‘Very Little Heroes’ History and Roots of the Eco-Village Movement

Abstract

Although the ecovillage-movement is a relatively new phenomenon (it was first formalised in the 1990s), the initiatives, which aim to integrate, do have a much longer history. The author of this article has been studying ecovillages since 2008. As a cultural anthropologist, her focus lies in the socio-cultural dimensions of the ecovillage-movement. In the present paper the history and roots of the movement are covered by positioning eco-villages within both the history of the broader environmental movement and that of intentional communities; the international and Hungarian history of the ecovillage-movement is presented; and, last but not least, an interpretation is given of the Hungarian ecovillages in the context of rural migration processes. The picture drawn up here is not intended to be an exhaustive one, since the ecovillage-phenomenon can be presented from numerous different perspectives. Yet, the paper clearly demonstrates the multiple embeddedness of the movement, and provides an insight into the aspirations of ecovillage inhabitants and the current functioning of ecovillages.