There are lots of terms/terminology in the ecology space. Some of these overlap and some are perceived and interpreted differently. The term sustainability is often interpreted in different ways. Click for more details about sustainability.

By eco-living we primarily mean low-tech and low-impact living. Usually this also translates into low-cost living too, and especially if it is conducted in conjunction with permaculture principals. It doesn’t have to mean living a leaky hut in the woods with no hot water or electricity (though some people live happily like that). Plenty of people wanting an eco-friendlier existence still hang on to some tech home comforts. It’s just that there tends to be less of them, and the environmental impact is much lower than ‘conventional’ living.

As you’ll see elsewhere on this site, houses can be made (and insulated and heated) from simple, readily available natural local materials – at astonishingly low costs. Gardens too can be transformed into a healthy doorstep larder. Many people who transition to an ‘eco-lifestyle’ see it not as a hardship, but as a wonderful liberation that gives them the opportunity to spend more time enjoying the fruits of nature rather the having to work decades to pay for cars, imported goods and mortgages. Such people can (and many do) live a fully self-sustainable lifestyle in terms of habitat, food, water and energy usage.

Making steps towards eco-living and getting help