Los Portales is a group of people and a community that was founded in 1984 with the intention of developing innovative ways of life in different areas (organic agriculture, holistic education in healthy and co-creative relationship to nature, soft and alternative medicines, arts, clean energies, an economy based on sharing and generosity, and above all, the empowerment of each individual) progressing in this way towards greater sustainability and self-sufficiency. In close relationship to nature … Read more
General
Ecovillage – 1001 Ways to Heal the Planet The Book on Ecovillages
"What a beautifully, lovingly constructed book! It conveys not only the variety and ideals of the ecovillage movement, but the heart of it as well. Kosha and Leila's book affirms the importance of ecovillages not just as an inconsequential alternative in the margins, but as an invitation to transform every place into an ecological collaboration between humans and the rest of nature." Charles Eisenstein The Ecovillage book by Kosha Joubert and Leila Dregger introduces a selection of ecovillage … Read more
What is Our Ecovillage? Reflections on the 35th anniversary of Huehuecoyotl Ecovillage in Mexico
When we were at University in 1966 and ‘67, I dreamt that my best friends and I would one day live together in a commune. We had read about some examples in the US, Israel, Europe and Cuba, but we had no clue of how we could materialize that dream. Then the year 1968 came. Suddenly, our vision became the quest of many thousands of us, baby boomers, and we started to hear that people our age were dropping out from “the System”, and moving from the cities to rural places everywhere. … Read more
Urban Ecovillages in North America These days, you can find ecovillages in more places than ever – including in places like Los Angeles or San Diego.
When you hear the word “ecovillage” you might think of a collection of rustic cabins on a rural farm. Or maybe you imagine a solar-powered suburb like the Ithaca Ecovillage in NY state. You might think living in an ecovillage is too remote or unaffordable. But these days, you can find ecovillages in more places than ever - including the 40-member Los Angeles Ecovillage near downtown LA and the Le Case community in San Diego. For two years, I lived in an urban ecovillage in SE Portland, OR, … Read more
Women Transforming Traditional Villages into Ecovillages in India
Differently from ecovillages in Europe which are intentional communities, in India “Eco Village Development” is about changing existing traditional villages into ecovillages by implementing in, and teaching the community - especially women - climate solutions which are needs based, low carbon and affordable. India has 600,000 traditional villages all over the country. The following example is a model on 6 villages in Uttarakhand. Its aim is to showcase these to the Government and other NGOs, and … Read more
Digital Nomads and Community in the Modern Age In times of globalisation, community does not only connect people who physically live together.
An ecovillage is nothing new. Throughout history communities of people have lived lightly on the same piece of land, sharing skills and resources, celebrating their culture and values. With the advent of agriculture, these villages have increasingly rooted to a single geographical area. The majority of people are settled, yet there has always been a distinct minority on the move. In various cultures these are the traders, sailors, gypsies, bards, messengers, explorers, philosophers, actors, … Read more
What is an Ecovillage? Reflections from the Network
An ecovillage is an intentional, traditional or urban community that is consciously designed through locally owned, participatory processes in all four dimensions of sustainability (social, culture, ecology and economy) to regenerate their social and natural environments. GEN’s definition of ‘ecovillage’ is broad, allowing for many different kinds of communities and projects to be recognised. Because each ecovillage is designed by the people who live there, according to their vision, … Read more
Boletín Sustentable No. 3
Presentamos la tercera edición de el Boletín Sustentable del Consejo de Asentamientos Sustentables de América Latina. En esta ocasión la Educación es el tema central de esta edición. Lee, disfruta y comparte este boletín! Click en la imagen para ver Boletín: Boletín CASA latina Abril 2016 by Andrés Boa Vida on Scribd … Read more
Community Nature’s secret to evolutionary success
By: Jaime Brown-Hansen and Yael Marantz As we reflect on the current ecological, societal, political, economic and spiritual circumstances in the present day, it is clear that the need for reorganization is upon us. A time of creation, of course, is equally a time of destruction. We breathe life into new models by stepping into them, and old model dissolve as we step out of them, though for a time we may have a foot in each as we shift our weight from one to the other. … Read more
Editorial, Newsletter January 2017 GEN Newsletter January 2017, Editorial
Dear friends of ecovillages, The past year has seen global developments that could not have been foreseen even just one year ago. Who would have thought that the majority of people in Great Britain would have voted to leave the European Community, for example; or that Donald Trump would have a chance to become President of the United States? However, despite the depressing news, we are also witnessing strong movements gaining momentum globally. One of those is the ecovillage movement. With … Read more
