents swap meals so that they can share food preparation efficiently. Also, there is always the wholesome, fresh food produced in the ecovillage and sold through our Coffee Cart that can fill–in at the times when home kitchens need to switch–off.
During school holidays – a time that tests parents as they balance their workload with children home all day – I have seen pooling of resources and energy here at the ecovillage so that each family has more chance of achieving their commitments, while their children have fun. Play dates happen regularly and automatically, parents don’t need to continually access their schedules and make calls to other parents. The kids’ games are simple and imaginative – up a tree, on a dirt pile, making, designing, collecting from nature and the materials hanging around, and of course, riding their bikes and various ball games. They settle into patterns of sharing and there is comradery and friendship.
Our Aim, work–shopped and agreed to by the whole community, is to nurture a resilient and inclusive intergenerational community that inspires collaboration, innovation and fun; to live with kindness, aware of our interdependence with others and the natural world; and to learn and demonstrate ways to thrive within the earth’s ecological capacity, drawing on Indigenous wisdom and fostering regenerative environmental, social and economic practices.
There are many aspects to our Aim that we would like to share with our wider neighbours on the Central Coast, so that you can join in with our exploration and search for a different way of living.
Our Coffee Cart is open from Tuesday to Saturday and our website includes details of events, including our monthly Open Day –
