Welcome to Utopia - Co Tipperary

For the past 100 years or so, Cloughjordan has been the epitome of a south midlands backwater. But now Ireland’s first self-declared ‘eco village’ is pointing the way for urban living in the country – and its population is booming

Valerie Flynn, 14 Jun 2010

"Utopianism is sort of dissed isn't it? Trying to bring together a community of people who want to live in a way that's healthy and that fits the planet's capacity and allows us to engage with each other... why would people diss that?"

It's a good question. Sustainability campaigner Davie Philip, who recently moved into a new house in Ireland's first "eco village', Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary is the man looking for an answer. In truth, you'd never guess Cloughjordan was home to a burgeoning community of eco-warriors and arty types nursing dreams of building a social and environmental utopia on their 67-acre site.

Like so many rural towns, Cloughjordan didn't quite manage to catch the wave of boom-time growth. Until the early 20th century, it was a wealthy market town. However, as the importance of the local train station dwindled in line with the rise in car ownership, Cloughjordan became a backwater. Nowadays, dotted along a half mile or so of secondary road there are four shops, a post office and half a dozen seriously dilapidated looking pubs. The businesses that are open are outnumbered by those boarded up. On a Thursday afternoon when nearby Nenagh and Roscrea will be bustling, it's eerily quiet – you could wait five minutes before seeing a car or person pass up or down the town.

Directly behind the desolate main street, there's a vast building site where construction of the eco-village is now well underway. When it's completed, there will be 130 homes and 16 live-work units; an eco-hostel and an educational centre for visitors; a community cultural centre and an amphitheatre.

Residents in the own will sign a legally binding charter agreeing to numerous sustainable living provisions. A wood-chip boiler and solar panels will provide heating for the entire village. The development is also hooked up to a wind-powered electricity grid. Houses are built from natural, non-toxic materials – lime and hemp is a popular combination, while the truly hardcore are opting for cob, a mixture of earth and straw. (Apparently, it's perfectly durable.)

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