"Eco" in Eco Village

It's 2 AM and Maya stands in her new room in Bali, jet-lagged from the flight from California, sweat pooling at her lower back. The jungle hums with a thousand invisible insects. Her hand hovers over the portable AC unit she'd sworn she wouldn't use. She came here to live lightly (Learn more about Cob and Air Conditioning in Eco Village), to be eco-conscious, to finally align her life with her values. And now, on her first night in the Eco Village, she's about to fail.

This moment—this guilty hesitation—reveals everything broken about how we think of "Eco."

The Trap of the Scorecard

For many, the word 'Eco', it has become a synonym for a scorecard—a rigid competition of carbon reduction where the goal is to shrink one's existence to zero. But in the context of an Eco Village, just as in the context of the Green School or Green Village, "Eco" cannot simply mean "low footprint."

If we are honest with the numbers, the math doesn't work.

Consider the typical family that moves to Bali to join the Green School community or to learn about regenerative living. They are often international, traveling from Europe or the Americas. They take an annual long-haul flight home to see grandparents. They take three or four holidays a year to explore Asia. They drive cars and enjoy imported comforts.

Statistically, these families sit in the top 1% of global carbon emitters.

This is the uncomfortable reality: a single return flight from Bali to New York emits more carbon than years of turning off the air conditioning ever could. You could live in the dark, refuse all cooling, and never use plastic again, and you still wouldn't make a dent in the footprint of that one flight.

So Why Are We Here?

This is the question that sits in the humid air alongside the dragonflies. If the numbers condemn us, if our very presence in Bali is an act of carbon violence, what gives us the right to call this place "Eco"? What makes this anything more than expensive, performative hypocrisy?

The answer requires shifting perspective away from the ledger somewhat.

At our EcoVillage, Eco stands for Ecology and Ecosystem. It is not about math; it is about relationships. We are not here to perform purity. We are here to deepen our awareness and connection with nature, learning from her intelligence. 

The Hierarchy of Connection

When we move away from the ledger of carbon and into the web of life, the priorities shift. In our village, we view the "Eco" concept through a specific hierarchy of integration:

Community First: We are social creatures. An ecosystem without people is a wilderness; an ecosystem with people as part of nature is a village. 

Living with Nature: We recognize that we are nature. We participate in the humidity, the sounds, the water, and the cycles. When young villager stopped being afraid of the dark and started listening to it instead, something fundamental shifted in their family.  Discovering that the geckos are our allies... that the snakes have their place. 

Water Wisdom: Adhering to Living Water principles, understanding that water is the blood of the land. When the dragonfly are present and the pools and reed-beds flows clear, we know we've treated the natural water with respect and reverence.

Permaculture & Soil: Working with the earth to regenerate, not just sustain. Solving challenges in nature with nature. The compost system isn't just waste management—it's transformation. Kitchen scraps become black gold. 

Forest Integration: Living under the canopy, allowing the trees to dictate our shelter. This is a village where homes breathe between the trees. The result is that even on the hottest days, the temperature under our roofs is ten degrees cooler than in the neighboring cleared developments.

Comfort is Not the Enemy

New villagers battling jet lag, tropical heat, culture shock, and the sensory overload of the jungle. No need to suffer in the name of a "small footprint", that's just counter-productive. If a dehumidifier or a fan—or yes, even air conditioning—provides the rest needed to engage deeply with the community the next day, it serves the ecosystem.

The True "Offset": Sharing the Ethos

So, how do we reconcile the flights? How do we justify the travel?

We do not offset with credits. We offset with Ethos.

The value of living here is not that we have removed ourselves from the modern world, but that we are learning to seed a new way of living within it. When residents travel, they carry the seeds of this experience. The "Eco" in EcoVillage is a process of learning and rediscovery. Convenience is nice, but connection is vital.

Not a Destination, An Experiment

Expanding our consciousness to encompass the whole system; we swim in natural living water pools, use sustainable materials and eat local not to win a contest, but because it connects us to the water that sustains us and the soil we stand on

We are a work in progress, learning to flow and evolve with the elements.

This is not a blueprint. It's a lifestyle of presence as nature would have it. Some days we get it right—the water flows clean, the community gathers easily, the forest hums with life. Other days there is tension because... we're humans choosing a community, and we rreflect back to our ethos, realign to our connections.

And we're evolving with nature  always—changing—dragonfly by dragonfly, tree by tree, conversation by conversation, season by season.

You'll find villagers who flew here from across the world, carrying their carbon weight, connecting to something ancient, which Bali does so uniquely, how to live as if we belong to the earth, not as if it belongs to us.

And maybe, just maybe, you'll carry a seed of that home with you too.

Annex: The Comfort Calculation

When evaluating cooling options in tropical climates, the data distinguishes between symbolic actions and structural impact. For international families in Bali, sleep quality directly affects capacity to engage with regenerative practices.

Below is the mathematical breakdown of cooling choices compared to travel impact.

1. The Equipment Breakdown (Annual Emissions)

Based on a 3-bedroom home, cooling 3 rooms for 8 hours per night, 365 days per year.

We compared three scenarios:

1. Standard Cooling: Split AC units running at 18°C-22°C

2. The "Dry Mode" Option: Split AC units on dehumidifier/dry mode (25°C)

3. Ceiling Fans: High-end ceiling fans running at medium/high speed

Standard AC (Cool Mode)

• Annual Energy: ~5,600 kWh

• Annual Emissions: 4.5 tonnes CO₂e

AC "Dry Mode" (Dehumidifier)

• Annual Energy: ~3,500 kWh

• Annual Emissions: 2.8 tonnes CO₂e

High-End Ceiling Fans

• Annual Energy: ~650 kWh

• Annual Emissions: 0.5 tonnes CO₂e

The Gap: Choosing fans over "Dry Mode" AC saves 2.3 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

2. The Proportional Reality

Total Annual Family Footprint: ~27 tonnes (Travel + House + Food + Transport)

When viewed against the total lifestyle footprint of an international family, cooling choices represent a small percentage of total impact.

If you use ceiling fans:

• Flights: 80% of your footprint

• Fans: 1.8% of your footprint

If you use AC (Dry Mode):

• Flights: 75% of your footprint

• AC: 10% of your footprint

The Data: Switching from AC to fans reduces total footprint by approximately 8%.

3. The "Trade-Off" Currency

Converting flights into years of cooling choices:

The Scenario: A return trip for a family of five from Bali to London/New York (~17.5 tonnes CO₂e).

The Question: How long would you need to use fans instead of AC to offset that one flight?

The Math:

• Offset via ceiling fans: 7.6 years of fan-only cooling

• Offset via Dry Mode: 10+ years of Cool Mode to Dry Mode switching

The Comparison:

One annual family flight home equals nearly eight years of AC-versus-fan carbon savings.

4. Health & Maintenance Factors

Physiological Consideration: Bodies not adapted to tropical humidity face challenges in 80%+ humidity environments, which can affect REM sleep quality.

Structural Maintenance: AC on Dry Mode prevents mold damage to structures, textiles, and belongings—reducing replacement waste.

The Assessment: Sleep deprivation and mold-related health issues reduce capacity for regenerative engagement.

Summary: A Data-Informed Standard

Based on the proportional analysis:

1. Ceiling fans work well for daytime and open living areas

2. AC on Dry Mode (25°C) for sleeping quarters offers:

   • ~35% energy reduction compared to Cool Mode

   • Sleep quality maintenance

   • 10% of total footprint versus 75% from travel

The data suggests focusing regenerative efforts on the 75% (travel impact) rather than the 10% (cooling choices).