Gaia
education
Geese information Northern Winter/Southern Summer 2010 As the New Year dawns… ...may it bring for all Gaia Education associates – students, teachers, organisers and partner institutions – promises of… new dreams to fulfil, new goals to reach and new joys to unfold… with plenty of opportunities to re-design our human presence in the world! May East, Gaia Education Board
Future Directions of Gaia Education Jane Rasbash, Gaia Education Board of Directors Gaia Education has made great headway in sustainable education in the last few years. Certified Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) courses, which weave together the social, economical, ecological and worldview aspects of designing sustainable settlements have now been run in 22 countries with over 2,000 graduating GEESE. Enquiries are streaming in from around the globe and EDE courses are being run in countries as diverse as China, Brazil, Japan, Israel, Germany and Estonia. In addition to this, an expanded version of the EDE, the Gaia Education Design for Sustainability (GEDS), has now been running successfully online for 2 years. Testimony to the relevance and applicability of the course, alumni of both the EDE and GEDS programmes are initiating many other sustainability projects. Gaia Education, primarily through the EDE course, is gaining a global reputation as a leader in the field of sustainability education. (continues next page)
Gaia
education
Geeseinformation
2010/4
An evaluation of operations was recently held and what follows below are the identified future directions. As Gaia Education grows and the EDE expands, new initiatives are evolving. These include: y New revisions of the EDE curriculum, piloted in Brazil, including a greater emphasis on urban planning y Traditional/indigenous village EDEs addressing African and Asian contexts y An expanded, hands-on design course for EDE graduates y Expansion of the GEDS online course to a post-graduate degree and beyond y The development of practical skills and tools to compliment the EDE y The availability of further online products for children, individual self-study, “test your knowledge�, etc. To further facilitate these exciting new areas and accommodate the continued expansion of Gaia Education, responsibility will be decentralised to allow more input from key people in the network. While much of the success of Gaia Education is down to the unique skills and leadership of Programme Director May East, as with any burgeoning endeavour, there is room for shared responsibility and administration. Thematic areas will be expanded, notably product development and certification. In line with this, the new role of Product Development Coordinator has been created. The Gaia Education board is delighted to announce that as from January 2011, long term GEESE and contributor to the original EDE curriculum, Giovanni Ciarlo, will step into this role. Gio will work with other GEESE championing the above as well as other areas relating to the expansion of Gaia Education and the EDE curriculum. NING, the online forum open to all GEESE, EDE teachers and collaborators, as well as members having a common interest in the Gaia Education programmes, will continue to serve as the main communication platform for Gaia Education. The space is open for debate, discussion and sharing amongst GEESE and other stakeholders. Gaia Education is very encouraged by the accomplishments of the EDE in such a short period of time. It is clear that adaptable, sustainability education is relevant to all in these days of climate change, and the EDE adapts well to a variety of settings around the globe.
2
Gaia
education
Geeseinformation
2010/4
Sieben Linden EDE, Germany: 9 August – 8 September 2010 Kosha Anja Joubert This year’s EDE course was the third to be hosted in the Ecovillage of Sieben Linden (7Linden). 29 participants from 21 countries (Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Malawi, India, Brazil, Korea, Peru, Mexico and all over Europe) attended. The course lasted a full 30 days, offering time for community building and personal change processes. Central themes included: embracing diversity, peace communication, global consciousness, North-South reconciliation, co-empowerment, inspirational leadership and participatory pedagogy. With such an international group we additionally enquired into the theme of embracing traditional and indigenous villages as ecovillages, the need to preserve and support their low footprint lifestyles and the use of the EDE as a tool of inspiration and empowerment in these settings. Participants from Africa especially were invited to further this cause. 7Linden’s radically ecological setting, combined with organic meals and the close-knit community that was built, invoked respect and inspiration from the participants. A fair amount of time was allotted to their personal presentations of which the richness of wisdom and experience they shared was astounding. The sharing that goes on between participants is absolutely central to the aims and effects of this course! A short permaculture course and an introduction to Dragon Dreaming were included. While the latter was highly appreciated, the former could have drawn on the expertise of the 6 permaculture trainers on the course rather than bringing in outsiders. This year’s design projects were aimed at spreading knowledge about simple, appropriate technologies, useful in a wide range of settings. These included how to work with biochar and Terra Preta, build solar cookers and dryers,
3
Gaia
education
Geeseinformation
clay ovens, water catchment systems and strawbale constructions. Finally, the registration of the 7Linden EDE as an official course with the European agency for life-long learning continues to be extremely helpful in providing participants from the EU with scholarships, and along with external funding, enables us to fund the participation of people from the South. This year’s course was officially visited by representatives from the German and Belgium national agencies who were especially supportive and impressed by the sense of community that was alive in such a diverse group. The 7Linden community appreciated the opportunity to share with this diverse group of appreciative individuals!
2010/4 Core faculty team y Anja Kosha Jouber – main focaliser y Robin Alfred & Martin Stengel – over course facilitation Key resource people y John Croft - Dragon Dreaming y Jascha Rohr – permaculture y Chistian Felber – economic dimension What went well? y Building a close-knit community in a very diverse, international group y Integrating Dragon Dreaming with founder John Croft y Improving the quality of the economic modules y Balancing the 4 dimensions y Balancing process and content y The ecovillage setting of 7Linden: connection to the broader community, living example & design projects y Faculty teamwork y Involving an assistant to support the smooth running of the course y Health care y Effects on participants and their engagement What could have gone better? y The introduction to permaculture - with 6 experienced permaculture trainers on the course, we lacked the flexibility to draw on their expertise, a learning for next time to perhaps be a little more radical y Lack of internet connection. Broadband access will be available from 2011 y The invitation process for participants from Southern countries: fate did not seem to be on our side and in the end 4 could not make it. This placed a challenge on keeping all our spirits up!
4
Gaia
education
Geeseinformation
2010/4
Rio de Janeiro EDE, Brazil: 29 July – 28 November 2010 Diogo Alvim General Presentation November 28th saw the closure of the second Rio de Janeiro EDE. Run from August 2010, the Terra UNA Association held the course in partnership with the Botanic Gardens and the National School of Tropical Botany. An awesome 62 participants from around Brazil and four foreign countries (Germany, Argentina, Portugal and Chile) attended! Rio is the host city of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, representing a new challenge for the city – how to overcome old social and environmental challenges in a rather short time period. For those of us interested in a transition towards a greener and more secure city, these events have in fact made our work more complex: mainstream solutions have unfortunately been insubstantial and unsustainable. EDE RJ has therefore exercised new possibilities of bridging and engaging with the complexity of the moment, searching for new answers in an attempt to deepen the values that move and connect us all as human beings. In this sense the EDE was a contribution towards the re-design of Rio’s transition. By being present as a community, the Terra UNA ecovillage showed that engaging with these political issues has the potential to strengthen the spiritual presence in political life, and visa-versa. A sense of belonging was created among the participants through this collaborative process. Course Structure RJ EDE again included a balance of theory, activities and internships. Classes were held in the evenings on Thursdays and Fridays and daily Saturdays and Sundays.
5
Gaia
education
Geeseinformation
2010/4
Design Groups The class was divided into 6 groups around differing case studies for which each group will be delivering a report. The 6 case studies included: y A cooperative (COOPERCENTRO) of recyclable material collectors operating in central Rio y A small favella where one of the local leaders was a participant y NGO Verdejar which since 1996 has been working to protect a small fragment of forest placed in the middle of a high conflict and crowded suburban zone. y An in depth study of municipal school children y A Waldorf school y A farm involved in a reforestation project in the Mata Atlantica ecosystem, used as a reintroduction zone to captured animals confiscated by the local government. The Internships This year we were able to offer five different internships. The goal, unlike in 2009, was to provide an immersive experience. All internships were therefore offered in rural areas on projects that would allow an experience of cohabitation: y Terra UNA Association: www.terrauna.org.br y Uniluz: www.nazareuniluz.org.br y El Nagual: www.artnagual.com.br y Intuitive Technology Bioaquitetura (TIBA): www.tibarose.com y Vila Yamaguishi: www.yamaguishi.com.br The internships are currently taking place and will be held until 15 January 2011. Students will again be submitting reports. The 62 students left the course with an awareness of the magnitude of the work to be done in Rio’s rapid transition and the possibility of each one of us contributing. We at Terra UNA are looking forward to receiving the reports and hearing how these new possibilities unfold.
6
Gaia
education
Geeseinformation
2010/4
Letter from Giovanni Ciarlo Product Development Coordinator I have been involved in the ecovillage movement since the early 80s when a group of my closest friends and collaborators joined forces to create an ecovillage. Founded on the intersection of art and ecology in central Mexico, Ecoaldea Huehuecoyotl is now known worldwide for its achievements as a new model of a small rural ecovillage. Thirty years later I am honoured with the opportunity to take on a new role in the ecovillage movement: that of Product Development Coordinator for Gaia Education. This new role takes me full circle: In 1996 I helped create the Ecovillage Network of the Americas (ENA). This culminated in joining the GEN board in 2003 and becoming board president in 2009. In between, I was part of the founding group of GEESE and ran the EDE in Mexico and Norway. Last year I joined the Gaia Education Design for Sustainability (GEDS) faculty at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and now, in 2010, I join the product development team. The exciting role of the product development team is to take the EDE forward to new and wider incursions. The team provides guidance and curriculum material for designing sustainable villages, organisations and lifestyles for the emerging, low-impact civilization. The best part of this role for me is that I will be working closely with the GEESE, Gaia Ed’s board and Gaia Ed’s fabulous director, May East, who has been leading the GEESE on our flight to the four directions over the past six years. It is with great excitement and humility that I take on this new role. Coming into the sustainability debate with original and substantial offerings, offerings that are applicable to human settlements everywhere, is one of today’s challenges. Yet the EDE is doing just that - it has now been offered in 22 countries, on every continent and in settings ranging from grass roots centres to institutions of higher education. The effect the course has had has been phenomenal and the welcome it has received is nothing less than inspiring, transforming lives and communities everywhere. The product development team aims to continue in this direction. People around the world are ready to make the transformation towards social justice, environmental conservation, security and well being, reconnecting with each other and the higher self. This transformation starts with the transformation of society
7
Gaia
education
Geeseinformation
2010/4
to a new worldview, encompassing the highest ideals and technology of our times. Gaia Education continues to lead the way, offering cutting edge learning opportunities and experiences that accelerate the achievement of these goals. My role as Product Development Coordinator begins with two initial mandates. 1. Complete the upgrade of the existing EDE curriculum to reflect the urban issues of sustainable design. I will be following up on the wonderful work done by Chris Mare, Potira Preiss and others after the Brazil symposium. The upgrade will draw from the piloted urban EDE in Brazil plus the experiences and successes of many independent urban projects 2. The development of the EDE for traditional and indigenous villages. This will be done in partnership with regional stakeholders and the newly emerging GEN Africa network. For this, I will be inviting people working with such villages to contribute new thinking and research that can achieve the dual goals of both learning from their wisdom and harmonious practises, and in turn, offering appropriate solutions to their contemporary challenges. The goal is to present these additions to the EDE curriculum at the next GEESE meeting in Copenhagen, June of 2011. Focus from there will shift to developing and coordinating a hands-on, design for sustainability course for EDE graduates, equipping a cadre of sustainability designers and consultants to assist in the creation of new ecovillages everywhere. Further ahead is the production of new educational materials aimed at reaching populations living in slums, refugee and youth camps and disaster recovery areas. From my vantage point, as faculty on both the Sustainable Businesses and Communities Master programme at Goddard College and the GEDS programme, I see first-hand the rising demand for training and development of academic programs in sustainability. My students are both challenged and inspired by the vision put forward by the EDE and Gaia Education. As president of GEN I see the opportunity for GEN to serve as a hub for research, networking, and leadership in the growing sustainability revolution. Despite the usual challenges of a volunteer organisation, I am confident that we will succeed in providing continuous inspiration and state of the art solutions to current global problems. While the challenges are many, the energy and commitment to meet them is strong and growing. GEN and Gaia Education are a source of inspiration and hope to all those who believe that a better world is possible.
8
Gaia
education
Geeseinformation
2010/4
Put the Earth in Your Hands… Lotan’s Unique Opportunities to Learn Practical Ecology May East Since 2006 the Centre for Creative Ecology, Kibbutz Lotan, has been running the successful Green Apprenticeship Training Programme based on the Gaia Education Ecovillage Design Curriculum. With the talented in-house faculty of y y y y y y
Mike Kaplin – Permaculture design, sustainable building, green technologies Mark Naveh – Worldview, social and economic dimensions Dr. Michael Livni – Worldview dimension Leah Zigmond – Organic gardening Alex Cicelsky – Sustainable building, ecological design, soil science Daniel Burstyn – Jewish Studies
and various guest lecturers from the Lotan community, this is a predominantly hands-on programme offering practical ecological and permaculture skills while balancing the 4 dimensions of sustainability. According to Mark Naveh the main aims of the Green Apprentice programme are: y Providing the cognitive rationale, experiential practice and the technical skills necessary for a movement towards a sustainable culture based on beliefs, values and principles y Investigating core beliefs and values of a sustainable culture as seen through Lotan’s specific cultural lens of experience. In the last cycle of certifications Living Routes and Lotan certified the joint Peace, Justice and the Environment programme. Students, mostly from the US, lodge in the Eco-Campus neighbourhood and learn earth building techniques, gardening, goat husbandry, cheese and yoghurt making. These practical skills are set against a backdrop of deepening their studies in peace & social justice, eco-psychology, religions in Israel and their response to modernity. A typical day sees the students starting with a daily morning celebration followed by classes and sessions where they join the kibbutz work branches. Weekly pot-luck dinners and presentations, organised by the students themselves, are part of community-building process, enhancing their social skills.
9
Gaia
education
Geeseinformation
2010/4
Community Design Studios are held in groups of 3-4 students which remain constant throughout the course. Weekly Kabbalat Shabbat prayers are optional and in September they are invited to join the many Jewish holidays, starting with the New Year Rosh Hashanah and proceeding to Yom Kippur, the Sukkot holiday which finishes with Simchat Torah. Visits to other communities in the region throughout the course highlight different community models of socio-economic organization and the Be’er Sheva trip focuses on two of Israel’s most marginalized populations – the Bedouin living in unrecognized villages and new immigrants of Ethiopian origin. I had a memorable visit to Lotan in November, witnessing the students preparing for a trip to Jerusalem where they were going to visit the old city and tour with the Rabbis for Human Rights the separation fence, the occupied territories and Western Jerusalem. I joined a pot-luck pizza night, evening Shabbat prayers, was offered a Watsu session, presented Gaia Edu activities to the community and taught a session on models of change and Transition Towns. Mark took me on tour to visit other kibbutz nestled in the heart of the Arava Valley and flanked by the Mountains of Edom and the Negev Plateau, a region blessed with breathtaking landscapes. This was a unique opportunity to strengthen the partnership between Gaia Education and Lotan, a place “where desert and spirit come together”.
10
Gaia
education
Geeseinformation
Gaian Economics – Living Well within Planetary Limits The second of the 4Keys to Sustainable Communities, Gaian Economics – Living Well within Planetary Limits, has been released! With a foreword from Mark Richmond, Director of the Division for the Coordination of UN Priorities in Education, UNESCO the long awaited Economic Key is now available to download from Gaia Education website. Also in book form printed on 100% recycled paper from www.green-shopping.co.uk. Co-editor Jonathan Dawson says: “This is a timely book that provides an outline map for explorers in the territory marked ‘the New Economics’. The transition is already under way from economics as the grey and dismal science to an exciting and creative exploration of how we can live well within our means, weaving ourselves back into the web of life. This collection of readings represents the most imaginative and inspiring thinking on the subject from some of the leading pioneers in the field”. The book is co-edited by Ross Jackson, Helena Norberg-Hodge and Jonathan Dawson and published by Permanent Publications.
The Power of Collective Wisdom Kosha Joubert’s book The Power of Collective Wisdom, recently published in Germany, takes you on a journey of enquiry into some questions, offering glimpses of possible answers and introducing a range of practices and methods to help steer us towards a collectively wise future: y How come humans seem to be do ing better at collective stupidity than at collective wisdom and how can we change this? y Surely we all want to leave this planet a better place for our children and their children to live in? y How can we weave our best intentions and love for this world into a tapestry of collectively wise decisions and actions? The Power of Collective Wisdom can be enjoyed now in German, or soon in English.
2010/4 Special Season’s Greetings from Hildur I finished chemo a month ago and on Dec 17th I am finished with radiation (25 times in all, 5 times every week) and can begin to plan life ahead. It has been tough but I am grateful that I managed. I look forward to the GEESE meeting here in June. I wish all the GEESE around the planet a wonderful transition time. Here December 13th is the shortest afternoon. In two weeks it will be the shortest morning. For that reason the Old Norse celebrated Joule for two weeks. Joule meaning wheel. The 21st is of course the shortest as such. One of my granddaughters, Silke, was the bride in the Santa Lucia procession where girls dressed in white gowns walk in procession in schools and old age homes with candles in their hands while they sing about the holy light – Santa Lucia. For me this turning and return of the sun has a special meaning this year. I am so grateful for the contact among us all and the work you are all doing out there. Love, Hildur
11
Gaia
education
Geeseinformation
2010/4
Ecovillage Design Education: Certifications
What’s new on NING?
It is with pleasure that Gaia Education announces the below new certifications and
Two new Forum discussions on the NING platform have been created (geesegaiaeducation.ning.com):
re-certifications: New Certifications
Re-certifications
y Son Rul-lan, Mallorca, Spain
y Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Caminho do Meio Institute, Porto Alegre, Brazil
y Brasilandia, Sao Paulo, Brazil – The first hands-on EDE to be taught in one of the largest slums in Sao Paulo, boasting a population of 350,000 people y Federal University of Parana – School of Architecture and Urbanism (UFPR), Curitiba, Brazil y Living Routes and Kibbutz Lotan, Israel – Peace, Justice and the Environment semester programme incorporating the EDE
y Wongsanit Ashram, Thailand y University of Environment and Culture of Peace (UMAPAZ), Brazil y Living Routes at Findhorn, Scotland y Living Routes at Auroville, India
Deep gratitude to the great Certification team and Daniel for his orchestration and
y As per its title, the Influence of the EDE programme in your life discussion encourages all EDE graduates and facilitators to share their stories y The Share your ecovillage design case study! discussion is encouraging EDE & GEDS grads alike to share the case studies of their ecovillage designs as a means to building up a timeless repository of information, accessible by all. Please encourage your EDE graduates to share their stories and case studies, lubricating the flow of inspiration, knowledge and wisdom among us all!
wishing much inspiration to the 9 programmes in preparation!
Current and Upcoming EDEs around the Globe UMAPAZ EDE in Sao Paulo, Brazil, lifted off on 2 December 2010 with a record 120 participants! It will be running until 18 December 2010. EDE Japan is still underway, running until 2 April 2011, while the GEDS online programme, which commenced 11 October 2010, continues until the end of the current academic year. Upcoming EDEs include: Kibbutz Lotan, Israel y 27 December 2010 – 6 February 2011
Siddharthvillage Community College of Ecology, Orissa, India y 29 January – 27 February 2011
www.kibbutzlotan.com
www.siddharthvillage.com
Wongsanit Ashram, Thailand y 17 January – 13 February 2011 Ecovillage Design Education
Damanhur, Italy y 2 April – 20 April 2011
y 14 – 20 February 2011 Design Studio
www.siddharthvillage.com
y 21 February – 6 March 2011 Training of Trainers
Kasteel Niewenhoven, Belgium y 6 June – 2 July 2011
www.sulak-sivaraksa.org
www.kasteelnieuwenhoven.be
Gaia
education
The Park, Findhorn Forres IV36 3TZ Morayshire, Scotland, UK administrator@gaiaeducation.net phone: +44 1309 692011 Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in Scotland No 353967 Scottish Charity No SC040839
www.gaiaeducation.net
12