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, GEN … Read more
intentional communities
Editorial Newsletter March 2015: Celebrating 20 Years of the Global Ecovillage Network
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, GEN … Read more
Editorial GEN International Newsletter January 2015
Ecovillage Transition Strategies for Whole Systems Change - Can Countries and Regions Shift to Sustainability through Community-based Approaches? Dear GEN-Network, dear friends of ecovillages in the world, The Global Ecovillage Network was founded in Findhorn, Scotland in 1995. Gaia Education grew out of GEN and was founded in 2005. This year, GEN and Gaia Education will celebrate our 10th and 20th anniversaries together. From 6-11 July 2015, we will return to Findhorn for a … Read more
Big Changes in Communities magazine! Now All-Color + 100% Recycled Paper! - Plus Spring Issue "Community for Baby Boomers"
Big Changes in Communities! We’re excited to announce two major changes in Communities magazine, starting with our Spring 2015 issue. Fulfilling a long-held dream of better aligning our production process with our ecological values, Communities is now printed on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper. Not a single tree fell to produce our new issue of Communities. We are thrilled to be using this beautiful matte-finish recycled paper from our new printer, Ovid Bell Press, and to be … Read more
Ecovillage Transition Scaling Up Community Led Change Processes
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
100 Million Nanonations the emerging cultural evolution
A superstition is an easy-to-understand concept that has no basis in reality. Believing a superstition blocks the perception of more useful possibilities. But superstitions are not called superstitions until they are recognized as superstitions. Before then they are regarded as the truth. A superstition that participants in modern culture have not yet identified as a superstition is “the nation-state.” This superstition became popular in the 1800s as a win-lose game (“If you get the resources … 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
Ecovillage Excellency Award, 2014 Aurora Community, Romania
Aurora Community is an intentional, eco-spiritual community and a learning center actively working to be an example on new models of living, sharing the best practices for sustainability, supporting a lifestyle with low impact on the ecosystems of the planet, and spreading a more simple way of living, with grace, beauty and meaning. By Filipa Simoes. … Read more
Giving Birth in the “Tribe” Germany: Giving Birth in the "Tribe of the Likatians"
The Tribe of the Likatians ("Der Stamm der Likatier"), is a intentional community of some hundred people in the city of Füssen in Southern Germany. Due to their philosophy, the love between mother and child is a role model for all relations amongst people, and in the community. This is why birth- giving, and the raising of children, is regarded as the most significant event in tribal life. For Stanislav Grof - with his research on perinatal psychotherapy - and the Tribe of the Likatians, … Read more
