Emergence of the 'River of Life' in GEN

Trudy Juriansz
  • February 12, 2021
In April 2013, 25 African women joined a four week ‘By Women, For Women’ Ecovillage Design Education (EDE), held by Lua Bashala and Kosha Joubert at Umphakatsi Peace Ecovillage, Mpumalanga, South Africa. The women exchanged and learned about ecological, cultural, social and economic aspects of sustainable community living and designed small projects to increase the resilience of their neighbourhoods. On another level, a deep level of mutual trust was built amongst them as they shared stories of what it means to be African women in leadership, most having overcome deep challenges in personal and community life. In this protective, caring environment many revealed for the first time that they had been victims of rape, abuse and sexual violence. A sense of deep healing, love and sisterhood arose. As the women sat by the Umphakatsi River towards the end of the EDE, a joint vision emerged seemingly from the flowing waters: An inspiration to found a network of support between women, linking North and South in fruitful dialogue and exchange. The River of Life Project was born to weave webs of kindness and trust for women’s empowerment, bringing sweet hope to places of harshness. The mission is for women to support each other and express their care and leadership through:
  • Reaching out to women on all continents
  • Exchanging best practice, educating and building capacity
  • Strengthening our communities to become places of inspiration
  • Celebrating our cultural heritage
  • Working for healing and reconciliation
  • Growing abundant gardens for food sovereignty
  • Working with our natural resources to restore our ecosystems
  • Building ethical businesses and fair trade networks
‘I can’t run from my continent —- my life work is in harsh conditions in Congo and South Africa – I have a huge need for spaces of deep connectivity to hold and nurture women’ (Lua)
emergence-of-the-river-of-life-in-gen
If you would like to support the whole programme right now with a one-time donation, please fill the payment form below. [donation_form amount=”50″ type=”single” slider-max=”250″ slider-step=”10″ project=”River of Life”] If you want to develop a closer relationship and financially support a woman long term (for more than one year), then please fill out this form and we will take the time to find the right match and level of support for you. You are also invited to learn more or share information about River of Life with our downloadable programme brochure. Please write to us at ri***********@********ge.org if you have any questions or would like more information about this initiative. Thank you so much for your support of the River of Life programme!

Comments

Featured Blogs

Keep the conversation going with these pieces

Leila Dregger
Mon Jun 2015
Ecovillage Network logo with sun and moon symbols in purple.
The challenge of compressing more than half a century of faith, hope, love and inspiration into a 70-minute documentary is an example of bold co-creation by man…
mauge
Mon Jan 2014
HolaCoordinacion, podemos tener un rato para asuntos europeos? Alf, Kevin y yo venimos del encuentro de redes europeo con cosas que contar. muxu
Global Ecovillage Network
Wed Aug 2012

108

Rita de 108 (ce***********@***il.com) me ha escito lo siguiente: “OLa me puedes ayudar a estabelecer el contato con el secretariado dela RIE. Non me han Con…
Global Ecovillage Network
Mon Mar 2013
  • Sustainability
How are ecovillages affected by the economic crisis in Southern Europe? From the answers of initiatives and ecovillages in Spain, Portugal and Greece it seems t…
mauge
Thu Jul 2014
A quien corresponda: Se ha gestionado desde el cortijo un espacio para RIE? Como alojamiento de quienes van a sostener los contenidos? Los ultimos anos desde …
KanAwen
Mon Jan 2014
Ecovillage Network logo with sun and moon symbols in purple.
Ecovillage Network logo with green leaves inside a circle.
Logo of the Global Ecovillage Network with interconnected figures.
The video shows how the main streams of developments of the ecovillage is included in the big social picture as a holistic solution to society’s issues. The mai…
Elias
Sat Dec 2014
– comprobar que ecovamos y couso esten en la lista de correos y no se si alguien mas. (jesus) y dar de baja a jardines de acuario. OK SE HAGA ???? – jonny pr…
Dhanushka Jayanetti
Fri Aug 2019
It-neun Janchi (It is Janchi), an annual gathering that is organised by NextGEN Korea, is taking place for the 4th time in Yeong-deok, Gyeon-sang province of Ko…
Global Ecovillage Network
Mon Mar 2013
Ecovillage Network logo with green leaves inside a circle.
  • Social Justice
GEN Ghana was founded in 2013. One of its members is the Ghana Permaculture Institute, a non profit organization in Techiman, in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana…
Global Ecovillage Network
Mon Sep 2016
Ecovillage Network logo with a heart-shaped handshake symbol.
Logo of the Global Ecovillage Network with a stylized flower design.
One of the most controversially discussed key tracks during the 5th International Degrowth Conference 2016 in Budapest was “Degrowth and other social movements”…

Insights & Stories from the Communities Movement

Subscribe to our newsletter for fresh stories and community updates delivered to your inbox.

Go Deeper

Get Plus and connect deeper with direct messaging, vetted content, private groups, and more.

Information

Communities

A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

Organizations

An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

Become a + Community Member

  • Send Direct Messages and see contact information
  • Find communities based on your profile tool
  • Post Needs & Offers Listings and Events
  • Access to resources in the Members Library /// like vetted documents uploaded by communites (e.g. bylaws )
  • Member badge on your profile
  • View communities detailed reviews
  • Create Private Groups
I am an official member of this community
Disclaimer
I affirm that my information is accurate and I am authorized to manage this listing

Free Plan

Free plan
Free

Intentional Advertising

  • Subtotal

    {{ currencyFormat( pricing_summary.total_amount ) }}

Become a + Member

  • Send Direct Messages and see contact information
  • Find communities based on your profile tool
  • Post Needs & Offers Listings and Events
  • Access to free resources in the Members Library
  • Member badge on your profile
  • View communities detailed reviews
  • Create Private Groups