How the Solution Library works
The Solution Library is a directory of sustainability solutions. It provides short descriptions, vital information, pictures, and links to learn more. It is a place where solutions from all over the internet are gathered in one easy-to-browse platform to help create a more sustainable world.
Our understanding of sustainability has five dimensions: Environmental, Social, Economic, Cultural/Worldview and Whole System (which integrates all four other dimensions in one). The SL’s solutions can be browsed by these dimensions through GEN’s signature mandala, and/or by geographic region.
Additionally, the Solution Library provides the possibility to share experiences with solutions, enriching the knowledge available about the solutions in the library.
Another thing about the Solution Library — it creates a global community by enabling members to connect with one another, or with projects where solutions are used. This way the SL facilitates direct knowledge exchange around sustainable solutions, making it easier for people to co-create a more sustainable world.
Vision & Mission
The Solution Library envisions a world of empowered citizens and communities, co-creating their own pathways to sustainability in all four dimensions: environmental, social, economic and cultural.
The Solution Library has the mission of supporting this empowerment by providing a platform for sharing solutions and for building bridges, thus fostering international solidarity and grassroots co-operation.
The Sustainability Mandala
The sustainable practices and technologies that power ecovillages focus on social, cultural/worldview, economic, and ecological dimensions that all need to be addressed in a holistic approach to sustainability.
About the Solution Library History
The Solution Library came to life as part of the “Ecovillage Strategies for Community Mobilization“ project lead by GEN Europe, made possible by the generous funding by the Anne Lindh Foundation.
The project enabled six women from the Southern Mediterranean (Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Palestine and Turkey) who were fulfilling grassroots leadership roles in their home countries to join an Ecovillage Design Education course in the ecovillage of Sieben Linden, Germany. One of the project’s aimed outputs was a collection of innovative and traditional sustainable solutions from the women’s home countries. This collection was the start of the Solution Library.
The Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) is a four-week course which provides tools for designing and implementing processes for transforming traditional communities into eco-communities. The training includes project planning skills, as well as creates awareness around the balance of the four dimensions of sustainability: social, ecological, economical and cultural. EDE courses are available throughout the world. To find out more about EDE’s and where they are given, see here.
The Solution Library is a product of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN). To find out more about GEN, its work, vision and mission, go here.
The Solution Library project is run in partnership with Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural heritage, CULTNAT, Egypt; Association Rikab for Development Sustainability and Communication, Morocco; African Youth Initiative on Climate Change, Algeria; Peace Research Village Middle East, Palestine; and Guneşköy Çevre Kultur ve Işletme Kooperatifi, Turkey.
