The Global Ecovillage Network is made up of thousands of individuals and communities all over the world, innovating, rediscovering and implementing regenerative, just and pioneering ways of living together. The Hildur Jackson Award is given to extraordinary projects and exceptional solutions that bring the most impactful inspiration about ecovillages/ecovillage lifestyles into a broad audience. Join us in this free webinar to hear the jury announce this year's winners, meet the winners … Read more
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Reflections on COP23 GEN Africa
What was the most inspiring aspect of COP23 for you this year? Throughout COP23, GEN spoke as a diverse and harmonious family, in a powerful voice about the necessity to involve grassroots communities in the global reflection on and action against environmental degradation. An increasing number of African government officials are reaching out to GEN to seek support and partnership to initiate or reinforce holistic regenerative development programmes in their most vulnerable regions and … Read more
Reflections on COP23 GENOA
What was the most inspiring aspect of COP23 for you this year? To see GEN's growing presence and the increase of interest of governments and NGOs to support and collaborate. What contribution do you feel ecovillages can bring to Climate Action in your region? In GENOA where many of the world's climate vulnerable nations belong, Ecovillages bring hope in a radically changing climate. The region is at the crossroads with many nations experiencing a rise in economic growth at the same … Read more
Reflections from COP23 Great Interest in Ecovillage Climate Solutions at COP23
The two most promising and exciting things about COP23 for me was the keen interest among so many delegates first in ecovillage development and second in taking the 1.5 degree goal from the Paris Agreement on limiting global warming quite seriously and then on increasing government ambition to be able to do this. For example I heard again and again about various efforts being made to move towards 100% renewable energy; to sequester carbon in plants and soils; and to reach carbon neutrality … Read more
Climate Resilience and Community in Africa
This November the UN Climate Summit (COP23) will be held in Bonn, Germany, where the imperative will be how to massively scale-up and effectively implement the Paris Climate Agreement. The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) strongly believes that sustainable communities are already making significant contributions to climate change mitigation and adaptation. … Read more
We Are the Re-Generation
This is the time when we are reinventing ourselves as humanity. Our capacity to destroy ourselves and most other species on the planet, simply by continuing ‘business as usual’, is right up in our faces. The wakeup call is ringing loud and clear. We are called to re-own our capacity to be guardians and healers of life and thus truly come home to the planet and ourselves. In GEN, we believe that every community has the right to protect and the capacity to restore their environments. We believe … Read more
Sacred Activism Newsletter Editorial
Dear friends, All around the world ecovillages and communities are standing up, as part of a global movement to protect what is sacred to them: family, friends and community, the biodiversity and beauty of nature, the future of generations to come. They stand for social justice, human rights and earth rights. When the Indigenous resistance against the Dakota Access pipeline was ended, one of the activists, White Eagle said: "Just because we’re being removed from that area doesn’t mean it’s … Read more
Ecosystem Restoration Eco-communities as Sacred Activism
To Gaia, life is sacred, because evolving life forms is what Gaia does. To life, diversity is sacred, because diversity leads to stability in the delicately interwoven ecosystems upon which life depends. To one particular life form on Earth, the humans, perceiving sacredness depends on each individual’s personal level of consciousness. Without authentic adulthood initiations what many humans hold sacred is mere survival in the widely adopted culture of capitalistic patriarchal empire. … Read more
Standing Rock in Colombia A vision of peace after decades of war and displacement
20 years ago, more than 1000 displaced farmers and smallholders in Colombia´s North founded the peace community San José de Apartadó, a neutral village committed to non-violence and forgiveness in the armed conflict that had being going on for decades. They are still there. Sabine Lichtenfels, co-founder of Tamera/Portugal, attended the 20 anniversary of Tamera´s sister community. I am writing this from Colombia, where we – a small group from the Global Campus from Tamera/Portugal, Bolivia, … Read more
Nature is Our Neighbour Sacred Activism at Govardhan Ecovillage, India
There are spiritual seekers and there are socio-environmental activists. Andrew Harvey, founder of the Institute of Sacred Activism explains that while spiritual seekers tend to disassociate from the material world of social, economic, environmental and political engagement, and are thereby not there for the world in its hour of need, activists fighting against the worldly socio-environmental injustices are prone to exhaustion and rage without spiritual development and practice. The need is for … Read more
