Geese information

Northern Summer/Southern Winter 2014

We Live our Lives through the Stories we Inherit Giovanni Ciarlo, Gaia Education Chair of Management

We live our lives through the stories we inherit. Our stories provide us with a sense of meaning, defining what we value and desire the most, which in turn defines what we seek. The stories we subscribe to set the conditions we live by. In our times we live by stories given to us by international conglomerates who have very little to tell us about ourselves, with a lot of products and beliefs to sell us, mostly about how to win while others loose.

But people are smarter than that, and we find ways to create and tell new stories wherever we are. One of the most powerful of those stories is that we can design our own lives and communities, value what really matters to us, and learn new skills that are important in order to achieve individual and community wellbeing.

Our communities need new stories in order to thrive in the face of immense adversity. But for this we need ways to help new voices be heard, and new ways to hear them. We need to master the internet, but we also need to make real human contact, experience first-hand what is possible, and dream about the world we want. Young people also need new stories that bring them in contact with the wisdom of our elders, their indigenous ancestors, and with Mother Earth herself. These are regenerative stories that help us transition from one belief system to another, more life affirming and founded on love.

Stories are compelling because they show us clearly who the heroes and villains are, they are set in a framework of drama and tension. And so we need stories that criticize and stories that propose real solutions to the problems we are facing, where WE are the heroes, but so are the farmers, teachers, cooks, inventors, builders, merchants, organisers and everyday participants in a new paradigm.

Gaia Education makes these new stories visible by showing us that we are the new heroes, and it challenges the old story that tells us that there are no alternatives. The stories in this newsletter are what defines our times and our communities, showing us that we are more powerful than we can imagine, and that the new world we are creating is full of people like us, who are part of the unfolding drama and tensions that define who we are.

Geese information

2014/2

Online Gaia Education Design for Sustainability - GEDS The distance learning course GEDS is based on the four core dimensions of Gaia Education’s Ecovillage Design Curriculum: the social, worldview, ecological and economic dimensions of sustainability.

Drawing on experience and expertise developed in a network of some of the most successful ecovillages and transition settings across the Earth, GEDS is offered by Gaia Education in collaboration with the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

Whether you’re a student or educator, involved in urban or rural community development, a permaculture enthusiast or an interested business leader, GEDS is of relevance to you.

Gaia Education Design para a Sustentabilidade Programa On-Line em Português Aprenda design para sustentabilidade com experts dos mais avançados laboratórios de sustentabilidade, ecovilas e iniciativas de transição do mundo! Adquira visão sistêmica e competência prática para o redesenho de seu projeto e organização através da comunidade

de aprendizado "Gaiana". Gaia Education on-line em Português oferece módulos em Design Social, Econômico, Ecológico e visão de Mundo enriquecendo as habilidades de agentes de mudança social atuando em contexto urbano ou rural.

Educación a distancia para la Sostenibilidad El curso de educación a distancia de Gaia Education Diseño para la Sostenibilidad, GEDS, está basado en las cuatro dimensiones fundamentales del Programa de Diseño de Ecoaldeas de Gaia Education: las dimensiones social, económica, ecológica y de visión del mundo.

Basado en la experiencia y conocimientos desarrollados en una red formada por algunas de las ecoaldeas y lugares de transición más exitosos del planeta, el curso GEDS se ofrece en colaboración con el Campus por la Paz de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya- UOC.

Ofrecido en inglés como diploma certificado por Gaia Education y en español como curso oficial de posgrado de la UOC, el curso en línea GEDS se puede hacer desde cualquier lugar del mundo y con suficiente flexibilidad para adaptarse a tu estilo de vida.

GEDS English Oct 2014 – Sep 2015 geds@gaiaeducation.net

GEDS Posgrado Español Oct 2014 – Jul 2015 geds@gaiaeducation.net

GEDS Português Out 2014 – Jun 2015 geds-portugues@gaiaeducation.net

Geese information

2014/2

The Gambia Host their First EDE! Maurice Phillips & Geri Mitchell, Sandele EcoResort

This EDE, run between 21 February and 21 March 2014, was the culmination of a long held dream that originated in 2007 when the Secretary General of the Village Development Committee of Kartong attended an EDE in Findhorn. It was soon recognised that sending a lone participant to attend an EDE in a foreign land was not enough to build resilience in a community struggling to survive in the face of multiple challenges to the environment, culture, community and economy. The dream was to hold an EDE in Kartong and build a critical mass of expertise and support for the hero’s journey towards sustainability. Years went by and strenuous efforts were made to secure funding for an EDE with no results.

The breakthrough came when Sandele hosted Kosha Joubert (GEN International & GEN Europe) and Robin Alfred for their honeymoon. They gave up three days to assist us in hosting the Kartong village elders and delegates from GEN Africa and GEN Senegal for a day long workshop. This led to the signing of an accord to explore Kartong becoming an eco village. The village gave a resounding ‘yes’ and the running of the EDE was a perfect first step. Having experienced this event, it is hard to imagine how a traditional village can make a transition from where it is now without the groundwork of inspiring a critical mass of people and giving them the space to dream, plan, do and celebrate using EDE principles.

Kartong is a special place with a wealth of hitherto unrecognised assets including unspoilt and deserted beaches and great tourism potential. The two hoped for outcomes of the course were to provide proposals of how the village can move towards becoming an eco village and a plan for the tourism zone in the Kartong area. The impact started before the course with the selection process. Non-Violent Communication workshops and several women’s gatherings took place to ensure that they were well supported during the course. Regular consultations with the elders of the village were critical to the success of the outcomes and our thanks go to those who gave (and continue to give) their great support at village level.

Geese information

2014/2

At the graduation celebration the two proposals were received to rapturous applause and a commitment of support from the village elders and government representatives present. The EDE challenges were many, but these were far outweighed by the inspiration, fun and learning. The greatest gift of course is the knowledge and wisdom gained by our tribe of enthused trainers who will be taking forward their new found skills and expertise into the village of Kartong.

As a footnote, we are delighted that our international participants brought so much and reported that they gained so much. One is still unexpectedly with us and another is planning to be back full time before long, confirming that Kartong is a place that you can 'come but never leave'.

Since the EDE ended a great deal has happened. The EDE group is meeting monthly and non-violent communication sessions are taking place. Kartong EDE has become "Kartong Ecovillage Network” (KEN) and a decision has been made for KEN to become an NGO.

A KEN Board of Trustees has been democratically appointed, a Facilitation Group continues to plan EDE monthly alumni meetings and the Project Groups are meeting regularly with increasingly active plans of action.

In early May the 'self-sufficiency' group (plus Geri and Vicky for the first day) went on a 10 day "walkabout" to interesting villages in The Gambia and Senegal as part of their continuing education about eco-village development. The group also met with GEN and NEXTGEN representatives in Dakar. The visits were funded by a crowd funding initiative led by Rowena and the group returned much enriched from their experiences.

It is not all plain sailing. There is concern among some in the village about the appearance of a group that is interested in development in areas that as yet not everyone fully understands. Meetings have been held with key village groups and individuals and continuing consultation is a key principle within KEN. 16 EDE members met on 10th May for a general session. Part of the time was spent discussing the impact the group is likely to have and how best to react sensitively to local concerns.

Overall, KEN and the project groups are thriving and the EDE momentum is being maintained. The group remains very strong and united and the enthusiasm to pursue a "developed Kartong" is very much alive and well.

Geese information

2014/2

EDE InanItah, Nicaragua: 9 March to 4 April 2014 David Casey

Imagine…

An urban community activist fresh out of Zapatista School… A second generation Huehuecoyotl ecovillage activist and social permaculture educator… A profound holistic community organizational consultant… An evolutionary transformational tantra and personal development facilitator and… A world class transformational festival organizer working together to serve and inspire a group of young vibrant eco-village warriors of light.

Put them all together in the heart of a quaint regenerative loving community held between lush volcanos, steeped in ancestral wisdom. Spice it up a little more with space for raw authentic interaction, an abundance of delicious home grown local food, an international panel of guest speakers and field trips to visit with native elders and learn about sacred plants. And of course, throw in a great sound system and a good dose of cacao and ecstatic dance.

“This course inspired me in so many ways. I feel that the way I'm going about almost everything I do in my day to day life I now see

differently.”

InanItah and Project Nuevo Mundo collaborated in the production of this magical experience, set in the natural paradise of Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua. It is the only ongoing Ecovillage Design Education course in Central America.

InanItah is an earth-based evolutionary spiritual community and transformational living and learning centre inspired by the path of freedom and aliveness. Project Nuevo Mundo is a sustainability education platform connecting people, places, and projects. Both organizations share the mission of individual transformation and planetary regeneration. Participants ranged from 18 to 34 years of age and came from North America, Europe, and Central America.

Students participated in a wide range of hands-on and embodied learning activities, as well as more conventional theoretical lectures and panel discussions. They tasted different aspects of ecovillage life through immersion into the maintenance of the gardens, kitchen and building projects alongside course facilitators and InanItah family.

Geese information

2014/2

InanItah provides intimate family environment that excels in creating for transformation through the power of love and transparent expression. Participants were embedded into the social fabric of the community in sharing circle spaces.

“The raw openness of the emotional space was refreshing and allowed a lot of new thinking and feeling.”

The course was blessed to feature a diverse array of special guests including Stephen Brooks (Punta Mona, Costa Rica), Ron Sawyer (SARAR, Mexico), Zayda Acedevo Perez (Centro de Prevencion de la Violencia, Nicaragua), Martijn Priester (Totoco, Nicaragua), Christopher Shanks (Project Bonafide, Nicaragua), Brennan Bird (Peace on EarthBench) and Jillian Hovey (Sustainable Living Network, Canada).

Topics included tropical, social and financial permaculture, ecovillage development in Central America, social participation in municipal-level environmental issues, community support in the development of urban youth, solar cooking technology, and design on the individual,

interpersonal and ecovillage scales. The integration of internal and interpersonal awareness with the practical design education created a highly transformational experience for students and facilitators alike.

Facilitators contributed a spectrum of offerings, making this EDE a unique blend of inner transformational work, practical design skills and work where the two intersect in the fields of social permaculture and holistic living centre design.

“The course was a transformational experience that made me look at the world which we live in through different

lenses. It helped me re-evaluate our relationships with the earth and one another.”

Check out this video from the InanItah programme:

youtu.be/Fc4jb_xnBng

Geese information

2014/2

EDE Report: El Manzano, Chile: 2 to 26 February 2014

Hosted by El Manzano Ecoescuela in February 2014, the El Manzano EDE included 27 participants from 11 different countries in a vibrant multicultural learning space.

El Manzano is a small rural community of farming families in the Bio Bío region of Chile who are step by step moving towards local resilience as a viable and replicable local pattern of human settlement. The Ecosecuela exists as a regional centre of international learning, community living, teaching, networking, researching and consulting for ‘sustainability’. This EDE Report covers their 3 week EDE programme which lead to the design of 4 projects: a school, an ecovillage, a village in transition and a green campus.

Download this & other Programme Reports from www.gaiaeducation.net

GaiaEducation Publications

Gaia Education Manuals now on Sale!

The Teacher´s Guide-Design for Sustainability is a practical manual for sustainability teachers, ecovillage and community design educators & facilitators who are conducting courses on the broad sustainability agenda. Now marked down from £14.99 to £7.99!

The Gaia Youth Activities Guide is a practical manual for teachers and facilitators teaching sustainability in educational program that seeks to inspire youth to design long lasting sustainable societies. Now marked down from £5.99 to £4.99!

Visit www.gaiaeducation.net/index.php/publications/teachers-and-youth-guide.html to get your copy!

Geese information

2014/2

Breaking the Cycle of Food Insecurity: Gaia Education, CIFAL Scotland & Senegal’s Guede Chantier Municipality Awarded British Government Grant May East, Gaia Education Chief International Officer

Gaia Education, CIFAL Scotland and Guede Chantier Municipality have received over £200,000 from the British Government to help thousands of people in Senegal fight malnutrition and boost their incomes. The partner’s organisations will use the funding to build capacity of four communities in Saint‐Louis province to boost food production, repair damaged farmland and improve their incomes. The four villages Guede Chantier, Diarra, Moudouwaye and Lahel are home to 13,000 people who are almost entirely reliant on agriculture for their livelihoods. However, years of drought and intensive farming have left the land degraded and unproductive.

The project will increase food production and income generation in the long-term through the development of innovative farming and agroforestry activities. It will directly benefit 3,349 community members, especially women by increasing their economic, social, and agricultural knowledge and skills. The project will develop 150 hectares of community land to efficiently produce more food and increase local people’s resilience and capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change.

The project begun this June and will run for 3 years until March 2017. Gaia Education will be adapting the EDE and PDC curriculum to local needs and supporting capacity building activities in sustainable farming, agroforestry, the use and management of solar cookers, food processing techniques and trading strategies.

Geese information

2014/2

Orissa Project Starts with the Mobilisation of 125 Families of Koraput May East, Gaia Education Chief International Officer

THREAD has conducted a series of awareness raising events with communities of the four Gram Panchayats of Laxmipur Block of Koraput District, to kick-off the project awarded by the Scottish Government International Development Small Grants Programme.

Food and livelihood scarcity are two pressing issues for these communities. The tribal communities do not own the land they live on. Deforestation for the growing of crops has forced them into small plots of land that have become exhausted from over farming and poor land management practices. Within the communities women have a very low status, they are often expected to carry out agricultural labour as well has carrying out household duties. Women also have little or no say in community matters or organisation. This project intends to work with vulnerable indigenous communities while increasing the status of women within the communities of Laxmipur.

750 families from the four Gram Panchayats will benefit from the introduction of 2 vegetable gardens and the initiation of a Grow Your Own Food programme that will teach them how to grow their own sustainable supplies of nutritious food. The first community garden has been fenced and prepared and villagers are waiting for the rain to come to start planting.

This project will introduce Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) developed by Gaia Education drawing on expertise developed in a network of some of the most successful ecovillages and transition settings across the world.

Geese information

2014/2

Bangladesh Project sees 25 Houses adapted to Regional Climate Change Threats May East, Gaia Education Chief International Officer

Last year the Scottish Government awarded CIFAL Scotland, BASD, and Gaia Education £250,000 to carry out a climate change adaptation and food security project on the Khulna and Bagerhat districts of Bangladesh. The funding is providing training for community leaders in sustainable village development, including activities in horticultural and organic vegetable production and canal fisheries projects.

A key activity of the successful first year was the adaptation of 25 houses to climate change using 12 Disaster Adaptation Techniques.

The following Disaster Adaptation Techniques (DAT) are being implemented by the house-holders themselves.

Raise and repair base of residence by 5 feet Raise toilet bases by 4 feet (3 rings 1 slab) Raise court yard by 3 feet 4 corner pillars and strings Harvest and store rain water in 100 litre Earth Pitchers (3 pitchers per house) Raise floor of cow shelter by four feet and repair. Houses without cows or goats raised the compound

rather than the cow shelter. Install earth pitcher for emergency food, water and valuable materials

“These techniques originated over a consultation period of 2 years

when we identified 100 approaches inspired by what our forefathers were doing to save their lives and materials during natural

calamities. From 100 techniques we selected 12 as the most suitable to Banishanta, Sutarkhali and Mongla villages.”

Boniface Gomes, BASD Executive Director

As we enter the second year of activities selection of the next 25 houses will commence. Watch this space!

Geese information

2014/2

Gaia Education Launches Fundraising Initiative The Challenge

Our communities are too often controlled more by politics, strong personalities and rhetoric than by people empowered with the practical knowledge, skills, and real solutions. This is a dysfunctional model of community building, and the Earth’s systems are showing the dangers of this approach, bringing us closer to system collapse in the environmental, social, economic, and spiritual realms. We are constantly hearing about education reform, but seldom do we hear about an integrated system approach to sustainability. This way of thinking has brought us to facing the limits of our common resources and our planetary boundaries.

The solution

We believe that people have the power to dream and change society, making the impossible possible, and save the Earth and humanity from certain catastrophe. For this, we need to act with wisdom and care. Gaia Education empowers people in local communities everywhere to push back on destructive practices, and learn collectively how to create living communities that meet the needs for wellbeing and personal growth they seek for themselves and future generations.

Your Donation

Gaia Education exists to help people build a better future in their own communities and local organizations - together. Help us do just that by giving generously to Gaia Education. If you would like to know what your donation supports look at our many programs and their locations. These are life-changing experiences through education, and most of them are taking place where people need them the most, in traditional and local environments, academic centres, sustainability research sites, youth groups, and urban settings.

Visit www.gaiaeducation.net/index.php/partners/support-gaia-education.html to pledge your support now or contact us at give@gaiaeducation.net for further information

Geese information

2014/2

Gaia Education: Bidding Michael Farewell, Welcoming Graham! Giovanni Ciarlo, Gaia Education Chair of Management

It is with much gratitude that Gaia Education would like to recognise the invaluable contribution Michael Shaw has made to our work by serving on the Board of Directors. Michael has given generously of his time & expertise, and been a steady and supporting presence since the beginning of our flight, bringing a professional perspective to our international programmes and our ecovillage design curriculum. His knowledge of ecosystems, renewable energy and water recovery processes has been key in especially the ecological dimensions. Michael has contributed articles, graphics, technical knowledge and vision to all that we do. For that we will forever be grateful!

Michael is stepping down from the Board but will continue to mentor, advice and develop international projects and programmes with Gaia Education and our partners.

We would also like to welcome Graham Meltzer to the Gaia Education Board. Graham enthusiastically joined the Board on June 1st 2014. He brings broad experience in organisational development and management and has already started providing insights and helpful organisational advice to the Board and the management team. Welcome, Graham!!

Graham Meltzer : A Deep Passion for Communal Living Graham Meltzer

I have a deep and abiding passion for communal living, having lived 2 years on Kibbutz, 8 years in Australia’s largest commune and 8 years at Findhorn. I am a longstanding Board member of the International Communal Studies Association. In Australia I worked as an architect, academic and photographer. My academic research focused on cohousing – looking specifically at the link between social cohesion and effective environmentalism. I currently work on the Conference Team of the Findhorn Foundation and teach in the EDE as well as undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Sustainable Community Design run by the Findhorn Foundation College. I have spent a lifetime reinventing myself every 7 or 8 years as I strive for ever-increasing congruence between lifestyle and values, which I believe is key to human wellbeing and fulfilment. Having spent the last 8 years landing and grounding at Findhorn, I see the coming period as one of more outwardly focussed, inspired activism in the world. Joining the Gaia Education Board, I believe, is an important first step.

Geese information

2014/2

ECOLISE, a Meta-Network of European Community -led Initiatives on Climate Change & Sustainability is Born! May East, Gaia Education Chief International Officer

The ECOLISE network brings together a range of partners from across Europe, including the Transition Network, the Global Ecovillage Network, Permaculture UK, Gaia Education, ICLEI (local governments for sustainability) and others.

This unique convergence of transition towns, ecovillages, permaculture initiatives, eco-municipalities aims to support exchange and cooperation between initiatives and to promote a more supportive environment for the emergence of new initiatives in communities across Europe. Watch this space!

www.ecolise.eu

GaiaEducation Webinars: Catalysing Carbon Consciousness

Webinar Date: July 15, 2014 at 11:00 AM EST

In this free webinar, Daniel Greenberg, Gaia Education Board Member & CEO of Earth Deeds, will offer an overview of climate change & the pros and cons of current responses, how carbon onsetting differs from “carbon offsetting” & introduce carbon consciousness as an alternative to carbon neutrality. The presentation will include:

1. Measuring and reducing our travel-related carbon footprint 2. Teamfund to acknowledge the costs of these impacts, and 3. Contribute these funds to a sustainability project connected to your program

Register your participation here: www.fuzemeeting.com/webinar/register/1019587

Geese information

2014/2

An Update from Hildur Jackson Hildur Jackson

Dear all friends around the world

Ross and I are just back from the 4 days People’s Summit on Bornholm, a small Danish island. 80,000 persons managed to get to the island by bus, train, car and boat or plane. We were part of launching Alternativet (The Alternative), a new, open source Danish party, and their new party programme which Ross and our son Rolf have been active in formulating. It is like our curriculum which now needs to get to all of society. You have all been showing that sustainability is possible. Thank-you. We still need many signatures to be able to run for parliament. They have adopted Ross’s economic ideas.

My granddaughter was there to help me but mostly I drove the wheelchair up and down the steep hills and on the rough cobblestones of the harbour area. Gave me a lot of exercise! I enjoyed meeting friends and listening to people - so much better than sitting here and getting depressed!

During Pentecostal we were in our summer cottage with our son and 2 small grandchildren and I managed to walk to the beach and even swim - and enjoy the sight of the children running in the shallow, warm water. So life is good and full of family, friends and fun! I hope the medicine I get can continue to suppress the cancer and I get morphine so that I do not have pain. In 3 days we will have our yearly Gaia Trust meeting with both May East and Kosha Joubert present. Our Fællesgrønt now provides us with the first potatoes. It feels so rich! Everything is standing in beautiful rows and we need to water as it is very dry.

I send you all my love and appreciation, Hildur

Geese information

2014/2

Lifestyle Changes as Environmental Strategy By Ditlev Nissen, President of LØS, the National Association of Ecovillages in Denmark

An ecovillage is a settlement that includes all aspects of life: All ages, culture, working life, local production etc. They strive to integrate human activity into the surrounding natural environment in a gentle way. They seek to bring down the energy consumption and the environmental impact. The goal is working towards a healthy development that ensures good living conditions for future generations. Ecovillages are living laboratories for a sustainable future.

The progress occurs in the shape of a spiral. From the individual's desire for a good life in a sustainable setting, to unfolded the vision in cooperation with others. Buying land, making a local devel opment plan, preparing the building sites and building houses. Families with young children get involved with kindergartens and schools. The operation and self-governance is based on voluntary efforts. Self-sufficiency and enterprises hatch and grow into workplaces. It is about living and learning. Certain communities suffer from conflicts; others grow through them. Often the communities, which are impaired by conflicts, are the ones that solely focus on the ecological and financial dimension. Communities that also accommodate the social and spiritual dimension seem to grow through conflicts.

A survey from 2009 shows that that CO2 emissions in 3 Danish ecovillages are 60 % below the national average. Studies from Germany show that the CO2 emission of Sieben Linden is 30 % of the German average. Studies from Scotland show that the ecological footprint of Findhorn is 50 % of the British average. The Danish ecovillages encourage the universities to start an interdisciplinary action-research project, to investigate and develop the effects of ecovillages in relation to energy consumption, environmental impact, lifestyle changes and new forms of welfare. What can the World learn from more than 40 years of citizen run social experiments?

After 20 years with ecovillages, the municipalities begin to discover that ecovillages bring resources to the local area. For example Dyssekilde Ecovillage is the 5th subject in the business strategy of the council of Halsnæs. The council of Odsherred has set up an office for settlements with the purpose of attracting green communities to the municipality.

In 2013 LOES has established an educational board, which offers courses in inspired by Ecovillage Design Education. And people from 3 Danish ecovillages have created a social-economic business making courses for unemployed.

Ditlev Nissen presented his article Lifestyle Change as Climate Strategy at the Living Knowledge Conference at Aalborg University, Copenhagen, in April 2014. The theme for the conference was “An Innovative Civil Society: Impact through Co-creation and Participation”. Ditlev is a member of the Gaia Education’s GEESE.

To download the document go to

http://www.slideshare.net/GaiaEducation/lifestyle-

change-as-climate-strategy

Geese information

2014/2

Gaia Education Partners Introducing you to some of our long standing and some of our newly formed partnerships with organizations working on sustainable solutions and local community empowerment.

www.gaia.org

gen.ecovillage.org

www.nextgenna.org

outreach.un.org/ngorelations

www.ecolise.eu

www.transitionnetwork.org

www.earthdeeds.org

permanent-publications.co.uk

www.ecohabitar.org

Gaia Education Partner Feature: LOCAL FUTURES Such is the case with Local Futures, an organization started by one of Gaia Education’s own GEESE founding member Helena Norberg-Hodge. Her work has focused on ways to empower local traditional communities to strengthen their economies and cultures in the face of globalization. Her widely acclaimed movie “The Economics of Happiness” has sparked an International Alliance for Localization. It is now also the theme of conferences taking place in many places around the world.

For a critique of the global economy & solutions to a new economic story, see Local Futures latest video: www.localfutures.org/global-to-local/international-alliance-for-localization/the-international-alliance-for-localization

Geese information

2014/2

GEN-Europe Conference: ZEGG, Germany 9 to 13 July 2014 GEN-Europe

You are warmly invited to join us and get an updated and personal connection to what is happening throughout the European and Global networks of GEN at the moment.

GEN-movements are breathing and unfolding all over the world – and from all regions of Europe, practitioners will be coming to join and inspire us. Ecovillages act as research and training centres for sustainable development within wider society. Alongside the abundance of networking opportunities and the flow of inspiration within and between participants, the hosting ecovillage of ZEGG will serve as a living example and field of practice for the themes of this year’s conference. This year we will focus on strengthening the bonds between the national and local networks as well as reaching out to the Global South in mutual support. Amongst other interesting presenters we are proud to welcome Anna Breytenbach, the "Animal Whisperer" from South Africa. Experienced members from long-term communities will share and support your process in founding or strengthening your community initiative; we will look into the transition of traditional villages and urban neighbourhoods into living communities and more. Let’s celebrate what we have created as a strong network, carrying forth the power to live sustainably in a post-growth world. For more information: http://gen-europe.org/activities/gen-conference/gen-conference-2014/index.htm#c1325

GENOA International Conference: Orissa, India 31 Oct to 7 Nov 2014 GEN Oceania & Asia

We are happy to announce that GENOA (Global Ecovillage Network, Oceania & Asia) will hold an International Conference in Orissa, India in November 2014. This is the first regional conference that GENOA organizes and the theme of the conference is Ecovillages for Sustainable Development: A Model for Climate Change Adaptation.

Please join this conference or share this information with your Asian or Oceania friends and networks.

This special event includes 1. NextGEN Gathering: October 23rd - 30th 2. GENOA Conference: October 31st to November 2nd 3. Exposure Trip to indigenous villages: November 3rd 4. Inner Dance Retreat: November 4th - 7th

Details & information: http://genoa.ecovillage.org/index.php/13-news/69-genoa-international-conference-2014

Geese information

2014/2

Upcoming Gaia Education Programmes around the World

Gaia Education Online Programme English: Oct 2014 - Sep 2015 Spanish: Oct 2014 - Jul 2015 Portuguese: Oct 2014-Jun 2015 www.gaiaeducation.net

Brazil, Gaia Rio De Janeiro 20 Feb - 10 Aug 2014 terrauna.org.br

Brazil, Terra Una 1 Mar - 14 Sep 2014 terrauna.org.br

Brazil, EDE Paraná 25 Apr - 30 Aug 2014 institutonhandecy.wordpress.com

Germany, Sieben Linden 28 Apr - 25 May 2014 ede.siebenlinden.de

Spain, EDE Almería 23 May - 18 Aug 2014 educaciongaialmeria.wordpress.com

US, Earthaven Ecovillage 4 Jul - 16 Aug 2014 www.schoolofintegratedliving.org

Mexico, Hue Hue Ecovillage 20 Jul – 3 Aug 2014 iserviciosambientales.com.mx

Brazil, Brasilia - Ecohabitare 31 Jul – 20 Dec 2014 www.gaiaeducation.net

Italy, Damanhur 2 Aug – 30 Aug 2014 www.damanhurwelcome.com

Argentina, Buenos Aires 16 Aug – 30 Nov 2014 edeargentina.wordpress.com

Scotland, Findhorn 4 Oct – 7 Nov 2014 wwww.findhorncollege.org

India, Siddharthvillage 15 Nov – 12 Dec 2014 www.siddharthvillage.com

The Park, Findhorn Forres, IV36 3TZ Morayshire, Scotland United Kingdom

administrator@gaiaeducation.net Phone: +44 131 225 3407 NGO Associated with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations. Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in Scotland No 353967 Scottish Charity No SC040839

www.gaiaeducation.net

GaiaEducation Certifications

The New Certification Round for EDE Programmes is Open!

Organise an EDE in your country and join the 155 EDE programmes that have been formally Certified or Re-certified in more than 20 countries on six continents since 2005!

The current Certification round will be open until the 31st august. For more information & to register your programme, visit www.gaiaeducation.net/index.php/certification.html