GEN Africa

This year, we decided to enrich our EDE’s journey and to have a stronger intention, rhythm and flow of each week. On top of the EDE curriculum, we brought different systems together like: the CLIPS model, Dragon Dreaming, Works that reconnect, The Medicine Wheel, the seasons and elements, and to design what we called the Miro’s journey; our main frame (“miro/miraud” in french means somebody who does not see well, so it’s for us, the journey to open our eyes … to Life). It involved 4 main steps: Me and You, Me and Us, Us and the World, and At the heart of Life. This frame helped us to place the different EDE’s modules in our program with more structure and coherency and to design a clearer container for us, participants and speakers. 1 person from Belgium, 1 person from Burkina-Faso, 1 person from England, 3 people from Switzerland and 19 people from France. 14 women (56%), 9 men (36%) and 2 non-binary (8%) From 23 to 70 years old, the average age being 36 years old: 56% of the people were between 23 and 35 years old 16% of the people were between 35 and 50 years old 28% of the people were between 50 years old and + We had a beautiful diversity of all sorts of people coming from all walks of life and all social and economic backgrounds: therapists, students, teachers, architects, educators, entrepreneurs, artists, business and finance managers, nomads etc. The EDE’s experience is creating strong bonds and connections between people which create a lot of synergies and opportunities for the post-EDE. And as we organized 4 days of festival after the EDE where the previous year participants were invited, the EDE family could grow bigger and the field of possibilities expands. Let’s meet again next year for the 3rd edition ! Participant quotes : “I have a deep desire to change my way of living and the EDE opened a lot of opportunities to make it happen: changing the place where I live and my habitat,

Mount of Oaks/Monte dos Carvalhos has 10 week programs, in Autumn and Spring for 2 to 4 people, who would like to experience community living and deepen their knowledge and experience on off-grid sustainable living…you will also have the challenge to practice your design skills and present to us at least one design of either a new system or improvement of existing ones. The Regeneration process on this 5 hectar piece of land started in 2006, when the land was bought through a divine miracle and many people´s generosity before “crowd funding” was even a concept. The land has no private property as it became part of an Association and residents are guardians and part of the ecossystem. Back when I (Barbara) came here, I could only see plowed fields, a small stone ruin with half roof, some olive trees, some citrus trees and a few pear trees, a tiny little native forest at the top of the hill and a massive pond, and a tiny little forest at the bottom… Thank God, the seed bank needed to begin the restororation was still here, and with many human, animal, fungi and vegetable help, things started to improve… Now I can say it is an abundant, resilient and restored ecossystem :-) Our first 5 years were mainly filled with daily tasks, getting to know our neighbours and the region, observing the natural system and praying, as that was our main intention for this place…A refuge of peace, rest, healing and prayer that restores land. From 2009 to 2012 we hosted several PDC´s each year, with the great pioneer in Portugal, Lesley Martin… Today, besides the most important which is a restored healthy no tilled soil, we have already much to inspire others and much to develop still : – The only existing small ruined was restored to be our common working kitchen now filled with a lot of our delicious produce (olives and olive oil, aromatic herbs, teas, madicine in all shapes and forms and fermented food and drinks ) – different compost toilet systems; – hot shower w

The hub will be a gathering of people living on Amorgos island. The hub is a combination of people with cultural, ecological and professional action on the island. The speeches from around the globe, will be inspiration and motivation for local action. You are welcome!

Already have a PDC under your belt? Want to expand your skills set? This advanced, hands-on course is what you’ve been looking for! Perfect for developing your abilities as a designer, this course takes you through the implementation process of permaculture techniques such as: soil building, water management systems, food foresting, livestock management, natural building and more! Take the hands-on and put into practice your newly acquired permaculture design expertise. This course is held on a 268-acre domain equipped with a private lake, a beautiful little river with a small waterfall, all of which is located 1km from the sacred Abenaki mountain of Mont Pinacle (visible from the house) and 3km away from the charming village core of Frelighsburg, QC. It is about a 1hr drive from the vibrant city of Montreal and also 5km away from the Vermont border and thus, easily accessible for our neighbours to the South. The property has a small apple orchard area with 4 different kinds of apples trees growing. The land is partially forested with 2 long walking trails and partly cleared (about 5 acres) for 2 organic agricultural projects. ​ ​The property enjoys lots of sunshine and privacy. And there is a fire pit area with seating and picnic tables. The host will provide some farming tools to share with the participants and you are welcome to bring yours also. There is a canoe and kayak for early morning boating on the lake and there is also the possibility of a small sweat spot near the lake for our PDC guests in August. Our family is thrilled to be sharing our seed farm and indigenous gardening spaces with you! >Price: $650 CAD (includes course, materials, food, campsite) Learn how to: Establish natural crop fertility Develop ecological food production Build soil and learn about soil fertility Design water catchment Design sustainable settlements Strengthen local economies Learn about: Edible forest design Passive solar living Auto fertile and no di