Luke Franke

For Fred and Suzanna Gonzales and their three children, home is a two-story apartment in Berea College&#8217;s Ecovillage. This is the third time Fred and Suzanna, who met and married as undergraduates at Berea College, have lived in the eco-conscious development.
The couple’s two daughters, Isabella, 9, and Ophellia, 5, and their son, Stellan, 1, are happy to be back as well. The last name of the three children is Hayes-Gonzales.
 “It’s awkward sometimes being one of the oldest couples,” Suzanna says, “but we do it for our kids. They love it here. Berea is home for us. It feel’s like every time we come back, we wonder why we left.”
The Ecovillage is one of the few college-sponsored, eco-friendly housing developments in the country.
“The residents eat together, study together and their kids even play together,” says Ecovillage Coordinator Elaine Adams. “This community supports one another.” In her seven years as coordinator, Elaine has encouraged residents to shop locally, grow food, recycle and compost.
There is more to Ecovillage than recycling and planting vegetables. The village includes a child development lab, a community center and an aquaponics facility for growing vegetables and farming fish. Catering exclusively to Berea students, the Ecovillage gives priority to married couples and single-parent families. (As former residents, the Gonzalezes are an exception.)
“I don’t know where I would be without this place,” says single mother and Berea College sophomore Jennifer James. A Berea native, Jennifer is in the midst of a rough divorce and raises her 2-year-old daughter, Serenity, alone. She says she is grateful to be in a place where people understand her situation, and Ecovillage provides a safe environment for her daughter.
“Even after I leave this place, we’ll still have each other,” Jennifer says about her neighbors. “With the support of the people here, I know I can do it on my own.”

Ecovillage living