[Scpg] Newsletter of the Ecovillage Network of the Americas (ENA)

Wed Sep 8 13:24:29 PDT 2004

ENA eNews
  Date: August 2004      Issue # 0008
  Editor: Giovanni Ciarlo: giovanni at ecovillage.org

This newsletter is distributed for free in North, Central, South  
America, the Caribbean and beyond. ENA is a grassroots, sustainable  
community network, and part of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN).  
http://www.ecovillage.org
  Subscribe a friend or Unsubscribe to this newsletter by going to:  
http://www.ecovillage.org/ENAeNews/enews.html

ENA's mission is: To engage the peoples of the Americas in common  
effort to join the global transformation towards ecologically,  
economically and culturally sustainable human settlement.

  Our goals are to demonstrate how to meet the needs of present and  
future generations for a safe and healthy planet to inhabit, and to  
link like-minded projects in the Americas.
  ~~~
  You can read previous editions of ENA eNews in four languages on-line:
  http://ena.ecovillage.org/English/news/eNews/index.html

  MORE REASONS FOR GIVING TO ENA:  Reason # 5.
  ENA is a volunteer-based service organization. Your donation goes  
directly to support the few people who get little pay for far more work  
than their job description. They often have to also cover the costs of  
maintaining a reliable office at home or in their community in order to  
serve ENA.
  Please visit our web pages and make a donation!  
http://ena.ecovillage.org/English/get_involved/donation.html
  ~~~

  NETWORK NEWS

  ~ A new chapter in the history of the ecovillage movement is opening  
up. A new worldwide education program for sustainability created by the  
Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) was born when 23 educators from  
ecovillages on all continents met at Findhorn Ecovillage, Scotland the  
last week of May. They came from Brazil, Mexico, the USA, Australia,  
Africa and all parts of Europe. During a synergistic meeting, an  
"ecovillage of ecovillages" was created, where silence, dance, chant,  
dialogue, planning, meditation and love were woven together into a  
beautiful tapestry. The ecovillagers agreed on a curriculum covering  
all aspects of sustainability: its ecological, social, economic,  
spiritual and cultural dimensions; and on a pedagogy developed in  
ecovillages called Living and Learning.

  For further information on:
- the Global Ecovillage Network, see: http://gen.ecovillage.org
- the new educational program, contact: Chair of the steering  
committee, Ina Meyer-Stoll <ina at gen-europe.org>.

  ~ Rob Wheeler, Chair and Project Coordinator of the EcoEarth Alliance,  
an UN Partnership Initiative between GEN and a consortium of UN  
affiliated NGOs, had the good fortune to be interviewed on the  
"Development Voices" webcast at the UN, along with many heads of UN  
agencies and ministers during the Conference on Sustainable Development  
(CSD-12) this past April. You can hear the program by going to:  
http://www.un.org/webcast/developmentvoices
Or contact Rob Wheeler at: robineagle at worldcitizen.org

~ Please visit the Ecovillage eStore:  
http://ena.ecovillage.org/store/index.html
  Check out these inspiring books:

  "Ecovillage Living: Restoring the Earth and Her People", edited by  
Hildur Jackson and Karen Svensson.

  "Creating a Life Together: Practical tools to Grow Ecovillages and  
Intentional Communities" By Diana Leafe Christian.

  "Introduction to Consensus" by Beatrice Briggs, including a 28-page  
"Guide for Facilitators" - available in English and Spanish.

  ~~~

  REGIONAL NEWS
  For full contact information of regional representatives go to:
http://ena.ecovillage.org/English/region/index.html
Click on the Region of interest in the map.
If you know of ecovillage projects or other relevant news in your  
region please send a short paragraph to giovanni at ecovillage.org and we  
will consider it for our next issue of ENA eNews.

  BRAZIL
  Contact: Vanessa Marinho

  There was an inspiring ENA Brasil meeting at ABRA144 ecovillage in  
Manaus/ Amazonas, and by consensus Vanessa Marinho was selected to  
serve on the ENA Council as the Brasilian representative. A  
representative from the south of Brasil will be selected during the  
Social Forum January 05 in Porto Alegre.

Vanessa has been coordinating ENA-North Brazil for sometime. Before  
settling in the Amazon bioregion, she traveled for almost a year in  
Brazil visiting and recording communities and ecovillages. They live  
the reality of an ecovillage in the middle of the Amazon. See:  
http://www.abra144.org
eMail: comunidade at abra144.org

  ECOVILLAGE NETWORK OF AMERICA- BRASIL
  http://www.ecovila.blogger.com.br/index.html
  http://www.enabrasilmissao.blogger.com.br/index.html

  CANADA
  Contact: Lee Davies

  ~ Visit the Ecovillage Network of Canada at: http://enc.ecovillage.org/

  CARIBBEAN
  Contacts: Felipe Bermúdez and Liora Adler

Our prayers for the people of the Caribbean who are enduring Mother  
Nature's power, this hurricane season.

  EAST USA
  Contacts: Dan Greenberg and Manda Gillespe

  ~ Cleveland Ecovillage has hired a full time ecovillage coordinator  
with an office at the neighborhood's local development corporation. The  
new coordinator, Mandy Metcalf, can provide brief updates on the many  
exciting things happening there for those interested in urban  
ecovillage projects. MMetcalf at dscdo.org

~ Ecovillage Educators Faculty Training
  In June 2004, twenty Living Routes  
http://www.livingroutes.org/educators from Brazil, India, Mexico,  
Senegal, Scotland and the U.S. came together for a week at the Findhorn  
Foundation in northern Scotland to explore how to train leaders in  
education for a sustainable future. The participants were faculty,  
staff, and supporters of Living Routes, a Massachusetts, U.S. based  
nonprofit that directs college-level programs in ecovillages around the  
world. These ecovillages provide ideal "campuses" for students to learn  
about sustainability while actually living in one. The next Faculty  
Training is planned for Summer of 2005, at the Sirius Community in  
western Massachusetts.

  ~ Shaw Ecovillage, in Washington DC, has the mission - "to train youth  
to be effective leaders and catalysts for meaningful and sustainable  
change in Washington, DC's urban neighborhoods". Their goals are to  
develop YOUTH LEADERS and to build SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES, and to  
achieve meaningful change by addressing three critical aspects of urban  
neighborhoods:
  1. Economy--creating an economy to support individuals of all income  
levels;
  2. Environment-- a natural and built environment that is healthy for  
all people and non-detrimental to the earth;
  3. Social--a society that supports the interests and needs of all  
residents.

  Find out more at: www.shawecovillage.com

MESOAMERICA
  Contacts: Giovanni Ciarlo and Laura Kuri

~ The emerging ecovillage, Huehuecoyotl in Tepoztlan, Mexico is taking  
its vision of becoming a Living and Learning Center to new levels this  
year as it embarks on a program of courses that offer college credit in  
partnership with two education institutions in the US: Goddard College  
of Vermont and Living Routes / University of Massachusetts. See:  
http://www.huehuecoyote.org / http://www.LivingRoutes.org /  
http://www.goddard.edu/academic/mexico.html

~ El Instituto de la Juventud, the Mexican governmental agency  
responsible for youth programs, is working with the Youth Employment  
Summit (YES) campaign of North America to bring together 1000  
government officials, corporate leaders, youth leaders, development  
agencies and NGOs in Veracruz, Mexico in October 2004. The summit is  
focusing on themes related to youth employment worldwide - developing  
entrepreneurial spirit, renewable energies, HIV/AIDS prevention, and  
youth participation in civil society.

  YES 2004 offers a stimulating opportunity for adult leaders to meet  
with a new and dynamic generation poised to guide our grandchildren  
into the future. Participants will represent several currents of  
thought on matters of economic development, meeting in an  
intergenerational atmosphere of exchange and learning.
See: http://www.yesweb.org/mexico

~ The site of Tonantzin Tlalli ecovillage, at Paraje Bonanza in the  
district of Ejutla, Oaxaca, Mexico is a place of exceptional beauty. At  
1540m above sea level and it is at the feet of the Cerro del Labrador  
with its pristine protected forests of pine and oak. Tonantzin Tlalli  
is a project of the Non Profit Group for the Promotion of Education and  
Sustainable Development  (GRUPEDSAC in Spanish). It relies on the  
generous support of donors, in particular the WK Kellogg foundation.
For information: info at pacificos.org

MOBILE
  Contacts: Alberto Ruz and Penélope Baquero

  ~ A video is now available documenting the Call of the Condor  
Gathering in Peru last year. For information and to order, contact  
Penelope: laranarcoiris at yahoo.com

~ After the Call of the Condor Gathering, the Caravana Arcoiris por la  
Paz Living and Learning Center has been based in Iquique, in the  
northern deserts of Chile, preparing for the next part of their  
journey: South to Santiago, and then, to Tierra del Fuego.  In the  
meantime they have built two trailers, changed an engine, bought  
another bus, remodeled both pre-existing buses, fixed the jeep, and  
presented two multimedia shows: "Mandala", and "Maya". They also gave a  
dozen workshops on femininity, permaculture for desert zones,  
ecovillage design, consensus, dance and theater.

  In November, the Caravan will participate in the First Social Forum in  
Chile, and December 6th-12th they will be organizing with local  
networks the LLAMADO DEL ARCOIRIS Bioregional Action Council. The  
Caravan continues working together with the Brazilian groups hosting  
the Chamado do Beija Flor, which is scheduled for September 2005,  
somewhere near Alto Paraiso, Brazil.
See: http://www.lacaravana.org

NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA
  Contacts: Enrique Hidalgo and Carlos Gómez (Pato)

  ~ International Volunteers Workcamp in the Darien Rainforest, Colombia
  Organized by Fundacion Darien and SCI (International Civil Service, at  
the Reserva Integral and Ecoaldea Sasardí (RIES), in the municipality  
Acandi department of Choco, near Trigana Bay, on the Caribbean coast.  
The Sasardi Reserve is located in a high biodiversity zone in the north  
of Colombia, bordering Panama.
  For details, contact:
Claudio Madaune: ecoaldeasnsa at ecovillage.org  Tel: (57) 48242556  
  FUNDACION DARIEN: fundarien at epm.net.co  Tel: (57) 4 - 8243610  
SERVICIO CIVIL INTERNACIONAL (SCI): sciint at sciint.org
  http://www.sciint.org

  ~ ENA-Colombia has received an invitation through Project Counseling  
Service - PCS to lead an 80 hour Permaculture Certification course  
directed to grassroots community leaders and various NGOs working on  
the frontlines with displaced populations of the Colombian region known  
as Magdalena Medio.
For information: pato at ecovillage.org

~ The Planetary Community of Janajpacha, formed 15 years ago, between  
the Andes and the Rainforest of Bolivia practices Mandala building  
techniques from ecological indigenous architecture. They also focus on  
fundamental themes of self-sufficiency, eco-construction, appropriate  
technology, and new communal leadership models in urban and rural  
settings.
eMail:  contacto at planetadeluz.com or info at chamalu.com
http://www.chamalu.com

  SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA
  Contacts: Lucia Battegazzore and Silvia Balado

  ~ Check out the new Gaia Argentina Living & Learning Center Education  
programs.
  Contact Asociación Gaia - Instituto Argentino de Permacultura
http://www.gaia.org.ar
eMail: gaia at gaia.org.ar

~ In Lomas de Solymar, Uruguay, Lucia and Luciano Battegazzore have  
been very busy this year organizing monthly Ecovillage meetings on  
topics ranging from alternative economics to consensus decision-making.  
The program aims to develop the ecovillage concept, concluding with a  
participatory workshop and discussion groups focused on useful  
information for the design and development of ecovillages and  
self-sufficient communities.
http://www.permacultura.info/talleres
eMail: 7generaciones at ecovillage.org

~ The organizing team of the National Ecoclubes Office in Santiago,  
Chile invites all interested people to the VI National Gathering of  
Ecoclubes, November 12-14, 2004.
http://www.iepe.org/ecoclubes and http://www.ecoclubes.org
eMail:  ecoclub_chile at yahoo.com, ecoclubesdechile at latinmail.com

WEST USA
  Contacts: Lois Arkin and Jeff Clearwater

  ~ Read the Los Angeles Times article on urban permaculture in LA:  
"It's kind of easy being green" at LA Eco-village (LAEV) by Susan  
Carpenter, Times Staff Writer.
  Go to:  
http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-wk- 
cover22jul22_b%2C1%2C3910643.story?coll=la-home-style

  ~ ECOVILLAGE NETWORK OF LOS ANGELES:  MEET-UP TO GET STARTED
If you are planning to start an urban ecovillage in Los Angeles, come  
to this first gathering: Sunday, September 12, 10 am - noon, no fee.
  TOURS OF LAEV ARE ALSO AVAILABLE upon request.
  RESERVATIONS REQUIRED.  Fee: $10 (sliding scale ok)
Contact Lois: crsp at igc.org or phone 213 738-1254

  ~ ECOVILLAGES:  TRANSLATION TO THE MAINSTREAM
  5 day conference September 20-25 at Hollyhock, Cortes Island, British  
Columbia, Canada. Lois Arkin (L.A. Eco-Village/CRSP) and Diana  
Christian (Earthhaven Ecovillage and editor or Communities Magazine)  
and many others from the ecovillage movement are presenting.
  See details at http://www.ecovillage.org/conference/index.htm
 ~~~

  RESOURCES and CALENDAR
  For extensive listings, see: http://ena.ecovillage.org/English
Click on Resources or Calendar

  ~ The Ecovillage Training Center at The Farm in Summertown, TN has a  
continuous schedule of courses on ecovillage design, appropriate  
technologies and more. For schedules and full list of courses, see:  
http://www.thefarm.org/etc/

~ Earthaven Ecovillage in North Carolina offers a wide variety of  
trainings on ecovillages, permaculture and sustainability. Visit:  
http://www.earthaven.org

~ 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

~ The web site http://www.pathtofreedom.com offers many interesting  
examples of how we can live a simpler, sustainable life style without  
sacrificing our comfort.
  ~~~

  If you find this eNews and other ENA services useful and interesting,  
please consider contributing to their support. 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.

Special thanks to Chris and Stephan Wik, ANU Internet Services for web  
hosting the ecovillage networks, http://www.ecovillage.org

Please forward this eNews to friends and associates who might enjoy it,  
and let them know they can subscribe to receive future editions at:  
http://www.ecovillage.org/ENAeNews/enews.html
  Thank you!

  Distributed without profit for research, networking and educational  
purposes, ENA offers this e-Newsletter free of charge. Copyright 2004 -  
Ecovillage Network of the Americas (ENA). We encourage the sharing of  
the ENA eNews, free of charge only.  Please reference ENA as the  
source, and if you are using information ENA provides, please register  
in the Global Ecovillage Network's contact database at:  
http://gen.ecovillage.org/iservices/index.html

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