Education and Communications Assistant
GEN Staff
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 a range of ecovillages and intentional communities. After completing her Masters in Sustainable Development and working with 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 volunteered on natural building, gardening, and community engagement projects, some of which she remains involved.
Starting as a volunteer with GEN, Abbie now contributes to both the communications team, harvesting stories from the network and supporting ecovillage collaboration projects, as well as the education team, where she primarily supports the Greening Schools project and the development of the online learning platform.
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
Meet GEN’s new Team Members Thanks to the European Solidarity Corps
For several years, the GEN head office in Findhorn has had the privilege of welcoming a youth perspective from participants from across Europe thanks to the European Solidarity Corps (ESC, previously called European Voluntary Service). Funded by the European Union, it facilitates opportunities for 18 to 30 year olds to contribute to community initiatives while gaining work experience and personal growth. This year, GEN will have the pleasure of working with Karoline, Ann-Chris, and … Read more
GEN Research featured in the book ‘Climate Adaptation: Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change’ The Potential of Ecovillages for Transition in Rural Areas
As part of the GEN Research group, Dr. Rebeca Roysen and Dr. Anne-Kathrin Schwab published an article about the transformative potential of Ecovillages for rural areas in the Climate Adaptation focused book which will be launched at COP26. The book looks at case studies for adaptation around the world and strikes a balance between hope and realism. It doesn't conceal or downplay the truth of the climate crisis, yet it enables hope and power. It also provides a sense of inspiration to make … Read more
Connecting communities and academia for a regenerative world: The EVIST Research Project
Rebeca Roysen is a member of Instituto Biorregional do Cerrado, an ecovillage in Brazil, and also an active member of the GEN Research Group and of the CASA Brasil Research Circle. This year, she was appointed Coordinator of a four-year research project called “Ecovillages as Incubators for Sustainability Transitions” (EVIST), supervised by Prof. Dr. Jens Köhrsen at the University of Basel, Switzerland. The aim of the EVIST Project is to better understand the role ecovillages play in … Read more
Our Annual Report 2020 is here! How the Global Ecovillage Network is catalysing communities for a regenerative world
“This gathering of human and non-human beings has never happened before and will never happen again.” - Charles Eisenstein, GEN Online Summit. As GEN celebrated our 25th year in 2020, and all the contributions that lead us here, no one could imagine the uncertainty the world would face. While gathering the stories and data to showcase our accomplishments for the year, we felt an enhanced sense of gratitude for the abundance within our members and collaborators. As a network and … Read more
A Year After Winning the Hildur Jackson Award Highlights from T.I. Ecovillage in India
In 2020, the Hildur Jackson Award jury welcomed a record number of 70 applications from across the globe. Celebrating their diversity and commitment to the network, we honoured the top 10 projects, communities, and ecovillages, giving special mention to the top 2, and selected one official 'winner' of the Award. We caught up with the winner, one year later to find out how their community has continued to shine, how it may have evolved, and how they've beneffited from being featured. First, a … Read more
GAIA Netherlands will facilitate a blended (online and in person) EDE, Ecovillage Design Education course Bringing together expertise and experiences from successful projects from across the region to help get new projects off the ground.
Living differently, more sustainably, and with more meaning: that is something that more people want. How to achieve this is usually an inner quest, often full of questions, alone or with others. The Ecovillage Design Education course helps to map out these questions and to find appropriate sustainable solutions, facilitated by those who've been on the journey for some time and are passionate about sharing their learnings. With this, you take the first steps to contribute to sustainable, lasting … Read more
GEN Recognised by the One World Award Transcending the model of a global network communities
GEN is thrilled to be recognised by the One World Award, which honors global people, projects, initiatives, and ideas that make the world more equitable through ecological, social, and economic improvements. Receiving the award on GEN's behalf, Kosha Joubert shared wishes for "GEN and each and every community initiating healing relationships in the very depth of everyday love and responsibility, to flourish and shape our future on this planet." She was joined by Sonita Mbah who echoed … Read more
Rio Muchacho, Ecuadorian Organic Farm, Ecolodge, and emerging Ecovillage is recruiting new members Spaces available to immerse yourself in a rewarding and adventurous project filled with possibilities to make a difference
Located 30 min from Canoa beach, Rio Muchacho was the first ecotourism project conceived and developed as a sustainability education model in Manabí and Ecuador. It was endorsed by National Geographic for this unique concept and chosen as one of it’ s 8 favorite places to stay in Ecuador. This social enterprise is now evolving and transforming into an ecovillage! There are 8 membership spaces in total, and 4 are still available. Nicola Mears and Darío Proaño, have blended tourism, … Read more
Tu B’Shvat Celebration on Kibbutz Gezer: The Jewish Holiday of the Trees
The 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat, or Tu B’ishvat, is the day that marks the beginning of a “new year” for trees. This is the time when the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel, perhaps most famously the beautiful almond tree, emerge from their winter sleep. Tree planting has always been a Jewish tradition. The bible states that "And you shall come to the Land, and you shall plant all kinds of edible trees..." (Leviticus, 19:23). Almost all the forests in modern Israel … Read more
Ecovillages and New Normalities – Insights from Dr. Rebeca Roysen BNN: Building the New Normal series - powered by Friends of GEN
Building the New Normal is really a matter of day-to-day actions of people living together differently. This emerges naturally wherever there is the persistent will (or coercion) to do so. It sounds simple and it is, but it is at the same time a complex undertaking. Dr. Rebeca Roysen has studied these transitional dynamics for years and has written an insightful academic article1 on ecovillages building new normalities, which she is happy to render here in a less scholarly fashion. She … Read more
