We humans are the only species living on the surface, under and above the skin of Mother Earth that have had the ignorance, arrogance, senselessness to pretend that Her nurturing elements: soil, water, wind, fire, mountains, rivers, oceans, insects, animals of all sorts, can be subjected to appropriation, abuse, domination, exploitation, and turned into resources, merchandised, destroyed, extinguished for our own benefit, greed and foolishness. Once upon a time we were grateful for Her power, … Read more
North America
Ecovillage – 1001 Ways to Heal the Planet The Book on Ecovillages
"What a beautifully, lovingly constructed book! It conveys not only the variety and ideals of the ecovillage movement, but the heart of it as well. Kosha and Leila's book affirms the importance of ecovillages not just as an inconsequential alternative in the margins, but as an invitation to transform every place into an ecological collaboration between humans and the rest of nature." Charles Eisenstein The Ecovillage book by Kosha Joubert and Leila Dregger introduces a selection of ecovillage … Read more
Urban Ecovillages in North America These days, you can find ecovillages in more places than ever – including in places like Los Angeles or San Diego.
When you hear the word “ecovillage” you might think of a collection of rustic cabins on a rural farm. Or maybe you imagine a solar-powered suburb like the Ithaca Ecovillage in NY state. You might think living in an ecovillage is too remote or unaffordable. But these days, you can find ecovillages in more places than ever - including the 40-member Los Angeles Ecovillage near downtown LA and the Le Case community in San Diego. For two years, I lived in an urban ecovillage in SE Portland, OR, … Read more
Digital Nomads and Community in the Modern Age In times of globalisation, community does not only connect people who physically live together.
An ecovillage is nothing new. Throughout history communities of people have lived lightly on the same piece of land, sharing skills and resources, celebrating their culture and values. With the advent of agriculture, these villages have increasingly rooted to a single geographical area. The majority of people are settled, yet there has always been a distinct minority on the move. In various cultures these are the traders, sailors, gypsies, bards, messengers, explorers, philosophers, actors, … Read more
GEN North America Accomplishments in 2016
Cynthia Tina - GEN Trustee and GENNA International Coordinator reports. Collaboration continues to deepen among the partner organizations that comprise GENNA, which is currently GEN-US, the Fellowship for Intentional Community, and NextGEN North America. North America is a unique region in the fact that we have several organizations serving different aspects of the communities movement. Last year, these groups and individuals agreed to join forces as the GENNA Council, recognizing the … Read more
Resilience and Self-Reliance An Update on Regenerative Solutions for Active EmerGENcies Projects
As the call for global climate action strengthens following the COP22 in Marrakech, GEN’s work in climate change adaptation and mitigation through ecovillage development programs is guided by a design based on both prevention and response. One of the pillars of this framework is EmerGENcies, GEN’s emerging humanitarian program. The purpose is to respond to and try to prevent further deleterious effects of climate change (among other forms of crises), in vulnerable communities around the … Read more
Bringing new Solutions to the Table Conversations with the Commonwealth
Albert Bates, founding member of The Farm, Tennessee, was part of the GEN delegation at the Climate Summit in Marrakech, this November. He is also part of a group of sustainability experts brought together by the Secretary General of the British Commonwealth, Baroness Patricia Scotland. At the final day of the 22nd Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change, Baroness Patricia Scotland rose to address the Joint High-level Segment gathered in plenary session: "Mr. … Read more
USA/Europe (GENNA/GEN Europe): Soil Restoration and Carbon Sequestration using Biochar
The future starts with the dirt beneath our feet. Soil is the earth’s fragile skin that anchors all life. However, half of the topsoil on the planet has been lost in the last 150 years. Soil restoration is a major concern of farmers and of all of us who depend on vegetation. Soil restoration using Biochar (as with Terra Preta), is carbon negative by sequestering the carbon in biomass for thousands of years. Biochar incorporated in soils offers numerous benefits, such as improved soil … Read more
Synergies between Degrowth and GEN Synergies between Degrowth and the Global Ecovillage Network
One of the most controversially discussed key tracks during the 5th International Degrowth Conference 2016 in Budapest was “Degrowth and other social movements”. Can degrowth be considered a movement? Does degrowth embrace all kinds of movements struggling for a sustainable future? On one hand, the notion of “degrowth movement(s)” was rigorously criticized for fragmenting the political struggle. It was also critiqued as umbrella concept for creating incongruous hierarchical relations between … Read more
Report – CASA Brazil Third National Gathering of CASA Brazil By Henny Freitas, Councilor from CASA Brazil
Through a round of introductions among participants and potential collaborators in the network, we started the activities planned for the Third National Meeting of CASA Brazil. For everyone starting to weave this network together, we introduced Sociocracy as a tool of governance for the Brazilian Council to facilitate a more dynamic and effective decision-making process by group consent. We used the handbooks and materials from the ECCO 2015 - the second meeting of CASA Latina - as … Read more
