Mannawood Community Land Trust

Mannawood is a sustainable community that subscribes to the Earth Charter and adheres to the principles and standards set up by The Global Foundation of Sustainable Communities. It is located 90min outside of Melbourne’s CBD north between the Goulbourn and the Yarra Valley, where the community is curently acquiring a large and beautiful piece of farm land. 50% of the land is dedicated to nature and 40% to build Victorias largest permaculture/organic farm. The remaining 10% are dedicated to the village and its employment & leisure infrastructure. The community is created with the intention of balancing all 4 pillars of sustainability – environmental, social, economic and spiritual – equally. It values indigenous wisdom, heritage, tradition, cultural & religious diversity and invites people from all walks of life to participate. The goverance model is of sociocratic nature & is value-based to foster respect and tolerance. All assets of the community, its land, farm and business cooperatives are held by the community through a Community Land Trust, which ensures affordable living (incl. housing, food, water, power and education) for ever. The village is created, designed and developed in cooperation with the wider community, building strong links between both. The community is resource-independent by providing its own energy, water, food & workforce. In addition, its community features, healthy environment, organic farm, arts, crafts & innovation precinct, local enterprise & business cooperatives will provide each family with employment. Various regular farm market days, community events, celebrations & exhibitions will also attract the wider community and others to visit regularly. Other features:  Zero Emmission Community  Carbon negative  locally sourced, recyclable, renewable, natural building materials  resource efficiency (passive solar)  construction & material simplicity  waste-free community, choosing indefinite resources-cycles/loops  avoids energy, soil, air, noise and light pollution  Green Globe 21 Certification for all aspects  own IT & Telecom service supplier  walkable, car-free village  host of community features eg community kitchen, laundry, theatre, etc  community services for all ages