Findhorn Ecovillage

The Findhorn Ecovillage, known in the past as the Findhorn Community (also referred to as Ecovillage Findhorn) is an experimental intentional community project based at The Park, in Moray, Scotland, near the village of Findhorn. The community promotes sustainable living practices and explores the relationship between humans, nature, and spiritual values. Although historically much of the land was owned by the Findhorn Foundation, over the years much of the land originally part of that organisation has been now sold off to other organisations and private individuals – especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the largest of these newer landowners is Ecovillage Findhorn CBS, a community benefit society started in 2024, which owns a number of areas including the Universal Hall, and is looking to buy or transfer further land and buildings originally held by the Findhorn Foundation.

The project's main aim is to demonstrate sustainable development in environmental, social, and economic terms. The community itself began in 1962, but Ecovillage work is generally seen as beginning in the early 1980s under the auspices of the Findhorn Foundation. It now includes a wide diversity of organisations and activities. Numerous different ecological techniques are in use, and the project has won a variety of awards, including the UN-Habitat Best Practice Designation in 1998 and 2018.

An independent study concludes that the residents have the lowest ecological footprint of any community measured so far in the industrialised world and is also half of the UK average; however this did not include the Scope 3 emissions created in the past by its many guests flying in to attend its courses. The community is well aware of this paradox and seeks to find a way to earn income from more local sources, without the environmental impacts of flying. Although the project has attracted some controversy, the growing profile of environmental issues such as climate change has led to a degree of mainstream acceptance of its ecological ethos.

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