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GEN Columnists
- Diana Leafe Christian
- May East
- Ross Jackson
- Max Lindegger
Systemic Consensus — Fast, Visual, and Hard to Argue With
Diana Leafe Christian
In July 2011 I attended the annual meeting of the ecovillage network of Austria, "Austrotopia," held at Gänserndorf Cohousing near Vienna.
At the Austrotopia gathering I participated in a decision-making method called Systemic Consensus, developed by two professional system analysts formerly at the University of Graz in Austria, Dr. Erich Visotschnig and Siegfried Schrotta.
Diana Leafe Christian is author of Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools To grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities and Finding Community: How to Join an Ecovillage or Intentional Community (New Society Publishers, 2003 and 2007, respectively), and editor/publisher of the free online Ecovillages Newsletter. A member of Earthaven Ecovillage in North Carolina, US, Diana teaches workshops and speaks at conferences internationally.
Gaia Education Worldwide - Guizhou, China
May East
Meanwhile, the economically driven development trend threatens the survival of Guizhous’s rich and diversified ethnic cultures. EDE Guizhou is expected to host 30 participants coming from Guizou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, officials from the Environmental Protection Bureau, PCD staff from field offices of the region and NGO members working in both urban and rural contexts. Read Full Story
May East is a Brazilian social change activist who has spent the last 30 years working internationally with music, indigenous people, women, anti-nuclear, environmental and sustainable human settlements movements. Since 1992 she has lived at the Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland where she is the Ecovillage Education Coordinator. May is a sustainability educator and works internationally as Programme Director of Gaia Education.
Breakaway - Living Beyond Our Means
Ross Jackson
What does it really mean when we say that our global civilisation is living beyond its means—living off its natural capital? What are the possible consequences to humankind when we weaken the ecosystem? How will Nature react to this intrusion—this assault on its integrity? The short answer is that we just do not know. Nature’s complexity is orders of magnitude beyond our comprehension. But react it will, and sooner or later it will collapse if we continue on this path. That much is for certain. We are carrying out an unprecedented experiment with our very survival at stake.Ross Jackson, PhD, has for many years been an innovative leader in both the business and NGO worlds. He is chairman of Gaia Trust, a Danish-based charitable entity he co-founded in 1987 to promote a more sustainable and spiritual world. In his capacity as Gaia Trust Chairman, Ross, together with his Danish wife Hildur, is co-founder of the Global Ecovillage Network, (GEN) and Gaia Education and has supported hundreds of sustainability projects in dozens of countries over the years.
Ecovillage Musings - Mulch Gardens
Max Lindegger
Mulch gardens are to permaculture what flat breads and chillies are to Mexico. Wherever I work, I introduce compost making and mulch gardens. The go so well together and are the beginning of abundance. While the gardens come in all shapes and sizes and need to be managed to suit the environment, they are easy to build and not much can go wrong. Read Full Story
Max was a primary partner in the design and development of the Award -winning Crystal Waters Permaculture Village, where he lives. He is a respected and sought-after teacher in the disciplines of sustainable systems. His reputation is born of 20 years of hands-on experience and leadership in the design and implementation of practical solutions to the challenges of sustainability. As the founder of the Global Ecovillage Network Oceania & Asia and the Ecovillage Research Group, Max participates in and contributes to the international flow of current thinking and best practice in the fields of sustainable systems design and education.
"Tuwa - The Laughing Fish" is an eco-homestead, living and learning center and green bed and breakfast inn nestled right in the middle of the vast rice fields of a small farming town in the Philippines.
What makes it unique is that it was created by two Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) alumni all in a short span of two years.
The Urabá area in northern Colombia is one of the most violent regions in the world. 13 years ago more than 1,000 farmers and refugees founded the peace village San José de Apartado. In that period over 170 community members have been murdered.
Now they have received support from Lush, a cosmetics company based in England.
A big well done to CIFAL Findhorn’s Executive Director May East who has been recognised at the prestigious 100 Global Sustainability Leaders 2011 awards!
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