Ecovillage celebrates solstice and Chanukah

Residents at Narara Ecovillage are celebrating Chanukah as they prepare for the village’s next Open Day on January 25.

On December 21, 30 residents and guests gathered for solstice wine and nibbles along the laneway between vegetable patches and town homes.

Along the road at the ecovillage campground, families and workaway volunteers gathered around a campfire as John Seed sang a duet with his son.

Beside the permaculture garden, another group gathered to light candles and celebrate Shabbat with semi-retired rabbi, Jonathan Keren-Black.

He moved to the ecovillage in 2023 with his wife Sue Black, a specialist in learning difficulties.

“We were looking for a vibrant place with strong community values,” he said.

“We’re planning an exciting compact sustainable home.

“We want to reduce our impact on the climate.

“As a demonstration global ecovillage, Narara is a great place to do that.”

Sue Black said they invite a few people to their home each Friday evening to start shabbat.

“It’s a way of getting to know the village, the wider coastal community, and share our celebration,” she said.

This year Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of lights, began on December 25 and finishes on January 2,

John Seed received an OAM in 1995 for his contribution to conservation and rainforest protection in Australia and globally.

He leads Deep Ecology workshops at the ecovillage and features on podcasts internationally.

He and his wife Megan Wallace, the owner-builder of their NatHERS 9-star hempcrete and recycled timber home, have been involved with Narara Eco-village since 2013.

“There’s a spirit in this land that drew me here,” Seed said.

“We have an obligation to our children and their children, the trees, the whole interdependent ecosystem, to care and protect, to find another way forward.”

He said his favourite festival at the ecovillage is the traditional bunya nut festival in February with campfires to roast nuts from the bunya trees and invitations to the original custodians to harvest and provide education in Aboriginal ways of caretaking the land.

The eco-village, at the edge of Strickland State Forest, is home to 170 adults and children at present.

Ecovillage founder and former Sydney North Shore resident Lyndall Parris said there are people from every background at the ecovillage.

“We work together, play together and try to be kind,” she said.

“I wanted to create a place where people of all ages and beliefs can build a caring community.
“I think we’ve done it, or we’re well on the way.”

Parris said holiday traditions saw regular gatherings of residents with the choir singing seasonal carols and universal songs for Chanukah and other traditions.

Narara Eco-village hosts monthly Open Days with details posted at www.nararaecovillage.com

Pre-register for January 25 or arrange to stop by for a private tour of sustainable homes including hempcrete, Earthship, ‘Hobbit-style’, rammed earth and various styles from tiny to palatial.

Lots and homes for sale are on the Narara website or inquiries can be made at 4328 1588.