In this article, Arturs Polis is interviewing Nadine Koch, in order to explore the importance of a physically active lifestyle in the ecovillage context, drawing from the experience of Sieben Linden and her experience with community living. Nadine (30) is a fitness trainer, certified nutritionist and a role-model of active lifestyle in Sieben Linden. Nadine moved (with a back-pack and bicycle!) to the ecovillage in 2010, after finishing interior-design and ecological architecture studies in … Read more
traditional communities
Inaugural GEN Israel Conference The Network of Eco-Villages and Eclogical Projects in Israel Gives Birth to GEN-Israel
The first public event of GEN-Israel, an all-day conference, was held on November 23 at Kibbutz Gezer. Participants included Kosha Joubert, president of GEN-International, Aida Shibli, coordinator of GEN-Palestine, and around 200 people from different ecological projects, communities and communities-networks. It was a new step which not only strengthens the existing network, but also stretches it further to local traditional Bedouin communities, some communes and networks coming from a socialist … Read more
“Blueprint” Meeting in Tamera – For Sustainable Aid in Areas of Crisis
In September, a group of specialists, entrepreneurs and representatives of aid organizations came together in Tamera to discuss the possibility of creating a “Blueprint” for coordinated aid measures in crisis and disaster areas. They were invited by Ruth Andrade who called on the friends and cooperation partners of her late husband, Paulo Mellett, to form a team that would continue his work. Leila Dregger reports. … 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
Japan’s AS-ONE Community: The Story of a 14-Year Community Creation Process
In 2001, some volunteers gathered in Suzuka, Japan, aiming to realize a happy society free from fighting and opposition, in harmony with nature. A borderless community named “AS-ONE COMMUNITY” has been created in an ordinary neighborhood of Suzuka, a typical middle-size city and also well known as a city of the Honda company. Hiroko Katayama, GEN ambassador reports. The name ‘AS-ONE’ was taken from a line of John Lennon’s masterpiece Imagine, ‘and the world will be as one'. Nowadays, 38 core … Read more
Local Spotlight But Don’t We Need Economic Growth to Lift the Poor Out of Poverty?
As a group challenging the growth paradigm, one of the most common questions that we hear is, ‘But don’t we need economic growth to lift the poor out of poverty?’. While growth has been successful to this end in certain ways, there are also some unwelcome consequences of growth. We prefer to ask other questions, like ‘Do we need to target economic growth to help those in need?’ and even better, ‘How are people currently breaking the poverty cycle in sustainable and inspiring ways?’. … 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
Sieben Linden: Sport is Fun! Fitness and Games for a Healthy and Happy Lifestyle in Ecovillages.
Sieben Linden ecovillage (Germany), can be proud of the number of inhabitants practicing a healthy and active lifestyle, starting with yoga and finishing with barefoot jogging, and hard-core fitness. Yet, there is a great space for improvement in terms of community infrastructure and awareness levels. In this article, Arturs Polis and Nadine Koch are interviewing Nadine Koch, in order to explore the importance of a physically active lifestyle in the ecovillage context, drawing from the … Read more
Pro and Contra Home Birth Kenya: 57 Year Old Woman Quits 35 Year Long Service as TBA (Traditional Birth Attendant) for Skilled Delivery Advocacy.
This newsletter is full of praise for natural birth, outside of hospitals, in the protecting atmosphere of family or community, accompanied by a midwife or doula. However, in Africa, facing HIV and other risks, governments, and NGOs are trying to stop home deliveries by encouraging the Traditional Birth Attendants to quit their work. Victor Odula, program officer of the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB), describes the work of Mama Penina, an experienced TBA, and how she was convinced to stop … 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
