The SCOPE programme in Zimbabwe is undergoing a process of launching the revamped, integrated land use design (ILUD) tool, after undergoing a re-strategising process that saw the organization shifting from just the ecological learning aspects to incorporate a phase which can be called 'grounding'. It involves the community elders imparting the historical, traditional knowledge to the young people. This phase is designed to build on the experiences and lessons learnt from implementing the ILUD/ … Read more
traditional communities
Network Meeting in Europe Network Meeting for Communities from Germany, Switzerland and Austria
Communities are models of sustainable living in both cities and rural areas. The Global Ecovillage Network offers a network meeting as a platform to get to know each other, to exchange knowledge and to connect. The next meeting will take place from the 8th -10th of November, 2013, in the ecovillage Schloss Tempelhof. All over the planet, more and more ecovillages and communities are emerging. In times of climate change, economical crisis, and isolation in cities and in rural areas they are … Read more
From Economy to Community Archipelago SCEC
In 2005, a group of people from all over Italy started to meet on the Internet with the intention of discussing the outcomes of some previous local currency experiences. They predicted the impending financial crisis and wanted to create a system that helped to make the regions and communities economically sustainable. This led, two years later, to the birth of the SCEC - Italian acronym for “solidarity that walks”. Ethel Chiodelli reports. SCEC is not exactly a local currency, but rather a … Read more
New Oasis for Life An Ecovillage in China
While the regime in China controls the lives and ways of thinking of its inhabitants, there are still people who feel the call to take action, walk their dream and be the change; creating a sustainable lifestyle which they believe will not only benefit themselves but also Nature. 'The Second Home of Lifechanyuan' is the first ecovillage in China. Our author, Conglong, sees in it the beautiful and promising future of humanity. In the last decades, China has been through unprecedented economic … Read more
Thailand towards sustainable living Ecovillage Festival Chiang Mai as a Venue for New Co-operative Initiatives towards Sustainable Living in South East Asia
In Thailand, another exciting cooperative initiative between government - or stakeholders - of the South with the Global Ecovillage Network has commenced. GEN representatives join hands with ETA (Ecovillage Transition Asia), to support ecovillage strategies for sustainable development in South East Asia. Jane Rasbash and Kosha Joubert report. Bicycle water pumps, meals served in banana leaves, and beautiful hand woven cloth were just some of the attractions at a recent Ecovillage Festival at … Read more
GEN Conference, 7-12 July, 2013: Celebrating a Worldwide Movement
Three hundred participants from fifty-one countries came together for five days at Schweibenalp Centre of Unity, Switzerland, to celebrate and share, present projects and ideas, and explore new strategies of collaboration. It was a remarkable meeting of minds and hearts that revealed, in many ways, the new level that the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) has reached in its eighteenth year of existence. Never have the international connections, mutual support, and love between the ecovillages of … Read more
Women for Women Ecovillage Design Education (EDE), Umphakatsi Peace Ecovillage, Mpumalanga, South Africa
The first 'by Women for Women' EDE took place at Umphakatsi Peace Ecovillage, situated in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The EDE training for sustainability course was the second such course to be held in South Africa. The course began on the 30th April - two days after its initial starting date due to the challenges of the remoteness of the - until the 25th May 2013. Lua Bashala-Kekana and Kosha Joubert report. This course had the aim of bringing together women in a region of our world … Read more
Empowering Cambodia Ecovillages for Conservation of Indigenous Traditions and Forests
The original Ecovillages, indigenous communities living in balance with the land and in harmony with their forests, are still alive in many corners of the world. Cambodia’s mountainous north-eastern region of Ratanakiri is one such place, in which local tribes still maintain sustainable land-based livelihoods. Indigenous communities throughout the world are struggling to maintain their traditions amidst the intensifying impacts of globalization. In Ratanakiri, the organization "Ockenden … Read more
Journey to Senegal Our Common Future An African experience of traditional village transition to ecovillage
Senegal is the first country to utilize ecovillage strategies for sustainable development with a Government Agency for Ecovillages, dedicated to transitioning 14.000 traditional villages to ecovillages! The government was inspired by the work done within the grassroots network of GEN-Senegal, a network of 45 ecovillages. In February, 2013, Jane Rasbash of the Gaia Education Board, Kosha Joubert, President of GEN-International and Advisory Board GEN-Africa, and Ousmane Pame, President of … Read more
Community Convergence The Fast Growing Ecovillage Movement in Romania
The last two years have shown a real trend of growth in new initiatives in Romania, and all over Central and Eastern Europe. There is an accelerating pace in the starting of new projects, and in the connections being made to the existing global and European networks. In June,2013, the new community Aurora, in Romania, will be the venue for Community Convergence. By Andrei Iuroaia Many new communities are being founded in Romania, and a growing number of people are intending to make the … Read more
