Sustainable World Radio: Friday mornings at 9:00-10:00 am PST on KCSB 91.9 FM in Santa Barbara, California and streaming live on www.kcsb.org. Also found on  www.sustainableworldradio.com, or www.radio4all.net later in the week.

        Join Jill Cloutier of Sustainable World Radio Fri. Mar 14, 9am , Interview  with Andre Soares and Lucy Legan, co-directors of the Instituto Permacultura Ecologica Cerhado (Ecological Permaculture Institute of the Savannah) in central Brazil. Ecocentro IPEC http://www.ecocentro.org/en/ began on a bare, degraded cattle pasture in 1998 to teach and demonstrate permaculture and to apply this information in the construction of a prototype ecological village.

        While attending the 8th International Permaculture Conference/Convergence  2007 in Brazil last May www.ipc8.org , Santa Barbara Permaculture Network visited IPEC where the Convergence was held.


        Lucia Legan, M.Ed. candidate in science and environmental education at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, and diplomate of the Permaculture Institute of Australia, has worked in community development for more than 15 years with Aboriginal communities, women's groups, young people, and farmers. Since arriving in Brazil, she has co-founded both IPEC and the Mollison School for Sustainable Studies where she remains as Executive Director. Lucia has authored a nationally selected prize-winning environmental education guide called "Escola Sustentavel" ["Sustainable Schools"] which is currently in its second edition. She has recently launched a nationwide program, "Habitats na Escola," which empowers students, parents, and teachers with the skills to create sustainable habitats in school.

        Andre Jaeger Soares, master’s candidate in environmental education at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, is a cofounder of Ecocentro IPEC,  Instituto Permacultura Ecologica Cerhado (ecological permaculture institute of the savannah)  http://www.ecocentro.org/en/ trilingual teacher, natural builder and permaculture designer. He founded the Permaculture Institute of Central Queensland in Australia. As national coordinator with the United Nations Development Program, Andre taught more than 2000 people throughout the country in permaculture design. Andre was given the Casa Claudia award for innovative design in natural construction and is acknowledged as one of the 50 most important people in environmental development in Brazil. His leadership in sustainability has attracted a partnership with the Swiss foundation AVINA creating new projects in the area of low impact architecture and social development in South America. In 2005, Andre also worked as an international aid worker in Haiti as a team leader in sustainable development. He is a diplomate of the Permaculture Institute of Australia. 

         IPEC  exists on 25 hectares (60 acres) of land and is located in Pirenopolis in the state of Goias, central Brazil. Ecocentro IPEC is connected to the national university in Brasilia as well as many government ministries, schools and other non-profit organizations. Through the dedication of community members, students, adventurers and volunteers working together,

        Ecocentro IPEC has become one of the most important reference centers for sustainable living in Latin America, demonstrating that another future is possible. Ecocentro IPEC presents practical solutions with over 15 ecological buildings, composting toilets, water treatment system, ecological gardens, food forests and renewable energy system on a site that is less than 10 years old!

         Ecoversidade is IPEC’s educational arm and is dedicated to education for sustainable living by fostering a profound understanding of the natural world, grounded in direct experience, that leads to sustainable patterns of living. Ecoversidade functions as a model of viable rural settlement, incorporating the realities of appropriate technologies, living systems and sustainable community life from a holistic perspective.

Links and Resources
Ecocentro IPEC - http://www.ecocentro.org/en/
PAL (Permacultura America Latina) - http://www.permacultura.org
RBP (Rede Brasileira de Permacultura) - http://www.permacultura.org.br
Living Routes Program http://www.livingroutes.org/programs/e_ecoversidade.htm


Sustainable World Radio: Friday mornings at 9:00 am PST on KCSB 91.9 FM in Santa Barbara, California and streaming live on www.kcsb.org. Also found on  www.sustainableworldradio.com, or www.radio4all.net later in the week.