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EARTHKEEPING NEWS
A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY

Volume Fifteen, Number One
January / February 2006

Retired Minister Starts Ecovillage in Iowa

What does a retired UCC pastor and missionary with the Institute for Cultural Affairs do after spending a career helping communities throughout the world live more sustainably? The answer for David Zahrt was simple: do the same thing for Americans!

Since 1990, David and his wife Lin, a registered nurse, have been operating a bed and breakfast at David’s family homestead, a 260 acre Century Farm near Turin, Iowa. Country Homestead, as they call their bed and breakfast, is located in an unusual part of the “West Coast” of Iowa called the Loess Hills. The only other loess formation in the world is in China, run off from which gives the yellow color to the Yellow River.

David and Lin requested help from an Architectural Design class at Iowa State University: a class in architecture, community design, and sustainable infrastructure. The students, working independently and collectively, ask the Zahrts what they imagine the future to look like. Then they use their imagination to elaborate and/or expand the vision.

The students visit the farm two weekends over the course of the semester. The class will produce a document that assesses the existing assets and infrastructure, establishes a conservation design for the farm and recommends a business plan for potential profit centers. Initially suggested are straw bale options, earth-house options, renewable energy infrastructure which uses passive solar and wind machines, waste recycling, and common water source/treatment system.

Hopefully there are those who have the following skills who would buy into the venture:

The mission of the ecovillage is to demonstrate the viability of an alternative to the dominant lifestyle by depending on alternative energy sources, practicing sustainable agriculture, securing socially responsible employment, practicing consensus-based polity and being a sharing community. David and Lin can be reached at (712) 353-6772 or by email at zahrt@country-homestead.com. Anyone interested in exploring this option is offered a free overnight stay at the Inn. Let the Zahrts know you’re coming and they’ll keep a light in the window!