Five great sites for sustainable solutions - June 2009

One of the most rewarding aspects of developing this site has been whom and what I keep discovering. All across the internet I keep finding great sites working with similar ideals to ivili. I'll be adding them to the directory continuously, but in the meantime, here's my favourite five so far. (and judging by how regularily I find a new one, I'm sure I'll be telling you about some others before too long, and this might become a regular strand for the blog)...

1 - The Appropedia

Like ivili, The Appropedia aims to 'develop collaborative solutions in sustainability, poverty reduction and international development' through the use of appropriate technology and the sharing of project information. But whereas Ivili is a social network, the Appropedia is a wiki, a type of website which allows anyone to add, remove, or edit content. Styled like Wikipedia, it's more technically slanted than Ivili, and has less of a focus on stimulating dialogue between its members. And no videos, but plenty of detail in its many pages.

2 - Open Source Ecology

Ever dreamt of living offgrid in a sustainable way but don't know where to start? Open Source Ecology's goal is 'Creating tools for building modern off-grid resilient communities that can be reproduced by anyone at low cost'. Combining a website and a real farm where they are trialing and developing the various technologies, this is an incredibly exciting project, whose progress can be followed with regularily updated videos like this one.

3 - Instructables

Taking DIY out of the garage and onto the web, Instructables enables people to share their innovations, explain how others can do the same, and learn from and collaborate with others. And while it's about much more than just 'green' solutions, with sections for games, pets and music, it does have a green category, where you'll find tips on everything from how to build a solar powered stove using recycled materials to ideas for building your own compost tumbler.

4 - India Climate Solutions

Anna da Costa was one of the best interns ever to brighten our door at The Ecologist, so I was delighted when I discovered by chance that she and some friends had set up India Climate Solutions to showcase inspiring projects across the country at the forefront of rural innovation. I also love that rather than just sitting in their offices and googling away (which would have had limited success when trying to find what was happening on the ground in India's myriad villages) they got off their backsides and set off on the Climate Solutions Roadtrip, heading off on a five week electric car journey across India to find and showcase solutions along the way.

5 - Homegrown

Created by the good people at Farm Aid in the USA, Homegrown.org is a social network which celebrates and connects anyone trying to live a 'homegrown' life and producing their own food. Filled with joie de vivre their site exemplifies their desire for 'A spirit that will mean more visits to the farmers markets, more backyard BBQs, more dirt under nails…more talking, touching, smelling, tasting'.