Eco-dream comes alive in Nelson

A group of Nelson people is taking a positive move that they say is bringing them great lifestyle benefits, as the opportunity to make a positive contribution to the future of the planet.

Six families have banded together to form an eco-village, sited within walking distance of the city, with views of the mountains and the sea, and with plenty of land to develop orchards, grazing and communal gardens.

“It’s a fluke of history really that this rural land right in the city became available,” explains one of the founding members, Annabel Norman. “The site used to be a children’s hospital so there are mature trees, some existing buildings and we have added roads and infrastructure to service the nine sections that make up the eco-village.”

Annabel is quick to point out this is no ‘21st century hippie commune’.

“Philosophically we all want to live a sustainable but realistic life, most of us work off site in a range of professions and we wanted to be quite clear on ownership and on an exit strategy,” she says. “Each shareholder has title to their own section of 800 – 1,000m2 and we have set up a company to deal with the common land and make the decisions about planting, livestock, tenants and so on. ”

So far there are four of the original shareholders living on site.

Lindsay is an eco-architect who is in temporary accommodation while he plans his sustainable dream home, and also runs his practice from one of the village buildings.

He says he really likes the prospect of living in an evolving and environmentally-focused village, and doing something more worthwhile with the land than just a pretty lifestyle block.

“I love our peaceful rural Shangri La just a minute off Nelson's busiest road and I like the variety of the site and our surroundings - from rolling pasture to wooded reserves, from local housing to fine sea and mountain views,” he says. “I enjoy the opportunities for projects with shared energy and expertise and the many-faceted eco-directions we can take, from site development to gardens, building designs to power generation, and eco-dwellings to partnering with our tenants at the Nelson Environment Centre.”

Gary and Ali and their five-year-old Charlie moved to Braemar from a lifestyle block just outside Nelson. They are living in the first new build at the village but really like the blend of new, relocated and renovated homes that are emerging on the site.

“We love that the village has the lifestyle/country feel but is walking and biking distance to everything we do,” Ali says. “It’s great to have a lovely site without having to do all the work yourself – some of the other things we love about Braemar are having neighbours who are like-minded sustainably focused people and families with other young kids, shared childcare and the heritage barn as a shared community building.”

Other residents include a a young couple with one child who have shifted a recycled colonial cottage from Christchurch onto their section, and another couple who have done an eco-makeover on two of the former hospital buildings. One of the founding members owns two shares, so has two sections, both with former classrooms converted for residential use and tenanted to families who share the Braemar ethos.

Annabel’s section is part of her retirement plans and she intends to build a duplex with the friend who co-owns her share.

Two more sections are on the market, waiting for the right people to come along and join the Braemar eco-dream. You can find out more about these at Trade Me CZY006.

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