Zola interviews Lyndall Parris, founder and resident of Narara Ecovillage on Australia’s central, east coast (about an hour north of Sydney), about what it takes to create and lead an intentional ecovillage from vision to reality and what daily life feels like there.

The episode outlines Narara’s cooperative membership model (including the $30,000 buy-in), efforts toward affordability and intergenerational living through CLAN, and key sustainability infrastructure such as a smart grid and localized water systems.

Lyndall shares the long fundraising and development journey (including setbacks during the financial crisis of 2008, the 2012 tender to buy the property, and 2013 settlement), reflects on belonging, kindness, and ongoing conflict-resolution work.

Lyndall offers her free PDF book for those wanting to learn from their model and, of course, to visit their website.

00:52 Narara Ecovillage 101: Location, Land & Community Layout

02:07 How Membership Works: Co‑op Buy‑In, Responsibilities & Building Standards

03:18 Making It Affordable: CLAN, Shared Shares & Attracting Younger Families

05:16 Sustainability Systems: Smart Grid Energy + Water & Sewage Independence

06:28 Visit & Learn More: Website, Tours, Getting There from Sydney

07:33 Defining “Homefullness”

09:09 From Sheep Farm to “We Could Live Differently”

11:28 Courage to Build an Ecovillage: One Step at a Time (The Elephant Story)

13:54 Finding the Land + The Great Financial Crisis Setback (2008–2012)

16:43 Keeping the Dream Alive: Open Days, Newsletters & Founder Stamina

20:43 Life as a Resident: Kindness, Events, Healthier Living & Nature Connection

26:07 Not Utopia: Governance, Conflict Resolution & Personal Growth Ripples

29:39 Founder Fuel: “What’s In It for Me?” Avoiding Burnout + Financing Returns

31:33 From Setbacks to Solidarity: Building Trust to Fund the Land Purchase

33:20 Women Revolutionizing Housing Network: Monthly Meetups & How to Join

34:24 The $5M Tender Strategy: Pledges, Co-op Setup, and 24 ‘Pioneers’

37:53 2012–2013: Settlement, Early Works, and Recruiting a Project Director

39:00 Paying the Professionals: Commercial Rates, Deferred Fees, and Success-Based Compensation

40:50 Member-Funded Infrastructure: Installments, Bridging Loans, and Keeping Banks Out

43:01 Co-op Membership & Shares: The $30k Buy-In, Assets, and Creative Affordability

44:38 Community-Building Practices: Weekly Zooms, Alliances, and Staying Connected

46:15 The Ecovillage Mission: Economic, Environmental, and Social ‘Three-Legged Stool’

50:21 Charitable Arm & Tax-Deductible Giving: The Eco Living Network Explained

52:49 Sharing the Model: Website Resources, Free PDF Book, and ‘Joy of Purpose’ Workshop

55:20 Inspiration & Closing Reflections: Spiritual Practices, Nature, and Next Steps

Links:

https://youtu.be/x_RYTEx1Cxk

https://nararaecovillage.com/

https://nararaecovillage.com/2022/12/lyndall-and-dave/

https://www.commonground.net.nz/

In this episode, host Zola Rose interviews Zola Ndimande, a Zulu woman from KwaZulu Natal South Africa about her return to her ancestral land to build her own home using traditional earth building methods, and integrating into that community-focused way of living in relationship with people and relationship with the elements.

The discussion covers a range of topics such as traditional housing construction methods, indigenous community living, tribal land stewardship and right to occupy vs ownership, tribal authority vs regulatory governance, traditional ceremonies for returning to occupy land, and the balance between modern and indigenous ways of building and living.

Zola provides insights into the communal support systems prevalent in Zulu communities, the challenges of integrating modern aspirations with traditional values, and the importance of maintaining cultural rituals and land stewardship.

The conversation also touches on the parallels between Zulu and Maori cultures, highlighting the universal human need for community and connection to land.

Zola Rose refers to another episode (May 2025) where she interviews her daughter Oriah about growing up, learning, and creating a home in a similar way when they lived near a Zulu community in KwaZulu Natal South Africa.

02:18 Land Rights and Ancestral Connections

03:36 Community and Tribal Land Systems

10:07 Ceremonies and Traditions in Zululand

17:44 Building with Natural Materials

21:12 Community-Based Tourism and Integration

30:48 Learning the Basics of Cob Building

31:38 Building a Home While Pregnant

32:06 Construction Timeline and Techniques

33:35 Inspiration to Build My Own House

35:29 Exploring the Land and Community

37:07 Traditional vs. Modern Building Materials

39:01 The Importance of Community Support

41:43 Challenges and Legislation in Building

43:16 Sustainable Living Practices

57:42 Cultural Reflections and Language

Your reflections are welcome--we'd love to hear from you. Email to zola@commonground.net.nz

Zola Rose interviews Magda Garbarczyk from Fine Line Architecture about the 'Straw Lines' project, a modular housing system using low carbon materials like straw and timber to address New Zealand's housing crisis, climate change, unhealthy and expensive building materials, and waste from the agricultural sector.

The project aims to reconnect traditional building methods with modern practices, promote community involvement, and reduce environmental impact.

Magda, alongside collaborator Min Hall, discusses their design competition entry focused on carbon-negative construction that uses locally sourced materials and prefabricated straw panels, making housing construction faster, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly.

Furthermore, they explore the potential for community-led and neighbourhood-scale building initiatives to enhance affordability and sustainability.

Links:

https://www.finelinearchitecture.co.nz/projects/strawlines

https://www.commonground.net.nz/

https://thehousinginnovationsociety.com/

00:49 The Relevance of Sustainable Building Materials

02:10 Magda Gik's Architectural Journey

03:09 Project Collaboration and Research

06:26 Historical Context of Building Traditions in Aotearoa

07:44 Straw Lines: Design and Implementation

10:24 Research and Development of Prefabricated Panels

17:57 Community Involvement and Future Vision

21:52 Q&A Session: Addressing Audience Queries

Host Zola Rose interviews Trystan and Stephanie from the Peterborough Housing Cooperative to discuss this housing model that is a rarity in Aotearoa NZ (a more common model in Europe).

They explore how the cooperative structure, owned by a Trust, keeps rents affordable and fosters a close-knit community of families, young professionals, and the elderly.

They talk about the cooperative's guiding principles and their commitment to maintaining affordability for future generations by capping rents and resale prices.

The episode also details the process of joining the cooperative, the benefits of living in such a community, and the challenges that other groups will face if trying to start their own cooperative housing--challenges due to the dominant systems that make land expensive and finance hard to obtain.

They speak about their conflict resolution process that is built into the guiding document but that people who are accepted to be members already have a willingness to be cooperative.

Because of the complexity, they do offer mentorship and guidance for groups wishing to create their own cohousing or cooperative housing.

Zola shares updates on the Women Revolutionising Housing hui and network, how listeners can support the podcast through the Homefullness Patreon community, and her Earth Fellows fellowship for regenerative housing.

Zola thanks the show sponsor, Home Foundation. https://homefoundation.org.nz/

To learn about the legal routes to unlock cooperative housing in Aotearoa NZ, check out the Homefullness episode of 28 March 2025 and the Common Ground YouTube channel.

Links mentioned in the show:

https://peterborough.nz/

https://www.commonground.net.nz/

https://thehousinginnovationsociety.com/

https://www.earthsong.org.nz/

https://www.cohousingco.com/charles-durrett

09:39 Living in Peterborough Housing Cooperative

16:55 Challenges and Benefits of Cooperative Living

34:31 Future Projects and Community Expansion

48:53 Final Thoughts and Invitation to Visit

Show host Zola shares her personal experience with housing instability through a creative reading of her unpublished article titled 'Homefullness: Recipes for Baking, Belonging, Connection, and Resilience into Housing Futures.'

Zola details her struggles with feelings of homelessness due to the challenge of finding available, affordable accommodation and precarious short-term house and room rentals, despite her professional background and stable income.

She highlights the systemic issues in housing policies and market forces that creates housing insecurity for many working people in our society as well as for single mothers and older women.

She explores how collective housing can offer homefullness but that these models are in short supply due to many factors such as inhospitable legislation, lack of developer interest, and unavailable bank lending or funding.

Zola offers practical 'recipes' for creating more connected and resilient communities for people "in situ" or creating from scratch.

The episode serves as both a personal testimony and a call to action for systemic change in housing development, funding, and legislation.

Timestamps:

00:43 Zola’s Personal Story: A Recipe for Homelessness

03:45 Her Struggles with Housing Instability

17:38 The Broken Housing System

25:10 Collective Housing Solutions

30:22 Homefullness Recipes for Transformation: In Situ and Collective Housing

38:19 Call to Action: Creating Homefullness—what you can do no matter where or who you are.

Show Links:

Common Ground website & newsletter sign up:https://www.commonground.net.nz/

Become part of the Homefullness Patreon Community: https://www.patreon.com/commonground_zola

The article and companion document of resources is not yet ready for release. Sign up to the Common Ground newsletter to get alerted when I’ve made this available.

In this episode Zola interviews Steven Liaros to discuss the importance and the roadmap to create a network of Circular Economy Villages (CEV).

These villages aim to integrate private housing development with public infrastructure to alleviate stress on local governments and create sustainable, regenerative rural and peri-urban communities.

Steven delves into the critical barriers that traditional eco-village projects face, such as local area planning policies, financing, and necessary infrastructure.

The CEV model addresses these issues by incorporating principles of the circular economy, emphasizing reduced waste and enhanced efficiency in energy and water usage, and fostering climate resilience.

The episode highlights the benefits of this model for rural areas and its role in enabling local governments to collaborate efficiently.

The discussion also covers the strategic planning and financial strategies that are key to making these villages a reality.

And, Steven envisions it being a really great place to live where people know their neighbours and share resources and activities and where folks who are a bit nomadic yet with a desire for belonging can find a community within a CEV.

05:36 Vision of Circular Economy Villages

06:32 Daily Life in a Circular Economy Village

10:20 Community Governance and Infrastructure

14:15 Planning and Financing Challenges

17:22 Engaging Local Governments and Investors

25:31 Personal Journey and Motivation

51:24 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Find two explanatory videos on the CEV on Steven's YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@steven_liaros?si=_Av-PyiCkOSA2NbJ

Circular Economy Village website: https://www.cevco.life/

Common Ground: https://www.commonground.net.nz/

Women Revolutionising Housing: https://www.commonground.net.nz/women-revolutionising-housing-hui-2025

Join the Homefullness Community: https://www.patreon.com/commonground_zola

In this episode, host Zola interviews Zahra Lightway about her tour of eco villages across Australia, India, and Europe.

The conversation explore what made the ecovillages she visited successful, mainly a robust governance system, income-earning programmes and opportunities, a shared worldview (values and beliefs), and mission-driven activities.

They cover sociocracy as a governance model, the difference between eco estates and eco villages, and innovative financial models like Les Pas Sages for start-up ecovillages, and the significance of a well-structured internal economic system.

The episode concludes with a conversation about the future of ecovillages.

Related links:

https://www.commonground.net.nz/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zahralightway/

Global EcoVillage Network (GEN)

Main Website: https://ecovillage.org/ Global Ecovillage Network

Additional regional sites:

• GEN Europe: https://gen-europe.org/

• GEN United States: https://www.gen-us.net/

• GEN Oceania & Asia: https://genoaecovillage.org/

Gaia Education

Main Website: https://www.gaiaeducation.org/ Sustainable Education Courses | Gaia Education - Transforming Communities

Foundation for Intentional Community

Main Website: https://www.ic.org/ Foundation for Intentional Community

EcoVillage Tours

Main Website: https://www.ecovillagetours.com/ Ecovillage Tours | Visit Intentional Communities around the world — Ecovillage Tours

Time stamps:

04:18 Zahra's Eco Village Exploration Tour

06:12 Insights and Best Practices from Eco Villages

19:33 Economic Models and Sustainability in Eco Villages

25:29 Challenges and Solutions in Eco Villages

43:52 Learning Opportunities and Resources

47:35 Conclusion and Contact Information