Ecovillages are roads to sustainability, yet it appears that the Turkish government prefers highways to destruction. Ecovillage Güneşköy, close to Ankara, and the surrounding forests are in danger. Inci Gökmen and Ali Gökmen, co-founders of Güneşköy, report. Güneşköy - Sun Village Ecovillage Initiative was started as a cooperative by ten people living in Ankara, the capitol of Turkey. Ten years ago, 7.5 hectars of land, located next to a traditional village was bought. No agricultural activity … Read more
Mexico: C.A.S.A. and Rainbow Caravan for Peace in Huehuecoyotl Ecovillage
After one year of existence, the C.A.S.A. Mexico branch of the Latin American Ecovillage Network is very active. Fernando Ausin-Gomez reports from the second annual meeting and the EcoCaravans Gathering. Imagine what it must be like to hold the memories of 13 years criss-crossing Latin America on a caravan of buses promoting peace councils throughout indigenous communities, favelas, schools and rural areas. Imagine trying to process and convey ancient indigenous legacies during prophesied times … Read more
Ubuntu – I Am Because You Are
Mugove Walter Nyika, council member of GEN Africa, was born in Zimbabwe and is a Permaculture teacher in Malawi. He speaks about his memories, about the abundance of nature in his childhood, how it was destroyed, and how the wounds of nature and of the mind can heal. “The name my parents gave me is Mugove, which means 'gift'. I grew up with my grandparents in a village 200 km south of the capital, Harare, in Zimbabwe. From an early age I learned from my Grandfather to plant trees, to collect … Read more
VillageLab – a service tool to facilitate the flow of wealth to and from regenerative communities
Gaia Villages Foundation & the Ecovillage Innovation Lab has simplified its name to VillageLab. Though initially based in North America and Mexico, VillageLab hopes to spread its services to the entire GEN network and other networks of sustainable and regenerative communities. Presently VillageLab is looking for beta test projects to include on its crowdfunding site. The group will be publishing their project selection criteria soon - to get a copy please contact them directly. Jeff Clearwater … Read more
2nd Festival of Eco-practices in Russia
The 2nd Festival of Eco-practices took place on August 9 -12 on the Festival Field of the Union of Kin-domains Blagodat , Yaroslavl oblast, Russia. This festival was initiated by Russian Ecovillages and Eco-initiative Network (www.gen-russia.ru), where also the first festival had taken place in the last year. The event is conceived by the organizers as a platform for exchange of practical experience in the field of environmentally friendly technologies and practices relating to all aspects of … Read more
GEN Conference, 7-12 July, 2013: Celebrating a Worldwide Movement
Three hundred participants from fifty-one countries came together for five days at Schweibenalp Centre of Unity, Switzerland, to celebrate and share, present projects and ideas, and explore new strategies of collaboration. It was a remarkable meeting of minds and hearts that revealed, in many ways, the new level that the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) has reached in its eighteenth year of existence. Never have the international connections, mutual support, and love between the ecovillages of … Read more
The Solution Library is online!
A new GEN Open Source IT Tool has just gone online: the Solution Library. With the help of 6 brilliant young women from the Islamic world (from Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Turkey and Palestine), support from our partners in Egypt (CultNat and the Bibliotheca Alexandria) and financial support from the Anne Lindh Foundation, GEN has developed this online access portal to sustainable solutions that now stands proudly with a first collection of 80 beautiful examples. We expect the Solution Library to … Read more
GEN International Newsletter Summer 2013 – Editorial
"It takes a whole village to raise a child." Sobonfu Somé, Burkina Faso Dear Friends of the Global Ecovillage Network On the verge of two major conferences about ecovillages and sustainable communities, the GEN Conference in Schweibenalp, Switzerland, (7-12 July), and the ICSA Conference (International Communal Studies Association) in Findhorn, Scotland (26-28 June), we send you the GEN International newsletter with current information, stories, insights, and experiences from ecovillages … Read more
Invitation to join the TERRA NOVA SCHOOL
On May 1st, 2013 GEN member Tamera in Portugal inaugurated the TERRA NOVA SCHOOL, a worldwide education platform, intended to become a catalyst for global system-change. The project wants to join together and empower all those who want to work for a new Earth without violence and war: Terra Nova. Participants in 30 different countries celebrated the beginning of this project together. 50 study groups have already formed - from China to Mexico, from Russia to South Africa, from the US to … Read more
NextGEN Empowerment Training for Ban Pao Youth
Chiangmai, Thailand. There are a number of our young people who are still unemployed after years of education. These youth are feeling failed by society and worthless. Besides those who are jobless, there are also young people who can’t find happiness and meaning in their work and lifestyle in the big city. In Mae Jo village and Ban Pao sub-district, a number of young people have had to leave the city and come back to their home village. They are searching for alternatives. In addition to the … Read more
