We’re under construction!
See for yourself what’s happening on our site. Click here for the live camera to watch it in real time. We are pleased to be working with the knowledgeable team at Evercam to provide the construction phase photography of our project with live-streaming, time-lapse videos, and reports. To learn more about them, see evercam.com. We have a few units still available for move-in later this year. Be sure to attend an Inquirers’ Introduction if you’d like to learn more!
We’re a group of individuals and families who have joined to build an extraordinary life together. The one thing we all have in common is a desire to know our neighbors. Our EcoVillage will be a multi-generational community that includes people from many cultures and backgrounds. We welcome individuals of every race, ethnicity, culture, age, ability, gender identity, and sexual identity to join us in creating an inclusive, caring, and diverse community.
In September 2023 we learned that our original site on the Eden Hall Campus was no longer available. Hearing of our need, the Sisters of Divine Providence offered to gift us land for our EcoVillage. This land, adjacent to LaRoche University, is now ours, and construction is well underway. Reflecting our partnership with the Sisters, we are now called Rachel Carson EcoVillage at Providence Heights. Like us, the Sisters have a strong commitment to sustainability, the environment, and social justice. We are very grateful for their gift and welcome people of all faiths and no faith to join our community.
We are creating a caring and cooperative community as we become a positive part of our local environment, both human and natural. Our buildings and site are designed to connect us to nature and to each other: to promote personal interactions and easy sociability, where kids play in safety and neighbors lend each other a hand.
Our goals include learning to enjoy, protect and contribute to the abundance around us as well as enhance the quality of our lives as part of a larger thriving environment. At Providence Heights, our site will have common gardens, walks, and places for socializing. We are also within a few minutes’ walk of La Roche campus facilities as well as neighborhood services.
Upon move-in, we will share property, facilities, resources, and to some extent our lives, but just as important, we will respect each other’s privacy, autonomy, and personal property. The ecovillage will offer easy connections with neighbors without sacrificing the privacy of our own home. This balance will be woven into the fabric of our lives.
The ecovillage will be a homeownership community of 35 private units ranging from studios to four bedrooms. Our shared common house will have a dining room, a large kitchen and more. Descriptions of our units can be found here.
The entire development is being built to Passive House Institute of the United States standard, which will reduce utility bills to a fraction of their cost compared to conventionally built housing. Our materials have been selected for long-term durability and affordability as well as better air quality. Our natural site infrastructure will improve the quality of the soil and water and foster a healthy human-inhabited ecosystem.
Between now and our targeted move-in in this year (2026), we are planning our community, practicing sociocratic decision-making, and enjoying time together – in person and on Zoom!