In order to support societal transition, and the scaling up of 'grassroots' solutions to climate change, we need to couple 'bottom-up' with 'top-down' processes, says Kosha Joubert, President of GEN International. In April 2014, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published the third part of a trilogy of reports, compiled by thousands of the world’s most eminent scientists, giving the most accurate and up to date account of climate change. The first report, released in … Read more
Oceania & Asia
Japan’s AS-ONE Community: The Story of a 14-Year Community Creation Process
In 2001, some volunteers gathered in Suzuka, Japan, aiming to realize a happy society free from fighting and opposition, in harmony with nature. A borderless community named “AS-ONE COMMUNITY” has been created in an ordinary neighborhood of Suzuka, a typical middle-size city and also well known as a city of the Honda company. Hiroko Katayama, GEN ambassador reports. The name ‘AS-ONE’ was taken from a line of John Lennon’s masterpiece Imagine, ‘and the world will be as one'. Nowadays, 38 core … Read more
Nurturing The Future; Bangladesh! The Ground-Breaking EDE ToT of Southern Bangladesh
Building Capacity and Empowering Communities project launched in 2013 aims over a period of 3 years to improve sustainable food security and livelihoods of vulnerable communities of Khulna and Bagerhat, through capacity building programmes and effective climate change adaptation strategies and interventions. The project is a cooperation between BASD, Gaia Education, CIFAL Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government. Its second year saw a group of previously trained community leaders … Read more
Empowering Communities and Building
Communities in the delta area of Bangladesh are in grave danger of salt water inundation from huge tidal rivers that are increasingly breaking their banks. This can devastate villages, damage the simple houses and leave the locals struggling to grow crops in salinated soil. The Bangladesh Association of Sustainable Development (BASD), Gaia Education and CIFAL Scotland have responded to this dire situation with a 3-year consortium project. The project aims to improve sustainable food security and … Read more
Mensaje de Findhorn sobre el formato nuevo de GEN Europe Conference
Estamos ahora con entusiasmo preparando para la conferencia GEN + 20 en Findhorn en julio de 2015. Aquí está un bosquejo de cómo el formato de la conferencia parece estar surgiendo: Escuchando a los comentarios de conferencias pasadas GEN, de la reciente Cumbre Nueva Historia en Findhorn, y también de las muchas discusiones creativas en la reunión Verde Phoenix, el tiempo se siente maduro para encontrar un nuevo formato para este hito GEN celebración - centrándose menos en atraer nueva … Read more
About Ecovillages
What is an Ecovillage? An ecovillage is a human-scale settlement consciously designed through participatory processes to secure long-term sustainability. Ecovillages are rural or urban, intentional or traditional communities with vibrant social structures, vastly diverse, yet united in their actions towards low-impact, high-quality lifestyles. Ecovillages are consciously designed through local participatory processes, integrating the four dimensions of sustainability (ecology, economy, … Read more
Three “Organized Urban Neighborhood” Urban Ecovillages in North America
Diana Leafe Christian reports about intentional communities in North American cities. She believes creating community in your existing neighborhood is a growing trend. In a few years we may have more organized-neighborhood projects to report on. … Read more
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
Sobre el Documental de presentación de la RIE (leer antes de la asamblea)
Idea Documental RIE Durante la Asamblea del encuentro de invierno RIE en el Molino de Guadalmesí, el pleno apoyó la idea de crear nuestro propio documental para cubrir varios objetivos y no dejar que otras lo hicieran por nosotras desde “las afueras”, teniendo en cuenta de que alguno de los miembros sabemos cómo hacerlo y disponemos de equipo. Se indagó sobre los costos y se aplazó la puesta en escena puesto que la economía no daba para algo de calidad documental y televisiva. Se … Read more
What is an Ecovillage? – by EarthDeeds Models of Living Well Together in a Post-Oil World
Ecovillages, by definition, are communities striving towards high quality lifestyles that have low ecological impacts. As such, they are modeling how we can live well and lightly together in a post-oil future. But even with their focus on renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and voluntary simplicity, ecovillages will never be able to reduce their impact to zero. In addition to reducing their ecological and carbon footprints, ecovillages also need to consider how to account for … Read more
