We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future. To move forward we must recognise that, in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms, we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. Established in Findhorn in 1995, the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) today connects more than 10,000 villages, urban neighbourhoods and intentional communities in more than 100 countries worldwide. Spanning all continents, … Read more
intentional communities
ZEGG-Forum USA 2015 Tour "Deepening Community - Deepening Love"
Founding members of ZEGG, Ina Meyer-Stoll and Achim Ecker embarked this October on a teaching tour in intentional communities in California, Colorado, and New York under the theme of living in a community embraced by love, partnership, and friendships. … Read more
Earthaven, USA Almost Fossil-Free: The Hut Hamlet Neighborhood at Earthaven Ecovillage
Could Earthaven Ecovillage in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the US become, as GEN advocates, “Fossil-Free by 2020”? Diana Leafe Christian reports. … Read more
Aurora Eye comes to Findhorn Young Filmaker Visting Communities
In early October Serena Aurora visited Findhorn Foundation community in Scotland and the GEN International office located there in order to make a short film promoting GEN and Findhorn. Serena is an adventurous, nature-loving filmmaker inspired by the ecovillage movement. She is dedicating her energy to traveling around our precious planet, giving a voice and platform to ecovillages and other intentional communities. She documents and explores the diverse communities that live principles of … Read more
Strand Report “Emergencies” Responding to a World in Crises the Whole Systems Way
"How are we responding to crises using a whole systems and regenerative approach?” This was the question that a group of ecovillagers, consultants, volunteers, and other interested participants gathered to explore during a week-long session during the 20th Anniversary of the Global Ecovillage Network in July. Facilitator Sarah Quebatlin and Leila Dregger report. Natural disasters triggered by climate change are responsible for 150,000+ deaths every year and cause millions of people to have to … Read more
Australia Multiple occupancy zonings being ‘abolished by stealth’
The NSW Government is set to abolish a successful planning policy that has seen more than 120 intentional communities established across the state over almost 30 years, most of them in the northern rivers. The policy allows groups of people to establish Multiple Occupancies (MO) or intentional communities on land of 10 hectares or more in rural or non-urban zones. by Chris Dobney (first published in http://www.echo.net.au) Just three councils statewide will be exempt from the … Read more
Online Training GEN International to Learn Sociocracy
On October 20, GEN International will host a 12-week online training in Sociocracy, a governance and decision-making method. The purpose of the course is to train GEN Council members, Steering Group, staff, and Representatives from the five Regions in the basic structures and processes of Sociocracy and how to implement it, and for interested GEN members to become in-house Sociocracy trainers or coaches for their own GEN Regions and national ecovillage networks. The instructor is Diana Leafe … Read more
Disaster Prevention in Europe: Supporting Skala Eco village in Greece to Become a Training Center for Sustainability
The participants of the GEN summit followed with growing indignation the political process around Greece: the European Commission forced new austerity measures on a country whose people are already suffering badly under the economic crisis. (http://gen.ecovillage.org/en/node/5745) A working group was formed and together with the founders of Skala Ecovillage, they planned a first crisis intervention. During a network meeting from August 22 - 30, a group of ecovillage experts from Tamera and ZEGG … Read more
Ecovillages North America: The ABC of a Community’s Garden Orchestra
In the modern world, many people generate music by flicking a switch, pressing a button, turning a dial, or tapping a keypad or touchscreen. And many of us obtain food by swiping a card or lightening a wallet. Others, however, create music by picking up instruments or using their own voices. And some people grow at least a portion of their own food too, participating intimately with its creation in a garden or on a farm. Chris Roth, former gardener and now editor of Communities Magazine, names … Read more
Sociocracy in Colombia: How Sociocracy Rescued Aldeafeliz Ecovillage
The name Aldeafeliz means “happy village.” But the Colombian Ecovillage Aldeafeliz, founded in 2006, had not been very happy for quite some time. Since 2014, they are using Sociocracy as a tool to make decisions and governance. At the end of a recent meeting one of the members said, “If we continue like this, not only will we be happy but also millionaires!” By co-founder Anamaria Aristizabal. (The article originally appeared in the Spring, 2015 issue of Communities magazine.) Colombia is a … Read more
