What
is an Ecovillage?
Robert
Gilman, in his book, Ecovillages
and Sustainable Communities
(1991), offers this definition
and explanation:
An
ecovillage is 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.
With
the aim of creating and
presenting to the world
outstanding examples of
what it means in live in
harmony with nature in a
sustainable way, GEN promotes
and facilitates communities--whether
rural or urban--which develop
and implement technologies
and practices such that
human activities are harmlessly
integrated into the natural
world.
The
Global Ecovillage Network
is developing the concept
of sustainability auditing
to provide measuring rods
for individuals and for
existing villages and communities
to compare their current
status with ideal goals
for ecological, social,
and spiritual sustainability.
In addition, these tools
are learning instruments
- pointing out actions aspiring
individuals and communities
can take to become more
sustainable.
Global Ecovillage Network
Announcing
the NEW Ecovillage Store
on ENA's web pages. The
EV Store will be offering
a variety of books and
videos in the future.
Our first item is an inspiring
new book, Ecovillage
Living: Restoring the
Earth and Her People,
edited by Hildur Jackson,
Karen Svensson. Go to:
http://ena.ecovillage.org/store/index.html
or http://ena.ecovillage.org/Espanol
With
the large and growing
interest in urban sustainability,
an URBAN ECOVILLAGE NETWORK
is now forming! See -
http://urban.ecovillage.org/
Creating
a Life Together:
Practical
Tools to Grow Ecovillages
and Intentional Communities
by Diana
Leafe Christian
previously editor of Communities
Magazine
foreword
by Patch Adams.
2003
New Society Publishers, 272
pp.
Creating
a Life Together is an
overview of the process of
forming new ecovillages and
intentional communities, gleaned
from founders of dozens of
successful communities in
North America formed since
the early '90s. This is what
they did, and what you can
do, to create your community
dream. It attempts to distill
their hard experience into
solid advice on getting started
as a group, creating vision
documents, decision-making
and governance, agreements
and policies, buying and financing
land, communication and process,
and selecting people to join
you. It's what works, what
doesn't work, and how not
to reinvent the wheel. This
information is not only for
people forming new communities
- whether or not you already
own your land. It can also
be valuable for those of you
thinking about joining community
one day - since you, too,
will need to know what works.
And it's also for those of
you already living in community,
since you can only benefit
from knowing what others have
done in similar circumstances.
"Wow!
The newest, most comprehensive
bible for builders of intentional
communities. Covers every
aspect with vital information
and hundreds of examples of
how successful communities
faced the challenges and created
their shared lives out of
their visions. The cautionary
tales of sadder experiences
and how communities fail,
will help in avoiding the
pitfalls. Not since I wrote
the Foreword to Ingrid Komar's
Living the Dream (1983),
which documented the Twin
Oaks community, have I seen
a more useful and inspiring
book."
--Hazel
Henderson, author, Creating
Alternative Futures, and
Politics of the Solar Age.
"A great deal of research
and trial-and-error has been
assembled here, and every
potential ecovillager should
read it. This book will be
an essential guide and msanual
for the many Permaculture
graduates who live in communities
or design for them." --Bill
Mollison, co-originator
of the Permaculture concept,
author of The Permaculture
Designers Manual, Ferment
and Human Nutrition.
"A
really valuable resource for
anyone thinking about intentional
community. I wish I had it
years ago." -- Starhawk,
author of Webs of Power,
The Spiral Dance, and
The Fifth Sacred Thing
-- and committed communitarian.
Explores
the background and the history
of the Ecovillage movement,
and provides a comprehensive
manual for planning, establishing,
and maintaining a sustainable
community in both urban
and rural environments.
Includes discussions on
design, conflict management,
food production, energy,
economics, and more.
Permaculture
Credit Union
Savings accounts,
loans, credit card, more. http://www.pcuonline.org/
4250 Cerrillos
Road
P.O. Box 29300
Santa Fe, NM 87592-9300, USA
Ph:(505) 954-3479; Toll Free:
(866) 954-3479
Fax: (505) 424-1624
Email:
Apply for a PCU Visa Card
MyCUcard.com
Announcing
the debut of Bonfire, the on-line
magazine of the International
Institute for Facilitation and
Consensus. This free, bimonthly
publication
appears in both English and
Spanish on our website, Bonfire
contains a lively mix of theory,
inspiration, humor and practical
suggestions for everyone concerned
with group dynamics, especially
those related to meeting facilitation,
decision-making and conflict
resolution. http://www.iifac.org
International Institute for
Facilitation and Consensus
Plaza Corporativa #113, Domingo
Diez 1589,
Col. del Empleado Cuernavaca,
Morelos 62250 Mexico
tel-fax +52 (777)1022288 y 1022290
To
link to our site, clip the
graphic, paste in your page(s)
and add this link:
http://www.permacultureactivist.net Thanks!