My name is Irene and I come from the island of Mallorca, in Spain. As expected from an islander, I love the sun, the sea and going for a sail.
Now living in Findhorn (Scotland) and learning everyday with GEN International, giving a hand with Communications and Education.
Last year I was living between the city of Barcelona -where I studied Degrowth-, and a rural low-tech ecocommunity in Alt Penedès, supporting an agroforestry project.
Site content by Irene Canalís
Blog posts
The European Solidarity Corps
When I first heard about the Global Ecovillage Network I had no clue the headquarters of GEN International were in Scotland. I did not know at all about the Findhorn Ecovillage spiritual community and GEN’s roots in it. In a way, these two are still a mystery to me. After a year of living and working in the midst of both, I certainly still discover new bits and pieces of their histories every week. The one thing that struck me before moving from Barcelona to Findhorn was the office’s ritual … Read more
Filka Sekulova: On happiness, mountains, Academia and transformation.
Filka Sekulova is an activist and a transdisciplinary scholar engaged with Degrowth and the study of meaningfulness, among many other things. In this interview, she reflects out loud on her personal story and early days, but also her last years in Academia. She touches deep topics such as coherence, meaningfulness, social change and connection to nature. The first and the last time I saw this inspiring woman was on a bike. She arrived on her bike the first time I had her as a … Read more
Inspiring Women Healing the Earth: Berta Garriga, a woman with ‘flying roots’ creating community
Berta Garriga Garriga is an herbalist, an environmental educator and a young mother focused on creating community around sustainability, not only in the rural area where she lives but also beyond. In this interview, Berta talks about environmental education through nature but also about its very important role in cities or more urban areas. She shares some of the learnings on a deep Degrowth experiment carried-out on a tipi with a group of volunteers and provides her own insights on … Read more
An interview with Taisa Mattos: How the Ecovillage Movement changed her path
Taisa Mattos is an Educator and Researcher of the Ecovillage Movement. She trains individuals and groups on sustainability, social innovation, and community life. My first contact with Taisa Mattos was online. As part of my ESC programme, I was starting my work with GEN International and I received an introduction to its Education area provided by her, who connected from Brazil. Research on ecovillage living seemed to be one of her biggest passions, something that caught my attention and … Read more
Rewilding and decolonising go together. A conversation with Pupak Hagighi.
Pupak Hagighi defines herself as an artist, activist, writer, and earth healer, among others. In this interview, Pupak talks about her personal journey and its connection with making soil, rewilding, decolonising and healing on different levels. I met Pupak on a Saturday morning. I had attended a Working Party which takes place the last weekend of every month at the edible woodland gardens, as part of the Hinterland Trust Conservation mission. It was the first time I went there since I … Read more
Inspiring Women Healing the Earth: Interview with Shilo Shiv Suleman
Shilo Suleman: “Reclaiming imagination as a prophecy of what we want” Shilo Shiv Suleman is an Indian visual artist & activist. Her work and practice encompasses art for social change, technology and magical realism through illustration and urban art. When I first knew I would have the chance to interview Shilo Suleman I was thrilled. The opportunity came through one of my flatmates, Ann-Chris, who tends to surprise me with her huge network of friends. When she knew I was dreaming … Read more
GEN at COP26: Collective solution to the climate change emergency A youth perspective from GEN Volunteer Irene Canalís, with support from Lukas Goertz
My first impression of COP26 is that the energy here in Glasgow is very intense. I’ve bounced between feeling small and then, suddenly, very empowered, embracing my opportunities to be an individual who is part of the collective solution to the climate change emergency. My name is Irene, I’m now volunteering for GEN International's Communications Team from the Findhorn Ecovillage office in Scotland, the place I’ve been calling home for the last two months. I grew up in Mallorca and last year … Read more
