Our Vision
Sweet Pond Eco-Community is sited on 100 acres of forests and pastures. It has a magnificent 180 degree vista of the southern sky, views of mountains, and a lovely beaver pond.
The vision is to build a small Eco-Community built on the principles of E.F.Schumaker's Small is Beautiful. We believe that the long term health of the planet and society is dependent on creating affordable housing, that is ecologically friendly and creates the least amount of disturbance in home building.
We aspire to build with respect for nature, a view of the future and the impact of our actions. We see nine homes clustered together in the apple orchard overlooking the pond. They will be built on-site, with green and local materials where possible, and arranged to take advantage of passive solar light. Energy use and environmental impact will be further reduced by having a common driveway, septic, well, and utility hook-ups.
As housing and energy prices continue to rise it becomes more and more difficult for Americans to continue to own their own homes. Although home costs, taxes, utility bills, and maintenance fees go up every year income often does not. This is especially a problem for the aging boomer generation who faces many more years of life after retirement than past generations. Increasing costs on a fixed income means less money to spend every month.
We aim to reduce this burden in the following ways. First, the houses we would like to build are smaller than most new construction at around 1570 square feet. This lowers energy and tax costs. Also, by committing our forests to a land management or a conservation program, each member of the community is paying full taxes on a lot less property than a typical 5 acre rural plot, while still having access to the entire property. Common well, septic, and electricity hook-ups as well as clustering the houses lowers construction costs. By spending money now on well-insulated homes and chemical free materials we are not only creating a safer home to live in we are reducing our long-term energy needs. We are creating homes we can live in today, and live with tomorrow.
We have studied and admire the goals and environment that co-housing communities create but have found the process to be long, costly, and cumbersome. We are taking a top-down approach to designing an intentional community. This reduces timeframe, costs, financial issues, stress, and the risk of harming friendships. We are confident that as the process continues the right neighbors will come together and form the bonds necessary to have a successful community.