Supporting communities to build their own solutions since 2006
Ecomotive’s story
Ecomotive is a workers’ co-operative which grew out of the 40-home Ashley Vale eco self build project in Bristol. Our name (Eco = from the Greek root of ‘home’; Motive = ‘reason for action’) symbolises the way in which we take action to create opportunities for more sustainable homes, and empower others to do the same. Since the mid-2000's we have grown and evolved, building up a strong core team supported by a collective of professional associates and volunteers.
Ecomotive operates in many different spheres, from the grassroots through to the national policy arena. You might equally see us giving a presentation at a housing conference or a spontaneous radio interview on the stage of a music festival. We provide masterplanning, business planning and other types of technical consultancy services to communities, businesses and public sector customers, while also retaining the flexibility to provide 1:1 advice and mentoring to individuals and small groups trying to get their ideas off the ground. We are passionate about what we do and are willing to go the extra mile in order to bring quality to every area of our work. We especially love to get hands-on, and our new pop-up SNUG modular home build space in Lockleaze is enabling us to pilot a new community-involved model of housebuilding while also giving local people the opportunity to join our volunteer training programme, make new friends and learn new skills together.
Our ethos is to be creative, flexible and solution-focused and we enjoy taking on a challenge!
Ecomotive grew from the experience of The Yard, a 40 home self-build project in Bristol. It remains both an exemplar community housing project and a strong, vibrant community.
Creating sustainable homes and communities
Our vision is a future where people live in homes and communities that enable them to truly flourish and to contribute towards a fairer and more resilient society.
Our purpose is to use our knowledge, skills and experience to create new models of sustainable development which help deliver this vision.
Our strategy is to bring together the basic building blocks that will offer a simple and affordable route to collective self build: land / custom build / training and support. We collaborate with others to create opportunities and deliver change in ways that are playful, creative and empowering.
As well as enabling self and custom build developments, Ecomotive acts as an agent for change, through the following activities:
Inspiring the grass roots: We help people work out the best solution for their community.
Informing the professional sector: Demonstrating the benefits of community-involved development.
Connecting self builders with local councils: Letting local authorities know detailed evidence of interest in self and custom build in their area.
