Cloughjordan Ecovillage

About us

During 1999, in the Central Hotel in the city centre of Dublin, Sustainable Projects Ireland Ltd pitched their ambitious idea of Ireland’s first ecovillage to the public. The plan was to create a community of dedicated environmentalists; to buy a site together on which they could each build their lives.

What followed for the next two years was an extensive search for a suitable location for an ecovillage.

We chose the 67 acre site just off Cloughjordan town in Tipperary, after looking at many sites.

For the next three years, meetings between the future residents occurred. We used consensus decision-making to ensure each community member had their say in the development plan.

In 2005, after the money had been raised and planning permission had been obtained, the site of the now present Cloughjordan Ecovillage was purchased. Over the next few years, we built the infrastructure that would allow a functioning ecovillage to flourish.

Unfortunately, the economic crash of 2008 had an adverse effect on the ecovillage, as it did around the world, which forced 50% of those who had invested into the purchase to pull out of the project. However, those that could stayed on and in 2009 the very first residents of Ireland’s first ecovillage moved into their homes.

The village began to rapidly develop, and by 2012 the village had fibre optic broadband cables installed, a 500m2 solar panel array, an eco-hostel, an eco-enterprise centre, and 50 homes built or under construction. With all these new developments, the idea of an eco-village was finally becoming a reality and the community has been collaborating, thriving, and growing ever since.