Eel sanctuary sign with wooden carvings at Awaawaroa Bay Eco-Village.

Awaawaroa Bay Eco-Village

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 1994

What we do

Awaawaroa Bay Eco-Village owns 169 hectares (420 acres). There is a large wetland and estuarine system and a number of large pockets of regenerating bush. The village established NZ’s first private sanctuary for the endemic long finned eel (tuna – a Maori word for the eel).
A large section of the bush is covenanted with Department of Conservation.
To protect the native wildlife there are no cats or dogs on the property.
Non toxic and energy-efficient building materials and methods are required. An internal building code is in place that is administered by a building committee. Most families use alternative power systems and there are a number of electric cars and bikes and biofuel vehicles on the property.
A communal tractor shed/barn has been built as well as a multi-purpose mud-brick community house and an accompanying abolution block which are used for meetings, celebrations and various group activities.
We aim for a chemical-free environment with all land-use practices to be organic. All land use is organic and several members practise Bio- dynamics. One land-base businesses operate from the community – a certified organic nursery ‘Gulf Trees’ which grows native fauna and another is in the process of being established.
Protecting and enhancing biodiversity in our ecosystems and natural habitats is a priority.

Our Mission

Our community is based on cooperation, honesty and consensus.
We have a willingness to balance individual needs with the greater good of the community, while also valuing people’s diversity.
Our community vision statement is as follows:
“We live in community, creating a safe, sustainable environment that encompasses and enhances wholesome relationships with each other and the land. We are a community who understands that our actions and behaviours influence the world of the future.”
To protect the native wildlife, there are no cats or dogs on the property.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Activities
  • Farming

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1994
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1996
  • Started living together
  • 28 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
49

How to join

Process: New members can only be considered when a share available for sale. It begins with a letter outlining an expression of interest written to the community and is followed by a three months investigation period undertaken by both the community and those expressing an interest in the share. At the end of this time the community votes on the suitability of the applicant.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Visitors need to email and find out if someone is willing to host them, and they will be required to do some work in exchange for hospitality. Several families are registered with the NZ Woofing organisation. We host open days once a year and community events/working bees that they may also be welcome to attend.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Full Consensus

Everyone must agree before moving forward.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a one-time fee, investment, or share purchase to join the community separate from accessing housing
  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Join fee: Yes
Regular fees: $220
Labor: Yes (2 hrs/week)
Members and residents are expected contribute to a monthly working bee which is for one day on the 3rd Sunday of every month.

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Swingsets & play areas, Waterfront access

Frequency of communal meals

  • 1-3 times per month

Dietary restriction

  • People can cook and eat what they want in their own residence

Community activities and engagement

  • WWOOF'ing, Guest Farming

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Family-focused (many children and parents)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Land Trust, Home Owners Association, or corporation

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Community type

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

Self-produced energy

  • 33 - 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • 33 - 66%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%
  • Land area size
    417.6 acres

Guest Book

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Location

  • Auckland, New Zealand

Awaawaroa Bay Eco-Village

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

Need
  • Forming Communities
3 weeks ago

Looking for: people building relational capacity, with a view to community

What’s here now: An intention, a framework developed over five years, and a programme running in central Victoria to find people to build with. No land, no group, no timeline. The question this is organised around: What makes a community of people living together sustainable over decades – where people enjoy being there, conflict is low, and the conflict that does arise gets handled in ways people value. The distinctive premise is capacity before formation. Most communities form first and build relational skill afterwards, usually under pressure. This one proposes doing it the other way round: people build the capacities first, and the group forms from people who have them. That includes a working idea about collective capacity – that a group has a ratio, and below some threshold it can’t metabolise its own conflict and starts consuming itself. Roughly: in a group of twenty, perhaps three or four with high capacity, most in the middle, and very few without. Untested, and something this project exists to find out. Governance: Sociocracy, with the intention of testing it meaningfully at scale rather than adopting it nominally. What’s actually happening: A three-week residency at a property near Castlemaine, and a practice group running before it. The medium-term aim is twenty to forty people at a rented facility. The long-term aim is a support hub sharing the framework more widely. What I’m looking for: People who want to build this capacity seriously, and who might eventually want to build something together. Not necessarily people who want to live here – the current property probably isn’t the long-term site. Happy to hear from anyone this resonates with, including people already in community who’d rather share what they’ve learned than join anything.
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
4 weeks ago

Unit C-2, Woodard Lane Cohousing — Olympia, WA

Join Olympia’s first and longest-running cohousing community, in a quiet West Side neighborhood 1.6 miles from downtown, backing onto a forested ravine along Schneider Creek. Unit C-2 offers 1,904 SF. Two stories, 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, and a bonus loft room on the main level. It can be lived in as one spacious family home — or split into two independent living spaces, each with its own kitchen, entrance, and effective soundproofing. Great for multigenerational households, live/work arrangements, or an owner-occupied half with a rented or shared half. Upper level: bedroom, full bath, bonus room with built-in loft bed, and an open kitchen-dining-living area with a deck facing the forest. Lower level: 3 bedrooms, full bath with dual sinks, second full kitchen, laundry room, and a second patio. Features: 2 full kitchens, radiant floor heat, stained concrete floors (bamboo upstairs), double-pane windows, bolted keyed entries at both levels, dedicated laundry, concrete patios facing the ravine, shared parking with 18 EV charging stations.   Ownership includes a Common House with a guest room, full kitchen, gathering space, and kids’ play area; a shared vegetable garden; a wood shop and bike storage; and wooded grounds with a stream path and central Green. Monthly dues are $799, covering all utilities except internet. Established in 2010, Woodard Lane is home to ~40 residents across 18 homes, with shared meals, work parties, and genuine neighborliness. Learn more about Woodard Lane Cohousing  We’re looking for a buyer who wants to participate fully in community life. $630,000. Contact Kate Greene: yo******@***il.com or text: 360-789-7587.
Offer
Need

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