Ever wanted to live in a truly green town, full of energy-efficient homes and people working together for the environment? Then follow the lead of Craik, Sask., and start up an eco-village.
Located halfway between Saskatoon and Regina, the town of Craik (population: 450) is reinventing itself and attracting new residents from as far away as British Columbia who want to take advantage of its slower pace, greener outlook and cheaper cost of living.
One of the philosophies of this whole project is how cheaply can you live and still live a life of dignity. Mark Smallwood, Craik resident
And while starting an eco-village is a lot of work, as Craik’s shown, it can be done. Here’s how:
1. Find a small town. They don’t get caught up in bureaucracy and are often desperate for new residents and ideas. When Saskatchewan’s Prairie Institute for Human Ecology first suggested the idea of an eco-village in 2001, Craik jumped on it. Seeing the project as a chance to address climate change and revitalize its community, the Rural Municipality of Craik donated 127 acres of land for the eco-village.
2. Raise some money. You’ll need it to pay for such things as legal fees and marketing costs. Start by checking out grants such as the $100,000 one from the Green Municipal Fund from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities that Craik was awarded for their Eco-centre.
Eco-centre floor preparation, July, 2003.
3. Find some residents. Craik built a website and developed partnerships with community and environmental groups to get the word out about what it was doing. Make your village more appealing by pricing land cheaply; Craik sold residential plots for as little as a dollar.
Lots of people come by and some days you don’t get as much work done as you want … but we’re happy to have people … and that’s just it … it’s relationship building. We’re building a structure, but we’re also building community and a relationship. Audrey Taylor-Faye, Craik resident
4. Get people inspired. Build a demonstration project to show off your village’s possibilities. Craik created the Eco-centre, an energy-efficient restaurant constructed with straw bales from nearby farms and timber from the town’s demolished grain elevator. The building is heated using geothermal technology and augmented with solar panels, has indoor compost toilets and outside there’s an environmentally-friendly golf course. Since opening in 2004, the centre has become a popular meeting place for Saskatchewan businesses.
5. Set the rules—and follow them. Have residents agree to community guidelines that encourage them to be as green as possible. Craik eco-village residents are expected to build energy-efficient homes and compost, among other things.
- Eco-village progress, 2009
Permission to reprint. © Kelly-Anne Riess. This article first appeared in This Magazine.
Resident quotes from Zoot Pictures’ The Village Green.
Creative Commons photos by CSLP.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Sustainability Ala Craik trailer ~ above ~ provided courtesy of Wolf Sun Productions. The following is an appeal from its director, Steve Wolfson:
The Craik show was made as an episode for the series Edifice & Us which was broadcast on SCN. SCN helped us and numerous other Saskatchewan filmmakers tell Saskatchewan stories. Unfortunately, the Provincial Government cut funding to SCN in the recent budget. We understand that the Government needs to save money. However, in this case, not spending $5 million on SCN will mean the loss of 10’s of millions of dollars of out of Province money that the SCN money triggered for Saskatchewan filmmakers. It also means there will be no television broadcaster to tell Saskatchewan stories.
SCN is slated to go off the air in May. But it is not too late for the Provincial Government to reconsider its decision. Many people are joining the effort to tell the Government that SCN Matters.
Your support can help keep SCN on the air, telling Saskatchewan stories. You can help by telling others about SCN. Also, please consider writing the Government:
The Premiere, Hon. Brad Wall Room 226, Legislative Building 2405 Legislative Drive, Regina, SK S4S0B3 premier@gov.sk.ca
The Minister of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport, Hon. Dustin Duncan Room 345, Legislative Building 2405 Legislative Drive, Regina, SK S4S0B3 minister.tpcs@gov.sk.ca
Hon. Rod Gantefoer Room 312, Legislative Building 2405 Legislative Drive, Regina, SK S4S0B3 minister.fi@gov.sk.ca
Steve Wolfson and Penny Ward
Wolf Sun Productions
306 569-0789
wolfsun@sasktel.net
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