Viable ecovillages are committed to sharing resources and providing collective living and service units for food production and preparation, working contexts, transport, education, recreation, etc. This means that certain resources and facilities are pooled in such a way that everyone benefits and individual consumption on general items is usually cut down considerably. Most ecovillages strive to be self-financed. In many communities, there is no conventional concept of "unemployment". Community members volunteer their services in exchange for goods, labour and services. Sometimes community organization is based on a local currency or credit system. Individuals are credited for their efforts and contributions. People often hold several responsibilities at once as a diversity in talents and skills is more readily recognized. This usually means there is less income disparity, less elitism and less hierarchy.
The Danish Association for Sustainable Communities (LØS) is the Danish association for eco-settlements with the vision: (1) the creation of rural and urban, social, ecological and spiritual communities, displaying cooperation between ecological, social and spiritual orientations and ethical and ecological use of energy, mineral, biological, human and cultural resources; (2) self-government, proximity and responsibility in leadership and economy; (3) tolerance for diverse living styles; (4) communicating a global consciousness.
2. Ecovillages have the capacity to respond more readily to changing situation because their infrastructure require less capital and are based on local geographical considerations.
3. Ecovillages should not be reduced to mortar and timber; the sense of shared fortunes is what really carries them.
4. Don't confuse community with village. Village is the location and physical arrangement, the geography, the built structure, and the legal structure. Community is an outcome of the interactions of the people there, and the issues they face, and how they face them over time. To prescribe them in advance is to limit the glorious potential possible. Build the ecovillage and trust the people to build their own community.
5. Any village, any community, can only survive and prosper in connection with a successful agricultural system. The two cannot be separated, as they are trying to do at the moment.