When the city of Eugene broke up the Occupy camp in December of 2011, they promised to give the homeless another piece of land. Dan Bryant, a minister who wears a leather jacket and drives a motorcycle; Jean Stacey, a fiery lesbian advocate for the homeless; and Andy Heben, a young urban designer who wrote his thesis on homeless camps that he visited around the country, went around touting the idea of Opportunity Village. Alex Daniell found out that "If you give a homeless person a home then … Read more
General
Australia: Robin Clayfield Heart and Wisewoman of Crystal Waters
Crystal Waters Permaculture Village in Queensland, Australia, was established in 1988, following Permaculture principles and practices. Robin Clayfield has been a member from the beginning, emphasizing the meaning of social permaculture. She believes in community and lives it. Shane Schmidt, GEN Member, Australia, met and talked to her. When I sought to spend time in Crystal Waters Ecovillage, I was initially met with some resistance until I was directed to Robin Clayfield: “Of course come … Read more
Thailand I Want to Be a Fertile Seed
Om Sunisa Jamwiset, 34, from Thailand speaks about her path in developing her full potential as a woman and an activist. I was born in a small village in Nong Khai Province, by the Thai-Lao border, in Northeastern Thailand. My village was very beautiful. It was like an island, surrounded by water. I used to play a lot in nature with other kids. When I was about 11-12 years old things started to change. Concrete roads were laid on our playground. Big trees along the river where we used to … Read more
News from the East Spirituality in Shiram
Shiram – is a community in Russia, united by the idea of deep self-exploration. 'Shi', which means in Russian “Game Master’s School”, reflects its focus on using Games for transcendence of human beings. 'Ram' comes from 'ashram'. The community has existed since 1990, with places in the urban areas of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. From 2007, they have been building an eco-village in Tverskaya oblast on a piece of land near a river and wild forest. This article is about Shiram´s understanding of … Read more
Israel Rise up My Beloved! The Song of Songs is a Song for Peace
Emma Sham-Ba Ayalon, Israel, is part of a group that holds the vision for building a Peace Research Village in the Middle East. She felt that peace between the genders is a crucial base for peace between the nations and religions. Looking for inspiring wisdom to develop this deep level of peace, she connected to the most erotic text of the bible, the Song of Songs. Lately, I have worked on translating the Song of Songs. It is the most erotic text in the bible. It shows how eros and nature are … Read more
Palestine Between Mona and my Grandmother - Changing the Story of Pain of Women
Women in Palestine are under two types of occupation: occupation by Israel, and occupation by the patriarchal society. Aida Shibli, longterm Palestinian peace and freedom worker in both fields, founding member of GEN Palestine (to come), and the Peace Research Village-Palestine (to come), found that creating ecovillages and autonomy on the land is a way to freedom under both occupations. "My soul gets wings when I see you live a life of freedom. I cannot live a free life, I am under many … Read more
Namibia Visolela "Rosa" Namises´ Path from a Freedom Fighter to a Wise Woman: I love the world!
Visolela is a participant of the River of Life project, that was started in the first women's EDE course in South Africa in 2012. Women support each other to realize their strongest dreams. The story of an impressive woman, by Leila Dregger. Visolela Namises’ most eye-catching feature is her hairdo: Black and grey dreadlocks curl down to her hip. A style quite provocative in Namibia and other African societies, where in public life one would rather appear spick and span. That Visolela has not … Read more
Africa, Togo Women´s Projects against Rural Exodus - The Example of Tiyeda Abalah, Togo
"Africa will become independent when the intellectuals of the continent connect to their roots. When academics, instead of taking a white collar job, share and improve the lives of the people in their home villages." Following the completion of her studies in Literature at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, 30 years ago, Tiyeda Abalah, (56, from Togo), moved with her husband Séda into his home village Baga. During the last GEN Africa conference, CIDAP in Baga was elected Ecovillage of the … Read more
Who are we in GEN? Part 3 CASA Representative Margarita Zethelius - Holistic Approach to the Colombian Crisis
In 2013, Margarita O. Zethelius was elected in Colombia to be one the representatives of CASA on the the Global Ecovillage Network board. Michael Buick contributed her profile, edited by Ryan Luckey. Optimism is clearly one of Margarita´s strengths and you can feel her positivity energize the room when she enters. She explains how her work in conservation and sustainability got started. During research trips, immersed in Colombia's amazing natural riches, she and some biologist friends began … Read more
Colombia "With a Hope that Open Roads" Daira Quiñones´ Story of Hope and Perseverance
Daira Elsa Quiñones is a beautiful Afro-Columbian woman who has experienced great bereavement in her life. She is a great singer, a dreamer, and a wave of hope. Margarita O. Zethelius, from CASA, shares her story. In the 5th gathering of Call of the Mountain (the ecovillages gathering of Colombia), Daira came to tell us the story of a dream and a project, and surprised all with her great charisma. She is an ambassador of Afro-Colombian culture, of hope and strength. She brings to the CASA … Read more
