TaraEden EcoVillage

Mission: To create a community that works for all, while protecting and prospering our planet, being a shining example for the world to teach/ duplicate this sustainable lifestyle.

From www.ic.org/directory/taraeden-ecovillage/:

Hello, everyone!!
So happy to finally get a public posting of our dream community!
First off, let me introduce myself, I AM Niki Lane, Director and Visionary behind this huge endeavor.
Yes, I believe I have lost my mind while at the same time being more sane than i have ever been! LOL. In the words of MLK, I HAVE A DREAM! And I intend with everything i am to get this ball rolling; someway, somehow it WILL happen! We are in what I would call the zygote state; we are not even in the embryonic state yet! In fact, It is kinda like the morning after conception!
So if you are looking for a place that is up and running, a "turn key" step into perfection kind of situation well this is not it, keep moving. This is dirty, messy and so ground floor as to be almost subterranean!
We are seeking the most intrepid, energetic and gregarious type of individuals to come be founding pioneer FAMILY members. We need souls that desire to have an intricately involved commitment to a project, who have visions of a more perfect world and who desire with a fire in their bellies to be a strong contributing factor in the creation of something truly GREAT and wholly INSPIRING, with the tenacity to see it thru to the end! (Plus any and all who want to come for a bit and share in the excitement and add their energetic footprint to a worthy cause!)
If you are like me you have seen the dismal state that our beautiful mother Gaia has found herself in because of mankind's greed, unawareness and shortsightedness, and you see that if WE as a species ever want to manage to survive on this AMAZING planet, you see that MAJOR CHANGES MUST occur,,, and SOON!
Now also you must realise that IF we are to ever get the majority of humans on board with the eco-balanced, sustainable and soul-fulfilling lifestyle that will facilitate the continuing survival of our species then you know that we are going to HAVE to take the eco lifestyle to a higher, more sexy and ATTRACTIVE level. This means moving it to a place that the MAINSTREAM population can view it as a truly VIABLE, ACCEPTABLE and DESIRABLE way of life.
We simply must move our sustainability from the hippy, wonky, and primitive poop-in-a-bucket far left to a more moderate , clean and orderly way of things.
Think about it, how can we shift all the great things being done in this emerging field into a cohesive, technically advanced, unifying, cyclical, waste-free, planet-protecting, soul-soaringly fulfilling, self-balancing, UNSTOPPABLE revolution? Well, SOMEONE has got to PUT IT all TOGETHER into a VISION that gives life to that possibility!!

So to that end we have a CONCEPTUAL VISION description that paints a picture of what we are ultimately aiming for. This is a living document that grows and changes as we do. AGAIN, this is THE VISION, written in the present tense as if it already exists and is intended to SPEAK it into BEING!
(Please be aware that this IS NOT what we have at the moment, it is what we are seeking to grow into! )
If after reading it you desire to grow WITH US, then PLEASE contact us for further exploration of your involvement!

TARAEDEN ECOVILLAGE
CONCEPTUAL VISION

What We Intend To Create

TARAEDEN is an intentional Eco Village of nearly 2000 acres of tropical paradise and lush beauty, located just outside of Vero Beach, FL. With 80 (+/-) fulltime and part time residents and an additional 100 (+/-) that are non-residential members.
Who, together with local Businesses and Organizations are ALL working in HARMONY with nature and Mother Earth to provide a meaningful and fulfilled life in a close-knit and warm, family-like community. While providing and creating a wide array of handcrafted goods and services that “Do No Harm” to the earth or its inhabitants. Our focus is on building a world that works for everyone — Humans, animals and the planet!
We are an off-grid, sustainable, mostly self-reliant, Permaculture, farming, natural building and Eco -Education community focused on building strong community and a robust internal economy.
We are Home to the Nutrairian and Clean foods movement of the Treasure Coast, a member of Transition Towns of the USA and originator of the Eco-Vero initiative that turned a sleepy coastal town into a world renowned Eco example and Eco Tourist destination.
Included are a Spiritual and Retreat Center, A Boy Scout and Native American experience with Camping, Hiking/ kayaking/Equestrian Tours of the adjoining Blue Cypress nature preserve and lakes, Where we also give Wild Edible tours and outdoor survival training.
We feature a Green Weddings venue and guests accommodations in quaint Cob and earth-bag cottages, and host large and small Special events for private parties or nonprofit fundraisers, We have a Nutritional and Culinary educational center teaching Nutrarian, Raw, Clean and Vegan cooking.
There is an in-town, Vero Beach Visitor center and Cooperative retail store with a live Aquaponic you-pick vegetable stand farmers market and a café featuring our crops, food stuffs and talented chefs in training. You can have a glass of our homemade Mead, Grog or Beer in the night club or stroll thru the Artist gallery and studios of our artisans creating works in blown Glass, Iron Forged items, Jewelry, Drawing/Painting, Basket/rug weaving, and Clay pottery to name just a few. All housed in the historic downtown Diesel Power plant building. Our alternative fuel Tour bus service out to the TaraEden property runs from here, 6 am to midnight daily.
Our residents and members provide a full range of teaching workshops, retreats, and educational programs.
From organic gardening & farming, to Aquaponic gardening & farming, permaculture design and certification, And a natural building school teaching Cob, Strawbale and Earth-bag construction techniques, The Spiritual center gives a full range of Evolvement and Self Realization classes and the ever so appreciated Retreats. Many of the businesses that operate from TaraEden's grounds are exceptionally good teachers of their crafts and we all benefit from the expertise they share through our Teaching programs.

Here you will find a beneficial plants and wild edibles nursery, A mushroom farm, A world class Honey Apiary, numerous hand-crafted Artisan edibles including raw honey, grass-fed goat cheeses, aromatic breads, crackers, kale and root chips, sprouts, wheatgrass and juices, fermented foods and drinks, jams, jellies and preserves among others.
There is an Artists co-op and a “Reborn” shop that creates wonderful things from found, discarded and repurposed items, and our very own Multi-media production facility producing films, documentaries, photos, audio recordings and Music.
There is a library and video archives with weekly movie nights, Early morning Yoga, Pilates, Meditation, Reiki, massage, movement and dance classes, Infrared sauna, game room with ping pong, pool, darts and Air hockey are located in the multi-purpose Founders hall.
Our amazing innovative child-centered alternative school that uses the latest in advanced education and critical thinking is the pride of every parent. We are pioneering a generation of advanced souls to continue our goal of a sustainable and fair planet.
The TaraEden grounds are permaculture with food-bearing, useful or medicinal plants, flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds. And the cohabiting wildlife are plentiful and wondrous to observe, With majestic oak trees standing as Grandfathers of the land. There are decorative benches, arches, fountains and secluded meditation spots everywhere.
Water is an ever-present element, and the ‘ole swimming hole? Well it gets a LOT of use and, if you can find our “Fairy circle” of mushroom chairs you can count yourself as officially blessed.
A walkabout will remind you of why this place is named “TaraEden”, Tara= earth and Eden=paradise.
Town center is referred to as the “Heart” of town and is literally a heart-shaped promenade with plenty of space for the weekly farmers markets, events and community gatherings. A place to go for an evening stroll; you can stop in for a frozen yogurt or cup of tea with friends. This is where the music happens, besides the scheduled talent who are invited to play here, you never know when an impromptu jam session, solo guitarist, flutist or breakout karaoke might erupt for your listening or participation pleasure.
The certified Community Kitchen, Culinary school, Dining and lecture halls are all located here in the Heart of town, surrounded by an old-world-style market place with products and services that warm the heart and feed the soul because the vendors are all family. The Artists, performers, creative Writers, speakers and teachers congregate here to the delight of the entire community and our visitors from across the globe.
The affordable housing consists of single family, co-housing, apartments, dorms and even some assisted living, with the larger lots and acreages featuring combo Agribusiness/homes. The natural building techniques and reused building materials utilized here makes mortgage-free living a real possibility for all.
There is a place for YOU. The seven unique neighborhoods vary from a home-based business lane, to a kid-friendly family circle drive that surrounds our beloved Grandparents row, a senior-living complex and its RC boat pond and Butterfly gardens with the mentoring cabana where old and young gather to learn and share crafts, teach sewing, model building and crafting. And for those not yet ready for the rocking chair, the active adult enclave offers a kid-free street with plenty of socializing. There is even a Clothing-optional area for the Naturalist in you to live and play!
We have an Artist Alley full of amazingly talented folks and the Hobbit hollow is a collection of tiny homes each with large characters that include rentals and builder models.
Not to be forgotten, the “Back 40” is the heart of the food movement, being home to our wonderful farmers and livestock ranchers. Some of the things raised and grown here are, Grass-fed Cattle, Sheep, and Goats, free- range Chickens, Turkeys, Ducks and Game hens. Our pastures are crop/animal rotated and with our Poly cropping you will find Gardens full of every kind of food imaginable, too numerous to count! There are fields of beautiful, amazingly useful Bamboo, Hemp, and organic Cotton. We maintain community gardening and composting programs on site and within the nearby towns of Fellsmere and Vero Beach.
TaraEden began with a Local Exchange Trading System known as “Letsus” that uses “Leaves” as virtual Crypto currency that Keeps our money local, while building community and promoting a healthy foods/Eco lifestyle. We are a Sharing economy, as such there is a Share house full of useful items to borrow and return, keeping consumerism down and avoiding a disposable mentality. The goal is to move toward more desirable Ubuntu movement.
We encourage entrepreneurship, philanthropy and cooperatives. There are inventors, Bio technologists and researchers here, working to expand the capacity to live in harmony with the planet. We feature an in-house Makerspace where small startups can join and share in the small green manufacturing facility and a small business Incubator venture that facilitates economic development in fields that benefit the whole community.
TaraEden is dedicated to demonstrating that we CAN live a vibrant healthy and fulfilled life without harm and to teach and spread that awareness far and wide!
This is a place where civic leaders, urban planners and community builders can come to learn how to recreate the Ecological systems we are perfecting. Like our symbiotic and cyclical Bio gas/ Alcohol fuel production and waste management systems utilizing Fodder Beets and Cat tails for the onsite treatment facility that provides clean renewable energy. Plus our solar, wind, Mini Hydro and geothermal power sourcings are leading the way to not only impact-free utilities but to actual carbon-negative results.
Tara Eden is a huge believer in the Human Potential; as such we provide our local community and outreach programs many cooperative efforts to assist people in need and teach them how to be more self-supporting. Thereby allowing them to realize their full potential, and where that can take us as a species.
Our education center regularly hosts TED-like quality speakers and lectures on a plethora of topics such as Science, Nature , emerging technologies, Ecology, Life sciences, mind-body realizations, human interactions and world views, just to name a few.
We have scores of community events, celebrations and host several popular festivals including our main fundraiser, The TaraEden goddess ball. Where teams of designers and wannabe designers try their hand at creating a whimsical real live characters dressed head to foot in regalia made entirely of plant matter and recyclable or reusable items, destined for the landfill. Then a panel of guest judges award prizes and a silent auction is held. Guests are encouraged to express themselves through similar costuming, the food is legendary, the Eco Décor divine. It truly is the highlight of the year!
At TaraEden, we each do our part and with the many hands helping, we accomplish so much! The whole communities is involved and has a part in the day-to-day functioning by way of Modified Consensus governance, which bases all decisions from LOVE not fear. We teach cooperative effort, self-governance, non-violent communication and creative solutions. You will serve on committees and sit on councils, Voice your ideas and desires, vote on programs and adoptions of systems or agendas. You may choose to float in and out of the various areas of operation or as interns in one of the businesses or stay in a favored position within the community. What is certain is that you WILL become the greatest version of the grandest vision you have ever had about yourself!
Your membership is so much more than a place to live and work, it is a way of life that sustains and fulfills beyond your wildest dreams. Here you will find that connectedness and peaceful co-existence that so many are lacking in today’s society, we help and encourage, teach and share, we grow and prosper TOGETHER as a human family. We are a FAMILY that CARES for each other and the World as a whole. Nothing would make us happier than to see your smiling face in our community, please come see for yourself soon!
We believe WE must improve as humans, as a community, as a town, and as Nation. So that ultimately, the WORLD will live as ONE, in harmony and cooperatively WITH the planet, and even eventually,,,,,, the UNIVERSE! Well,, we can dream can’t we?

A service of the Data Commons Co-op. The project has been supported by Equal Exchange, the Cooperative Charitable Trust, the USDA, and many others - thank you! Tech volunteers over the years include: Benjamin Bradley with support from GAIA Host. Ben Mauer with support from Quilted. Paul Fitzpatrick. Ronin Tech Collective, Brattleboro Tech Collective, Sligo Computer Services. Jason Lemieux. Default map tiles courtesy of MapQuest. Default map data (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA.