GEN could become the place to conceive a new paradigm of money. Jamie Brown (agent of Biomimicry in Switzerland), and Matthew Slater (an economy specialist), share about the background and proposal to create an exchange system of Ecovillages, and launch it at the July 2015 Ecovillage Summit at Findhorn, Scotland. Background: Why GEN Feels Poor Our money system is at the point of an evolutionary phase-change resembling the natural completion of a youthful growth period. Our global system … Read more
Damanhur
Water Flows in Damanhur Permaculture Approach to Water Flows in the Tentyris Region of Damanhur
In Damanhur, the community region of Tentyris has a special relationship with water, honoring it as a natural force and enjoying an abundance of it on the lands. In 2011, a team from Tamera, Portugal, came to collaborate on the creation of a large scale water retention system of six lakes, that are now in use. In November 2014, a new Permaculture Design for Sustainability course was launched, focusing on developing the wetlands area of Tentyris as a continuation of the work of utilizing, and … Read more
Piracanga: The Power of Youth Brasil: Piracanga – The Power of Youth
Nara Nalinii Pais recently visited Piracanga, an ecovillage, community and human development centre in Bahia, Brazil, where she spoke with co-founder, Angelina Ataide. It started as a spontaneous conversation in which Nalinii shared her experience of Findhorn, and Angelina shared her story of Piracanga. Nalinii was so inspired by this exchange, that she felt compelled to write this article about their amazing meeting. “Four years ago there was nothing here but sand and a few sickly palm … Read more
Italy: Giving Birth in Damanhur The Community as a Social-Spiritual Uterus
Birthing is a challenging process that can take a woman out of her physical and psychological balance. The capacity to hold her in this condition, and be her 'social-spiritual uterus', is a valuable skill that communities can develop. Damanhur is composed of about 20 so called 'Nucleos', core families of 10-30 people. Capra Carruba gave birth to her first daughter 6 years ago, and now she waits for her second child to be born. My daughter was born seven years ago in our communal living room. … Read more
Hot Oil in Italy Food Sovereignty in Damanhur
Only 20 months have passed since the "Federation of Damanhur" in Northern Italy started the latest pioneering self-sufficiency project of its community. They have called it “olio caldo 4“ (Hot Oil), and aim to achieve food sovereignty for the community within one year. Within the community of Damanhur, with its 600 members and 25 ‘nucleo’ families, the project was entrusted to the nucleo Prima Stalla. Capra Carruba reports. As we speak of food sovereignty, this venture encompasses much more … Read more
Ousmane Pame, President GEN-Africa Dr. Ousmane Aly Pame, President of GEN Africa: Simplicity and Sharing are the Roots of Happiness
New Series: Who are the People in the Ecovillage Movement? I saw him for the first time in the middle of the night, on the way to the GEN Africa conference in Sekem, Egypt. In a Cairo traffic jam, another van stopped next to ours, full of African men. In contrast to the tired mood in our car, they celebrated and laughed. With a funny hat on his head, one man seemed to entertain the rest of the group. Only later I learned that he is a political leader, an innovative visionary and one of the … Read more
Network Meeting in Europe Network Meeting for Communities from Germany, Switzerland and Austria
Communities are models of sustainable living in both cities and rural areas. The Global Ecovillage Network offers a network meeting as a platform to get to know each other, to exchange knowledge and to connect. The next meeting will take place from the 8th -10th of November, 2013, in the ecovillage Schloss Tempelhof. All over the planet, more and more ecovillages and communities are emerging. In times of climate change, economical crisis, and isolation in cities and in rural areas they are … Read more
GEN Conference, 7-12 July, 2013: Celebrating a Worldwide Movement
Three hundred participants from fifty-one countries came together for five days at Schweibenalp Centre of Unity, Switzerland, to celebrate and share, present projects and ideas, and explore new strategies of collaboration. It was a remarkable meeting of minds and hearts that revealed, in many ways, the new level that the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) has reached in its eighteenth year of existence. Never have the international connections, mutual support, and love between the ecovillages of … Read more
Founder of Damanhur passed away Founder of Damanhur passed away
Shortly before sending the newsletter, we received the sad news that Falco, Oberto Airaudi, (founder of and inspiration behind of one of the most fascinating ecovillages on earth - Damanhur in Northern Italy) passed away on Sunday, June 23, 2013, in the nucleo community of Aval where he lived together with other Damanhurian citizens since 1980. Falco was 63 years old, and for some months had been suffering from a liver cancer, which he faced without any aggressive treatment, in accordance with … Read more
Children and Ecovillages Community as Teacher of Sustanability on all Levels
Kadri Allikmäe, from the Estonian ecovillage network, shares thoughts after her visits and research of 3 European ecovillage kindergardens, two Estonian kindergardens and one community, as a space for our future children. In the springtime of 2010, I visited Sieben Linden on a course focusing on the social aspects of community building. In our free time we were looking around the village and discovered this beautiful forest kindergarten. I had just returned to university to study pre-school … Read more
