We need to reinstate meaningful conversations at every level of society. We need to learn how to creatively express our individual diversity and potential, without attachment to being right, contributing our piece to the jigsaw puzzle of life. We start listening for new connections and win-win-win outcomes instead of holding onto knowledge we already have. We know that one size doesn’t fit all, and every situation calls for a fresh approach that is grounded in the collective experience of the … Read more
Balancing Mind & Body The importance of balancing mind & body to relieve stress symptoms and avoid diseases.
Understanding what stress is and having a daily practice that balances your mind and body system. Stress is a response of our fight or flight system. This mechanism is very efficient when we face an emergency such as a dangerous predator; our sympathetic nervous system is activated, making all of our body alert by releasing adrenaline into our blood. However, if we go through a prolonged period of stress, the hormone released is cortisol, which in the long run becomes a poisonous to our … Read more
Attunement Bringing a group together consciously at the beginning and end of meetings, aligned to the highest purpose.
Taking a minute or two at the beginning of the meeting, either in silence with a few words of guidance offered by the facilitator, to pause and notice that we are in a new space; to consciously connect with the others with whom we are meeting; and to clearly connect with the overarching purpose of the meeting, can radically transform the experience of the meeting. A similar process can be undertaken at the end of the meeting, to bring it to conscious conclusion. … Read more
Gambia – a box expanding journey
- Date: 3 – 12 November 2015
- Language:
- English
- Location: Gambia
In our western civilised world we are educated to remain nestled within our comfort zones. We sacrifice an enormous part of our aliveness on the altar of so-called security. Because of this we don’t have access to the unlimited possibilities life offers us in every moment. Drilled and domesticated from childhood on, we have yet to experience our inherent power and potential. Gambia – A box expanding journey could be a personal step for you to make a radical … Read more
The Miracle in the Desert Sekem / Egypt
Led by the vision to promote sustainable development of the individual, the society and the Earth, Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish began to cultivate the hot, arid sandy ground of Egypt. Here, he initiated a community as an incentive for new approaches to economy, science, culture and societal life. He named this initiative Sekem – the ancient Egyptian Hieroglyph for “vitality”. Dr. Abouleish received many awards for his achievements, including the 'Right Livelihood Award', and an honorary doctorate from … Read more
Editorial GEN Newsletter June 2015 20 Years of GEN: 20 Years of Regeneration – Coming Home to our Planet
20 years ago, a group around the Danish couple Hildur and Ross Jackson founded the Global Ecovillage Network, launched at an Ecovillage Conference at Findhorn. They understood that the power of communities and ecovillages to love, work with and regenerate the life systems that they are a part of is essential to building a sane and sustainable culture. From that insight, it was a natural step to dream of a community of communities, a network of trust, mutual support and knowledge transfer between … Read more
Learning is Living La Cité Ecologique, Canada and USA
La Cité Ecologique started in Canada in 1984 as an alternative school based on holistic education. Today La Cité has two ecovillages - one in Quebec with 90 inhabitants and another in New Hampshire with 40 inhabitants. The glue that keeps the two communities together is the shared focus on care for children and youth. Marie Vaillant moved in as a teenager with her family and later became the director of the second ecovillage. My family moved to La Cité Ecologique when I was 14 years old, in … Read more
Responsible Tourism Sandele Eco-Retreat in The Gambia
Sandele Eco-Retreat in Kartong is an example of responsible tourism. The lodges are built with compressed, stabilized earth blocks which use a minimum of cement and are frequently stabilized with lime. Electricity, hot water and water pumping are provided using solar and wind power. The Lodges and the Guest Rooms have compost toilets and a constructed wetlands system that minimizes the use of, and purifies, the water flowing from the toilets, showers, hand basins and rainwater. Every step that … Read more
Community regenerates land and land regenerates community
Whenever Lucia Battegazzore from Uruguay thought about herself living in a community, she imagined herself in a beautiful place of untouched nature, with a stream of clean water, an old native forest where she could lose herself… However, the place where she has ended up is different. Lucia has experienced first hand that regenerating the ecosystems brings back community - and the other way around. I live in an old vineyard in an intensive agro-industrial zone, where a contaminated creek … Read more
Local Collaboration in Italy "We grow our vegetables as we grow ourselves"
In its 26 years of activity, the Ecovillage Torri Superiore, in western Liguria, has been committed to building positive relationships with the local population, tells Lucilla Borio, founder and former GEN-Europe secretary. Now the local connections also include businesses, and the principles of sustainability and social responsibility. The EU program "The Transition Journey, Sustainability to Touch" (2009/2011), conducted with four GEN-Europe ecovillage partners, encouraged us to look for … Read more
