Somerville Ecovillage
Desperate housing situation – ie, renting really does suck (tell me, what is so offensive about a few hooks on the walls? Does it really affect the stability of the world as we know it, or are Perth house owners just a teensy little bit too precious?), plus income on the very small side, plus no real deposit to speak of, equals bleak prospects of ever owning a patch of dirt with some bricks and mortar on it anytime soon.
It's time to think outside the square acreage. So along with a couple of friends of ours, Anna and I trundled up to Chidlow to check out the Somerville Eco Village and see how we might fit in with the communal living concept. It is something I have been thinking of for a while now but have been reluctant to pursue the communal housing operatives I know of due to there being only 15-20 houses – I like a bit more anonymity than that, even if I am going to be throwing myself in the deep end of community. At Somerville, there are plans to have 150 families. With figures like that, it will be fairly easy to avoid someone if they piss me off completely; it should also be equally possible to plan retribution on someone who finds me offensive without them ever finding out who covered their mud brick walls with (free range) eggs or who stole the wicker baskets from their bikes.
But I'm digressing; let's not get too cynical too early. And let me say, these guys and gals at Somerville sure do have their shit together. With all due respect to true hippies everywhere, I have been involved with a couple of other hippy enterprises and sometimes although the ideas are good, the action part of things is often lacking somewhat. Not so up at Somerville! They are a disparate, interesting, dedicated group of people who are all committed to the idea of sustainable communal living, and have got themselves organised in order to achieve the same. Very impressive.
However, unfortunately I could never live with them in their happy harmony heaven, because they have decided (via discussion and majority vote, naturally) to disallow pets. This seems ludicrous to me, especially given that they are going to have chooks, geese, goats, bees, house cows, etc. I know the site is in beautiful natural bushland but, c'mon guys, it's still almost metro area; just how many rare and endangered spotted bilbies do you think there will be living there, with the monstrous new 4-lane Northern Highway almost on your doorstep? Haven't you ever heard of cat runs? How about if someone wants a horse that will alleviate the need to buy a petrol run vehicle? Who decides what is 'pet' and what is 'organic farm machinery'? It's a bit rich to insist a dog can't live there because it might upset any passing native wildlife but then allow chickens (and their associated diseases) because, oh yeah, you can get the eggs… hypocritical is the first word that comes to mind. Here's a thought – how many of you have had chook pens before? Once the first vermin invasion has been overcome I bet you will be looking at a couple of good mousing moggies with entirely new eyes.
The 'no pet' policy also misses one of the most pertinent points about sustainable living: that every creature on the planet has a right to be alive, and they should not be judged and ranked purely on their use to human beings. Denying the children of Somerville the opportunity to grow up with the unconditional love of a dog or a cat or what have you, simply because they don't produce eggs or honey, is not something I'd want to subject Anna to.
It's time to think outside the square acreage. So along with a couple of friends of ours, Anna and I trundled up to Chidlow to check out the Somerville Eco Village and see how we might fit in with the communal living concept. It is something I have been thinking of for a while now but have been reluctant to pursue the communal housing operatives I know of due to there being only 15-20 houses – I like a bit more anonymity than that, even if I am going to be throwing myself in the deep end of community. At Somerville, there are plans to have 150 families. With figures like that, it will be fairly easy to avoid someone if they piss me off completely; it should also be equally possible to plan retribution on someone who finds me offensive without them ever finding out who covered their mud brick walls with (free range) eggs or who stole the wicker baskets from their bikes.
But I'm digressing; let's not get too cynical too early. And let me say, these guys and gals at Somerville sure do have their shit together. With all due respect to true hippies everywhere, I have been involved with a couple of other hippy enterprises and sometimes although the ideas are good, the action part of things is often lacking somewhat. Not so up at Somerville! They are a disparate, interesting, dedicated group of people who are all committed to the idea of sustainable communal living, and have got themselves organised in order to achieve the same. Very impressive.
However, unfortunately I could never live with them in their happy harmony heaven, because they have decided (via discussion and majority vote, naturally) to disallow pets. This seems ludicrous to me, especially given that they are going to have chooks, geese, goats, bees, house cows, etc. I know the site is in beautiful natural bushland but, c'mon guys, it's still almost metro area; just how many rare and endangered spotted bilbies do you think there will be living there, with the monstrous new 4-lane Northern Highway almost on your doorstep? Haven't you ever heard of cat runs? How about if someone wants a horse that will alleviate the need to buy a petrol run vehicle? Who decides what is 'pet' and what is 'organic farm machinery'? It's a bit rich to insist a dog can't live there because it might upset any passing native wildlife but then allow chickens (and their associated diseases) because, oh yeah, you can get the eggs… hypocritical is the first word that comes to mind. Here's a thought – how many of you have had chook pens before? Once the first vermin invasion has been overcome I bet you will be looking at a couple of good mousing moggies with entirely new eyes.
The 'no pet' policy also misses one of the most pertinent points about sustainable living: that every creature on the planet has a right to be alive, and they should not be judged and ranked purely on their use to human beings. Denying the children of Somerville the opportunity to grow up with the unconditional love of a dog or a cat or what have you, simply because they don't produce eggs or honey, is not something I'd want to subject Anna to.
posted by Helen at 3:57 pm
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