The GEN, Annual Report 1996

Report update, August 1996

Origins
The Global Eco-village Network is an evolving network of eco-village projects around the globe. Its origins go back to 1990, when Gaia Trust of Denmark asked itself how it best could use its resources to further the movement towards sustainability. The conclusion reached was that, more than anything else, the world needed good examples of what it means to live in harmony with nature in a sustainable and spiritually satisfying way in a technologically advanced society. Only then was there any hope of catching the attention of the mainstream.

It was necessary to make more concrete the vision that so many people were trying to manifest. Disgruntled mainstreamers needed physical places where they could go to change their lives. Architects and developers needed to see model settlements that could inspire replication. But, looking around we saw no model communities that were ideal - where we could say: "There is a model. Replicate that!" One result of that first observation was our commissioning of "The Eco-Village Report", a global survey of existing eco-village communities and projects, done by The Context Institute, of Seattle, for Gaia Trust, in 1991. We discovered in this way many very exciting and very different projects around the world, but still none that were ideal replicable models for the 21st century sustainable society.

An international meeting of a small number of the best existing eco-villages in September 1991 emphasized the importance of networking among the geographically dispersed experiments across the globe. New projects and cross-linkages were established between people who had not known each other before, but found that they had common ground on which to enthusiastically work together. It became clear that forging links was vital to the success of any global strategy.

At the same time, it became clear to us that Denmark was somewhat ahead of many other countries in developing the eco-village concept, perhaps because of twenty years of experience with co-housing, which had been quite successful, but limited in scope. Many Danes were now looking for a broader vision that went a step further. A number of eco-village projects were already underway - about fifteen or so, most very embryonic, but three that were well established. So Gaia Trust took the initiative to gather them together in the Danish Eco-Village Association, which turned out to be a very effective way to strengthen the movement, not least through lobbying activities.

Thus began the gradual evolution of the "seed group" of what we now call the Global Eco-Village Network (GEN).

Early Members
The GEN "seed group", which is quite diverse in make-up, history, and state of evolution, as of Autumn 1995 consisted of the following : Findhorn Community, Scotland; The Farm, Tennessee, USA; Lebensgarten, Steyerberg, Germany; Crystal Waters, Australia; Ecoville, St. Petersburg, Russia; Gyûrûfû, Hungary; The Ladakh Project, India; The Manitou Institute, Colorado, USA; and The Danish Eco-Village Association. These were chosen for a variety of reasons, including geographical spread, attractiveness as models, and personal contacts. None were considered perfect models, but all had something vital to contribute.

A major watershed in the development of GEN occurred in October 1995 when Findhorn, assisted by GEN and Gaia Trust, held a conference on "Eco-villages and Sustainable Communities", which was a great success attended by over 400 people from 40 countries. Over 300 had to be turned away. The interest in the concept was immense. It was decided to establish three regional networks covering the globe geographically, with administrative centers at The Farm, Lebensgarten, and Crystal Waters. Gaia Trust committed to covering expenses to support the networks for 3-5 years, and to act as co-ordinating secretariat out of its Gaia Villages office in Denmark. Interested eco-villages , as well as individuals and other interested parties are encouraged to join the regional networks which all have an open-ended, democratic, non-hierarchical self-organizing organizational form.

Since the Findhorn conference, agreement has been reached on three additional projects coming on line: Asociación Gaia (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Kibbutz Gezer (Israel), and the International Institute for Sustainable Future (Bombay, India). Additional nodes will be added as budgets permit. A meeting is scheduled for September 1996 in Australia where it is intended to formally incorporate GEN as an association of autonomous regional networks , but also to include as members invited organizations who work globally and are supportive of the GEN vision.

Integrity of the Vision
In order to maintain the integrity of the original vision within a structure that is open for anyone to join, GEN has developed the concept of an eco-village audit to measure the degree of attainment of any particular project on a multi-dimensional scheme. (See "What is an eco-village"). This will enable the networks to define "qualified" eco-villages as those that have come furthest in their development. Organizationally, it is intended that representatives of "qualified" eco-villages will have a majority of seats on the boards of the regional networks, while other seats will be open to any member. Besides preserving the integrity of the vision, this approach gives every project a measuring rod to see how close it is to the ideal, and thus where it can improve.

Internet
A Global Eco-Village Information Service has now been established on the Internet (http://www.gaia.org), and is expanding quickly, having over 600 pages already. The site will eventually be able to include profiles of all member eco-villages who wish to present themselves to the world, "how to" manuals for new communities, a number of special interest groups on e-mail (financing, permaculture, ecological building, Habitat II, etc.), and links to other organizations of interest, including providers of "green products" across the globe. Everyone is welcome to join the GEN regional networks without conditions. This include eco-village projects, of course, but also individuals and organisations that have an interest in what is happening.

Technology
An important eco-village issue is how to make technology ecologically, socially and spiritually responsive to human needs, rather than the opposite. A closely related issue is the creation of jobs in eco-villages. Technology tends to determine the structure and organization of society. Contemporary society's alienating technology promotes unliveable mega-cities, separation of work and home, institutionalization of family support functions, environmental degradation, unsustainability, and over-consumption, in a centralized, hierarchical structure. The GEN vision requires a radical change in structure that would reverse all of these tendencies. An important part of GEN's strategy is the promotion of sustainable technologies . The long term vision is to provide sustainable jobs in eco-villages by technology exchange and co-operation.

Three key criteria have emerged in assessing appropriate technologies for eco-villages, over and above commercial viability:



1. Ecological sustainability

2. Human scale, decentralized production

3. Allowance for a non-stressful, meditative life style. It is recognized that the realization of this vision will take some time.


Persons interested in linking into GEN should contact their nearest regional office.