[Sdpg] Electronic Newsletter of the Ecovillage Network of the Americas

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson]

Date: January 2004
Issue # 0007
Editor: Giovanni Ciarlo: giovanni at ecovillage.org

Dear Friends;
This newsletter of the Ecovillage Network of the Americas (ENA) is 
distributed to subscribers in North, Central, South America, the Caribbean 
and beyond. ENA is a grassroots sustainable community network, and part of 
the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN). ENA's mission: To engage the peoples 
of the Americas in common effort to join the global transformation towards 
ecologically, economically and culturally sustainable human settlement. Our 
focus is to meet the needs of present and future generations for a safe and 
healthy planet to inhabit.

You can subscribe or unsubscribe on-line for ENA eNews, and read previous 
editions in four languages.
For English and French, go to: http://ena.ecovillage.org/English

Click on the News button in the sidebar and follow the link to eNewsletters.





For Castellano/Portuguese, go to: http://ena.ecovillage.org/Espanol

Click on the Noticias in the sidebar and follow the link to Boletin-e.



Special thanks to Stephan Wik and ANU Internet Services, web hosting for ENA.
http://www.anu.net/

NETWORK NEWS
At the 2003 meeting in Perú, the ENA Council elected new officers. Great 
gratitude and congratulations to Lee Davies, Ontario - Canada and Lucia 
Battegazzore, Uruguay - Southern South America, who will serve as 
Co-Presidents. Kailash, Colorado, USA continues as ENA's Secretary/Treasurer.

The 2003 ENA meeting was held in Perú, in conjunction with the Call of the 
Condor Gathering for Bioregional Action. See - http://www.lacaravana.org/condor

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

Now at the Ecovillage eStore:
Introduction to Consensus by Beatrice Briggs
Clear information about "the what and how" of consensus decision-making 
process, including a 28-page "Guide for Facilitators". Available in English 
and Spanish. http://ena.ecovillage.org/store/index.html
With the large and growing interest in urban sustainability, an URBAN 
ECOVILLAGE NETWORK is now forming! See - http://urban.ecovillage.org/

REGIONAL NEWS
For full contact information of regional representatives, go to:
http://ena.ecovillage.org/English
Click on the Contacts button in the sidebar.

BRAZIL
Contact: Marcelo Bueno
ECOVILLAGE NETWORK OF AMERICA - BRASIL
http://www.ecovila.blogger.com.br/index.html

ENA Brasil Values and Mission (in Portugués only):
http://www.enabrasilmissao.blogger.com.br/index.html

You can read more about what the Global
Ecovillage Network and ENA are doing in Brazil in
terms of urban projects at:
http://ena.ecovillage.org/English/news/index_body.html
WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL NATURAL BUILDING & PERMACULTURE GATHERING: A PASSION 
FOR EARTH Coming together through permaculture, natural building, and 
sharing our stories. April 2-11, 2004 Brazil. For details: 
http://www.kleiwerks.com.

CANADA
Contact: Lee Davies
For more about the Ecovillage Network of Canada: http://enc.ecovillage.org/

CARIBBEAN
Contacts: Felipe Bermúdez and Liora Adler
Felipe Bermúdez, Puerto Rico - has joined the ENA Council as a 
representative for the Caribe. He invites our friends living in the Caribe 
to help create the Caribbean Ecovillage Network. To participate, subscribe at:
http://ena.ecovillage.org/English/region/Caribbean/

USA EAST
Contacts: Dan Greenberg and Manda Gillespe
Any one interested in joining the Cohousing discussion list - Subscribe at: 
http://www.cohousing.org/resources/cohousing_l.html
Back-files of useful information and announcements are available on their site.
Michele LaPointe and Simon Abramson were both juniors at the University of 
Vermont. They were looking for something more "concrete and hand-on" than 
what they were doing on campus. They both wanted to make a difference. 
Living Routes - India: Sustainability in Practice provided the academic 
direction and experience for educational growth and creating change. 
Michele did her internship in medicinal plants and habitat restoration, but 
she found more than academic direction at Auroville: "I found my heart, my 
path, my career (environmental education) there," says Michele. "I would 
love to tell others how powerful this program is!"

Simon opened his eyes to a new way of living. His experience of the 
Auroville Ecovillage was phenomenal, and he credits Living Routes for 
creating a unique learning environment out of a diverse microcosm of 
society. He says: "Thanks to Living Routes, I live life with vision and 
focus. I found my own educational mentor, I advocate for community 
supported agriculture, and I develop and teach courses in deep ecology. 
Today, I am a 'doer' - life isn't just happening to me anymore."
 >From Living Routes web pages: http://www.livingroutes.org/programdetails.html
For EARTHAVEN Work Exchange and Apprenticeship Opportunities email the 
Visitors Committee at info at earthaven.org with "Seeking Work Exchange" or 
"Seeking Apprenticeship" in the subject line. To become a six-week 
Earthaven intern, contact Culture's Edge: <culturesedge at earthaven.org> 
Earthaven Ecovillage, 1025 Camp Elliott Rd, Black Mountain, NC 28711, 
828-669-3937  http://www.earthaven.org

MESOAMERICA
Contacts: Giovanni Ciarlo and Laura Kuri
The next Bioregional Gathering of the Consejo de Visiones Guardianes de la 
Tierra will be held from April 7 to 14, 2004 in Ecoversidad Ixtac near 
Mexico City, Mexico. For more information contact Laura Kuri: 
<lakuri at laneta.apc.org>

Bosques de Niebla "Las Cañadas" in Veracruz, Mexico is offering courses on 
Agroecology. More information: http://www.bosquedeniebla.com.mx

The fundamental objectives of the Ecological Community Los Guayabos in 
Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, are to develop a sustainable habitat where the 
local, natural resources are preserved and improved, and collaborate to 
improve the local ecology and quality of life of the inhabitants of the 
neighboring areas.
More information and contacts:
Phone/Fax: (52)(33) 38343587-Mexico
Email: <info at losguayabos.org>
http://www.losguayabos.org
The TIERRA VIVA (TV) project pursues the creation of self-supported 
ecological spaces within Mexico City. We have been working on a little 
piece of land to create a vegetable garden in the southeast part of the 
city. Here we have been experimenting and practicing the theories we have 
learned.

In the beginning, the conditions of the place took a lot of work, because 
there was lots of junk and the soil was so poor, without nutrition. We used 
this season to build a small roof to get some shade while we held our 
meetings; we built a small pond to store water and improved the garden beds 
with some Cob; and now we are ready for planting with the arrival of the 
spring. Some of our short-term projects are to build a dry toilet, a 
greenhouse for growing mushrooms, and getting closer to the people in the 
community through workshops and talks.
For more information: <cestierraviva at yahoo.com>
http://www.laneta.apc.org/tierraviva
For more information about the Ecovillage Network of Mexico and 
Mesoamerica: http://laneta.apc.org/rem/

MOBILE
Contacts: Alberto Ruz and Penélope Baquero
"The Sustainable Solutions Bio-caravan is a mobile educational and 
information exchange festival regarding issues of sustainability, 
responsible technologies, organic farming, and ecological preservation. Our 
bus, running on clean, cheap, and sustainable vegetable oil, will be 
carrying a crew of sustainability experts, eco-technology experts, farmers, 
entertainers, and other visionaries on a tour from the Bay Area of 
California through Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica. Along the way, 
we'll be stopping at community centers, eco-villages, organic farms, and 
other eco-friendly facilities in order to learn local solutions and 
introduce alternatives." http://www.sustainablesolutionscaravan.org

RAINBOW PEACE CARAVAN sends an S.O.S to its friends
"The Caravan has crossed borders of thirteen countries, done hundreds of 
presentations, workshops, festivals, conferences, audiovisuals and special 
events in the most remote indigenous communities of Central America, the 
Caribbean and South America ... Our latest event, EL LLAMADO DEL CONDOR, a 
Vision Council for Bioregional Action, brought together more than 700 
representatives from 34 different countries for a whole week of sharing of 
experiences, wisdom, ceremonies, multicultural activities, love and magic 
at the feet of Machu Picchu, in the highlands of the Peruvian Andes.

On our way to the gathering, on the night of August 24th, we had a terrible 
accident on the mountains near Nasca, that fortunately did not cost us any 
human loss, but left us with only one of our two buses Š According to the 
prices of vehicles here in Chile, we have calculated that we need to raise 
$30,000 dollars to get back to where we were last August, before the 
accident, and this is the reason we are sending this SOS, in order to hear 
from all of you, receive your advice, your donations, your ideas or leads 
as to how and where and to whom we should direct our request to get help 
for that purpose." Thank you! CONTACT: <subcoyotealberto at yahoo.com>
http://www.lacaravana.org/condor/sos_eng.html

NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA
Contacts: Enrique Hidalgo y Carlos Gómez (Pato)
ECOVILLAGES AND PERMACULTURE - Academic certification in Colombia 2004. For 
the first semester of 2004 we are projecting to have the first academic 
certification in Permaculture (80 hrs) through the Universidad Católica de 
Oriente, Antioquia, facilitated by FUNDACULTURA, a local NGO. This 
certification will be based on the message of the indigenous communities of 
the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, the curriculum from The Farm, USA, and 
The Permaculture Research Institute, AU.

During the first semester of 2005, we then expect to receive the first 
group of students from the north, who will take a certification program in 
Spanish, Permaculture, etc., while visiting the different sustainable 
community living options in Colombia, as the first destination within the 
bioregion. Contact: Carlos Gómez J. <pato at ecovillage.org>
ECONEIGHBORHOODS PROJECT, Bogota, Colombia
The Econeighborhoods Project is the result of communitarian and city 
government initiatives, in which diverse groups created their own 
sustainable development initiative throughout the city. Last November, ENA 
and La Rana, Mobile Art & Ecology project members, Penélope Baquero and 
Jason Gutzmer, toured four neighborhoods to observe and provide feedback to 
projects in different stages of maturity, which posed interesting 
approaches to sustainability, like organic gardening and recycling managed 
by children, a self-sustainable nursery managed by a group of women, 
permaculture greenhouses in private terraces, and an inter-generational 
center for the arts and culture. It was a very enriching experience! More 
information: <ana at aristizabal.net>

SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA
Contacts: Lucia Battegazzore y Silvia Balado
Third Latin American Gathering of Facilitators (TELF), San Carlos de 
Bariloche, Argentinian Patagonia, and the First Argentinian Gathering of 
Facilitators, March 31 - April 4, 2004, with the collaboration of IAF and 
Amauta Org.
eMail: <tallerestelf at fibertel.com.ar>
cc: <facilitadores at bariloche.com.ar>

ALIHUEN CIVIL ASSOCIATION (Standing Tree) Environmentalist NGO
Santa Rosa - La Pampa - PATAGONIA - ARGENTINA
http://www.alihuen.org.ar
LEARNING AND EXPLORING SUSTAINABLE LIFE
March 1 - 10, 2004 Asociación GAIA - Argentinian Institute of Permaculture, 
San Martin - Buenos Aires, Argentina. eMail: <gaia at gaia.org.ar>
Phone (+54-2272) 492072; Fax (+54-11) 47522197
http://www.gaia.org.ar/

USA WEST
Contacts: Lois Arkin and Jeff Clearwater

LOS ANGELES PERMACULTURE GUILD GETS UNDERWAY AT LAEV
As an outgrowth of the six weekend urban permaculture course co-sponsored 
by LAEV and CRSP last summer, the Los Angeles Permaculture Guild is 
underway with monthly meetings and permaculture projects throughout the LA 
area.  Camille Cimino, a long time permaculture student and ecovillage 
traveler (in Europe) is applying for permanent
residency at LAEV and will be on the Guild's Steering Committee along with 
L.A. Eco-Villager Dedan Gills, a three year Bioneer 
<http://www.bioneers.org>.  About 20 persons from throughout the Los 
Angeles area are founding members of the Guild, and all are interested in 
sustainable neighborhood development.
The one day workshop: Getting Started - The Nuts and Bolts of Creating a 
Cohousing Community in San Diego, CA January 30-31 is filling up fast! If 
you are planning to be part of this first Southern California workshop, 
please register today at: http://www.cohousing.org.

CERTIFICATE FOR EARTH-BASED VOCATIONS, at Ecoversity in New Mexico.
Includes the 2 week, 72 hour Permaculture Design Course, designed for 
students seeking to join the fast growing field of professionals who are 
developing whole system approaches for the design of human environments. 
For detailed information and Applications on-line: 
http://www.ecoversity.org/CurrentWebpages/CertificateProgram.htm
EcoDwelling is a 3-semester Concentration offered through New College of 
California North Bay Campus's (Santa Rosa) Culture, Ecology and Sustainable 
Community program. New College offers accredited BA completion and MA 
degrees, with additional concentrations in Ecological Agriculture, Painting 
in the Landscape, and Consciousness, Healing, and Ecology. The EcoDwelling 
Program forms part of the only accredited degree program where you can 
"major" in Ecological Design and Natural Building. Contact: Joe Kennedy 707 
568 3092 or <jkennedy at newcollege.edu>

RESOURCES and CALENDAR
For extensive listings, see:
http://ena.ecovillage.org/English and click on Resources or Calendar
World Unity Festivals
August 26-29, 2004 Upstate New York
September 30-Oct 3, 2004 Klamath, California
http://www.worldunityfestival.com Transcending Differences~Building 
Community~Honoring the Earth~Unifying the Spirit
*Imagine people from all around the world gathering with the vision of 
World Unity
*Visualize artists, musicians, and dancers and from various cultures 
joining together to create the vision of Peace
*Share ceremony with indigenous people working to help heal humanity's 
relationship with the Earth
*Participate in prayer and meditations with various representatives of the 
world's religions
Sustainable Resources 2004: An International Forum Connecting People with 
Hands-on Solutions to World Poverty, September 27 - October 5 - Boulder, 
Colorado.
Sustainable Resources 2004 will consist of a combination of keynote 
lectures, technical and non-technical presentations, case studies, 
cooperative problem solving, workshops on the major issues facing 
developing communities: water, sanitation, infrastructure, energy, shelter, 
health and hygiene, economic development, security, strategy, whole systems 
design, food and nutrition, social and cultural concerns, communications, 
and environment.
http://www.sustainableresources.org
Email: <info at sustainableresources.org>
Learn Permaculture design in Vermont with Permaculture Activist editor 
Peter Bane
http://www.claudegenest.com/dispatch/GREEN_dispatch.html
SpiralWorks Center for Sustainability : Integrating Nature and Culture 
through Community Natural Building and Permaculture courses in Vermont.
http://www.spiralworks.org
ph: 802-279-6166 email: <info at spiralworks.org>
The UN Dept. of Economic & Social Affairs - Division for Sustainable 
Development is pleased to announce the launch of its redesigned website. 
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/index.html

The Ecovillage Training Center, based at The Farm in Summertown TN, USA - 
announces it's 2003 trainings!
http://www.thefarm.org/etc/courses.html

~~~

MORE REASONS FOR GIVING TO ENA:

# 4. SUPPORT UNPOPULAR TRUTHS.
Though not of the popular culture, ENA speaks from the collective truth of 
our experiences in sustainability and community living. Ecovillage living 
poses solutions to many difficult problems created by prevailing popular 
lifestyles.

If you find this eNews and other ENA services useful and interesting, 
please consider contributing to their continuation. Go to:
http://ena.ecovillage.org/English/
Then click on Get Involved! You can print out a donor form to contribute by 
regular mail OR DONATE ON-LINE BY CREDIT CARD.

ENA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. A receipt will be sent for tax 
deduction in the U.S.

If you enjoy this newsletter, please forward it to friends and associates 
and suggest they subscribe. Thank you!

Distributed without profit for research, networking and educational 
purposes, ENA offers this eNewsletter free of charge. Copyright 2004 - 
Ecovillage Network of the Americas (ENA). Reserved rights. Contact: 
<ena at ecovillage.org>


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