Designing Ecological Habitats - Gaia Education

Damniyamgama eco-village : sustainable Development for tsunami restoration 203
interest in or experience with gardening. After tasting food from their own
plots, however, the residents soon developed a real passion for growing and
consuming the harvest of their own hands.
Management by Sub-committee
Various sub-committees were established for the operation, maintenance
and management of different aspects of the Village. Such organisation has
been very important for capacity building and local self-empowerment.
An Environmental Committee is responsible for the landscaping,
water and soil conservation, and waste management. The aim of this
Committee is to establish and maintain standards to protect and enhance
the environmental quality, visual beauty, and property investment-value of
the ecovillage. Other responsibilities include: promoting maximum energy
independence and processing requests for specific architectural and/or
environmental design changes throughout the village.
A Multi-purpose Centre Committee oversees the uses of the Centre,
manages it, and makes sure that the building is always orderly, clean
and inviting.
The objectives of the Economic Development Committee are to facilitate
the improvement of livelihood of the community members and to develop
sustainable, micro-finance institutions at the community level, thus enabling
villagers to meet their needs for savings and credit services and to assist them
in taking up a wide range of income generating activities. The Committee
links with the Sarvodaya Economic Empowerment Division (SEED) at
Typical house in the
new ecovillage, with
garden plot out front.