Earthaven Ecovillage

Founded in 1994, Earthaven Ecovillage is located on 329 acres in culturally rich, biologically diverse Western North Carolina, about 50 minutes southeast of Asheville and 30 minutes southeast of Black Mountain. Home to 80+ residents, the community is dedicated to caring for people and the Earth by learning and demonstrating a holistic, sustainable culture. The springs and creeks that traverse the land help welcome and invite you into the flow of what is happening in this serene forested setting.

Earthaven’s mission is to create “a living laboratory and educational seed bank for a sustainable human future.” Earthaven members seek to become empowered, responsible, ecologically literate citizens, modeling a bioregionally appropriate culture and valuing sustainable ecological systems, permaculture design, elegant simplicity, right livelihood, and healthy social relations.

Earthaven Ecovillage works every day in pursuit of a truly alternative culture, where members strive to provide their basic needs while centering the health of the Earth and their society.

For more information, see the Earthaven website.

What is an ecovillage?

A widely used definition is a “human-scale, full-featured settlement in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world in a way that is supportive of healthy human development, with multiple centers of initiative, and which can be successfully continued into the indefinite future.” — Robert and Diane Gilman