Illabunda — Community Living in the Heart of Sydney

We met Sarah while teaching our Circular Economy Village course for the Planning Institute of Australia. Our ears pricked up when we realised she lived at Illabunda — an ecovillage in the heart of Winston Hills, a Sydney suburb. We realised that our values and intentions were closely aligned so keenly took up the offer, when Sarah invited us to come and visit.

The 5-acre property at Winston Hills was the home Judith and Rod Cook for more than fifty years. Here they raised cattle, goats, turkeys, ducks and their three children. As properties around them were bought up and developed, they dreamt of a different vision for their piece of paradise so the trees they loved could be protected for their lifespan. As they researched options with their son Jonathan, they came across the concept of an ecovillage. While the concept has taken off in Europe and in some of the regional ares of Australia like the Northern Rivers, it isn’t common in the heart of Sydney. Living in community is quite a culture shift for most Australians where the dream of home ownership and your own patch of paradise is part of the cultural myth.