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Southern Summer / Northern Winter 2012
The Year in Review May East, Gaia Education Programme Director 2012 has marked the 25th Anniversary of Gaia Trust, the 7th Anniversary of Gaia Education. It has been a year in which we have had a strong & inspiring presence at the Peoples Summit during Rio +20, and a year in which the work of several of us have received internationally recognised awards. When we established Gaia Education as an institution in our organisational structure we acknowledged the importance of collaboration and roving leadership as it is exhibited by the migration behaviour of a flock of geese. In 7 years we expanded from a flock of 23 GEESE (Global Ecovillage Educators for a Sustainable Earth) to a community of learning involving 74 institutions in 32 countries and over 3500 designers, taking the 4 dimensions of sustainability to new heights and applications. Today I see a myriad of ways in which Gaia Education influences and is influenced by the global trends in education for sustainable development. Gaia Education’s growing edges are like a permeable membrane, tight enough to focus the organisation’s energy on accomplishing its mission of promoting a holistic approach to sustainability education, and supple enough to allow a robust exchange of ideas with the organisational partners and learners that join our programmes. This year, following the GEESE discussions in Denmark and in preparation for the end of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) in 2014, we have started a series of field investigations in order to identify which EDE modules have served for developing awareness, which for enhancing knowledge, and which for developing skills. We have also started to identify the kind of knowledge learners acquire: declarative knowledge (talking about the importance of local economies), or procedural
knowledge (knowing how to set-up a community currency). For years we have been collecting, recording and monitoring the results of EDEs through SurveyMonkey. We are now embarking on a systematic assessment and evaluation of the design, implementation and results of these programmes. Early in 2005, when the EDE curriculum was launched, we wrote: “The EDE is being introduced to the world at this time to complement, correspond with, and assist in setting a standard for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development – 2005-2014.” Today we see this collective ideal coming true and a group of service-oriented educators and designers transformed into a living-learning organism.
You were born with potential. You were born with goodness and trust. You were born with ideals and dreams. You were born with greatness. You were born with wings. You are not meant for crawling, so don’t You have wings. Rumi Flying together in service beyond 2012
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Gaia Award 12–12–2012: For Birthing a New Sustainable Culture Gaia Trust Gaia Trust presents the Gaia Award 2012 to two global peace and sustainability projects: The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) and Gaia Education, which have together collected the experiences of GEN into one common curriculum for the whole Earth. Between 1995 and 2008, Declan Kennedy, Max Lindegger and Albert Bates travelled the 5 continents and created GEN networks in all parts of the world. They share the prize with the present head of GEN, Kosha Joubert, who just set up GEN-African and May East, who for 7 years now has been at the head of Gaia Education and facilitated a network in South America. Together they have been important midwives in giving birth to a new global culture.
We carved out a vision in the nineties, wrote down goals and new mission statement,
Whether we make it depends on how wise we become and the truth we can see.
In spite of confusional rupture, it’s the courage the soul knows: “it’s had them”.
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Declan Kennedy “I’m humbled to receive this award with friends I have been and strong world workers and will continue to learn from with it a stream of memories from events from around the world we shared and I do believe that all of us have helped to bring awareness and positive changes to our planet. I
of friendship, mutual support and healing spanning
With thanks and appreciation, Max With heartfelt gratitude, Kosha
Thank you for this moment of sharing, and for all our relations. I love you all. Albert Bates
May East Declan, Max, Albert, Kosha and May will each receive an award of DKK 10,000.
x Lindegger, From right: Declan Kennedy, Mart in South wa Albert Bates and Hamish Ste rs ago! Africa – many, many yea
May & Kosha in Bonn, 2009 3
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Denmark Celebrates its First EDE Sasja Iza Christensen
The first EDE to be held in Denmark was hosted by Hallingelille Ecovillage, organised by four of us villagers eager to offer interested people a chance to do an EDE in Denmark. Denmark has several attractions: one of the world’s highest concentrations of ecovillages and co-housing experiments; a world leader in windpower and other eco-technologies; a long and successful history producing consumer co-operatives; and a long history of adult education that is strong on democratic and co-creative learning styles. The diverse group of 19 enthusiastic participants came from 9 different countries (Denmark, Germany, Austria, Portugal, USA, Canada, Brazil, Ghana and Japan) and included 7 women and 12 men aged 21 to 59. Hallingelille’s Camilla Nielsen-Englyst, Sasja Iza Christensen and Bjørn Uldall were the core faculty of the social dimension, joined by Patricia van Asbroeck in the worldview dimension facilitating practice and learning. For the economic and large parts of the ecological dimension, we relied on guest faculty. Running in parallel to the EDE, Hallingelille also hosted an Action Aid work camp where a group of 18 young volunteers from all over the world helped to construct a future Educational Centre. Hallingelille‘s Jonas Binladen lead this house-building project, facilitating a series of work-sessions which introduced the EDE participants to ecological building. Taking advantage of the many different examples of ecovillages nearby, our field trips to Svanholm, Dyssekilde, Munksøgård, and Christania were among the highlights of the programme, living examples of the variety
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2012/4 of ways to tackle issues in all four dimensions. Dialogues with passionate entrepreneurs and pioneers in green building and business were inspiring additions.
Throughout the program we strove to make living together, in community, a central learning experience. While using some of the approaches of community building described in the EDE curriculum, we invited participants to explore their own processes of community building and dealing with diversity and conflict, empowerment and leadership, etc. Participants were also invited to reflect on their own personal patterns of dealing with community and we offered opportunities for one-to-one sessions with a faculty member to support this. Some participants felt that they were undergoing a personal transformation as a result. At the same time, our insistence on focusing on the real complexities and dilemmas of community building also meant that many participants left not only with hope and motivation, but also an empowered sense of dealing with the real challenges of community building and the potential for continual learning and innovation:
Meditation a blessing and a challenge and that the communicative and social aspects of sustainable communities cannot be
Anonymous quote from participant survey
Building the Education Centre
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De Gaia em Gaia (Portuguese)
From Gaia to Gaia: The Rio EDE (English)
Taisa Mattos e Equipe Terra Una
Taisa Mattos and the Terra Una Team
Pelo quarto ano consecutivo, Terra Una, em parceria com a ENBT – Escola Nacional de Botânica Tropical/Jardim Botânico, foi responsável pela realização do Educação Gaia no Rio de Janeiro. Os participantes eram, em sua maioria do Rio e arredores, mas também vindos de São Paulo, interior de Minas Gerais, Florianópolis e João Pessoa. Um grupo bem diverso, de 70 pessoas, com idades entre 21 e 56 anos, embarcou nessa jornada de quatro módulos, entre agosto e dezembro de 2012, para vivenciar as dimensões: Social, Econômica, Ecológica e Visão de Mundo. Entre aulas expositivas, vivências e dinâmicas de grupo, danças circulares, rodas de violão, partilhas e conselhos, saídas de campo e momentos de profunda reconexão com a natureza dentro da mata da Floresta da Tijuca, os temas foram trazidos e aprofundados, criando uma grande rede de aprendizado. A equipe de Terra Una assumiu diversos conteúdos, contando com a presença de um grupo inspirador de educadores convidados como: May East (Gaia Education/Findhorn), Dominic Barter (CNV Brasil), Jorge Mello, Marcos Arruda (PACS), Joaquim Melo
Over the last four years Terra Una, in partnership with the National School of Tropical Botany/Botanical Garden, have been responsible for running the EDE in Rio de Janeiro. Most participants come from Rio and around but there were some from other states - São Paulo, Minas Gerais and cities as Florianópolis and João Pessoa. Between August and December of 2012, a very diverse group of 70 people, aged between 21 and 56, joined us in a journey through the four dimensions. Between classes, group dynamics, circle dances, music, councils, field trips and moments in deep connection with nature at the Tijuca Forest, the curriculum was revealed and shared, creating a real learning network. The Terra Una Team were responsible for much of the content and counted on the support of a great team of inspiring educators including May East (Gaia Education & Findhorn), Dominic Barter (NVC Brazil), Jorge Mello, Marcos Arruda (PACS), Joaquim Melo (Banco Palmas), Peter Webb, Romeu Leite (Vila Yamaguishi), Fábio Brotto (Projeto Cooperação), Roberto Crema (UNIPAZ) e José Pacheco (Escola da Ponte).
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(Banco Palmas), Peter Webb, Romeu Leite (Vila Yamaguishi), Fábio Brotto (Projeto Cooperação), Roberto Crema (UNIPAZ) e José Pacheco (Escola da Ponte).
Participants were divided into small working groups and given the opportunity to apply their knowledge in self-elected projects and institutions. There were projects in favelas, NGOs working with indigenous people, a cultural centre and an environmentally focused company. These institutions will receive a report with suggestions and proposals for their sustainability, covering the four dimensions.
No dia 02 de dezembro, em clima de celebração e gratidão, fechamos mais um ciclo de Gaia, com depoimentos emocionados:
nosso poder de cura.”
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Karina Miotto
Uma das iniciativas mais nobres e belas Leonardo Guanarys
mas nunca vivi tanta diversidade.” Sumara Santolia
To complete the programme participants will choose one of our partners for an immersive experience. Partners include: Ecovila El Nagual and Tibá in Rio de Janeiro, Nazaré Uniluz and Vila Yamaguishi in São Paulo and the Terra Una Ecovillage in Mina Gerais.
É impressionante perceber a transformação que ocorre com o grupo ao longo do processo do curso. Em quarto meses, vemos pessoas desconhecidas se assumindo enquanto comunidade, revendo valores e buscando novas formas de agir no mundo.
It is impressive to notice the transformation that happens with the group. In four months, people that did not know each other before create community, review their values and seek new ways of interacting in the world.
Durante a formação, a turma se dividiu em grupos menores de trabalho para aplicar os conhecimentos e ferramentas estudadas em cinco Estudos de Caso,
On December 2nd, with lots of celebration and gratitude, we concluded another EDE in Rio with enthusiastic testimonies:
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escolhidos pelo próprio grupo. Entre eles, alguns projetos em comunidades, um instituto que trabalha com os povos indígenas, um centro cultural em formação e uma empresa que desenvolve projetos na área ambiental. Os projetos e instituições contemplados irão receber um relatório com sugestões e propostas para um design mais integrado nas quatro dimensões abordadas.
we recall our healing power.” Karina Miotto
Para complementar a formação, os participantes farão ainda estágios imersivos em instituições parceiras como: Ecovila El Nagual (RJ), Nazaré Uniluz (SP), Tibá (RJ), Vila Yamaguishi (SP) e Ecovila Terra Una (MG).
noble and beautiful initiatives that I’ve ever seen.” Leonardo Guanarys
Dando continuidade a formação de designers em sustentabilidade, a equipe de Terra Una agradece por mais essa jornada e já se prepara para receber a nova turma em 2013.
Sumara Santolia
In continuing the work of capacitating designers of sustainability, the Terra Una Team are grateful for this beautiful journey and are already preparing to receive a new group in 2013. Após quatro anos de trabalho, vemos surgir o corpo dessa Rede Gaiana, que hoje mobiliza em torno de 250 pessoas no Rio de Janeiro e vem se consolidando com intervenções pontuais, e outras mais abrangentes, como a participação no Gaia Home, na Cúpula dos Povos (Rio + 20) e a criação da Rede Gaiana de Economia Solidária, com a circulação da moeda social ELOS.
After four years of hard work, the emerging Gaia Network in Rio de Janeiro mobilizes around 250 people and is consolidating as an active working group. They were part of Gaia Home at the People’s Summit (Rio +20) and are developing the Gaian Economic Network with the social currency, ELOS.
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Becoming Community through the Damanhur EDE Macaco Tamerice Damanhur’s second EDE hosted 13 participants from 10 countries: Latvia, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Usa, Italy, France, Perù and Romania. Spanning an age range of 40 yrs between 22 and 62, the 5 men and 8 women created a fantastic course, showing that running a 4 week programme with a small number of participants can be a deep experience. The main facilitators included Kosha Joubert and Macaco Tamerice for the social and worldview dimensions; Macaco co-facilitated with Martin Stengel for the ecological dimension and with Lemming Cactus for the economic dimensions. Several Damanhurian facilitators complemented this team: Formica Coriandolo held an art workshop, Inti China assisted Martin for strawbale building, Formichiere Carota held a session on health, Husky Vaniglia and Coboldo Melo covered politics and bioregional integration, and Quaglia and Karen, a participant from last year’s EDE, lead an Open Space session. Participants were highly motivated to acquire new knowledge and to experience a shift of consciousness through community living. Indeed, participants shared a single living and learning space for the entire course: a lovely manor with a beautiful lawn and rose garden. The highly appreciated Italian cook took care of the group’s physical wellbeing. The social dimension ignited the group’s fire for community. Group building dynamics and leadership exercises, supported by social tools like world café and open space, helped the group to create a sense of community from the start. A particular note was that despite, or maybe thanks to, 13 strong characters, no conflicts arose between the participants. A very exciting community building experience was a two day community experiment in the woods, deepening already strong bonds. Visiting some Damanhurian nucleos (smaller communities of 15-25 people) and experiencing life in a big community with almost 38 years history broadened the overall experience of community.
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The worldview dimension was naturally embedded in Damanhur with a visit and meditation in the Temples of Humankind, an introduction to Spiral Dynamics, exercises from both Deep Ecology and Damanhur to connect with nature, and a morning spent observing our world from a holistic point of view. A highlight was two half days spent approaching art through both sculpture and painting. The ecology dimension included a beautiful project using permaculture design in a very romantic, abandoned area. Hands-on experiences included building and plastering a strawbale house, an earthbag house and working in the garden of a Damanhurian community. These days were much appreciated, balancing the emotional and mind work of the rest of the course. One of the highlights of the economy section was the design of a complementary currency and a little film about blue economy. Participants learned how to make a business plan as well as about hard facts around money in a world that is troubled by a global, somewhat unfair financial system. Design had a special place during the whole course, continuously weaving into what became a beautiful, life changing experience for all.
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Orissa Oriya EDE George John The 2012 Orissa EDE hosted 26 indigenous participants, between 2nd Nov and 30th Nov 2012, at Siddharthvillage Community School of Ecology, Kakirigumma, an ideal setting for conducting such a programme. During the 4 weeks of the Oriya language course, participants were introduced to the four dimensions of the EDE curriculum. The course emphasised practical application, taking into consideration of the background of the participants. The session on ecological footprints and peak oil, named “No Petrol and No Diesel After 2020” helped tribal participants discuss their role in carbon reductions and the importance of taking the issue of climate change seriously. Sessions on different effective group dynamics and leadership styles, with emphasis on situational leadership, were introduced as effective tools for spreading ecovillages in Orissa. Participants were empowered through regular opportunities to take the initiative. The EDE offered tailor made sessions on different Indian Government acts, including NREGA and the Right to Information act, and different schemes promoted by the Government were introduced, enabling EDE participants to take informed initiatives around these acts and schemes back home. During the Economy week, identifying and listing the economic ‘leaks’ in the village enabled participants to understand the importance of the formation of co-operatives to strengthen the villages economy. Various herbal medicines
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2012/4 for curing tuberculosis, women’s diseases, malaria, anaemia and water borne diseases were taught. Water and sanitation and its effectiveness in arresting several water borne diseases were an eye opener for many participants. The climax of the course was an exhibition conducted by the EDE participants on all they had learnt in the course. It was so well attended by the press and locals alike that even though it was a one day exhibition, it was kept open for three more days! It remains in our memory to this day!
John would like to conclude with the statement, “what is destined to happen will happen and vice versa and so we will go on dream further again and again and surrender to the universe with humility.� With this statement, he leaves for 11 day Vipassana meditation after this in-depth month-long experience for the indigenous people.
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The 2012 Findhorn EDE Jane Rasbash
A delightful group of diversely skilled and multi-talented participants arrived to Autumnal sunshine and geese honking overhead. Commencing with a lively social week, participants bonded through practicing communication skills and engaging in empowerment games. In downtime the regular parties, songs and clapping games set the tone for a friendly, happy group which continued throughout the month. A change of gear followed with two weeks of complex analysis and break down of ecological and economic systems, number-crunching, handson skills and cutting edge alternatives. The worldview week offered multidimensional perspectives, illuminating the different types of thinking which can cause and potentially heal the woes of the current paradigm. The course ended with a Transition Town Training, leaving participants motivated to be the change they want to see in the world. The rich and diverse faculty included leading lights in Ecovillage design - May East, Michael Shaw and Jonathan Dawson, supported by Daniel Wahl, Kosha Joubert and others, each bringing unique styles.
Nature Sanctuary
In keeping with Gaia Education recommendations, the training aspect was released and design studio time increased. Some budding facilitators, dreaming of initiating EDEs, would have liked more training skills and faculty wove in where possible. This raises questions for the broader Gaia Education network on how best to prepare GEESE to step up to meet the ever increasing demands to run more EDEs.
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For the first time Findhorn had a design studio coach, Jane Rasbash, who along with faculty of each week supported the four design groups. The resulting presentations were excellent and give a taste of where some GEESE will be heading: Eco-oasis Malaysia Advocating a new paradigm for conscious travel will encourage conscious choices in personal and global journeys, in alignment with local culture. Thermal mass and air flows as well as economic exchange are all seen as flows of resources, elements and energy and will be incorporated into eco-design tools to help travellers make holistically informed choices about their travel. The final presentation amazed everyone – an interactive Feng Shui map, creating multileveled perspectives of the cosmic forces influencing the land. Barefoot Architects Sustainable Project for the Slums in Rio, Brazil – A pilot eco-centre in Favela de Rocinha, the largest slum in Rio de Janeiro with around 150,000 inhabitants. The vision is to empower community for local sustainability, inspired by low cost eco-technologies. Green Society A pilot model for sustainable settlement. This ecovillage project and training centre in rural France will be a pilot for sustainable settlements, linking with other transition communities around France and beyond in a GLOCAL approach – encompassing both global and local. Garden of Love: Antwerp Born out of the Transition Town movement, this project is offering positive solutions to peak oil and climate change issues through allotments and city gardening. Feedback for the Findhorn EDE was generally very good with faculty scoring 80% plus. The group included a lot of very motivated and active change agents and they left with the confidence and inspiration to make real sustainable change in the world.
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News from the Board The Gaia Education Board: Jane Rasbash, Ross Jackson, Michiyo Furuhashi, Potira Preiss & Michael Shaw
The Board continues to be greatly encouraged by the steady growth and increasing scope of Gaia Education programmes that are now present in more than 30 countries. A particular success is the expansion of the GEDs programme with an upcoming new partnership in Brazil between Gaia Education and the University Estadual do Ceara in Fortaleza. The Portuguese GEDs will kick off in Spring 2013 with potential to reach some of the 280 million Lusophone speakers around the world. The Board is also excited to support Ulises and May to identify opportunities to step up the Gaia Education Design for Sustainability (GEDS) online course to a full Masters level programme. The Board are pleased to support the move from EDE start-up grants to a Regional Mentoring Fund which will enable experienced EDE actors to share knowledge with others in their region. This has kicked off with funds for Om Sunisa to travel to Bangladesh to support Boniface Gomes and his team with deep ecology and other experiential methodologies which she has used in Thailand’s Wongsanit Ashram EDE worldview sessions. The Brasilia, Colombia and Amazon EDEs will also be supported by this fund. The Board has requested that May continue looking for sources of international development funding to support EDE related initiatives in the South. She is currently developing a bid for EDEs and Climate Change adaptation in Bangladesh in partnership with CIFAL Scotland and the Bangladesh Association for Sustainable Development. As demand for EDEs increases around the world, the Board is revisiting the Training of Trainers debate and looking at the possibility for a two week certified Training of Trainers to upskill current and budding EDE facilitators to take place in two regions in 2013. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many GEESE who are flying with these and many other EDE inspired initiatives around the world.
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Helena Norberg-Hodge Receives the 2012 Goi Peace Award The Goi Peace Foundation has bestowed the 2012 Goi Peace Award on Helena NorbergHodge, the founder and director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC), a pioneer of the ‘new economy’ movement, and a fellow GEESE. The annual Goi Peace Award honors individuals and organizations in various fields that have made outstanding contributions toward the realization of a peaceful and harmonious world for humanity and all life on earth. Created in 2000, previous Goi Peace Award recipients include Ervin Laszlo, Oscar Arias, Lester Brown, Bill Gates and Deepak Chopra.
EDE Case Study: Clachan a Gearr Clachan Gear, meaning Hamlet of the Hare, is a community co-operative with the vision of becoming a centre of excellence in Scotland. The Clachan a Gearr Community Co-operative’s (CAGCC) vision is to become a centre of excellence in Scotland, creating a new paradigm for the 21st Century in the way we live, learn, play, do business, engage with the world and generate employment that creatively empowers individuals and communities and does not harm or marginalise present or future generations and their environment. Using innovative and cooperative approaches to housing, finance, business and renewable energy, CAGCC will be both a geographical community and a community of interest. CAGCC is a self-financing social enterprise and a living demonstration centre of a new, more affordable and resilient way for people to live and work locally, where the values of community, well being, creativity and caring for the environment and for each other are made a practical
reality. Our mission is to provide low impact, low cost housing; a place of learning and creativity where there is also an opportunity to do business within a cooperative ethos for those who wish to be part of an actively engaged, outward-looking community that can offer support and resources not only to its members, but to wider society. CAGCC is an output from the Findhorn College MSc. The design group included Quentin Kaiser, Robbie Smith, Markos Skampalis, Vasileios Skampalis, Sofia de Oliveira, Philip Cooper. The Findhorn College MSc is inspired by Gaia Education’s Ecovillage Design Education Curriculum and is taught by Gaia Education faculty at Findhorn.
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Upcoming EDEs Around the World
2012/4 New Certifications
Israel’s Kibbutz Lotan & Bangladesh’s BASD have each just completed their second EDEs for the year while Brazil’s Gaia Brasilia programme is entering its final stretch. January and February 2013 see a flurry of programmes, listed below, with further programmes in 2013 viewable on www.gaiaeducation.net Gaia Brasilia 26 Jul 2012 - 17 Mar 2013 http://www.gaiabrasilia.org.br
Chile, El Manzo EDE 5 – 25 January 2013 http://www.elmanzano.org
Congratulations to the below Newly Certified Programmes! Sustainable Neighbours Network, Dakar, Senegal Beatos, Ceará, Brazil
Japan, Konohana Family 17 Feb – 19 Mar 2013 http://ede.konohana-family.org
Colombia, Red Colombiana Eco Aldeas 17 Feb – 23 Mar 2013 http://educaciongaiacolombia.wordpress.com
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