Ecovillages Around the World: Five ecovillages in five months by Tim Richards Notes from the halfway point of a year spent traveling the world on a Thomas J.
Download ReportTranscript Ecovillages Around the World: Five ecovillages in five months by Tim Richards Notes from the halfway point of a year spent traveling the world on a Thomas J.
Ecovillages Around the World: Five ecovillages in five months by Tim Richards Notes from the halfway point of a year spent traveling the world on a Thomas J. Watson fellowship What is a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship? • The Watson Fellowship is a grant that allows graduating American university students a year of independent, purposeful exploration and international travel to enhance their capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership in order to foster their humane and effective participation in the world community. • Basically, this is a dream grant that lets you to explore something you are passionate around the world for a year. More info: http://www.watsonfellowship.org My project: “Holistic Environmentalism: Community Approaches to Sustainability” Australia, Brazil, India, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Senegal, United Kingdom • “Ecovillages, Permaculture communities, and Transition Towns are three international grassroots movements attempting ecologically, economically, socially, and spiritually sustainable lifeways. I am traveling to five continents living in these three types of communities in order to study the theory and practice of sustainability in intentional and conventional communities across cultures. I intend to explore the ways in which human life can become more holistically sustainable with respect to environment, economy, society, and self.” • In layman’s terms, I am living in communities where people are trying to lead lives more connected to themselves, each other, and nature. I am interested in how and how well their visions of holistic sustainability translate into reality. Disclaimer • This presentation focuses only on my present thoughts concerning the first five communities I have visited: Crystal Waters, Findhorn, Tamera, Damanhur, and Torri Superiore. • My experiences reflect only my subjective experiences and resulting subjective perspectives. These are subject to change. • You will have different experiences and resulting views. There are as many different “Findhorns” as there are people living in and visiting Findhorn. • Overall, I had a great experience in every place I have visited, although in each case it is hard to determine whether this was because of the place or my specific experience and relationships there. Brief history of ecovillages • Intentional communities and utopian experiments go back hundreds of years (the U.S. could be considered an early utopian experiment and has a rich history of communal lifestyle experimentation). The global back-to-the-land and hippy movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s helped lay the groundwork for the ecovillage concept, but these are distinct movements. The word “ecovillage” could be said to describe contemporary attempts at ecologically integrated communal living. • In 1991 Robert Gilman created a well-accepted definition of an ecovillage. He defined an ecovillage as a: • human-scale • full-featured settlement • in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world • in a way that is supportive of healthy human development, and • can be successfully continued into the indefinite future. Ecovillages • Ecovillages are intentional communities of people who come together to attempt socially, spiritually, economically, and ecologically rich ways of life. Ecovillages typically exhibit cohesive social structures, often united by common values. • The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) first formed in 1995 to connect these different communities through an international organization. “GEN offers inspiring examples of how people and communities can live healthy, cooperative, genuinely happy and meaningful lifestyles --- beacons of hope that help in the transition to a more sustainable future on Earth.” • Findhorn in Scotland (founded 1962), Auroville (founded 1968), and The Farm in Tennesse, USA (founded 1971) can be considered to be among the first ecovillages, though these would not adopt that title until later. Why I think ecovillages are important • The local as holistic solution (holistic meaning addressing all aspects of sustainability - ecological, economic, social, cultural, spiritual/psychological) • Places for holistically vibrant lives, not merely holistically sustainable lives • Changing the world at the level of everyday life • More personally nourishing ways of being the change • A different development model Crystal Waters Permaculture village (Australia) Crystal Waters (founded 1988) is the world’s first housing development designed according to Permaculture. There are 83 privately-owned one-acre lots where people have built homes using a variety of natural building techniques. The developers spent nine months camping on the land to observe all aspects of the environment (microclimates, rainfall and drainage patterns, soil profiles, existing plant and animal communities, and so forth) in order to determine what kind of development would be best for the land. The areas with the best soil were set aside for common use including agriculture and grazing. The most ecologically unique and sensitive areas were established as conservation zones. Wildlife corridors were established to allow roaming for the local fauna. Only after this process was complete were the lots for human structures selected. This is quite the opposite approach to conventional development, which focuses solely on human use and develops land by bulldozing everything and then imposing a grid. Located on degraded dairy pastureland no longer suitable for farming, the land is now covered in trees and ponds established by the developers, which created many new habitats for both humans and a host of other animals. Crystal Waters is now a designated wildlife reserve, boasting 175 different species of birds, rampant kangaroos and wallabies, dozens of frog species, platypuses, eels, bandicoots, wild bush turkeys, echidnas (like hedgehogs), and many more. Map of Crystal Waters development. Notice the sinuous way it follows the landscape topography. Some say it looks like the human pulmonary system. Road sign for Crystal Waters gives a good idea of the rural and National Park landscape of the surrounding region. Parrot on the porch as one of the regular, numerous daily interactions with wildlife Kangaroo with Joey in tow. An abundant sight on the landscape, along with wallabies. I often worked alongside these guys while I was out in the garden. Village facts Crystal Waters is a village of about 200 people. They are clear that they are a village and not a community. Village means a group of houses in the same area, as opposed to a community, which implies greater collective pursuits or social unity. Thus, “residents” rather than “members” describe those who live here. Glue: a generalized vision of living off the land, shared interests in Permaculture and sustainability Spirituality or ideology: none - a diversity of ideas and religions and spiritualities are embraced Rules: no dogs or cats (harms wildlife) Diet: varies based on household. Village facts 2 Food: few residents grow their own food supply, though many garden in some form. Collective growing of food has been largely abandoned. Organic food is easily available in the region, decreasing the need for self-sufficiency. Water: central supply comes from a local stream. Also, over 15 dams provide backup sufficient to endure 3 years of drought. Almost all houses have their own rainwater storage tanks: Christopher had 66,000 liters of rainwater to himself. Energy: Most houses use solar hot water heaters, many use photovoltaic solar for power. Sewage: all sewage is treated on the individual one-acre lots, through composting toilets, Biolytix wet composting systems, traditional septic tanks, reed beds, or dilution. Environmental context: a beautiful rural region about one hour from the coast, surrounded by national parks and farms. Village facts 3 Decision-making: elected members of the Body Corporate make many decisions for the community. Education: community children attend local schools or are home schooled. Tourist groups, both local and international, visit to learn about Permaculture. Residents often host talks and workshops on Permaculture and other subjects concerning sustainability. Economy: most residents commute outside the community to find work. Some residents operate successful home businesses, including garden supply stores, yoga and message therapy, Permaculture education, and so on. Monthly markets provide a small source of income for some residents who produce food or crafts. A co-operative of residents owns two community lots with buildings for community events and for the operation of businesses. An organic sourdough bakery and a chai café are currently the only businesses in the village center. Social: mostly older, financially secure Australians, though there are also younger lower-income renters, single mothers, people on the dole. My experience My visit and role: 5 weeks spent WWOOFing with Christopher Bradley, who owns one of the 83 residential 1-acre lots of the village I loved life in Crystal Waters. I met many fascinating people, had a host of great conversations, and richly engaged in events like Friday home-brew pub, Chai Tuesdays, weekend concerts, Permablitzes, etc Felt fairly connected to the community through hosting neighbors for dinner, attending events - my interaction was mostly informal due to Christopher’s warning Some observations Some feel a desire for community, though others appreciate their privacy and the lack of need to attend all meetings. Some criticize the place for a lack of communal feel, while others feel a strong bond with neighbors they believe impossible in the normal suburbs The place is a living library for Permaculture Successes/strengths Very strong in the ecological aspect of sustainability through brilliant Permaculture design and intelligent development design and land use decisions Internationally known for being the world’s first Permaculture development. Received recognition from the United Nations for its “pioneering work in demonstrating new ways of low impact, sustainable living”. Some residents have prominent businesses. Serves as an important and realistic model for “ecosuburbs,” which may be more appealing to the masses of Westernized humanity than community life Weaknesses/problems Many residents complain of lack of social fiber, resulting strife Lack of age diversity - most residents are under 21 or over 40 Elderly residents are wanting smaller homes to move to, feeling their properties too big Wildlife conservation “too successful,” creating problems for agriculture and thus lack of incentive to produce food Car dependency both within the physically large, spread out community, and with many people commuting to work from 9-5 each day. Lessons I learned Not only can humans and nature live in harmony, but also the human presence can actually increase the species richness of an area, as it has done on the village land. It is inspiring to see examples of people building healthy lives for themselves and the land. The magic of the place makes me want to see subdivisions designed like this all over the world. Development doesn’t have to be ugly and detrimental; it can be beautiful and ecologically beneficial. I can only imagine what the development behind my home in Mt. Airy would be like if it had been designed by ecologically-minded developers. Findhorn (Scotland) Started in 1962 with three founders. One of the founders realized she was able to connect with plant intelligence or “devas,” who gave her instructions on how to grow plants in the sandy soils. They began to grow bountiful and gigantic plants, including 40-lb cabbages that made them famous. Many people who heard this story were intrigued by what could be achieved by using spiritual principles in cooperation with nature. The crowds who came to see the miracle plants eventually formed the basis of a new community. Community facts About 400 people live in Findhorn, which describes itself as a spiritual community Spiritual principles common to all religions, without doctrine or creed, are put into action in everyday life. “Work is love in action.” They believe that behind the material world lies a spiritual reality which permeates and unites all people, all life, and all matter. Rules: no drugs Diet: vegetarian and vegan in the communal dining hall, but anything in private homes Community facts 2 Food: a large portion comes from the garden. More used to come from their organic farm until it shut down last fall. Water: comes from the local municipal water supply, chlorine and all. Energy: a significant portion comes from their four community-owned wind turbines. A recently installed wood pellet biomass burner provides heat. Sewage: flush toilets treated by onsite “living machine” Environmental context: located near the beach of the northern Scottish coast. Rural area, some planted pine forests, next to sand dunes. Community facts 3 Economy: sustained by rampant international tourism for visitors eager to have the Findhorn experience. Experience Weeks and workshops are quite pricey and must sustain the Foundation well. Has their own paper currency, the “Eko.” Education: not many children at all; unsure where the few who exist go to school. Many workshops and seminars take place within the community. Decision-making: by attunement. Findhorn Foundation Social: mostly older, financially well-off people of international (largely Western) origin My experience Three weeks total: two weeks spent in an Ecovillage Design Course (international curriculum), one week in the first European Bioneers conference Primarily experienced the community as a guest, with few glimpses into the daily life of community members. I was frustrated by the less-than-academic content of the EDE course, until I realized it was more about the process. The community-building between the participants was an intense and rewarding process. Bioneers was awesome. Some observations I learned more about building community than I did about the daily experience of community life for members of Findhorn There tends to be a disconnect between community members and visitors Interestingly, a Scottish Royal Airforce (RAF) Base is located directly next door, providing a striking contrast, though it is being shut down because of the economic crisis Findhorn is a large part of the regional economy and may be a part of the re-design of the regional economy in light of the closure of the RAF Strengths/successes Very strong focus on the spiritual/self aspect of sustainability Probably the New York City of ecovillages, being famous and well-visited internationally. Almost a “brand” Won Best Practice recognition from the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. Boasts the lowest recorded ecological footprint in the developed world Weaknesses/problems Some described as a retirement community due to the age of many residents Hard for young people to be a part of the community due to high housing costs, high costs of living, few employment opportunities (similar to CW). Bureaucratic and business focus apparent even from my first email communication with them. One criticism could be that they are a business and have lost the grassroots feel. Very expensive even to be a visitor. Lessons I learned I seek balance in places - the intellectual and skeptic in me emerged as a response to the strong prevalence of the spiritual Meaningful interaction between guests and community members is difficult. However, transient community building among guests is just as valuable if not more valuable than bonding with the actual members of a community. I grew to love my group. Being around positive, receptive people who are interested in and value what you are doing helps boost self-confidence and productivity Tamera (Portugal) Tamera, originally established in 1970 in Germany, is a peaceresearch and free love ecovillage community that has existed for 15 years in southwestern Portugal. Alleged scandals in the community and resulting harassment from the larger society made the original community split - half remains in Germany as the community Zegg. “Tamera aims to become a Healing Biotope - a community of humans, animals, and plants whose relationships are based on truth, trust, and mutual support. It is a living model which gives local answers to global crises and offers research on a new nonviolent culture. Tamera is a training ground for peace workers from all over the globe who are seeking to be the change they want to see in the world.” Community facts About 200 co-workers (full members of the community), students, and volunteers, including 25 children, live in Tamera. The community is divided into four “pillars”: Solar Village (researching low-cost renewable energy models), Ground Service (basic community needs like construction, finance, health), Place of the Children (operates the school and kindergarten), and Grace (political and peace work, also responsible for guests/students). Each pillar is a community unto itself consisting of 30-50 people who eat and live in the same area. Practices a spirituality including elements of existing religions with the aim of reconnecting human beings with creation and divine powers. Community facts 2 Weekly group rituals an on-site 96-stone circle that they built. Sunday “matinee” speech gatherings reminiscent of church, though use different texts/ideas. Rules: no drugs, no open fires Diet: vegan diet on site Food: mostly organic and local from the surrounding region, a bit from their own gardens. Their aim is not self-sufficiency, but rather regional self-sufficiency. Water: from a well onsite, newly established lakes for backup Energy: connected to the Portuguese grid Sewage: composting toilets that mix wet and dry material Community facts 3 Environmental context: 130 hectares of rolling hills and olive trees in rural southwestern Portugal, a dry landscape heading towards regional desertification Economy: sustained by donations. Courses and workshops for visitors are a central source of income. Co-workers fill the gaps. Education: onsite Kindergarten and grade school where children learn what they are interested in. Decision-making: consensus Social: mostly Germans, fairly good age diversity. They collectively raise children, who live together with other children and are free to choose their own parent figures. They practice thoroughly intertwined polyamory. Some central ideas Truth, mutual support, and responsible participation in the community are three essential parts of their thinking. Free love - freeing love from jealousy, fear, saving love, allowing this life energy to flow freely Forum - theatrical group method to support transparency and transformation “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” They use this Buckminster Fuller quote and try to build the model that will change the world. My experience I was a guest for 3 weeks in total. I attended a one-week Introduction program and a weekend Sepp Holzer Permaculture course At first, I felt completely bombarded by their strong ideology re: world peace and saving the world through polyamory, which made me feel oppressed and I shut down. After a while, I came to realize that their solutions were just "a solution" and not "the solution," the latter of which had bothered me about their rhetoric. I didn’t get a good feel of the community because it was in November and there were few guests. Also, many co-workers had already left for their winter jobs. Global Grace Day Peace Pilgrimage to Columbia reportbacks Some observations Tamerans are very serious about living their ideals Free love is probably the strongest central focus of the community; at times, it seemed to be almost a fixation Tamerans are a very close knit group with social bonding practices like Forum being unavailable to short-term guests. This creates a feeling of division between guests and co-workers This gap could be bridged with free love relationships between guests and co-workers, though considered outside the ethical code for co-workers to initiate Strengths/successes Strong and advanced thinking research into the area of social sustainability Very tight knit group feel amongst the community members Strong and ambitious ideals for world-changing Has attracted committed members who live the mission with integrity and commitment and sincerity each day Healing biotope is a good idea: Earth acupuncture/network of Life Shuts down to outsiders from December-February, allowing time for community introspection, internal changes, and visioning Successful water landscape restoration Weaknesses/problems Free love, or free sex? Needs to be more international Not very integrated into Portugal? Quite ideological, at times felt cult-like Founders play a central, sometimes creepy role Use of founder’s texts a bit religious Cold German seriousness? Weak on the economic (relying heavily on donations) and ecological (relying exclusively on the grid) aspects of sustainability at present, though they are aware of this Lessons I learned It was a very thought-provoking experience. Though I did not personally engage in any free love, I re-thought quite a bit my views on romantic relationships and family structures. Now it is difficult to view society in the same way I did before. Social structures are a hugely important part of sustainability that I hadn't given adequate thought to before. I recognized the truth in their contention that monogamous romantic relationships and nuclear families are not necessarily the most healthy, sustainable social structures. The intellectual in me really struggles with ideology, whether it is spiritual, activist, or whatever. It’s not that I disagreed with their ideology or ultimate goals, but the existence of strong ideology made me very skeptical and critically inquisitive. Damanhur (Italy) Founded in 1975, the Federation of Damanhur is an ecosociety based upon spiritual values. It is comprised of many smaller “nucleo-communities” of 10-30 people, each with its own specific focus. It fashions itself as “A Laboratory for the Future of Humanity,” a center for spiritual, artistic, and social research. Well-known for its underground “Temples of Humankind,” created entirely by hand and dedicated to the divine nature of humanity. These recount the history of Humankind through many art forms and offer “a path of re-awakening to the Divine inside and outside of ourselves.” Federation facts About 1,000 people live in Damanhur Spirituality: spiritual or “esoteric” physics belief system. All Damanhurian citizens take part in spiritual research groups called ‘Ways’ “The philosophy of Damanhur is based upon positive thought as an element capable of directing the best of people’s energies” Rules: no smoking anywhere at all, no drugs? Diet: delicious Italian food of all types Federation facts 2 Food: mostly self-sufficient in the summer; organic food from outside the community available at their natural foods co-op Water: Dendera and its neighboring community share water from a spring Energy: Dendera and its neighboring community share solar hot water heaters and photovoltaic solar Waste: Dendera and its neighboring community share a septic tank Environmental context: spread over 1,200 acres of the foothills of the Italian Alps. Federation facts 3 Decision-making: has its own constitution. Each nucleo sends a representative to the larger assembly, which is overseen by a “king” and “queen” who rotate regularly Education: children attend schools within the community, which are also open to children in surrounding villages outside Damanhur Economy: has its own printed coin currency, the Credito. Many community-owned businesses in the central shopping complex, called Damanhur Crea: art and jewelry shops, hairdresser, holistic health and massage, art gallery, cafe, organic food co-op, alternative energy business, etc. Social: mostly Italians, good age diversity Some central ideas They think the best time for change is when things are going well, for example: They are about to double the size of their main community by inviting hundreds of international guests into their new 3-month "New Life" program, after which the New Lifers have the option of becoming full resident citizens. This will represent a radical social revolution for them. Dreams into reality: a key guiding belief My experience 10 days, 4 spent in a guest introduction program and 6 in a satellite community Dendera, focused on international outreach and affairs. Living in Dendera helped me get a better, less touristy sense of Damanhur, sharing meals and conversations with the residents. However, meals could be a bit awkward without Italian language skills and as a transient outsider showing up in communal daily life. Interviews were an easy way to single out and talk to those who spoke English well. For example, I interviewed the President of GEN Europe I appreciated the huge emphasis on creativity and arts, which was unique for an ecovillage The underground temples are pretty incredible. The spiritual belief system was a bit strange for me and didn’t hold my interest. The founder/guru has a strong presence/affect on the people even though he is trying to slowly back out of his involvement. Yet, I found it to be an interesting, mysterious, and sometimes magical place. Some observations I don’t know what to make of Damanhur’s metaphysical beliefs in relation to their material accomplishments. I think many of the things they are doing are interesting and important, but others are strange and irrelevant. I wonder whether the belief system is necessary part of the community, or whether it could achieve the same successes without them. Strengths/successes Very strong in the economic sustainability sphere Full of hardworking people trying to turn individual and collective dreams into reality Specializations in arts, crafts, jewelry making, and aesthetic beauty made it unique for an ecovillage. Cited as the world’s most beautiful community by Communities magazine. In 2005 Damanhur was recognized with a UN Global Human Settlement Award for being a model for a sustainable future In 2008 Damanhur was commended for exemplifying the principles of the Earth charter Weaknesses/problems Very expensive and maybe overly businessoriented Less expensive but perhaps more money-focused than Findhorn Quite spread out (far more so than Crystal Waters) and car-dependent due to steep, curvy mountain roads. Dendera was 20 minutes drive from the Crea center A cult reputation among some ex members Lessons I learned Dogmatically spiritual communities are not for me. Esotericism is anthropologically interesting, but difficult for me to take seriously. Seeing energetically is an important dynamic to be aware of in human interactions Synchronicities can be real no matter how much my mind would like to deny them Patch Adams is an amazing human being. Love in all its forms is a central part of sustainability, as conveyed in his “Love Strategies” workshop. Torri Superiore (Italy) Torri Superiore is an ecologically restored medieval village with an ecovillage flair. The village consists of three main buildings dating from the 13th century with over 160 vaulted rooms, all linked by an intricate labyrinth of stairways and terraces. A cultural association to restore the buildings started 1989; resident community started in 1993. “Though it’s hard to say what defines us as a community, we could be described as a group of people from all over the world involved in a common project of rebuilding, education, and responsible living.” Community facts About 20 members (including 5 children) live in Torri Superiore No overarching worldviews or shared metaphysical belief systems, just people living an ecological life together in a very unique cultural and natural environment. Rules: no drugs? Diet: delicious Italian/Mediterranean cuisine Community facts 2 Food: organic Permaculture gardens and fruit orchards provide fresh produce. Some free range animals (goats and chickens). Home-made products include bread, pasta, olive oil, goat’s cheese, honey, jams, yogurt, and ice cream. If they have to buy food, they buy organic and local, or at least national. Water: comes from the nearby village Energy: hot water is produced with solar panels and they have lowtemperature heating systems throughout the village and in the private houses. Their electricity is grid-supplied by a green company. Sewage: two composting toilets, the rest are flush toilets linked to the local village system Environmental context: situated in the foothills of the Ligurian Alps, a few kilometers from both the Mediterranean Sea and the French border Community facts 3 Decision-making: consensus at weekly meetings Education: home school or local school system Economy: generates money through running guesthouse business, courses, and workshops. The Ture Nirvane Cooperative Company manages ecotourism and oversees the running of courses, workshops, and other educational activities. Other work is undertaken to run the guesthouse, residential community, and restoration activities through the Cultural Association. Some financial support provided by several local municipalities. Social: mostly international families with young children, but a few singles and couples as well. Largely Italian-speaking. My experience 5 days as a guest in the guest house Some meals shared with community, which allowed for conversation, but they were also sick of interviews. Most of my activities were independent, as the residents were just living their lives. Little opportunity for integration in the daily functioning of the community I spent the majority of my time hiking and touring the surrounding region as well, which most guests focus on. Christmas party was full of warmth and community life Some observations Refreshing that there was no strong spiritual or ideological focus: simply people gathered together around restoration and ecological community living. As close knit or more close knit than Tamera, but with monogamy and the nuclear family as the dominant social structures The residents had a very strong historical knowledge of their village and the surrounding region. They also had a great deal of knowledge and experience with building and restoration. Strengths/successes Very strong in the cultural sustainability realm: restoration of a historic building and understanding of regional history. Establishes an important link to the past for the ecovillage idea Cited as the world’s second most beautiful community by Communities magazine in 2007. Links ecological living to comfort, relaxation, and cultural/natural beauty for guests, many of whom are just vacationers Weaknesses/problems Younger members have little say in decisions that were established before they arrived Older members volunteered for years until paying jobs were available, then new members arrive and only want to work for money Some poorer members are staying without pay while others have to buy houses to remain. Conflict within couples causes community strife; they were debating community intervention when these relationship problems happened, but ultimately decided against it Lessons I learned While hiking through the surrounding hills, I encountered the ruins of many olive plantations that had been abandoned because of industrial agriculture after World War II. I saw 1,000 year-old terraces on the steep slopes, realizing that the beautiful quasi-national park environment in which I was hiking was actually an ancient cultural landscape. I found a tiny village in the mountains that had no cars in the main streets. I visited a medieval town with castle and medieval village housing complex intact and still inhabited. I was blown away by the presence of history in the region. It was a tour of many different types of living over the past 1,000 years, almost like a trip through time. Comparisons Findhorn and Damanhur have their own community creation stories and a magical/spiritual outlook on the world. These along with Tamera have a strong relationship to their founders. Crystal Waters and Torri Superiore have a more realistic worldview and live with their founders without any strange dynamics. Each place has its own area of greatest strength in sustainability: Crystal Waters - ecological, Findhorn - spiritual, Tamera - social, Damanhur - economic, Torri Superiore - cultural. However, no one place has fully assembled all the aspects of holistic sustainability. Conclusions I’m obviously still in process and only halfway through, but a few things have become clear to me: All ecovillages are struggling to figure out their role in larger society. Some places view themselves as an experimental laboratory for lessons to be applied to “normal” society, while others view themselves as a viable model to be applied for systemic world changing. Regardless of the ultimate role that ecovillages will play in the world, I find them to be places where things are possible that aren’t in normal society. Conclusions 2 Ecovillages are healing biotopes for people and planet. They represent a new Life-based model for human life. Ecovillages represent a healthy, living development model for our collective human organism, rather than the cancerous model of development we are familiar with. (Other examples of living models: organic farms, green businesses, Permaculture, etc.) We need to connect and facilitate this network of Life as far and wide as possible. Conclusions 3 Ecovillages provide examples of a more fulfilling life socially, economically, spiritually, and ecologically. Though they may not be for everyone, they exemplify a viable alternative to the traditional schoolcareer-nuclear family consumer society model. I think young people are particularly well-suited for this new model, both ideologically and practically. What does living a healthy, vibrant, flourishing human life look like for you? Connections Great resources for traveling and/or exploring other ways of life: Global Ecovillage Network: http://gen.ecovillage.org Fellowship for Intentional Communities: http://directory.ic.org/ Eurotopia: http://www.eurotopia.de Worldwide Permaculture Network: http://www.permacultureglobal.com World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms: http://www.wwoof.org/ Idealist: http://www.idealist.org/ Help Exchange: http://www.helpx.net/ Ecoteer: http://www.ecoteer.com/ Workaway: http://www.workaway.info/ Go Abroad: http://www.goabroad.com/ CouchSurfing: http://www.couchsurfing.org Books on community life Ecovillage Living – Restoring the Earth and Her People edited by Hildur Jackson and Karen Svensson Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities by Diana Leafe Christiansen Finding Community: How to Join an Ecovillage or Intentional Community by Diana Leafe Christiansen Living Light: Travels in Post-Consumer Society by Walter and Dorothy Schwartz Shared Visions, Shared Lives: Communal Living Around the Globe by Bill Metcalf Being the Change: Ecovillage Experiments Around the World by Professor Karen T. Litfin (forthcoming) Videos on community life Los Hijos del fin del Mundo: A Bolivian couple traveling to different ecovillages, many of which I talked about in this presentation: http://www.youtube.com/user/loshijosdelfi ndelmun A New We - 10 European ecovillages, including Damanhur (great footage of the temples) and Tamera: http://www.newwe.info/ Magazines/journals on community life Ecovillages newsletter: http://www.ecovillagenews.org Communities magazine: http://communities.ic.org/ Permaculture magazine: http://www.permaculture.co.uk/ In Context: A Quarterly of Humane Sustainable Culture (edited by Robert Gilman, who coined the term “ecovillage” in this interesting article:) http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC29/Gilman1.htm Onwards! Follow my journeys and thoughts through my blog: http://sustainablephilosopher.wordpress.com/ Comments, questions, suggestions? Email me: [email protected] I offer you my personal correspondence and friendship! Send me an email and I will reply in full.