Since this year the Ecovillage Excellency award is split into a European and an international project, with each of the projects receiving 1500 Euros. The international project will be awarded at the Ecovillage Summit in December, in Senegal, Africa. The audience of the GEN Europe conference this year decided to award the European prize to the Taneeb Farm in Palestine, and Aida Shibli´s initiatives for the Global Campus, Palestine. However, since the fresh and thriving Aurora community in … Read more
Africa
GEN Events in Fall 2014 Announcements and Events:
Oct 31 - Nov 7: Global Ecovillage Network Oceania & Asia (GENOA) International Conference "Ecovillages for Sustainable Development" - A Model for Climate Change Adaptation. We will be hosting our first international conference in India this year “Ecovillages for Sustainable Development - A Model for Climate Change Adaptation", from October 31st ~ November 7th, 2014, in Orissa, India. The GENOA International Conference 2014 aims at supporting community-based climate change action, as well as … Read more
Ecovillages and Food Sovereignty Results of the Survey
17 projects took the time to answer the questions on food sovereignty. The answers came from the USA, from Africa, from Asia and Europe. Thank you all very much. Of course this survey can never be representative in a scientific way, but it helps us to have an overview on the state and intention of the ecovillages on growing their own food. All of the projects that answered, grow their own food, even those with less than 2 hectares. Four of them produce so much food that they can sell it … Read more
Abundance in Namibia Permaculture is Our Culture
Northern Namibia produces food abundantly for their families, communities close by, and also the Namibian community at large; their food can be found in the local markets of most major towns, as well as the capital city. On a trip to her homestead, Clio Pauly found, tasted and enjoyed a traditional Permaculture and Gift Economy society. I was recently humbled by a beautiful visit to our homestead in IIkokola, a traditional village in northern Namibia. In the last stretch of our 700km journey, … Read more
The Gambia: Sustainable Kartong Ecovillage Development and Responsible Tourism
Kartong in The Gambia is a special place, with a wealth of, hitherto, unrecognised assets including unspoilt, deserted beaches, and great tourism potential. From 21st Feburary to 20th March 2014, a very special Ecovillage Design Education – EDE – took place here. It was the culmination of a long held dream that originated in 2007, when the Secretary General of the Village Development Committee of Kartong attended an EDE in Findhorn Ecovillage. Vicky Stallwood reports. … Read more
GEN Europe Conference July 9 - 13, 2014, in ZEGG, Germany
The annual GEN Europe Conference is more than a meeting place for GEN Europe members. As the ecovillage movement is merging with other movements for decentralized solutions and applied sustainability - such as Permaculture or Transition Towns - it is a place where the most interesting developments are shared, discussed, further developed, and presented to an interested public, to community seekers, founders, and change makers of all kinds. You are warmly invited to join us and get an updated … Read more
Namibia Visolela "Rosa" Namises´ Path from a Freedom Fighter to a Wise Woman: I love the world!
Visolela is a participant of the River of Life project, that was started in the first women's EDE course in South Africa in 2012. Women support each other to realize their strongest dreams. The story of an impressive woman, by Leila Dregger. Visolela Namises’ most eye-catching feature is her hairdo: Black and grey dreadlocks curl down to her hip. A style quite provocative in Namibia and other African societies, where in public life one would rather appear spick and span. That Visolela has not … Read more
Africa, Togo Women´s Projects against Rural Exodus - The Example of Tiyeda Abalah, Togo
"Africa will become independent when the intellectuals of the continent connect to their roots. When academics, instead of taking a white collar job, share and improve the lives of the people in their home villages." Following the completion of her studies in Literature at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, 30 years ago, Tiyeda Abalah, (56, from Togo), moved with her husband Séda into his home village Baga. During the last GEN Africa conference, CIDAP in Baga was elected Ecovillage of the … Read more
NextGEN Is there Justice in Acting and Speaking in GEN?
Words and actions between people of different colour, gender, or religion are often charged with unconscious racism or sexism. GEN is creating communication tools to become aware of old patterns to be able to change them. Some people are our helpers by making us aware of our automatic prejudices. One of them is Elena Ball from Next GEN. The first time I learned about GEN I spent some months in Senegal moved by questions such as "Who am I?", "Where do I belong?", "What do I want to do in my … Read more
Gentle Power Thoughts on a New Women’s Movement Based on Communities
Worldwide women are struggling for power and emancipation. For a world in which women can take their place without positioning themselves either above, or below, the man; without fighting or having to imitate him. A culture of partnership where the genders, as equally strong poles, complement and love each other. A world in which violence against women can no longer happen. One in which women can come together and cooperate for the well being of all creatures on this planet – and for a new love … Read more
