Our eco-village is an 'intentional' community. That is to say new members choose to join the community because they want to work with others towards a shared goal. Our collective aim at Otamatea is captured in the vision statement. To help us to reach this aim we work hard to find the right way to organise ourselves and take decisions. Community Organisation To understand our community you must first understand our land ownership. Our total land area is about 250 acres (102 ha). On this land we have created fifteen 5 acre (2 ha) lots, 75 acres in all. These lots are intended for private ownership by eco-village members. To have a say in the running of the eco-village you must own one of these lots or be a family member of the owner. The 175 acres which do not lie on lots are owned by the eco-village collectively. The owner(s) of each section have an equal say in the management of this common land. To ensure that the principles of the eco-village are upheld we have created a document containing Agreements for land use on private lots and community land. The Agreements are linked to the Title. Some examples of the Agreements are: All owners contribute a number of working hours (presently 2 hrs/wk per section) towards maintenance and communal projects (road maintenance, tree planting, weeding, etc. All the land will be treated organically (in relation to pesticides and fertilizers) Buildings will apply sustainablility and permaculture principles e.g. blending with the landscape, using materials with the least environmental effect (both locally as globally), minimizing waste. Legal Structure These principles of community organisation are supported by our legal structure. Decision Making The decision making body for the eco-village is the Community Meeting. Community meetings are held monthly in the community barn. Decisions (in approved minutes) of the community meeting cover all of the community's activities and are binding on all community members, so this is a powerful and important body. Tasks of the Community Meeting are many and varied. We adopted a consensus decision making process. This has not always been easy and has helped us to develop listening skills and become willing to compromise and accommodate other points of view. Community Proposals To try to streamline meetings and to put some of the debate on paper we have introduced a system of community proposals. In this system an eco-village member writes down a problem affecting them and the community with the proposed solution. This problem/solution is entered into a numbered file of proposals - the 'proposals book' - held in the community barn. All eco-villagers periodically go to the barn to check the proposals book. On finding a new proposal the villager records their comments about the problem/solution on the back of the proposal and returns it to the proposals book. Proposal which are warmly received in the proposals book can be taken to a meeting for formal approval, others can be taken away and re-worked in the light of the comments received. Proposals approved by a meeting enter a two-week period in which objections can be raised. If no objections are forthcoming the accepted proposal becomes binding on all eco-village members. Community Meetings A typical agenda might include: Care and management of community resources. Strategic direction and budgets for community projects. Local and regional environmental issues. Announcement of community and other local events.