Site Map

Announcements

House for Rent in Chidlow

4 bedroom 2 bathroom character home, wood floor boards on 2 acres with swimming pool and out-door spa beautiful big extension like two separate living areas. Horse welcome stables included. $350 per week with long lease. Call Rosie on 0411 887 453

Bargain 'Ecocom' Merchandise

We have a colourful range of adult and child size t-shirts and caps and hats bearing the 'Ecocom' name. We have marked these down to clear. You never know, they could become collector items!

All Adult Merchandise $10.00
All Children's Merchandise $5.00

All Ecocom merchandise can be purchased on any SomerVille Sunday.

Changes to the Website

You may have noticed in your recent visits to the SomerVille website that there have been some alterations to the layout and wording of the website.

The main change has been the home page. Where previously there was a news report there is now an introductory page telling people what SomerVille is. The news section is still available, it is now known as the 'where are we now' section. The reason for the change is to make the site more user friendly for those who are new to the SomerVille website and don't know what SomerVille is. We are hopeful that new visitors to the site can now easily find that information without having to search too far.

We have also tried to make the website a little easier to navigate as we have had feedback from the community that it was confusing. While no major changes were made we have re-worded several sections and moved some things around to hopefully make navigating the website a little easier. We would like to encourage you to visit the Site Map to get a better understanding of the website structure.

So in the next few weeks as you look through the website and find that things were not where they used to be then this is the reason why. It is important that the website is always improving as SomerVille evolves so please know that we are constantly reviewing and updating it as we can.

Any feedback concerning the website is appreciated so please email info@sev.com.au with any comments.

< The new SomerVille Website

SomerVille Ecovillage™ Online Forum

This is a reminder to encourage everyone to use the Online Forum. It is ready and available for you to use and share ideas.

We would like to encourage everyone to log in and have a look, post a comment etc. This is a valuable tool we have here so let’s use it.

Requests

Come and Attend a Steering Team or a Core Group Meeting

In an effort to expand the community interface and be as transparent as possible we invite community members (“intending residents”) to attend the meetings as observers.

A list of meeting dates and contact people can be found online in the Members Only section located online at:

http://www.somervilleecovillage.com.au/members/core_groups.htm

The SomerVille Buddy System

< Some of our existing buddies waiting for lunch - SomerVille Sunday 11th March 2007.

So... You want to be a SomerVille Buddy? Some might call you a mentor but really being a mentor at SomerVille means you are someone's friend. You've been at SomerVille long enough to know about how most things work, who knows what you do not, where to voice ideas/concerns and when important events are happening.

But what if I don't know the answer to a question?

Don't worry! You don't have to know everything, you will get questions that you don't not know the answer to and that's okay. However, you will know who to ask or where to look for the right answer.

Remember that although you may not feel like it, if you have been involved in SomerVille for the last six months or more then you probably know a lot more than you realise. Your knowledge will help a new member feel more comfortable. So put up your hand and help welcome our new friends to this wonderful life we will all be living.

If you have any queries about the structure or content please visit http://www.somervilleecovillage.com.au/newsletters and read the Newsletter Structure, Content and Submission Guidelines.

Additionally if you know of any coming events that you believe other members of the community may be interested in please email the details through to newsletter@sev.net.au.

All interested buddies please provide a few details, as indicated below, in an email to christophe@greenedge.org in the Greenedge Projects office. These details will help us to match up buddies so give as much information as you feel comfortable providing.

Some examples include - Your name, age, family status (ie Single, couple, w/children etc), Age of any children and length of involvement in SomerVille.

Submit an Article for SomerVille Scoop

The Newsletter team is putting out a request for articles, points of interest, recipes , jokes etc. Have your say and share your knowledge.

If you are interested in making a contribution please email your article etc... to newsletter@sev.net.au by the 20 of each second month.

If you have any queries about the structure or content please visit http://www.somervilleecovillage.com.au/newsletters and read the Newsletter Structure, Content and Submission Guidelines.

Additionally if you know of any coming events that you believe other members of the community may be interested in please email the details through to newsletter@sev.net.au.

Project Updates

Environment / Place

Update provided by Dave Moore

Rezoning

Rezoning of SomerVille land has been achieved, and we are now only days away from agreeing the final wording of the rezoning text so that the rezoning can be gazetted (formally announced in writing).

LSIP

Our Local Subdivision and Infrastructure Plan (LSIP) has been advertised and the Shire have received over fifty submissions with comments. Most of these address our currently proposed road access from Ash Road or water issues. Alteratives to the proposed access are being considered, and we have commissioned a Traffic Impact Assessment to assist us and shire officers to choose the most suitable access road location.

Community House

Following great presentations of Community House concept plans from Gresley Abas and Paradigm architects we have commissioned Paradigm (Fiona Hogg's company) to develop their design into a standard suitable for securing a building licence. Artist/sculptor Antonio Battistessa will assist Paradigm and our community to imbue the design with art, spirit and community values. We're hoping to present the concept at the July SomerVille Sunday meeting. In fact, the July SomerVille Sunday will have a focus on building your home, with design options, material options, building options and many other facets being on the agenda.

Village Centre

We will be meeting with David Galloway (Ferart Design) in late June to see whether he can help us to develop an integrated design for our village centre and its surrounds.

Village Centre as shown on the Overall Lot Layout >

Environmental Management Plan

Andrew Hemsley has completed the Environmental Management Plan which will be presented to the Statutory Authorities in late June. It is very comprehensive (434 pages of it!) and will form the basis for our own Environmental Management Plan, which will look at things from a slightly different perspective. Well done Andrew, and Aaron (Soma Design) for the plans and graphics.

Building Guidelines

The Building Guidelines are going through a final revision as is the website based on-line assessment tool. We’re hoping to demonstrate the assessment tool at the July SomerVille Sunday, then Intending Residents can have a go at entering data from any designs they may currently have for their SomerVille Home. We can then get any remaining bugs fixed and have it ready for us to use on the real thing.

SomerVille Organic Farm

Fencing of the two farming areas has been completed and they have been sown with green manure species to revitalise the soil. Results to date have been encouraging, and we are considering the establishment of a shed and cold room to the northeast of Charcoal Cottage, and also getting a water supply ready to irrigate crops through the coming summer.

We have engaged Jenkins Clifford Consulting Engineers to design our electrical and communications reticulation systems. They’ll work with GEMCO (KT Lim) who is designing and managing the establishment of our solar power system.

Subdivision

Our application to subdivide the land has been drafted and will be submitted before the end of June. However, approval by the Shire council of our LSIP has slipped back to July. This may not necessarily mean a delay, and we still anticipate starting on infrastructure in late October this year. This means titles being created for individual lots around April 2008. A busy year ahead!

Enterprise & Economics

Unfortunately an update from the Enterprise & Economics Core Group was unavailable for this issue. However a full update should be provided in the next issue. Watch this space.

Cultural / Social

Update provided by Kara Holt-Gragg

 Kara & Edwin holding the Visioning
Workshop Painting  >

Can you believe it has been two months since the last Scoop? I, your community creation cultivator, Kara, so brand new when the last Scoop came out is now not so new. It has been over four months since I joined the Greenedge Cultural/Social team and it now feels like a home away from home. Thank you all for making me feel so welcome over the past few months it has really helped me to settle in and feel a part of the SomerVille family.

The SomerVille land is just beautiful coming into winter and we've all had a chance over the last two SomerVille Sundays to really get out and enjoy it! The visioning facilitated by Michael Velders was really a wonderful process and we invite you all to come and see the fabulous painting produced at the culmination of all our visioning work. The walk around the land on the June SomerVille Sunday with Andrew Hemsley allowed us to see some areas we might not have seen and to learn about the land on which we will be living.

Rezoning was approved, finally! and we celebrated SomerVille style on the land with delicious food, a warm (large) fire and some good music. This chance to get together in a social setting was a good opportunity to meet up with old pals and get to know some of the new faces, mine included! As we start welcoming new members into the community we will be having more social gatherings, providing the opportunity for pioneers and settlers to form more friendships and get ready for the influx of new residents as the final lots are sold.

SomerVille Black Tie Rezoned Celebration – Saturday 19^th May 2007 >

I hope everyone has had a fabulous two months between Scoops. The cultural/social team encourages you all to come along to the next SomerVille Sunday on the 1st of July where we will begin discussing the processes for building at SomerVille. The next few months will be very hectic for the Greenedge team as we start an intense marketing phase for SomerVille to get those final lots sold! Because of this I know that the cultural/social team really look forward to seeing you all at SomerVille Sundays, the Coffee Shop and the Cultural/Social Core group meeting (now held at the Chidlow Tavern!) so please come along and join in the fun.

I'll leave it at that for now, some of you may be called in the near future to fulfil your buddy roles (if you would like to be a buddy and haven't yet registered an interest please send an email to info@sev.net.au ) so look out for that, otherwise I will chat with all again in two months time. Keep happy, warm and safe!

Kindest Regards

The Social/Cultural team

Coming Events

Editors Note : Please be aware that I will only advertise events that community members have made me aware of, so if you know of any events coming up that other community members might be interested in please email the details to newsletter@sev.net.au.

General Events

Bush Skills for the Hills

Bush Skills for the Hills is a series of free, hills-focused workshops for the community. To register or find out more information please visit http://www.emrc.org.au. The next two coming events are:

Fungi Foray

Saturday 21 July 2007 – 9am – 12pm – meet at Chidlow Sports Pavilion, Chidlow Recreation Reserve,

This workshop will include basic fungi identification, fungi life cycles and will include a field walk.

Bush Block Management

Saturday 11 August 2007 – 9am – 12:30pm – Venue yet to be advised.

This workshop will focus on managing your bush block in the Easter Hills and includes bush assessment, programmes to help manage your bush, providing fauna habitat, dieback control and private land conservation.

The Green House

23 Willow Way Maddington - Open to the public on Saturdays from 11am - 4pm and Wednesday's from 1pm – 4pm.

HURRY - LAST DAYS! CLOSES SATURDAY 30 JUNE 2007!

The Green House is a retrofitted existing dwelling in Maddington and is a showcase of sustainability, especially in regards to energy efficiency, but also in water and waste efficiency. For more information please download the flyer from http://www.somervilleecovillage.com.au/events/flyers/TheGreenHouse.pdf

Self Awareness / Personal Development Events

This is a list of courses and activities coming up that intending SomerVille residents have experienced and believe to have been a valuable contribution to their life journey, and recommend to others. More Details about these events can be found online in the SomerVille Members Only section at: http://www.somervilleecovillage.com.au/members/self_awareness.htm

Breakthrough to Success
Wealth and Power Weekend with Christopher Howard.

Friday 31 August to Sunday 2 September, 2007 ( 3 Day workshop). Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre

“Breakthrough to Success” gives you invaluable tools and techniques to change your behaviour using the power of your unconscious mind. The concepts presented are based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming)… the science of human communication. Simple yet very powerful tools for changing behaviour to produce fast & lasting success.

Christophe Bouyac has obtained a number of free tickets to this 3 day seminar, (tickets normally cost $895) so if you are interested you need to email Christophe Bouyac christophe@greenedge.org and he will mail you a ticket or two (for free), once you have the ticket you will need to then go online and register your seat (details on the ticket).To find out more about this event please visit: http://www.universalevents.com.au/events/ch_breakthrough-to-success.htm or you can visit the self awareness section located at http://www.somervilleecovillage.com.au/members/self_awareness.htm and read about Christophe's experience of this event

Just a small fire – SomerVille Black Tie Rezoned Celebration Saturday 19 May 2007 >

SomerVille Calendar of Events

The SomerVille Calendar of Events can be found online at:
http://www.somervilleecovillage.com.au/calendar.htm.

NOTE: We will endeavour to keep our events to the schedule below however, due to unforeseen circumstances some may be cancelled.

If you are on our mailing list we email you in advance of events or if an event is cancelled.

If you are not already receiving our emails you can subscribe here. The locations are not specified here, they will be advertised closer to the events via email.

Sunday 1 July 2007

• SomerVille Sunday

• 10am Sharp to 2pm please bring along a plate of food to share.

Wednesday 18 July 2007

• The Coffee Shop (SomerVille Forum)

• 6:30pm Sharp to 8:30pm please bring a plate of snacks to share.

Sunday 5 August 2007

• SomerVille Sunday

• 10am Sharp to 2pm please bring along a plate of food to share.

Tuesday 21 August 2007

• The Coffee Shop (SomerVille Forum)

• 6:30pm Sharp to 8:30pm please bring a plate of snacks to share.

Sunday 9 September 2007

• SomerVille Sunday

• 10am Sharp to 2pm please bring along a plate of food to share.

Wednesday 19 September 2007

• The Coffee Shop (SomerVille Forum)

• 6:30pm Sharp to 8:30pm please bring a plate of snacks to share.

Sunday 7 October 2007

• SomerVille Sunday

• 10am Sharp to 2pm please bring along a plate of food to share.

Tuesday 16 October 2007

• The Coffee Shop (SomerVille Forum)

• 6:30pm Sharp to 8:30pm please bring a plate of snacks to share.

Sunday 4 November 2007

• SomerVille Sunday

• 10am Sharp to 2pm please bring along a plate of food to share.

Wednesday 21 November 2007

• The Coffee Shop (SomerVille Forum)

• 6:30pm Sharp to 8:30pm please bring a plate of snacks to share.

Sunday 2 December 2007

• SomerVille Sunday

• 10am Sharp to 2pm please bring along a plate of food to share.

My Story

Mechtild & Paul Moes (photo complements
of Paul Moes) >

A SomerVille Life for Us

Mechtild & Paul Moes

We had been investigating ecovillages many years ago when we still lived in Melbourne, but decided then that we were not ready for it yet.

We both come from the Netherlands and arrived in Australia in 1974. We settled in very well. We were so excited when we finally managed to get a loan to have our first home built and then our two children, Lynette and Jeremy were born.

After a few years all of a sudden we decided to go back to the Netherlands to live. Sold everything and went via Canada and England back home where we bought a house in desperate need of repair. After 2 years of renovations we sold the house and moved to Perth. A friend of ours wrote very promising stories about this city on the west coast. And indeed we are very happy here, especially when we found out that there was an ecovillage to be set up in the hills. We went to the first meeting and were there to view the land for the first time. As the setting up was all going to take a little time we decided to sell our house in Darlington and travel around Australia for a while. We thought that when we get back we would be able to start building. It did not quite go that way as Paul was taken on as landcare co-ordinator at Somerville in April 2004. We had to go back so that he could start his job.

Now 3 years on we live on the land and we watch SomerVille develop. We thoroughly enjoy living here, the people, the discussions, the animals, every new day. We feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to help grow the land, the vision and the village. We are so looking forward to live here in our own house with the lovely people in our cluster and the village around us.

Articles

Congratulations on Rezoning

Lyndal Parris

Sydney Coastal Ecovillage Logo >

Through my blur of tears I am so excited for you all. Absolutely fantastic news – the tasty reward after your incredible patience and perseverance…what a story of hope and success….BIB, BIG Congratulations.

And what perfect timing for us…..such encouragement…. as we have just had a meeting with Shoalhaven City Council in Nowra on the 13^th July, regarding the Sydney Coastal Ecovillage.

The response was very positive indicating that they would like such a project in their area. They emphasised the importance of getting the State government and local residents on side….so that’s where our energies will go next!

‘why not design what we want, rather than adapt to what exists’……..and you have bloody well done it!!!!!!!!

A Bill of Rights

Peter Weatherly

Two things are about to happen. Firstly, you will be required to obtain an Identity Card. It will contain all sorts of information about you - some of it of a very private nature.  Secondly, the police have just been given the power to do random drug tests. You can now be stopped and required to prove your innocence. If you refuse to do so you will be treated as, and punished as if you are guilty!

Both have very good reasons for their implementation. Both erode our civil rights. Do we need a Bill of Rights for which many people are clamouring? My answer may well surprise you. No we don't. In fact a Bill of Rights may well do the opposite of what was intended and will hand the debate into the hands of unelected judges - who often have their own agenda.

We need to get one thing very clear. We are very lucky. We live in Australia, in a democracy,in a political system which - for all its many faults - has generally served us well; but they are NOT the fount of our rights. You were born with the general right to do as you damn well please. This of course must be modified if you want a civil society; so with our consent, and only with our consent, the government may legistlate to modify these rights.

Let's get this very clear. Rights are not the gift of government - you are born with them. Government can only take away. At the moment, everything is allowed except that which is forbidden. With a Bill of Rights, everything is forbidden except that which is allowed. There is a world of difference.

''The road to hell is paved with good intentions!'

Products and Services Available

The SomerVille Vision:
"A vibrant village where community flourishes, in which every person is supported and contributes
in balance with a sustainable ecological ethic."

© Copyright 2005-2008. All Rights Reserved. SomerVille Ecovillage ™