Ma'ikwe Schaub Ludwig is the Executive Director of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, the pioneering sustainability educator who heads up Ecovillage Education US, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Fellowship for Intentional Community. She believes strongly that sustainability is possible, assuming we can learn to cooperate, share and assess what really makes us happy, rather than staying bought in to the material excess culture we've been raised in. In addition to more common sustainability … Read more
intentional communities
Why Dancing Rabbit Changed its Gover (Part two of Ecovillage changing Governance)
In the summer of 2013 Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Missouri made their own dramatic change in governance — shifting from whole-community business meetings to a representational system with seven elected members. Dancing Rabbit began thinking about change in 2009, when they realized how their growth in membership had altered their social structure. In earlier years everyone ate together in the same place at the same time, giving them frequent daily opportunities to connect and talk informally … Read more
Ecovillage in the Philippines: Fasting for the Climate
One of the biggest contributors to the global use of fossil fuels is food production. Each calorie of processed food requires an average of 10 calories of fossil fuels to produce, process, package, and transport goods from the farms and factories, all the way to the shops and dining tables of the world. Bahay Kalipay and Maia Earth Village in Palawan, Philippines invite intentional communities and ecovillages, to join the Global ‘FastfortheClimate’ movement. Sarah Queblatin and Pi … Read more
Baja Biosana: Enverdeciendo el Desierto
http://comuntierra.org - Video parte de la documentación del Proyecto Común Tierra mapeando Ecoaldeas y Proyectos Ecológicos en Latino América. Situada en Baja California Sur, en el pueblo de El Choro, Baja Biosana es una comunidad intencional que tiene como visión ser una alternativa para ejemplificar modos de vida sostenibles. Este video enseña estrategias que están usando para "Enverdecer el Desierto." Located in the small village El Choro in the state of Baja Califórnia Sur, Baja … Read more
São Paulo, Brazil Community Gardens in the Largest Metropolis of the Southern Hemisphere
Public parks, abandoned lots, pavements and even churches: in São Paulo every piece of land has the potential of turning into a community garden. After all, where food is planted citizenship grows! Henny Freitas reports. Imagine an avenue where over 1.5 million people transit every day, and where more than 4,200 cars and 200 buses go by per hour at peak times. What you have just imagined is the main financial road of São Paulo: Avenida Paulista. Now imagine a community garden in the midst of … 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
USA From Occupy Village to Opportunity Village Eugene - Pioneering New Solutions for the (Formerly) Homeless
When the city of Eugene broke up the Occupy camp in December of 2011, they promised to give the homeless another piece of land. Dan Bryant, a minister who wears a leather jacket and drives a motorcycle; Jean Stacey, a fiery lesbian advocate for the homeless; and Andy Heben, a young urban designer who wrote his thesis on homeless camps that he visited around the country, went around touting the idea of Opportunity Village. Alex Daniell found out that "If you give a homeless person a home then … Read more
Australia: Robin Clayfield Heart and Wisewoman of Crystal Waters
Crystal Waters Permaculture Village in Queensland, Australia, was established in 1988, following Permaculture principles and practices. Robin Clayfield has been a member from the beginning, emphasizing the meaning of social permaculture. She believes in community and lives it. Shane Schmidt, GEN Member, Australia, met and talked to her. When I sought to spend time in Crystal Waters Ecovillage, I was initially met with some resistance until I was directed to Robin Clayfield: “Of course come … Read more
How are you Empowering the Women? How are you Empowering the Women in your Community?
Together with sociologist and feminist Nina Kovoets, we sent out a little questionnaire to the general GEN Europe list to get some data about the situation of women in the ecovillages - at least in Europe. We received 18 replies - which is probably not very representative but gives a taste of what people in the movements feel about women's empowerment and gender roles. Thank you to all who took the time to reply. The majority of the communities and projects that answered have slightly more … Read more
Australia: Robin Clayfield – Heart and Wisewoman of Crystal Waters
Crystal Waters Permaculture Village in Queensland, Australia, was established in 1988, following Permaculture principles and practices. Robin Clayfield has been a member from the beginning, emphasizing the meaning of social permaculture. She believes in community and lives it. Shane Schmidt, GEN Member, Australia, met and talked to her. When I sought to spend time in Crystal Waters Ecovillage, I was initially met with some resistance until I was directed to Robin Clayfield: “Of course come and … Read more
