In the five hundred and twenty three years since Columbus’ world changing voyage, the biodiversity of our planet has steadily been slipping away from us. It is becoming widely acknowledged and understood that the so-called 'green revolution', that has dominated global agriculture policy and practice, is steadily stripping away the diversity in the human and natural realms. GENOA Ambassadors, Trudy Juriansz and Sion Zivetz, report on the restoration of nature in the wake of … Read more
traditional communities
Turkey: Roads To Sustainability – Ecovillage Güneşköy Threatened by a Highway Project
Ecovillages are roads to sustainability, yet it appears that the Turkish government prefers highways to destruction. Ecovillage Güneşköy, close to Ankara, and the surrounding forests are in danger. Inci Gökmen and Ali Gökmen, co-founders of Güneşköy, report. Güneşköy - Sun Village Ecovillage Initiative was started as a cooperative by ten people living in Ankara, the capitol of Turkey. Ten years ago, 7.5 hectars of land, located next to a traditional village was bought. No agricultural activity … Read more
Uniting in Times of Crisis China: Ecovillage Under Threat
In this very moment, the Chinese Ecovillage 'The Second Home of Lifechanyuan', is being attacked and threatened by local authorities and vandals. They ask international friends and GEN for support and solidarity. GEN has set up a petition to the Chinese president to protect the ecovillage and contacted all the GENOA countries to support the case. We also called lawyers for help. Second Home is fighting for their right to exist. Last month Second Home united with Konohana Family (Japan) to become … Read more
Healing of Colonization in Australia Self-Build as a Healing of Colonization in Australia
The Original Sovereign peoples of Australia are traditionally highly-skilled designers and builders of both permanent and temporary living and working structures and spaces. Remains of homes, middens, sacred ritual spaces, and technologies such as fish traps, have been scientifically dated to at least sixty thousand years ago, revealing a highly developed continuous society and culture. As a role model for sustainable living, traditional Original society demonstrates a highly complex and … Read more
Disaster Support in the Philippines Permaculture Aid Yolanda for Disaster Support in the Philippines
How many times have we seen images of refugee camps worldwide with people being forced by wars, or other disasters, to live together under harsh and unbearable circumstances? Sometimes this situation can last over years, and even decades. An increasing number of people in the GEN movement feel that ecovillage processes and practices can contribute a great deal in these situations. A prime example being in communities that are forced to come together out of traumatic or disaster situations often … Read more
2nd Festival of Eco-practices in Russia
The 2nd Festival of Eco-practices took place on August 9 -12 on the Festival Field of the Union of Kin-domains Blagodat , Yaroslavl oblast, Russia. This festival was initiated by Russian Ecovillages and Eco-initiative Network (www.gen-russia.ru), where also the first festival had taken place in the last year. The event is conceived by the organizers as a platform for exchange of practical experience in the field of environmentally friendly technologies and practices relating to all aspects of … Read more
Fall and Rise in Scotland The Fall and Rise of the Scottish Community
Ecovillages and community based organisations have a different history, but they can lead to a similar effect - the economical and ecological revitalization of regions. The example of Scotland shows how this can happen and why also the government has joined in to support this process. After a decline in the 20th century, communities in Scotland are thriving again. At the ICSA conference in Findhorn, Alex Walter described the rise of Scottish communities, and some of the opportunities that … Read more
Seeds of Hope Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka has been through over 400 years of colonization. Primary forests were cut down to make way for plantations. 30 years of war have left the people yearning for a peaceful, just society. In Colombo - a tropical city full of concrete, traffic, and people - a small ray of hope is beginning to shine from out of the smog. GENOA member, Trudy Juriansz, reports about the Good Market, and another initiative that, although still small has the effect of creating hope for Nature and the people of … Read more
GEN Elders A New and Necessary Aspect of GEN
In most Eco-Villages, the number of people aged 60+ is growing, and will continue to grow during the coming years. It is important for us all to embrace this part of life and give it its due value and appreciation. Elders in our western society are no longer valued the way they are in traditional cultures around the world. When this happens, the fulfillment and depth of the autumn and winter of a lifetime, the sharing of wisdom, experience, skills, and the slower, peaceful way of living of the … Read more
NextGEN Gets Award for Excellence NextGEN Receives Award for Ecovillage Excellence at the GEN Europe Conference, 7-12 July 2013
For the first time, the Ecovillage Excellency Award was voted for publicly by all participants of the 2013 GEN Europe conference at the Schweibenalp Centre of Unity in Switzerland. With a large majority, the winner was NextGEN. Parallel to the GEN conference, international representatives of NextGEN were present and participated in the birth of the international co-ordination team. One of them was Linda Kabaira from Zimbabwe, NextGEN Africa. Over 40 young people met to share and find ways to … Read more
