COMUNIDADES INTENCIONAIS: UM ESTUDO SOBRE DIMENSÕES DA SUSTENTABILIDADE EM ECOVILAS PAULISTAS

Abstract

This work has as its main theme to investigate people who are intentionally coming together in search of a world with different standards to the current one with regard to sustainability, a matter of extreme relevance in our contemporary civilization. Intentional communities are people who choose to live together or close together and who share a lifestyle with common goals. Thus, what integrates intentional groups is the choice of lifestyle and not simply sharing in the same space. Current community demonstrations are called Ecovillages. Adopting a sustainable way of life, Ecovillages are seen as intentional communities that seek to meet the lifestyle of their components, while respecting the dimensions of sustainability in their various presentations, such as economic, social, cultural, political, and environmental. Verifying how sustainability dimensions are being treated in São Paulo Ecovillages is the main objective of this work. Regarding the methodological procedures, this research has qualitative bias of descriptive nature, in which case studies were conducted with the use of interviews and observation in loco, aiming to verify their effective ways of manifestation. We sought to observe the way that residents of Ecovillages integrate with each other, with the environment and what are the technologies used. The results showed that the dimensions of sustainability in intentional communities are associated with their origin and development. Although concerned about the environmental issue, the economic dimension assumes an important role in Ecovillages, as it enables community living and may, depending on the orientation of its founders, present important links with the cultural dimension. Finally, it is clear that the surveyed Ecovillages, despite their good environmental intentions, are at a lower level compared to other similar communities around the world.