The Hero's Journey

Which communities are missing from the ecovillage map? Help find and connect the projects near you with the Global Ecovillage Network and create their profile with public data and reach out to them and get them engaged! Volunteer with the GEN-International Platform team, Eva and Rodrigo, to help make this an amazing resource for the world.

Social Media Intern for GEN International Hours: Up to 20/month, flexible around your schedule and availability Location: Remote, work with Eva Goldfarb Focus: Instagram + LinkedIn (TikTok if you’re into it!) Hi! I’m Eva, and I run social media for GEN International — the global network connecting ecovillages, intentional communities, and regenerative culture-builders across every continent. I’m looking for a co-conspirator to help me tell the stories of the people quietly building the future: off-grid villages in the Philippines, permaculture farms in Senegal, urban cohousing projects in Berlin, elders passing down land wisdom in the Andes. It’s a wildly rich, wildly underrepresented world, and I want more people to fall in love with it the way I have. What you’ll actually do: Dream up and create content for Instagram and LinkedIn (reels, carousels, stories, captions that don’t sound like a corporate newsletter) Dig into our global network and turn your findings into stories people want to share Pitch your own ideas. If there’s a series, a theme, a format, or a corner of the network that lights you up, that’s what I want you to focus on. What we’re looking for: A natural storyteller, someone who can spot the human thread in a project update or a photo from a faraway village Genuinely curious about ecovillages, sustainability, intentional community, regenerative living Self-motivated and communicative; this is a flexible, trust-based role Why this role: This isn’t a “post 3x a week and don’t ask questions” internship. You’ll have real creative freedom to work on what excites you, learn how a global grassroots network tells its story, and build a portfolio full of meaningful, purpose-driven content. Plus you’ll be talking to people living some of the most interesting, intentional lives on the planet. If storytelling for a better world sounds like your kind of fun, let’s talk.

The 2014 Communities Conference at Twin Oaks Community will be held Labor Day Weekend, Aug 29 – Sept 1. The conference is a chance for people interested or involved in intentional communities and other community-oriented projects or businesses to share ideas, network, and enjoy a weekend together. There are formal workshops, open space, as well as many informal opportunities to cross-pollinate with other community minded folks. This year’s theme is radical resource sharing! Basic registration fee range is $85 – $185, depending on accommodations (food included). Prices go up June 1st! We welcome both community seekers and members.

Western science is dominated by ‘reductionism’ – the idea that natural phenomena can be explained in terms of their component parts. Reductionism is incomplete, and can be counter-productive since it suggests that by analysing the ‘mechanical’ workings of nature we can fully predict and manipulate it. Holistic science recognises the limitations of this methodology, focusing instead on nature’s qualities, complexity and intrinsic value, giving a science fit to solve global challenges. Schumacher College in partnership with Plymouth University (link is external) is the first in the world to offer a postgraduate programme in Holistic Science. student on a holistic science courses What is Holistic Science? The programme explores new methodologies that are gaining success in exploring natural systems. These recognise that complex systems are dynamic processes realising their emergent properties as wholes – and that these properties are conditioned, but not determined, by the system’s constituent parts. The course provides methodologies that go beyond reductionism in understanding dynamic interactive systems, whether these are ecosystems, the weather, organisations, a plant or a developing human embryo. Students develop a holistic understanding of these systems and along the way learn to apply techniques such as computer modelling, intuitive perception and phenomenology. Of particular importance here is Goethe’s methodology as a way of meeting the whole through the parts. The programme advocates a participatory science of interactions, qualities, values and intuition, a science that is more capable of informing some of the key movements today, including environmental restoration, spiritual renewal and community regeneration. Holistic thinking is already revolutionising physics, earth system science, ecology, evolutionary biology, organisational development and health studies. It is generating increasing interest from scientists in many fields – especially