Life in Moray: Findhorn eco-community celebrates 60th birthday
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The Findhorn eco-spiritual community in Moray is celebrating 60 years of incredible growth this week.
On 17 November, 1962, the community’s founders parked their caravan close to Findhorn village.
It was intended to be a temporary measure while they waited for new jobs.
However a community began to grow around them, inspired by how they were working with nature.
In the sandy, windswept soil they were managing to grow astounding vegetables – including the now legendary 40-pound cabbages.
Fast forward six decades and the community is worlds away from the four adults and six children who first moved to Moray.
The caravan remains exactly where it was parked, but about 500 supporters now live permanently in the ecovillage and surrounding area.
It has also become a magnet for thousands of visitors from all over the world, offering workshops, retreats and courses on a wide variety of subjects from permaculture to spiritual practice.
In addition, the ecovillage has been designated by the United Nations as a model of best practice for holistic and sustainable living.
May East, the Findhorn Foundation’s representative at the UN, said: "Today, the Findhorn ecovillage continues to prototype solutions to the regenerative design challenge of our times.
"This is in the fields of food production, energy systems, built environment, biodiversity remediation, re-localising economy and reducing carbon footprint."
The past 60 years have seen a number of firsts for the settlement and for Moray.
The ecovillage's ‘Living Machine’ wastewater treatment plant was the first of its kind in the UK.
As early as 1989 it had its first wind turbine, while its current three now feed back into the grid and also power the electric cars in the Moray Carshare Scheme.
Added to that, Findhorn Press published the UK’s first technical guide to ecological housing.
Thanks to a Just Transition Fund grant from the Scottish Government, the community is now set to research new ways to address its own carbon footprint.
It is also continuing its ongoing work with renewable energy generation and energy storage, environmentally sound housing, organic food production and composting.
Find more info at www.findhorn.org
