We are on the journey of transforming our vision into reality. Much has been done, but there is still a lot to do. We are passionate about living lightly on the earth, but we certainly don’t have all the answers and we really look forward to investigating ideas and solutions with new participants and inhabitants.

This is where we are up to …

Village location: Located close to the centre of town, most essential services are within walking distance including the school, supermarket, bank, medical centre, pharmacy and post office. There is a bus service to Hobart but, at the moment, we tend to car pool when heading to the big smoke.

Village Design: Smaller housing lots mean smaller houses and the clustering arrangement allows for easy sharing of resources; for example, pods may have common facilities such as a shared laundy and tool shed. The proximity of lots to one another means dwellings can easily be conjoined.

Building Design: We have comprehensive Residential Building Design Guidelines (available on request) which are intended to give potential purchasers an outline of what will be permitted in terms of ecologically sustainable design. These are not exhaustive and may be changed by the Body Corprate in consultation with the community as the village develops.

Infrastructure: We are harvesting rainwater for drinking and cooking and other water is supplied from the creek, bore and dams. Grey water recycling does not appear to be a viable option for this site, so the town sewerage system is used at this stage. Composting toilets may be permitted by council, and are encouraged by us. Mains electricity (mainly hydro power in Tasmania) is available to all the released Pods but use of solar power is encouraged and we are investigating renewable energy options.

Agriculture: We are committed to organic farming principles and are keen to know more about biological farming methods. Permaculture principles resonate with our vision and we are delighted that the Fat Beets Food Hub has been established to sell locally grown produce including from our community garden.

Environmental Management Strategy: We were fortunate to receive a grant through National Resource Management (NRM South) and commissioned a report into the natural resources at our Village. We are using this information to compile a comprehensive environmental management strategy plan for the Village, which will look at the preservation and restoration of native plants and animals on the property and the management of introduced species.