Living Manifesto
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Nature is always and continually evolving, so will this document.
It will live and breathe in tune with the needs, wants, desires and purposes of each of us, of our community and of our land.
Our NeighbourGood is a regenerative eco-village that brings together the community spirit of a Marae, the abundance of a food forest and a culture of gifting & sharing.
We focus on fresh, homegrown food, happy children and drinkable rivers in a vibrant village atmosphere.
Through consent based decision making and self governance, we harness the wisdom of the village to collaborate on businesses that positively impact our local biome & the wider community.
The current systems governing the world are unbalanced. Ecosystems are being destroyed in the name of profit. Soil, plants, animals, water and air have become commodified and are being sold in a degraded state.
Since health and well-being are the centre of a better quality of life, it is time to live in a balanced relationship with nature and acknowledge the interconnectedness and sacredness of life.
NeighbourGood is a community of local and international visionaries, way finders, kaitiaki and everyday people who believe in living in harmony with the land and each other.
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It is a developing network of regenerative villages of 144+ neighbours across Aotearoa, New Zealand. It is a co-creation of an equitable society that values all its members and creates harmonious relationships between humans and nature.
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NeighbourGoods aim to be autonomous and self-sustaining with decision making power shared among all members to harness the wisdom of the village.
NeighbourGoods will thrive through businesses that are socially responsible and ecologically friendly.
Harmony - Within ourselves, with each other, and with nature.
Nature - Celebrating and living according to nature’s principles.
Responsibility - For our personal growth and the planet.
Sociocracy, also known as dynamic governance, is a living system. It is adaptive, responsive to feedback, and capable of evolving over time. It is designed to support the self-organisation inherent to all living systems.
A system self-organises when two conditions are met.
Firstly there must be an overriding purpose driving the organisation such that members find their inner motivation to work towards that purpose.
Secondly there must be equivalence, meaning that no one person is controlling another. In an organisation where everyone has equal power, there is an inherent impetus to take responsibility for keeping the organisation alive and moving.
In the NeighbourGood, adults and children live, work, learn and play together. Children are nurtured by the beauty of the natural environment, their parents, their elders and all villagers.
With children at the heart, NeighbourGood’s vision is to move towards a way of life where children are consciously conceived, born and raised fully awake to their purpose. The vibrant village atmosphere will be an environment conducive to self-actualisation of the whole child for lifelong well-being. It provides the love, support and resources they need to gain all the skills, knowledge and wisdom they need to participate in creating a healthy world.
It is widely understood that when basic human needs are met, personal choices can be made towards higher aspirations of self and social actualisation. Basic human needs include social connection, food, water, shelter, clothing and warmth. Beyond these, self actualization is the act of making a reality of the values, beliefs and opinions we hold as individuals and collectively.
NeighbourGood villagers always aim to strive for their full potential -psychologically, emotionally, spiritually and in every other way so we can learn, grow and expand our perspectives.
This ecovillage design merges sustainable architecture, wellbeing, and permaculture. By using architectural elements that consider each region’s unique biosphere we pioneer a mindful way of life where NeighbourGood stands as a model of intentional community development.
Inspired by Maori philosophy of kaitiakitanga, the design is guided by nature-centric values, ecological responsibility and cultural sensitivity. Kaitiakitanga makes us the responsible custodians of the land fostering a symbiotic relationship between residents and the environment.
We are entering into a new era of conscious business where quadruple bottom line, Earth Equity and Social Enterprise are balanced.
People - Planet - Profit - Purpose
In our NeigbourGood, business is at the head and children are at the heart.
A portion of our enterprise profit is invested back into our community's social and environmental initiatives that in turn benefit our broader community.
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We are currently in the process of developing the first Neighbourgood. Here are our current land requirements informed by our Living Manifesto vision.
It is an exciting undertaking involving putting in place all the supporting frameworks such as
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practicing and setting up our communication/decision making systems.
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forming a charitable trust.
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creating partnerships with people with existing businesses that they may wish to bring into the NeighbourGood and many many more tasks that are involved in birthing such an ambitious creation.
Your Next Steps
You can stay up to date on our regenerative revolution by
joining our NeighbourGood mailing list and can join our team by
clicking on one of the buttons below.
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