[Lapg] Welcome to the Travelling School of Life! European Permaculture

[Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

Welcome to the Travelling School of Life!
http://www.zajezka.sk/tsolife/

Travelling School of Life is an international (initially European-wide) youth
education-network with 'students' traveling around Europe visiting different
"living and learning centres". The network helps to improve the educational
skills of the "host-ecovillages", and as well prepare the students for their
travel to communities. In addition we aim to offer formal accreditation in the
future.

Through an on-line portal experiences will be shared, also to potential new
students and hosts; in addition courses are being coordinated, offering a more
coherent, complete life-education for youth than one single place can offer.
The network also searches for funding, as financial support is necessary to
significantly improve this education.

TSoLife is in process of changing idea into reality. It is inspired/part of
concepts such as “Living and Learning Centers” and GAIA University which has
been developed through the past five years. During autumn of ’04 a group of
youth conceived the action plan for ‘The Traveling School of Life’ ­ the
concept document for following initiatives.

A  7 week pilot course will take place this summer. It will start with an
'Opening Course' in Permalot (Czech rep.), and will be followed by 2 theme
courses Ecotopia (Romania) and Zajezka (Slovakia). This project is
supported by
the Czech National Agency/EU Youth. The project will run onto February 2006
and
allows for a part time job and facilities to start off TSoLife. 

During the month of March '05, the communities of Ecotopia, Permalot, Zajezka,
and Zegg + Balkan Sunflowers and a Latvian group made another application
to EU
Youth programme which could fund TSoLife for 2 more years. The decision about
the project will be done by September 2005. 

The most important for us is all to get active and initialize TSoLife: We'll
likely be able to do it all without having to deal with bureaucratic funding
mechanisms; saving more of our time, so we can rather focus on healing the
planet! 

WANTED: 20 Young People for a Fabulous Summer! 


Join the Traveling School of Life, as we’re running our pilot course for an
alternative future youth education for youth activists. It will take 7
weeks of
your summer, and you’ll never be the same afterwards


You’ll gain new insights about yourself, others, various skills and techniques
towards social and environmental sustainability. You’ll learn this in 3 very
different community initiatives in Romania, Czech and Slovak Republics

Once you have participated in the pilot course, you’ll be eligible to join
future thematic courses hosted at various ecovillages/ living and learning
centers around the world!


The Deal
Financially we’ll create some social justice by charging 130 euro for ‘old’ EU
countries, 85 for ‘new’ and 65 for potential. This includes food, basic
accommodation facilitators etc + low cost travel between locations during the
course. Travel to the course and back home is your own expense (yea?). Someone
suggested a bike trip between the host places... Sounds like a good idea?


How to apply
You’ll need to download the PilotQuestionnaire, fill it out and send it
attached by e-mail to tsolife at gmail.com as soon as possible. Courses in
Ecotopia and Zajezka are optional, but we will prefer students willing to
participate on both of them. We will let you know if you’re one of the 20
lucky
ones!


And remember 
The First Principle of Teaching is that Nothing Can Be Taught
-Traveling School of Life is for youth actively interested in learning! 

Hosts' point of view
(how you can become our partner...)

You are an eco-village, community, NGO, or any other group which offers
courses, hosting possibilities, youth education etc. You focus on your topics,
but you see "whole picture" - the need of holistic education. Serve better to
our planet - become "host of TSoLife" - our partner. 

Basically many of the 'hosts' will just continue their usual educational work;
but through the network we can share experience with each other, and also help
new ones who have no experience with youth work; and we can offer a more
coherent, complete life-education for youth than one single place can offer.

Maybe you dream about youth which is somehow prepared to stay in
eco-village or
community. All of us would like to welcome people who are interested, active,
sharing, able to deal with problems etc. All the young people, who come to you
through TSoLife, will be trained at Opening course about community values,
conflict prevention and resolution, group dynamics,...

Hosts will offer suitable courses by publishing them with all necessary
information in a TSoLife public online database. The courses will vary
considerably from place to place depending on the needs, capacity and
experiences of the place. Maybe some places want to host a group of 2-5 people
for 2 months, while another one would like to offer a 3-week course for 20
people. All hosts have to take part in a ‘host-intro course’, emphasizing a
certain overall quality of the program.

The network also searches for funding, as financial support could help this
education to improve a lot. Many of the possible courses fit in the EU youth
program and can be applied for individually; and we are in process of
communicating to the responsible in order to investigate whether/how it could
fit as a whole into the new youth program in 2007. However within the EU
funding it is not possible to include non-european countries, so other sources
have to be found as well. 

But even if we do not get additional financial support, there are many
possibilities, how to cooperate - do it together and better!


Actual projects:
TSoLife Action Plan.zip (37 KB) or unzipped document  (437 KB) 
Action Plan of developing TSoLife created at meeting in Permalot, Sept.2004

Summer 2005 Pilot Course Project -  (64 KB)
First common project of TSoLife. The project was submitted by Permalot in
January 2005 and accepted by Czech National Agency of EU Youth programme under
Action 5.9.

Big application to EU Youth.zip (41 KB) or unzipped document   (675 KB)
Common application of actual partners of TSoLife under EU Youth Action 5. The
goal of this project is to make TSoLife stabile educational
institution/network. There is open space for another partners - hosting
organizations! The project was submitted to EU Youth programme on March 2005
and they will decide whether it it will be accepted during September 2005.




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requently asked questions


1) Who's organizing this?
Well, in effect you are! 
That said then I'll be happy to tell you that the organizers are both a wide
range of people with an emphasis on youth, who has been meeting a different
Youth TC's. For the pilot project I'm the central facilitator (Max), however
working with the instructors and hosts of the various involved EV's/living and
learning centers as well as involved youth. Much of the background work had
been done within Global Ecovillage Network, however we felt they did not
include youth enough, so we made an open organization structure instead, and
added a bit here and there.
If you're curious about little me you may want to look at www.permalot.org. As
for the main facilitator of the opening course, Wam Kat; Try to enter his name
in Google.com or check www.wamweb.net! You'll be impressed! In other words: No
sect, cult, religious or otherwise affiliated organization: Just trying to
help
save the planet...

2) Costs
During the 3 week + 2 week + 2 week periods of the pilot projects you will not
have any extra costs, apart from personal spending money (Which you don't
really need!) It's basically structured as an action 1 exchange, however you
have to pay transport to PermaLot and return from Zajezova 100%. There's also
the co-financing amount ranging between 65-115 (?) euro. During the time
between you're free to go on vacation, home or whichever: Which means your
time: Your pay!
-Our motivation: Prior to EU's blackmailing of youth, millions of youth was
able to travel on their own; We made money here and there, and learned the
most
when we were out of money. Through my personal involvement with the youth
program I've experienced some (not all!) pretty spoiled youth and an amazing
waste of resources: We believe that if you're motivated enough to come, you'll
bike or hitch hike here and sell your grandmother to get money for the fee!!!
(?)

3) Age limit
The pilot course is an EU Action 5,9: The rules are as in a Youth action 1 for
youth between 18 and 26. We will be able to 'smuggle in' a few 'group leaders'
who's slightly older, or some participants who's younger BUT VERY MATURE!
-Part
of the focus is self development, and it's hard to do for a too young group.

4) Detailed Program
What's wrong with you? Computers gets programmed: Not Youth! :o)
Anyhow, so far an overview is available in the "Summer 2005 Pilot course
project”. We'll have a host meeting in start of May and get more in detail,
however we're leaving some ends open for the input of the participants; We'll
email the program out to the 20 participants and post it here somewhere...

5) Information about living and learning centers/ Ecovillages
Have a look at Other links  .

6) Alternative to EVS
Will this influence my chance of later doing EVS (European Voluntary Service)?
No. This is comparative to joining a youth exchange, though we hope that in
time EU will make it a sponsored compliment to EVS. However; the fact that you
graduate the 'Opening Course' will make several Ecovillages etc. more
likely to
consider you as EVS...



Here's some answers. You'll be able to find them and others in following
documents. You can also track development of the idea in past months.

 
Action Plan of developing TSoLife created at meeting in Permalot, Sept.2004

Summer 2005 Pilot Course Project -  
First common project of TSoLife. The project was submitted by Permalot in
January 2005 and accepted by Czech National Agency of EU Youth programme under
Action 5.9.


Common application of actual partners of TSoLife under EU Youth Action 5. The
goal of this project is to make TSoLife stabile educational
institution/network. There is open space for another partners - hosting
organizations! The project was submitted to EU Youth programme on March 2005
and they will decide whether it it will be accepted during September 2005.


There's likely issues we haven't thought about yet, and you can be part of
answering them! 


June 20 ­ July 10 - The Opening Course: Personal growth/ Social experience
Czech Republic: Permalot 

In a tee-pee camp in the heart of a remote orchard we'll be secluded and focus
on creating trust in community and learning the significance of Traveling
School of Life. This includes initial bonding within the group; gain knowledge
about conflict prevention and resolution tools, to be used within the group as
well as globally. The stay will include some basic introduction to
permaculture
and natural building: We’ll be tending and landscaping the orchard and garden,
mud-plastering the new center of PermaLot and perhaps heading up to the
mountains to cut a meadow with hand tools: You’ll be part of making the
program, so who knows? We hope to be able to make something with/for the local
youth.. None the least you’ll learn about nutrition and vegetarian cooking for
groups: Facilitated by Wam Kat and Andrea Zettel + various instructors.

July 13 - July 27 or August 1 - August 14: Practical experience
Romania: Ecotopia 
(Group will split into 2 groups, creating a more intimate/ effective learning
experience; the other group relaxes, travels, works and/or party in the mean
time. The course is optional, if we will not have enough participants for 2
courses we will organize only the first one.)

The stay in Ecotopia, in the heart of a small Romanian village, will be
focused
on communal living and active citizenship. It will be demonstrated through
activities such as gardening and designing a communal space. You will learn
about the diversity in nature, crop rotation, introducing and nurturing
diversity. This will be extended to the cultural diversity of the group:
working in groups, decision making process, facilitation, and celebrating
diversity. Facilitated by Pam Dunsdon and Gabi Gogan + various instructors.

(Comment to avoid confusion: The rural eco living project Ecotopia in
Stanciova/Romania is not the same thing as the EYFA summer camp Ecotopia 2005
happening in the neighbouring country Moldova around the same time as the TSoL
Pilot Course.)

August 17 - August 31: Cultural / Spiritual experience
Slovakia: Zajezka 
(The course is optional for TSoLife students. We will have limited space also
for participants who have not attended opening course in case they are
under 26
and come from Germany, Czech rep., Romania or Slovakia. Ask for more info at
mirec at tsolife.org  )

11 days in Zajezka - an alternative community deep in the traditional Slovak
countryside +  3 days in natural forest. By trying practical skills unknown
for
most (e.g. how to make bread from grain, pot from clay, spoon from wood,
textiles from raw wool etc.), you will have an unique possibility to
understand
that everything comes from nature. And also that it takes plenty of energy to
make even simple things. Contrasting to this one day you’ll try to help in
local Separated Waste Treatment Centre, where you will have hand-on experience
with piles of not needed things, called waste. Daily presentations and debates
around campfire will focus on the inner core of ‘quality of life’. The stay
includes an opportunity to become an integrated part of nature. You will learn
some practical knowledge needed in forest, and all the activities will lead
you
to a deeper feeling of our connection to nature. Facilitated by Mirec Kasiak +
people from Zajezka community.
On the last day we’ll have an evaluation and farewell party. 




        



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Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
(805) 962-2571
sbpcnet at silcom.com
www.sbpermaculture.org

"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to
grow." - Anonymous



Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
(805) 962-2571
sbpcnet at silcom.com
www.sbpermaculture.org

"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to
grow." - Anonymous

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