Projects Leader
GEN Staff
Starting as a volunteer with GEN in 2016, Abbie has collaborated in many of GEN's focus areas including Communications, Education, and Outreach. She now holds the role of Projects Lead and is a member of the Core Circle. She has initiated and lead several school-focused projects as well as supported the Resilience project. Every year, she finds joy in coordinating the Hildur Jackson Award.
Originally from a tiny island (Bermuda) and currently based in the Netherlands, Abbie considers herself a world citizen as she has lived in many places, including 30 ecovillages and intentional communities. After completing her Masters in Sustainable Development and working with community-focused network NGOs, she pursued her passion for education, returning home to launch and run the international environmental education programme, Eco-Schools.
This sparked a further desire to learn hands-on skills which lead her to complete a Permaculture Design Certificate and then onward to adventures in ecovillages. She participated in workshops and conferences and contributed to natural building, gardening, and community engagement projects, some of which she remains involved.
Primary interests: Social (Lifelong Education, Diversity & Cohesion, Trust & Communication, Health & Healing); Culture (Nature Connection); Integral Design (Contextualised Design); Ecology (Seeds, Food & Soil, Green Building, Water Cycles); Economy (Sharing & Collaboration, Planetary Boundaries)
Events & Trainings held by Abbie Caldas
Power of Community Summit – Informal get-together and discussion
- Date: 9 February 2019
- Language:
- English
- Location: The Hague - Please contact the host for exact location, Netherlands
For any participants of the summit interested in sharing the experience with others in the area. This will be a very informal gathering to discuss the topics from the summit in a locally relevant context and brainstorm any potential applications. … Read more
Site content by Abbie Caldas
Blog posts
Reforestation and River Cleaning in Magical Natural Luxury Travel that leaves a positive footprint
The Core Regenerative ActivityLantan village was primarily known for quarrying and limestone mining activities. However, theseactivities ceased after Lantan was officially designated as an ecovillage in 2019. Although themining activities have stopped, some environmental impacts persist, making reforestation efforts crucial, especially since 63% of Lantan’s land is forested.Another key regenerative activity in Lantan is the river clean-up. While the amount of waste in Lantan’s rivers and … Read more
Ancestral Retreat for Good Living in the Mountains Travel that leaves a positive footprint
The Core Regenerative ActivityExperience a week dedicated to well-being, good living, and the integration of ancestral wisdom. Immerse in mingas (collective work), energy cleansings, dances of peace, physical practices to release emotions, medicine/ecstatic dance, hiking and three ancestral medicine ceremonies: Chicha, Sweat Lodge (Inipi), and Cacao.Our Goals are:The Location: Ecoaldea Aldeafeliz, San Francisco, Cudinamrca, ColombiaAldeafeliz is located in the municipality of San Francisco, a … Read more
Mangrove Reforestation and AfroCaribbean Community Life in Colombia’s Rosario Islands Travel that leaves a positive footprint
The Core Regenerative ActivityOn the island of Orika, also known as Isla Grande, in the western Caribbean of Colombia, Carlos Machado has been consistently driving a mangrove ecosystem restoration project, motivated by his love for nature and the archipelago of the Rosario Islands.This project aims to support the island's coastal ecosystems in mitigating the effects of climate change, as mangroves capture atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and store it in the organic matter of their roots, turning … Read more
Become a Keystone Community
Call for ecovillages to join our global community of practiceAre you living in a community, concerned about the interlinked crises of our times, and interested in exploring what could make you, your community and your region more resilient?Download the Project Recruitment brochure pdf here.Since 2022, GEN has built a community of practice of researchers, facilitators and members of 20 ecovillages and all GEN regions to explore resilience to climate crisis while cocreating the outcomes of the … Read more
Community Resilience to Climate Change Companion Cards
This resource is for facilitators, educators, and local communities to learn about and map their resilience in local workshops and activities.It weaves in with the Tracker Tool which creates an online visual display. Below you can browse the attributes (center images), indicators (short highlighted text), principles (bold text), and recommended good practice (smaller text) by clicking the arrows.It is also available in Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Dutch, and Vietnamese, with more … Read more
Youth in Action Project Concludes with Renewed Inspiration for a Next Chapter Thinking globally, acting locally, learning continously
As we tie the final ribbon of this chapter of the Youth in Action project, we celebrate threefold: strengthened relationships, ecological impact, and shared learning. The 5-partner Community of Practice formed a support network across the globe, while also engaging genuine participation of the communities on the ground. We measured the ecological impact from the physical implementations, through reduced waste, increased biodiversity, weaving of natural materials, safer shelter, and improved … Read more
Youth in Action Project Public Showcase Regenerative Education Projects Highlight their Journeys and Impacts
The Sprouts for the Future project is coming to a close. To conclude the cycle, the 5 education projects in the Community of Practice welcomed the public into the celebration. We were joined by fellow educators, ecovillagers, parents, as well as people just scoping out the potential of regenerative education.The core team shared the story of what the project entailed and set the frame for each of the education projects to offer their insights from the experience and the impact generated. … Read more
Youth in Action – Project Diaries Explore the journey details of each of the 5 project partners
Get to know more in depth how each project was decided upon, planned, and implemented. Project Journal- Self Directed Learning Center Project Journal- Uba Qynza Project Journal- Springhouse Community School Project Journal - Suai Long … Read more
Regenerative Educators Cross Pollinate Updates from the Community of Practice
This month’s Sprouts project opened the space to the wider Community of Practice and held a Regenerative Educators Cross Pollination session, a kind of reunion with our previous collaborators, with a vision to create more future collaborations.The updates from across the globe were incredibly inspiring. We learned from our partners that:In Colombia, the Minga work for food sovereignty continues. (A Minga is system of reciprocity where people come together to work towards a beneficial goal.) The … Read more
Youth in Action: Navigating Challenges
With last month’s launch of the local projects, this month the Community of Practice held space for navigating any challenges that arose. It was important for the education practitioners to first celebrate the momentum generated from all the planning and weaving in of the school communities. And then, we took a step back to face head on anything that was or could be blocking the biggest impact we dreamed of. This is where the beauty of Community of Practice is revealed: no matter what one of the … Read more
