The Irish Times

What do a businessman, an engineer, an architect, an IT specialist, an anthropologist, a landscape gardener, an environmentalist and a pensioner all have in common? Answer: a vision of a sustainable future, living together in a self-sufficient village community. You might have a concept of an eco-village in your head, likely to be ever so slightly derogatory, picturing a smelly bunch of lank, longhaired, self-righteous, but gentle, preaching types.