Ecovillage Design Course Chile

Gaia Education came to El Manzano in Chile to deliver the first Ecovillage Design Education course of 2013. This was a truly transformative event and now, with a learning community of ecovillage designers forming in Chile, the way is paved for many such more. A report by Javiera Carrion.

We hosted a group of 30 leaders, teachers and designers from around South America, most of whom have already completed a permaculture design course and have vast experience in their own projects.
Some were seeking EDE certification, while others were searching for new tools and practices to inject into their own initiatives. Others came to generate networks and relationships and to find ways of collaborating in regenerative enterprise.
The event wasn’t without its challenges! Inevitable conflict situations arose as we exposed ourselves to critical reflection that enabled us to see each other, to lift our consciousness, and hear the voices between our words.

Team
We are very grateful to the team of facilitators who made the huge effort to be here. From this training we feel we have now developed the capacity to deliver the EDE autonomously in Chile.
Ulises and Nuria from Spain provided a platform of experience and wisdom that allowed us to experiment. Together they delivered the social and worldview dimensions and we were moved to take a fresh look at our individual and collective practice in Chile and South America. The capacity of Ulises, in particular, was an inspiration to us all; a clear, concise and simple way of empowering participants to co-learn. We look forward to welcoming them both again to Chile.
We were also lucky enough to receive Patricio and Felix, from the school of Manfred Max-Neef, for the economical dimension of the training. While there were a few pedagogical issues, the content was well received and timely for our networks. The Max- Neef school has a lot to offer ecovillage communities and we hope to forge long term relationships in the area of living economies.
With Jerry and Alexis, from Pucon, we delivered the ecological dimension. Considering that the majority of participants had completed a permaculture course, the content was nothing really new. However, we took the opportunity to refresh our regenerative design competencies, as well as critique local examples of alternative technology.

Reflections
A month down the road from the event, we have taken the time to reflect on the EDE experience, and to integrate some of the learning into our daily practices. We realise that between the Permaculture Design, the Ecovillage Design Course, and the Transition Training events we have managed to ground a suite of learning experiences here in Chile that are truly transformative.
We see a huge opportunity in South America to provide project incubation and mentor support that enable people to manifest their dreams in lived in worlds.
In the spirit of integration we intend to provide these learning pathways, bringing together the best of Gaia Education, the Permaculture Research Institute, and the Transition Towns network with Gaia University.
We look forward to running the event again in 2014, as both an intensive three week design course and in a modular format over the year. In recent days we have launched a generic Diploma pathway in regenerative design, with self-directed learning, project documentation and peer to peer evaluation.
Thank you to everyone who has made this possible, especially for the support and leadership of Gaia Education. The EDE curriculum is a powerful tool that enables us to equip people and communities with the competencies of world co-creation.
To keep up with progress in Chile visit our website www.elmanzano.org or connect through facebook.com/Ecoescuela