When people think of failed ecovillages, they often blame cult dynamics, crazy gurus, or big egos. But the real reasons are much more practical.

Developing an eco village costs a lot. Without funding, villages struggle to build and sustain themselves, and if the members can’t make a living, more problems come. Bad infrastructure—like housing, drinking water, sanitation, power, and transport—can all lead to village collapse. These can often be solved with better funding.

Villages need skills. Though, knowledge of permaculture, natural building, and conflict resolution are helpful, most of the time you’re just doing boring jobs: digging ditches, fixing septic tanks, or doing day-to-day management. So work ethic, discipline, ability to learn, and the willingness to do hard things are all essential. When people can’t do the necessary work, conflicts happen.

Other issues have to do with disagreements around religion, relationships, and diet. It takes a lot to make a village project succeed.

Follow our channel as we build our village lab in rural BC Canada.