Economics
Even when ecovillager’s needs are diminished, the community still will have to find ways of keeping them financially afloat in the long run. In the ecovillages who survived over the years, the people have been successful in planning and creating income-generating activities close to home. Their willingness to lead a simpler life has allowed them to scale down on their expenses and thereby reduce their income needs, freeing up more time and energy to explore new avenues for sustenance close to their heart and hearth. Partial self-sufficiency in the form of local food and energy production, coupled with a strong communal network, provide a sense of security for individuals or groups to dare tackle a change in their economic set-up.
From the outset, it is a good idea to plan the development of local businesses to attract entrepreneurs when designing an ecovillage. A fully developed ecovillage will eventually mirror the activities and professions one finds in industrial society, but on local scale, with a different kind of organisation (i.e. co-ops), and based on principles of human and environmental ecology. Many of the products and services, which one usually has to outsource and pay for in mainstream society, can be manufactured and carried out within an ecovillage setting.