Ecology House of Indianapolis was founded in 1993 as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit by Ed Cohen, Gary Davis and Kristi Seastrom. The dream then was to create a learning center in Indianapolis using an existing residence in the city as a headquarters. As the effort for this project continued through the 1990’s, Ecology House conducted a series of colloquia, lectures and workshops in the Indianapolis area. We also published “Homes for Change” with a grant from EPA. The dream of a headquarters continued to remain in the distance. Meanwhile, Sam Miller visited Southface Institute in Atlanta. Southface is very similar to Ecology House and has seen tremendous success in central Georgia. There was a troubling aspect to the facility though: their headquarters had grown too small. The staff was faced with a space crunch, a victim of their success.

After Sam returned, a series of conversations ensued about the best path for Ecology House going forward. Should we remain a virtual organization offering services via the internet? Should we forge ahead to create our educational center? Should we look for a new model altogether? What other options might we have?

In 2000 we settled our strategy: we would seek to build or renovate homes in the Indianapolis area using clearly articulated green design concepts. Once a project was complete we would try to get as much attention as possible via local media, open houses and events. After this period of publicity, the home would be sold to become part of the local housing stock. Then we would begin the process all over again.