The Farm in Tennessee, USA, is one of the oldest and most famous ecovillages worldwide. Even before there was a place called The Farm, the seeds of community began to grow when the first babies were brought into the world by the women - later to become known as The Farm Midwives. The babies who were born on the road during the long journey from California to Tennessee, brought forth a wave of energy, which established a bond, not only to their immediate family, but to the group as a whole. The … Read more
traditional communities
Micro Biogas Systems for Ecovillages The Community Biogas Wave - an Offer to European Ecovillages by Thomas Culhane
In 2012, Thomas Culhane – who prefers to be called TH – was invited to Tamera to teach the building of small scale biogas digesters to participants of the Global Campus. Since then, the digester in Tamera has been used throughout the years, to provide energy every day for cooking for a large part of the community. The enthusiasm for biogas has spread to other places such as: Favela da Paz (Sao Paulo), the Peace Community San José de Apartadó in Colombia, and OTEPIC (Kenya). During … Read more
GEN Events in Fall 2014 Announcements and Events:
Oct 31 - Nov 7: Global Ecovillage Network Oceania & Asia (GENOA) International Conference "Ecovillages for Sustainable Development" - A Model for Climate Change Adaptation. We will be hosting our first international conference in India this year “Ecovillages for Sustainable Development - A Model for Climate Change Adaptation", from October 31st ~ November 7th, 2014, in Orissa, India. The GENOA International Conference 2014 aims at supporting community-based climate change action, as well as … Read more
What is an Ecovillage? – by EarthDeeds Models of Living Well Together in a Post-Oil World
Ecovillages, by definition, are communities striving towards high quality lifestyles that have low ecological impacts. As such, they are modeling how we can live well and lightly together in a post-oil future. But even with their focus on renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and voluntary simplicity, ecovillages will never be able to reduce their impact to zero. In addition to reducing their ecological and carbon footprints, ecovillages also need to consider how to account for … Read more
Abundance in Namibia Permaculture is Our Culture
Northern Namibia produces food abundantly for their families, communities close by, and also the Namibian community at large; their food can be found in the local markets of most major towns, as well as the capital city. On a trip to her homestead, Clio Pauly found, tasted and enjoyed a traditional Permaculture and Gift Economy society. I was recently humbled by a beautiful visit to our homestead in IIkokola, a traditional village in northern Namibia. In the last stretch of our 700km journey, … Read more
The Gambia: Sustainable Kartong Ecovillage Development and Responsible Tourism
Kartong in The Gambia is a special place, with a wealth of, hitherto, unrecognised assets including unspoilt, deserted beaches, and great tourism potential. From 21st Feburary to 20th March 2014, a very special Ecovillage Design Education – EDE – took place here. It was the culmination of a long held dream that originated in 2007, when the Secretary General of the Village Development Committee of Kartong attended an EDE in Findhorn Ecovillage. Vicky Stallwood reports. … Read more
Food Sovereignty of Konohana Family Japan: “Before cultivating a field, cultivate your spirit”
Japanese people believe that the land is a gift from the Ancestors. This is why they do not want to sell it. Therefore, local elders often ask the Konohana Family to manage their land. As a result, more than 95% of the land that Konohana Family uses is free, and sometimes the ecovillage gets paid to cultivate the land because the government will charge owners a higher tax if it is not used for cultivation. “The financial crisis happened, but it did not affect us at all since we produce … 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
Africa, Togo Women´s Projects against Rural Exodus - The Example of Tiyeda Abalah, Togo
"Africa will become independent when the intellectuals of the continent connect to their roots. When academics, instead of taking a white collar job, share and improve the lives of the people in their home villages." Following the completion of her studies in Literature at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, 30 years ago, Tiyeda Abalah, (56, from Togo), moved with her husband Séda into his home village Baga. During the last GEN Africa conference, CIDAP in Baga was elected Ecovillage of the … Read more
Colombia "With a Hope that Open Roads" Daira Quiñones´ Story of Hope and Perseverance
Daira Elsa Quiñones is a beautiful Afro-Columbian woman who has experienced great bereavement in her life. She is a great singer, a dreamer, and a wave of hope. Margarita O. Zethelius, from CASA, shares her story. In the 5th gathering of Call of the Mountain (the ecovillages gathering of Colombia), Daira came to tell us the story of a dream and a project, and surprised all with her great charisma. She is an ambassador of Afro-Colombian culture, of hope and strength. She brings to the CASA … Read more
