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Features Sustainability Education in Practice 34 Global News 32 GEN Index Features 4 Overcoming Inner Barriers to the Creation of an 23 Bridging the past and the present in Yoff (Senegal) Ecovillage, Suzanna Maxen Marian Zeitlin 5 Ecovillages: Bridges to the Future, Jeff Grossberg 26 Shoulder to Shoulder, Heart to Heart ... Experiences of a Work camp in Sri Lanka, Agni Komoch 6 The Living and Learning Paradigm in Sustainability Education, Hildur Jackson 27 Contacts, Courses, Places to Go (pp. 27-30) 7 Ecovillage Education: A Proposed Curriculum 31 Visiting Ecovillages: Educational Tourism May East Lucilla Borio 24 Living Routes: Ecovillage Education Consortium Daniel Greenberg 32 GEN International News 25 Rootzones: Education Meets Business Interview with Danish Jørgen Løgstrup 34 Global News 38 GEN Regional News (p. 38-53) Sustainability Education in Practice 54 Books and Videos Ecology ÿ ÿ 8 Teaching Permaculture at Crystal Waters (Australia) GEN is a grassroots non-profi t organization that links together Max Lindegger a highly diverse worldwide movement of Ecovillages and related projects. The Network supports models of sustainable 9 Ecovillage Training Center at the Farm (USA) living globally, in order to inspire and encourage the creation Albert Bates of more viable lifestyles on this planet. 10 Creating One’s own Education: How I became What are Ecovillages? Intentional ecovillages are sustainable an Ecological Builder, Kolja Hejgaard communities where people strive to achieve more viable lifestyles. Ecovillages are based on social, ecological and 12 Folkecenter for Alternative Energy (DK) spiritual motivations. Traditional villages (mostly in the Interview with Preben Maegaard by Hildur Jackson Southern Hemisphere) have often kept a social and ecological 13 Earth Restoration, Peter Engberg structure, and may choose to become intentional ecovillages to maintain and strengthen their original sustainability. 14 Ecology in Argentina, Silvia Balado Ecovillages embody a coherent, systemic, holistic approach 15 Ecology in South Africa, Guinea and Senegal to sustainable living, integrating elements such as: Alternative energy, green technologies, ecological building, permaculture, Community/Social community building, mediation, confl ict resolution, mind and body work, spiritual/cultural practices, complementary healthcare, and creative activities (see back cover for elements 16 Social Integration at Ecovillages, Hildur Jackson of sustainability at ecovillages). 17 Mediation: Creating Harmony, Declan Kennedy Mission: to play a catalytic role, through living examples and educational outreach, in the worldwide transformation 18 Patch Adams: Teaching Friendship for Health, towards sustainability. Karen Svensson ÿ Spirituality Editors: Hildur Jackson [email protected] Karen Svensson [email protected] 20 A Scientist Teaches Spirituality Layout/design: Karen Svensson DTP, Cover design: Kolja Hejgaard. Cover composition: Photos Interview with Will Keepin by Hildur Jackson by A. Lynam and K. Hejgaard. In profi le: Kate O’Donnell 21 Nourishing the Soul: Education at Auroville, India meditating (Fall 98 Geo Program, PLum Village, France) Marti Mueller Circulation: 6,000 Distribution: GEN Regional Offi ces and partners 22 How to Resist Globalization Printer: Holte Bogtrykkeri, Holte, Denmark Interview with Helena Norberg-Hodge by Hildur Jackson Thanks: To contributing authors around the world! Welcome ... ... to the Spring 2001 Issue of Ecovillage Living. This issue focuses on Education for Sustainability. At ecovillages, the chosen paradigm for sustainability education is one of learning through personal experience: Students visit and live in ecovillages to learn about the social, ecological and cultural/spiritual aspects of sustainable living. Increasingly, people are choosing to attend short seminars or also semester-long programs at ecovillages, for an “ecovillage immersion” which gives them more knowledge about sustainable lifestyles than any theoretical course could bring them. The fi rst section of this magazine introduces the experiential learning approach for ecovillage education as the “Living and Learning” paradigm (see pages 5-6: ‘The Living and Learning Paradigm”; ‘Ecovillages: Bridges to the Future’). Some ecovillages are already teaching an all-round sustainability curriculum using the Living and Learning principles, such as the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland (see page 7, May East’s article on Ecovillage Training). It is also possible to compose an educational curriculum by combining courses and experiences from stays at various ecovillages. We have compiled a list of contacts, addresses and course descriptions (detachable center pages, pp.27-30) for ecovillages and related initiatives around the world, including contact information for all the places and people mentioned in the magazine. On the back cover, you will fi nd the editors’ proposal for a curriculum, which includes the fi fteen modules corresponding to the aspects of sustainable living in ecovillages. The curriculum modules have been divided into three categories: ecological, social and cultural/spiritual. This issue of Ecovillage Living refl ects the same subdivision in its outline: Ecological Articles from The Farm (USA), Crystal Waters (Australia), Argentina and Africa highlight the topic of permaculture, which many ecovillages teach and use, and which can serve as an introduction to a full curriculum. A young Danish ecological builder writes about how he “built” his own education. An interview with the founder of the Folkecenter in Thy (DK) describes one of the places where renewable energy and green technology are taught and demonstrated. On page 25 we introduce Jørgen Løgstrup, who successfully combines education and business through the worldwide implementation of water treatment systems. Social Ecovillages are striving to achieve a higher level of social welfare and unity than we are able to fi nd in today’s society, building communities where everybody can be seen and heard. A section on modernizing welfare describes several projects where children, the elderly and the handicapped are cared for and integrated in communities respecting all individuals for their input in daily life. Declan Kennedy from Lebensgarten, Germany, describes the technique of Mediation (page 17) for resolving confl icts. An interview with Patch Adams reminds us of the importance of Joy and Friendship as critical factors in maintaining and regaining health. Cultural/spiritual Under this heading we are bringing an interview with Will Keepin, a Scientist teaching Spirituality (page 20). Auroville (India) is represented with a piece on Education as Nourishment for the Soul, and research on Indigo Children, more and more present in our society, who have special talents and educational needs. News Ecovillage Living brings news from the expanding Global Ecovillage Network (GEN). The GEN regions have collected news items and sent them to us. The News pages in Ecovillage Living serve as GEN Europe & Africa’s newsletter, while The Americas and Oceania/Asia have their own regional newsletters. Enjoy! Hildur Jackson Karen Svensson Overcoming Inner Barriers to the creation of an Ecovillage Suzanna Maxen knew what she things really started moving. The seminar was about crea- wanted: To create an ecovillage ting breakthrough results. We spent a lot of time fi nding where she and her children could out what the driving forces were toward achieving results, live. But something kept her from and what the barriers were to reaching these results. Results taking the necessary steps. She ranged from getting up in the morning to exams, career and learned to explore and overcome much larger projects. We found out that we achieved results the inner barriers to achieving her vision through courses in simply to survive! For me it was all about deciding as a little Landmark Education. Her story girl that my twin sister could “have” my mother to herself, Suzanna Maxen is inspiring to those who have the and that “I could manage by myself.” That was what I had same dream . spent my life convincing my surroundings of ever since. I have achieved many results in my life just to justify my Six years ago, I took time to evaluate my life: how I wanted existence. to live and where. One clear sketch I drew up for myself resulted in what now is called “Village 2000”, an initiative During the seminar on Velocity we were asked to fi nd another towards an ecospiritual community to be built in Zealand, angle on creating results. My neighbor in classes suggested Denmark. At the time I tucked it away in my mind as that one could create results for fun. For fun! When he said an impossible dream. Two years later I took a course that, I understood deep in my soul how I had looked upoj in communication and personal development (Landmark results so far: I had created lots of them, and also fun ones. Education). It started up a process in me which persuaded But I had never done it for fun, always out of bare necessity. me to act on my earlier desires to build up the kind of life I Together with my classmate I worked out the following wanted for myself. statement: “I am creating results for the fun of it - without pomp and decorum, like a bumblebee.” I wrote these words I freed myself up fi nancially by selling my house with a in large letters and stuck them on my kitchen wall. profi t. It took another half year for me to start up the “Village 2000” project in 1999. I was wondering at that Since then my way of looking at results has changed: I am time why I couldn’t just start as soon as I had sold my no longer a slave to the results I have to achieve. Today I house. I enrolled in a leadership study course, but it didn’t am involved in the process of establishing a new ecovillage help then (though it has since). It was only when I enrolled in Denmark. When things don’t go the way I have planned for a seminar on Velocity (Landmark Education again) that them, I remind myself that it’s all for fun. Janto Evans (third from left), the wizzard of cob, teaching a cob building course at The Farm, USA.
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