Findhorn Ecovillage - Awards, UN Connections and Critiques

Awards, UN Connections and Critiques

At a time when resource depletion and global warming are international concerns it is not perhaps surprising that these activities should receive various accolades.

• In September 1995 The Findhorn Ecological Village Project was awarded the 'We the Peoples 50 Communities' award given by the Friends of the United Nations as part of the 50th Anniversary of the UN Celebrations.

• In October 1998 the Ecovillage Project, together with other 100 leadership Initiatives "which are inspiring innovative action on Earth", received Best Practice Designation from the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements — UNCHS (Habitat) and Dubai Municipality.

• In September 2000 the conservation charity Trees for Life received the Millennium Marque Award in recognition of its work in helping to restore the Caledonian Forest in Glen Affric.

• The following year the United Nations Environment Programme noted that “most of the problems identified by Agenda 21 have their roots at the local level, therefore UNEP appreciates your significant contribution at the local level to models for holistic and sustainable living in harmony with the environment.”

Various critiques exist in print, although these tend to concentrate on the eclectic spirituality of the Findhorn Foundation rather than the environmental aspects of the Ecovillage. There is a statement of core values for the Ecovillage and its associated community called ‘Common Ground’ but other than affirming a commitment to “active spiritual practice” (which is diversely understood and interpreted) it concentrates largely on preferred interpersonal behaviours rather than prescribing a spiritual philosophy. Objections were raised by a local pressure group against the expansion of the wind park but the concerns of local people about the Ecovillage appear to have reduced, partly due to the proactive stance of the ecovillagers themselves, especially perhaps as a result of the gift of some amenity land to a local land trust by Duneland Ltd., an Ecovillage company.

While many houses are modest in size some are large, exceeding 200 m² in built area for a single household. Diversity of lifestyle may well be part of any human settlement but the magnitude of such structures hints that the commitment to ‘living lightly on the Earth’ is not as whole-hearted as first appearances may suggest. Nonetheless, working examples of how a western lifestyle might be possible whilst living within the means of the Earth's renewable resources to support it are likely to be of interest at a time when the consensus of mainstream opinion is moving towards the view that ‘business as usual’ may no longer be an option.