A Concise History of the Global Ecovillage Movement
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Alternative Political Ecologies Through the Construction of Ecovillages and Ecovillagers in Colombia
Chapter Thirteen Creating Alternative Political Ecologies through the Construction of Ecovillages and Ecovillagers in Colombia Brian J. Burke and Beatriz Arjona Ecovillages as Alternative Political Ecologies Ecovillages are spaces and collectivities that are reinventing sustainability in its ecological, economic, communitarian, and worldview dimensions. They are experiences of life in community and in search of a more respect- ful relationship with the earth, others, the Other, and ourselves. Real and concrete paths for right livelihood and living well, now and in the future, they are pockets of hope. In this sense, ecovillages are laboratories for alter- native political ecologies and their cultural and subjective underpinnings. They are experiments in alternative systems of relationships with the nat- ural environment, human communities, productive processes, broader economic dynamics, and state structures. Global ecovillage movement supporters hope they will become lifestyle options “possible for every- body on the planet” (R. Jackson 2004: 2), and a broad range of actors have adapted the highly fl exible ecovillage model to their local conditions. In this chapter, we focus on two cases that highlight the wide range of ecovillage experiences in Colombia and, we hope, help advance the ef- fort to make ecovillages a more widely accessible and realizable political ecological possibility. Beatriz Arjona’s story exemplifi es the most common ecovillage dynamic in Colombia—that of a disaffected middle- or up- per-class urbanite seeking a more fulfi lling life through new connections with nature and community. We especially examine the challenges she has faced in becoming an ecovillager, inspired by J. K. Gibson-Graham’s assertion that “we must be ready with strategies for confronting what 236 | Brian J. -
GEN Ecovillage Transition Strategy 2015-2020 Index
GEN Ecovillage Transition Strategy 2015-2020 Index CONTENT Gen’s vision and core principles 2 GEN’s achievements and success stories 3 The international context and GEN’s response 4 GEN – thinking and acting Locally and Globally 6 Conclusions 9 APPENDIX What is an ecovillage? 11 Gen mission, objectives and targets 13 GEN’s Future Strategy 2015-2020 Gen’s vision and core principles GEN has evolved organically from small beginnings. The network itself was founded in 1995 in order to bring together the rich and diverse tapestry of Ecovillages and intentional communities that had grown 2 independently across the world. 3 Each community within this network is inspired by the profound belief that their own future, and the world‘s future are inextricably linked. The central belief and tenet is that respect for the natural environ- 4 ment, respect for each other, and respect for individual and cultural diversity, will bring solidarity and unity across the world. The dynamic integration of the four essential dimensions of sustainability – economic, 6 social, ecological and cultural – is the true characteristic of a community-led, participatory Ecovillage. 9 Such communities have developed over time an astonishing array of internal democratic governance sys- tems and low impact/high quality lifestyles. They have been proven to successfully empower, sustain and promote truly sustainable ways of living, both in rural and urban settings. The glue that binds all GEN’s communities together, from Colombia to Thailand, from Senegal to India, 11 from Nepal to Canada is the deeply felt sense of shared core Values and a shared Vision of the way all hu- 13 mans should live together on Earth. -
Table of Contents
Introduction In Creating a Life Together, Diana Leafe Christian estimates that 90 percent of attempts to start an intentional community do not survive past the initial stages. Similarly, many personal searches for intentional community fizzle out due to lack of adequate information, guidance, or exposure to fellow travelers’ stories. In both cases, ignorance of the wide array of options possible, and of the breadth of resources and support available through the Fellowship for Intentional Community and allied groups, undoubtedly contributes to the “failure” rate. This volume on “Starting a Community” and the next volume in this series, on “Finding a Community,” address the need for one-stop collections of stories to help founders and seekers. They are meant to complement the Communities Directory (available in print and online: ic.org/directory), COMMUNITIES magazine, a quarterly publication focused on Life in Cooperative Culture, and educational resources available through Community Bookstore (ic.org/bookstore). These books should broaden anyone’s outlook on what is possible and how to pursue their dreams of community. Within each section we hear from a range of voices spanning a great diversity of perspectives and experiences. In this volume, following more general “overview” articles, we dive into on-the-ground stories from founders, arranged roughly chronologically, followed by a separate roughly chronological flow about experiences of community that don’t fit the classic intentional community definition but are nonetheless powerful for their creators and participants. Most articles are drawn from the past decade of COMMUNITIES magazine, with several excerpted from the Communities Directory and a few from older issues of COMMUNITIES that were also excerpted in our Best of collections, Volumes I and II. -
Ecological Economics: Solutions for the Future - 2
Academic rigour This book arose from the ANZSEE (Australian New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics) conference ‘Ecological Economics: Solutions Now and in the Future’ held at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia in November 2019 (https://anzsee.org.au/2019-anzsee-conference/). In the planning for this conference we agreed that the book arising from this would be self-published so that the pdf could be given away free, and the paperback would be as cheap as possible so that students and the general public could purchase it easily. I took on the role of Editor pro bono to ensure we ended up with a book. However throughout this process we have remained committed to academic rigour. All chapters were reviewed twice by the Editor (sometimes more). Some chapters were also reviewed by other academics when the Editor thought this was needed. The Introduction was developed by the Editor and ecological economist A/Prof Philip Lawn, who originally had hoped to be co- Editor, but had to cancel due to personal reasons. Several chapters were reviewed by Dr Boyd Blackwell, President of ANZSEE. Hence, although this book was not published by a major publisher, it upholds academic rigour. The Editor, Dr Haydn Washington PANGEA Research Centre, BEES, UNSW Lead Editor of ‘A Future Beyond Growth’ (Washington and Twomey 2016); Editor ‘Positive Steps to a Steady State Economy’ (Washington 2017) Co-Director of CASSE NSW Co-Facilitator of the Ecological Economics Hub of the New Economy Network of Australia Ecological Economics: Solutions for the Future - 2 Copyright © Haydn Washington, 2020. All Rights Reserved. -
Regenerative Development to Reverse Climate Change London, 28-29 October 2016 Table of Contents
The Commonwealth and Cloudburst’s Workshop on Regenerative Development to Reverse Climate Change London, 28-29 October 2016 Table of Contents ABBREVIATIONS PARTICIPANTS AND FACILITATORS 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4 A MESSAGE FROM CLOUDBURST 7 INTRODUCTION 8 OBJECTIVES, DESIRED OUTCOMES AND DESIGN 10 WORKSHOP RESULTS 12 WORKSHOP FLOW 17 Friday 28 October (Day 1) 17 Saturday 29 October (Day 2) 28 The Commonwealth and Cloudburst’s Workshop on Regenerative Development to Reverse Climate Change | London, 28-29 October 2016 | 2 Participants and Facilitators Participants John Dennis Liu, Ecosystem Ambassador Janine Benyus, Co-founder of Biomimicry 3.8 and the Biomimicry Institute David McConville, Board Chair, Buckminster Fuller Institute Babatunde Abiodun, University of Cape Town, South Africa John McNelly, Producer, Cloudburst Foundation Louise Baker, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, UNCCD Sam Muirhead, Open Source Circular Economy Antonio Bartesaghi, President, Cloudburst Foundation Justin Mundy, The Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit Albert Bates, Global Village Institute for Appropriate Technology Marcello Palazzi, Progressio Foundation Gina Boone, Officer in Charge, Environment and Climate Change Mauro Paolini, Vice President Operations, Cloudburst Foundation Simon Buckle, Head of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Water, OECD Karuna Rana, Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network Christopher Cooke, UK Savory Network Hub Leader, representing The Savory Institute Bill Reed, Regenesis Group Isabelle Dellanoy, Founder and Author, Symbiotic Economy Bill Sharpe, Visiting Professor, University of the West of England and Member, Steven Dixon, Consultant, Cloudburst Foundation International Futures Forum May East, Gaia Education Rajan Singh, India Africa Communications John Elkington, Volans Michael Taylor, University of the West Indies, Jamaica Herbert Girardet, World Futures Council Shola Taylor, Secretary-General, CTO Dane Gobin, Iwokrama International Centre John Thackara, The Doors of Perception Thomas J. -
Living in Accordance with My Values: an Exploration of Japanese Intentional Communities
Travel Fellowship Application Living in Accordance with My Values: An Exploration of Japanese Intentional Communities Applicant: Boden Franklin 1 Project Details Introduction Looking back at my first few months in Singapore, I am struck by how incredibly difficult that time in my life was. I could not overcome a prevailing feeling of discontent, and I struggled to pin down what was making my experience so difficult. After winter break I returned for second semester with a much clearer picture of what made this place difficult for me. These last months, I have been unable to live a life that falls in line with my value system. Environmental sustainability, limited consumerism, free-expression, and community-oriented thinking are all integral aspects of my core set of beliefs. However, I was unable to actualize these values in my day-to-day life. I felt myself increasingly immersed in habits that emphasized individualism and excessive consumption. My Week 7 Project, Spaces of Globalization with Anju Paul, played an important role in revealing what was going on. During this project we explored the spaces in Singapore where globalization manifests. We saw how global trade and large-scale capitalism has a direct impact on the lives of individuals on the ground. Ideas of individualism, consumerism, and productivity are imposed on people immersed in these systems. This made me realize that I am being subjected to the values that large-scale capitalism conveys. It is this tension between the values of the system I am immersed within, and my own personal values, that I have been struggling to reconcile. -
Global Ecovillage Network
THE GEN CALL TO ACTION WHAT CAN YOU DO? BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE GOOD INTENTIONS THE WORLD AND CREATIVITY OF Find your way to a high quality, low impact GLOBAL CITIZENS AND lifestyle OUR WILLINGNESS TO BUILD COMMUNITY IN WIDENING MAKE A DIFFERENCE CIRCLES Bring your compassion and authenticity ARE ONE OF THE into a collaborative search for healing and MOST UNDERUTILIZED right action RESOURCES WE HAVE. INTEGRATE THE MARGINALIZED GEN HELPS Allow the richness of diversity to unfold To hear more from UNLEASH PROVIDE HOPE AND GUIDANCE TO ecovillages THIS POTENTIAL. FUTURE GENERATIONS around the world, Empower youth to contribute actively to sign up for the sustainable development GEN NEWSLETTER LIVE IN HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP TO To support GEN’s work THE NATURAL WORLD in the world, please donate and become a Develop and install regenerative energies, FRIEND OF GEN appropriate technologies and sustainable agriculture If you have special skills to offer please sign up as a GEN VOLUNTEER BUILD AN ECONOMY THAT SERVES LIFE AND ENRICHES THE WHOLE If you already have an ecovillage project, Have the courage to share and to extend become active in your regional network and generosity enroll in the GEN DATABASE TRUST IN THE CAPACITY OF EACH If you would like to help promote the ecovillage concept, become a GEN AMBASSADOR INDIVIDUAL TO CHANGE Empower yourself and others For more information, please visit www.ecovillage.org Global Ecovillage Network or write to us at [email protected] Connecting Communities The Global Ecovillage Network is a for a Sustainable World registered charity: SC043796 and has consultative status in UN-ECOSOC www.ecovillage.org AN ECOVILLAGE IS AN INTENTIONAL OR TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY THAT IS CONSCIOUSLY DESIGNED THROUGH LOCALLY OWNED, PARTICIPATORY PROCESSES TO REGENERATE THEIR SOCIAL AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS. -
Thesis Template
Reinventing the Wheel to Guide Ecovillages towards Sustainability Clarissa de Oliveira Arend, Johanne Gallagher and Peter Orell School of Engineering Blekinge Institute of Technology Karlskrona, Sweden 2013 Thesis submitted for completion of Master of Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden. Abstract: Ecovillages acting as experimental community models have the potential to help move society towards sustainability by developing alternative solutions for sustainable living. Their contribution is through the power of example, demonstrating successful alternative systems that can be replicated at higher scales through the broader community. However, ecovillages often struggle with long-term planning and lack a systematic approach to integrating structure, processes and actions into strategic planning. Research was conducted to examine how ecovillages could be supported in this deficiency to make them more successful as models of sustainability. An initial document review of tools and concepts currently used in the ecovillage movement uncovered a recently developed concept called the Wheel of Sustainability (WoS). The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) was applied to analyse this concept and to inform the development of a new prototype tool. The research was conducted in collaboration with experts in the ecovillage field and FSSD practitioners, through interviews and a final validation survey. The result of the research led to the co-creation of an enhanced communication and strategic planning tool, the Direction Indicator for Sustainable Communities (DISC), intended for use by ecovillage communities. Further research is recommended to field-test and further refine this tool. Keywords: communication, ecovillages, eco-village, strategic sustainable development, Direction Indicator for Sustainable Communities (DISC), tool, Wheel of Sustainability ii Statement of Contribution This thesis is the product of a joyful collaborative effort. -
Degrowth: Necessary, Urgent and Good for You Kallis, G
real-world economics review, issue no. 93 subscribe for free BOOK REVIEW: Degrowth: necessary, urgent and good for you Kallis, G. Paulson, S. D’Alisa G. and Demaria, F. (2020) The Case for Degrowth. Cambridge: Polity Press, 151pp. (ppk) ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3563-7. $12.95. 1 Jamie Morgan [Leeds Beckett University Business School, UK] Copyright: Jamie Morgan, 2020 You may post comments on this paper at https://rwer.wordpress.com/comments-on-rwer-issue-no-93/ Introduction Some introductory context is required for the general reader to make sense of Kallis et al.’s important new book, The Case for Degrowth (Kallis et al., 2020). It is now widely recognized that we have entered a period of climate and ecological “emergency” leading to the existential possibility of “ecocide” (e.g. Ripple et al,. 2020; Lenton et al., 2020; Hansen et al., 2017; Steffen et al., 2018, 2015). Complacency and delay have been endemic (see Lamb et al., 2020; Oreskes and Conway, 2010). But it is also recognized that fundamental change is required in order to avert disaster (Spash, 2020a; Newall and Taylor, 2020; Fullbrook and Morgan, 2019; Gills and Morgan, 2020a). What we mean by “change”, however, has remained in dispute. If we dispense with nuance for the moment, there are broadly three positions, each of which blends into the next based on relative emphasis and matters of degree, albeit with some greater disjuncture for the third position with which this essay is chiefly concerned. First, there is the historically dominant position that has informed the majority of state discourses, COP negotiation and UNEP “line of least resistance” policy discussion over the past 30 years. -
Together Resilient
T What if community is the answer? O “When people ask me where to move to escape climate change, I tell them G there’s no escape and that the thing to look for is a strong community. is E book explains how to build that kind of community anywhere—it’s a manual T for the future.” H Bill McKibben E Author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet R “Is it possible to jettison our current system of exploitation and R environmental destruction, and create a new system, that is not only E S Resilient sustainable but affords us a comfortable and fullling life? e answer is a resounding yes. Ma’ikwe Ludwig eloquently reminds us how the way is I L fraught with challenges and shows us how to conquer them. is is a I must-read for anyone who cares about the future of the human race.” E Chong Kee Tan, PhD N Founder of Bay Bucks T Real hope comes from looking uninchingly at our current circumstances and then committing wholeheartedly to creative action. Never has that been more urgently needed than right now, with the climate crisis looming larger every day. is book advocates for citizen-led, community-based action rst and foremost: why wait for the government when you can take action today, with your neighbors? From small solutions to the full re-invention of the systems we nd ourselves in, this book mixes anecdote with data-based research to bring you a wide range of options that all embody compassion, creativity, and cooperation. -
Ecovillages and Permaculture: a Reference Model for Sustainable Consumption?
Ecovillages and Permaculture: a Reference Model for Sustainable Consumption? Autoria: Paulo Ricardo Zilio Abdala, Gabriel de Macedo Pereyron Mocellin Abstract Ecovillages are intentional ecological communities based on the harmless integration of human activities into the environment (Van Schyndel Kasper, 2008). The inspiration for this lifestyle comes from a concept called Permaculture, a term coined in 1978 by Bill Mollison, an Australian ecologist, and one of his students, David Holmgren, as a contraction of "permanent agriculture" or "permanent culture” (Mollison & Holmgren, 1978). In this research, we approach the theme of permaculture and ecovillages, focusing on ecovillagers ideas regarding sustainable consumption. Our intention is to present how people immersed in sustainable communities lifestyle deal with consumption issues by using different strategies and behaviors that are less harmful for the environment and the future generations. To accomplish this research, the sample was constituted of two ecovillages located in the south of Brazil. Both places were visited for a weekend each, during which we participated in the communities activities. Hence, the research has a qualitative methodology, best described as a short participant observation. Data collection includes field notes of the researchers, institutions website contents, as well as 4 hours of filmed interviews with a total of 7 subjects. The complexity of the phenomenon presents itself in the richness of the raw data collected. We consider this article a kind of working paper in broad terms, in the sense that new studies with more triangulation and further data collection are needed to extend the comprehension of the topic and to answer the additional questions this study brought. -
Redefining Community in the Ecovillage
Research in Human Ecology Redefining Community in the Ecovillage Debbie Van Schyndel Kasper Department of Sociology Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar, VA1 Abstract gy since its inception (Benton 1994; Catton and Dunlap 1978; 1980; Clark and York 2005; Dickens 2004; Freuden- Ecovillages provide important insights into the human burg, et al. 1995; Goldman and Schurman 2000; Redclift and dimensions of sustainability, but remain relatively unex- Woodgate 1994; Schnaiberg and Gould 1994). Sociology plored. In this paper I highlight critiques of the society/na- was not alone in beginning to rethink human-environment re- ture divide and emphasize the need to pay attention to the lations, as evidenced by the concurrent surfacing of environ- paradigms that influence how people think and what they do. mental specialties within other disciplines, such as environ- I discuss the ecovillage model as a rejection of the outmoded mental history, environmental philosophy, and environmental “dominant western worldview” in favor of one that recog- economics.2 nizes human-ecosystem interdependence. Drawing on field As efforts to rethink the society/nature divide intensified, research, I examine the practical means by which ecovillages the need to revise the concepts that govern thinking about strive to institute and reinforce an alternative paradigm. In such matters became increasingly apparent. Scholars identi- addition to explicit intention, rules, the organization of social fied a need to talk about the points of contact themselves and interaction, and physical characteristics, I identify an ex- to address the inseparability of “nature” from “society” (Gold- panded notion of community and its accompanying ethic as man and Schurman 2000).