Los Angeles Eco-Village Projects in Process

For information about residence, internships or apprentice opportunities, contact Lois Arkin:
117 Bimini Place #221, Los Angeles CA 90004
phone: 213/738-1254
fax: 213/386-8873 email: crsp@igc.org

How Eco-Village activity works

New Eco-Villagers begin by working with existing project groups in order to meet people, establish trust and build personal and working relationships. Project groups are made up of core group Eco-Villagers, neighbors, friends and volunteers. When newcomers have the feel of the way things happen, they may want to put more energy into a favorite project or start one of their own. People interested in starting new projects should do so in a way that does not compete with other projects already underway. People are also urged to help others on priority projects such as special gardening and tree planting days.

We would like people who are self organizing, self motivating, have fun working and playing, dialogue about stuff, are inclusive, resolve conflicts, don't interfere with others' priorities, are collaborative, enjoy eating together fairly regularly, take turns cooking, don't drive automobiles unnecessarily, minimize waste, recycle, reuse, etc. Overall, we're interested in having people work with us who have a sense of hope and joy about the future and want to commit their life's work to creating healthier ways of being on the planet.

We would like people to come live here who have an enthusiasm about demonstrating on a daily basis a radically different way of being in our city and are open to learning from many different kinds of people. Eco-Villagers try to be inclusive and non-judgmental, and recognize that everyone has things both to teach and to learn from one another.

Projects in Process or in Planning.

Legend:    S=We have started in some small way;   TT=We have thought and talked about RN=We have good resources and networks for

The list is not ordered, but there is a balance among economic, social and ecological activities and there are many connections among the different activities. A visitor will not see all this activity going on, but one who stays a while will get a feeling for the processes that go into creating a healthy neighborhood under unhealthy circumstances. You may have other projects that you'd like to get started here:

• A demonstration grey water reclamation system.  (TT, RN)
• Creation of a community land trust (S, TT, RN)
• Electric vehicle co-op for. (TT, RN)
• A buying co-op for organic food and environmentally safe household products. (TT, RN)
• Education about mutual housing/limited equity housing co-ops. (S, TT, RN)
• Earthquake preparedness. Educating, identifying neighborhood resource persons, organizing water/food buying co-op for storage, strapping water heaters. (S, RN)
• Neighborhood health/nutrition/exercise group. (S, RN, TT)
• Researching, planning, neighborhood education/organizing for participation in restoration of Bimini Baths (hot mineral springs 2000 feet below our streets). (TT, RN)

• Organizing field trips/overnight camping trips. (S, TT, RN)
  
  On a Clear Day Junior Eco-Villagers Hike to Griffith Park Observatory, 4 Miles North of Eco-Village in our early days (1995).
  
  
  
  

• Organizing/educating about recycling. (S, TT, RN)
• Revitalizing our Local Exchange Trading System (LETS) as a neighborhood currency system. (S, TT, RN)
• Working with off-track youngsters (5 - 16) within neighborhood (unstructured safe play, tutoring, earth stewarding activities, jr. co-op businesses, etc.). (S, TT, RN)
• Establishing neighborhood conflict resolution process. (S, TT, RN)
• Resolving night school parking problem in neighborhood. (TT, RN)
• Working with gardens and orchards. (S, TT, RN)
• Starting a market garden. (TT, RN)
• Start a bicycle repair co-op business. (S,TT, RN) - Incubated the Bicycle Kitchen
  
  Junior Eco-Villagers on way to city-wide bike ride in our early days.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Organize and provide technical assistance to several neighborhood micro-businesses, e.g., apartment management business (including resident mgmt., open green space maintenance, unit prep., plumbing, electrical, painting, cleaning, showing and renting, collecting rent, etc.), domestic cleaning using non-toxic cleaning materials, food kiosk (coffee, tea, fruit, papers, etc.), seedling nursery, herb market garden for local stores and restaurants, source separation recycling, paper recylcing from local print shops and offices, compost sales, egg sales. (S,TT, RN)
• Help design and organize for traffic calming implementation. (S, TT, RN)
• Create primary school teaching co-op for community schooling to interface under contract with L.A. Unified School District, White House Place Primary Center. (TT, RN)
• Research/build or buy a quadracycle for bio-cycling co-op (picking up compostables and other recyclables around neighborhoods). Help organize as a micro-business. (TT, RN)
• Help organize teen-agers for on-going Eco-Village and social activities targeted for them. (TT, RN
• Voter registration. (TT, RN)
• Organize special events (potlucks and other social gatherings, special speakers on co-ops, organic gardening, water/energy auditing/conservation, organic pest control, health issues, etc.). (S, TT, RN)
• Help design, develop, market, train for conducting public interactive "tours" of Eco-Village. (S, TT, RN)
• Build a demonstration food growing trellis over a sidewalk area. (TT, RN)
• Reinvigorate the Jr. Recycling Co-op, multi-family building source separation recycling, etc. (RN)
• Provide administrative support (work with Lois to reorganize office files/space; help index our extensive library on co-ops, communities, environment; develop grant proposals; prepare info packages; answer phone, etc. (S, TT, RN)
• Help create overall Eco-Village development plan and schedule. (S, TT, RN)
• Help facilitate small groups of neighbors for input and feedback on Eco-Village design issues such as traffic planning, building retrofits, plaza design, etc. (S, TT, RN)
• Design and implement a health survey. (RN)
• Organize traffic calming brunches in the street. (S)
• Help start an electric car conversion co-op for with neighborhood residents and their vehicles. (RN)
• Pick up local compost materials (from stores, homes, stables). (S, TT)
• Animal care (ducks, chicken, rabbits, guinea pigs). (S)
• Organize seasonal rituals and celebrations. (S, TT, RN)
  
  Mr. Plant (Esfandiar Abbassi) graciously receives Eco-Village's prestigious "Golden Aphid" award for Integrated Pest Manager of the Year from neighborhood dignitaries and ambassadors.  Early days of LAEV (1994). 
  
  
  
• Coordinate, publish multilingual regular neighborhood newsletter, streetside bulletin board. (S, TT, RN)
• Children's activities (visits to the library, story hour, tutoring in reading skills, crafts, etc.). (S, TT, RN)
• Activating Residents Co-op Housing Share Savings (R-CHARS). (TT, RN)
• Function as new resident's resource person and maintain and distribute New Residents' Info. Package. (S, TT, RN)
• Become artist in residence. (This is not a paid position.) (S, TT, RN)