Sustainable Living Inspiration from an Eco Village
Folks who watch Morgan Spurlock’s show 30 Days might know a bit about Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage from the episode about off grid living. That show is where I first learned about this intentional community in northeastern Missouri. Dancing Rabbit is a community dedicated to eco-friendly living. From relying totally on renewable energy to using compostable toilets, they consider the environment in every aspect of their day to day lives.
Some people live there full time, while others will come to visit or work for a shorter period. Right now, they have a really cool sustainable building jobs program, where folks with construction experience can learn more about green building while living in the community.
What they’re doing out there is pretty groundbreaking and inspirational. For folks unfamiliar with Dancing Rabbit and their mission, check out this short introductory video about the community:
Natural building is a huge part of what they do there: creating sustainable homes from salvaged and unprocessed materials. You can get an idea of their processes by looking at how they created their Community Building, a common area where folks can meet, work, and play. All of the wood and insulation is salvaged, and it uses passive solar to keep it cool in summer and warm in the winter. They also installed rainwater catchment and a greywater recycling system.
Even if total off grid living isn’t for you, there’s a lot we can learn from the folks at Dancing Rabbit. Like they mention in the video, small changes add up to a big difference. Just following their example in one or two aspects of our lives, we can make significant change. Imagine if everyone harvested rainwater or took the burden off of their heating and cooling bills with passive solar!
Becky Striepe is an indie crafter living in Atlanta, GA with her husband, two cats, and her trusty sewing machine.
She runs a crafty business: Glue & Glitter, sewing handmade housewares from vintage and revamped materials. Her mission is to use existing materials in products that help folks reduce their impact without sacrificing style!
