Change is inevitable. And necessary. Over the last 30 years abundant scientific evidence has been gathered that demonstrates the unsustainability of human lifestyles on this earth. Society is waking up to the realisation that humanity’s existence is dependent upon our environment, and we are compromising our own future and that of future generations. Our western lifestyle is heavily dependent upon finite natural resources, such as fossil fuels. Our foods contain more embodied energy in fossil fuels than they give our body when we eat them. We poison our water, our air, our soils and our food. Socially, almost 1 in 3 Australians will experience clinical depression.
Our Association is focused on researching, implementing and promoting solutions that address sustainability holistically, bringing people together to find solutions. The Association for Sustainable Communities Inc was established in 2007 as a not-for-profit, environmental organisation building relocalised communities that are socially, culturally, financially and ecologically sustainable.
We are committed to furthering an ecologically sustainable future through reverence for the environment, each other, and our interdependence. We are creating and modeling ecological and conscious commu nities, guided by grace, that liberate and nurture the potential of the wider community through social equity, integrity, courage, transformative growth, care of the planet and collaborative enterprises.
Inherent in this objective is an acknowledgement of the importance of intergenerational and intragenerational equity in maintaining a sustainable lifestyle, and of conserving and protecting our biological diversity, as recognised by the United Nations in 1987. The Asociation’s major projects include establishing a model 4-bottom line sustainable living centre, incorporating an organic farm, intentional community, a conference and education centre to model best-practice sustainable living. The project embodies eco-agriculture, renewable and green technologies, sustainable tenure, ethical financing and sustainable building methods and designs. (sourced 5/1/2022 from http://www.sustainable-communities.org.au/)
Core Values
From an initial meeting in May 2007, regular gatherings featuring inclusive community group processes and rotating facilitation have been held to formulate principles for the project and our vision:
“We are individuals united to create ecologically sustainable and conscious communities, guided by grace, that are havens liberating and nurturing the potential of all through social equity, integrity, courage, transformative growth, collaborative enterprises, celebration and care of the planet.”
Our primary current project is to model holistically sustaining community, with a focus on localisation and engagement with the wider community, sustainable land and resource management, teaching and modeling sustainable agriculture and enterprises, simple and shared living that minimises resource use and consciousness building. Perceiving there to be four interdependent components to our vision of an ecologically sustainable future, that is spiritual, social, economic and environmental, we spent time establishing common principles for each area and derive from these detailed agreements, structures and form. These values guide how our Association manages its internal affairs and how we engage in our mission to create a more sustainable future for ourselves and this earth. Association Mission Statement: Facilitating the creation of life-sustaining communities through:
Collaborative partnerships;
Sharing information and resources; and
Providing a demonstration site
Core Common Values
1. Philosophy / Common spirit
We actively work toward creating a sustainable future for the earth and humanity
We value every soul and recognize the divinity in humanity
We support the three Permaculture ethics
We honour and steward the earth
We are engaged with the world, actively working in service to humanity
We work toward mutual support and co-operation, compassion, openness and loving kindness
We support diversity, equality and creativity
2. Community Building / Personal Development
We share a commitment to openness, making time, transparency, and engaging in processes of dialogue
We engage in celebration and play and value feeding the “inner glow”
We share a commitment to inner development, taking personal responsibility
We support each other, as in the Barn-raising principle
We share our learnings with the whole community
Decision-making is an inclusive, collaborative process, ensuring all are heard
We recognise the value in honouring the view of the dissenter
We make a commitment to honour the broader needs/goals of the community, the group and each member
Issues are solution oriented, participants agree to take responsibility for what they ‘put on the table’
3. Governance / structure / tenure
Facilitates optimum care of land
Supports our view of the land as sacred
Reduces waste of resources through duplicated facilities, encourages sustainability and simplicity
Supports and encourages us financing each other (borrowing from each other rather than banks), flexible and liquid
Encourages individuals who are highly committed to community living
Inspires and supports altruism / service
Ensures that the primary focus of land is to support the vision
Enables us to define our rights and responsibilities to each other and the land and be guided by our own agreements
Affordability, transferability
We are working toward a grace economy, in the interim we establish a vibrant internal currency and intentional design of economy
4. Ecology / built environment
We listen to the land and honour the land as sacred
We are actively engaged in teaching and modeling sustainability
We work toward being carbon-neutral and tread lightly on the land, using resources thoughtfully and sustainably
We support, teach and model sustainable eco-agricultural practices
We display and use green technologies, such as on-site waste-water treatment and renewable energy systems
We display and teach sustainable building designs and low impact building materials
We facilitate clean transport options, such as transport-sharing, electric conversions
We support research and training into land and waterway restoration
We actively rehabilitate properties for the public benefit
We actively support sustainable industries
We devise and teach systems for minimising resource use through sharing and community building
We maintain spatial closeness, creating places for informal physical interactions
Supporting the Sunshine Coast Community
Statistics have shown that the Sunshine Coast has become one of Australia’s least affordable places to live, with rental availability at record lows and housing prices high relative to incomes. At the same time, we have a movement toward sustainability and relocalising our economies.
Our projects are aimed to meet the needs of the local and national community in terms of:
reducing environmental impacts of households
modeling of affordable, sustainable tenure and community-based housing options,
supporting sustainable and ethical economic development
promoting sustainable solutions to rural and agricultural land use