PROPERTY & INVESTMENT
Lynedoch Eco-Village
A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT UNLIKE ANY OTHER
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Grappling with social injustice and inclusivity
A radical vision
6 F E A T U R E D
Stellenbosch , one of South Africa ’ s oldest and wealthiest wine-farming towns , and Khayelitsha , a sprawling and largely impoverished Cape Flats township , are just over 20 kilometres apart . Nestled between these two different communities you will find Lynedoch Eco-Village – an ecovillage unlike any other .
Lynedoch offers not only sustainably built homes in an ecologically designed urban system that is selfsustainable , but also a one-of-a-kind mixed community of diverse ages , races and socioeconomic groups – a place designed to offer a safe space where South Africans from all backgrounds can live in peace with each other and in harmony with nature .
The original intention of founders Eve Annecke and Mark Swilling when they started the non-profit development company , The Sustainability Institute , was to be part of something radical and progressive – a new way of thinking about and living public leadership – as well as to create a space where people could live and learn together in an ecologically restorative community .
Today , after 20 years of hard work , Lynedoch is home to 30 families from varying backgrounds , a thriving primary school and preschool , the Sustainability Institute , as well as a food garden , woodland area and a garden café . The first low-income residents still live in the Village , and in 2018 they received the title deeds to their houses and land .
The Sustainability Institute regularly receives visits or hosts tours for private and professional groups that are interested in the concept , history and architectural elements of the Eco-Village . As