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Ecovillage
An ecovillage is a traditional or intentional community with the goal of becoming more socially, culturally, economically, and/or ecologically sustainable. An ecovillage strives to produce the least possible negative impact on the natural environment through intentional physical design and resident behavior choices. It is consciously designed through locally owned, participatory processes to regenerate and restore its social and natural environments. Most range from a population of 50 to 250 individuals, although some are smaller, and traditional ecovillages are often much larger. Larger ecovillages often exist as networks of smaller sub-communities. Some ecovillages have grown through like-minded individuals, families, or other small groups—who are not members, at least at the outset—settling on the ecovillage's periphery and participating ''de facto'' in the community. Ecovillagers are united by shared ecological, social-economic and cultural-spiritual values.Van Schynd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Global Ecovillage Network
The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) is a global association of people and communities (ecovillages) dedicated to living "sustainable plus" lives by restoring the land and adding more to the environment than is taken. Network members share ideas and information, transfer technologies and develop cultural and educational exchanges. History Hildur and Ross Jackson from Denmark established the Gaia Trust, a charitable foundation, in 1991. Gaia funded a study by Robert Gilman and Diane Gilman of sustainable communities around the world. The report, ''Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities'', was released in 1991. The report found that although there were many interesting ecovillage projects, the full-scale ideal ecovillage did not yet exist. Collectively, however, the various projects described a vision of a different culture and lifestyle that could be further developed. In 1991 the Gaia Trust convened a meeting in Denmark of representatives of eco-communities to discuss strategie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Findhorn Ecovillage
Findhorn Ecovillage is an experimental architectural community project based at The Park, in Moray, Scotland, near the village of Findhorn.Local relations between the Findhorn Foundation and the village of Findhorn have occasionally foundered over inconsiderate use of the word 'Findhorn' to mean either the former or the Ecovillage. See for example Walker (1994), Talk:Findhorn Foundation and also Findhorn (other). The project's main aim is to demonstrate a sustainable development in environmental, social, and economic terms. Work began in the early 1980s under the auspices of the Findhorn Foundation but now includes a wide diversity of organisations and activities.Lovie, R. et al. (2005) ''Moray Sustainability Handbook.'' Keith. REAP. Numerous different ecological techniques are in use, and the project has won a variety of awards, including the UN-Habitat Best Practice Designation in 1998.Burns, B. et al. (2006) ''CIFAL Findhorn''. Findhorn Foundation. An independent s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ross Jackson
Ross Jackson is a Danish-Canadian economist, author and philanthropist born in Ottawa, Canada in 1938. In 1971, Ross Jackson co-founded SimCorp A/S: one of the world's first financial engineering companies. Later, Jackson began focusing more on international finance, consulting around the world in investment strategies for banks, insurance companies, and mutual fund providers. This led Ross Jackson to research currency trading methods and the creation of various investment strategies. In the early 1980s, Ross Jackson traveled to India and met Muktananda, a Hindu swami whose teaching led Jackson to an epiphany. ''"I felt a divine connection," he says. "Material things meant less after that."'' Ross Jackson has described his awakening in the book, ''Kali Yuga Odyssey: A Spiritual Journey'' (San Francisco, Robert D. Reed, 2000). In 1987 he integrated his spiritual insights with his business and environmental interests by forming Gaia Trust, a charitable Danish entity with the man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Gilman
Robert C. Gilman is a thinker on sustainability who, along with his late wife Diane Gilman, has researched and written about ecovillages. The Gilmans’ work was important in giving definition to the ecovillage movement and shaping the direction of the Global Ecovillage Network. In 1991, the Gilmans co-authored ''Eco-Villages and Sustainable Communities'', a seminal study of ecovillages for Gaia Trust. Also in 1991, Gilman, who was publisher of the magazine ''In Context'', wrote an article entitled “The Eco-village Challenge” that set out a definition of an ecovillage as a: *human-scale *full-featured settlement *in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world *in a way that is supportive of healthy human development and can be successfully continued into the indefinite future This definition was to become the standard definition on which the ecovillage movement was founded and is still considered by many to be the most authoritative. From astro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diane Gilman (environmentalist)
Diane Gilman (1945–1998), was a painter, potter, writer and co-founder of the Context Institute. She played a key role in the initial development and coordination of the Global Ecovillage Network, a support network for model communities to show how to live more sustainably on the planet, in urban, rural, developed and less developed situations. In 1991, she and her husband, Robert Gilman co-wrote ''Eco-Villages and Sustainable Communities'', a seminal study of ecovillages for Gaia Trust. Biography Gilman attended the University of California at Santa Barbara, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Art. A professional watercolor painter and potter, she founded the Context Institute with her husband, Robert in 1979. She was Associate Publisher of ''In Context'' magazine from 1983–1995 and coordinated citizen diplomacy work with the USSR for the Institute. She and Robert Gilman co-founded the Foundation for Russian/American Economic Cooperation, in Seattle, Washington.Context ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intentional Community
An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision, and typically share responsibilities and property. This way of life is sometimes characterized as an " alternative lifestyle". Intentional communities can be seen as social experiments or communal experiments. The multitude of intentional communities includes collective households, cohousing communities, coliving, ecovillages, monasteries, survivalist retreats, kibbutzim, hutterites, ashrams, and housing cooperatives. History Ashrams are likely the earliest intentional communities founded around 1500 BCE, while Buddhist monasteries appeared around 500 BCE. Pythagoras founded an intellectual vegetarian commune in about 525 BCE in southern Italy. Hundreds of modern intentional communities were formed across ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Low-impact Development (UK)
Low-impact development (LID) has been defined as "development which through its low negative environmental impact either enhances or does not significantly diminish environmental quality". The interplay between would-be developers and the UK planning authorities since the 1980s has led to a diversity of unique, locally adapted developments, often making use of natural, local and reclaimed materials in delivering highly affordable, low or zero carbon housing. These LIDs often strive to be self-sufficient in terms of waste management, energy, water and other needs. There are numerous examples of LIDs throughout the UK, and local and national authorities have come to recognise the need for the concept to be incorporated into planning strategies. Definition Low-impact development (LID), in the UK sense of the term, was described by Simon Fairlie, a former editor of The Ecologist magazine, in 1996 as: "development that through its low impact either enhances or does not significantl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miccosukee Land Co-op
The Miccosukee Land Cooperative (MLC) is a cohousing community (a kind of intentional community). It is located near Tallahassee, in northeastern Leon County, Florida. Administration The community consists of about 120 households and is governed by a "town council" consisting of representatives from six "neighborhoods" within the community, overseen by a “coordinator” who is elected by a vote of the community. The defining documents of the Miccosukee Land Cooperative include the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Restrictive Covenants. Land tenure The community includes homes owned by residents and a small number of rental homes. Membership in the community was originally limited to people whose names appear on deeds, but now includes long term residents who are not owners. Homesteads range in size from to several acres each. Geography Over are maintained as a nature preserve—the Common Land owned collectively by the entire membership. Both private and shar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voluntary Simplicity
Simple living refers to practices that promote simplicity in one's lifestyle. Common practices of simple living include reducing the number of possessions one owns, depending less on technology and services, and spending less money. Not only is simple living focused on external changes such as minimalism through fewer commitments or possessions but it also connects to the human's mindset and set of beliefs. These practices can be seen throughout history, religion, art, and economics. Adherents may choose simple living for a variety of personal reasons, such as spirituality, health, increase in quality time for family and friends, work–life balance, personal taste, financial sustainability, increase in philanthropy, frugality, environmental sustainability, or reducing stress. Simple living can also be a reaction to materialism and conspicuous consumption. Some cite sociopolitical goals aligned with environmentalist, anti-consumerist or anti-war movements, including conserva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cultural Creatives
''The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World'' is a nonfiction social sciences and sociology book by sociologist Paul H. Ray and psychologist Sherry Ruth Anderson (born 1942), The authors introduced the term "Cultural Creatives" to describe a large segment in Western society who since about 1985 have developed beyond the standard paradigm of modernists or progressives versus traditionalists or conservatives. Ray and Anderson claim to have found 50 million adult Americans (slightly over one quarter of the adult population) can now be identified as belonging to this group. They estimated an additional 80–90 million "Cultural Creatives" exist in Europe as of 2000. Two types Ray and Anderson divide "Cultural Creatives" into two subdivisions: Core "Cultural Creatives" Just under half of the CC population comprises the more educated, leading-edge thinkers. This includes many writers, artists, musicians, psychotherapists, alternative health care provide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Living Villages
Living Villages is an organisation in the United Kingdom established in 1993 as part of The Athena Foundation UK (now dissolved) and as ThLiving Village Trustin 1997 by Carole Salmon and Bob Tomlinson. The objectives are to encourage sustainable development through appropriate design and ethical commercial practice. The first project of five environmentally friendly houses calleBells Courtin Bishops Castle, Shropshire, UK built in 1997 and the 40 house eco-neighbourhood calleThe Wintles also in Bishops Castle, demonstrate that new housing can be eco-friendly, attractive and beneficial to a local community provided that specific set of design principlesis adhered to. Tomlinson and Salmon maintain that sustainability within the built environment is not possible unless the inhabitants feel a connection to the place and enjoy living there. For example, even if a building is highly energy efficient or made from environmentally friendly materials, it cannot be sustainable if it is demo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cohousing
Cohousing is an intentional community of private homes clustered around shared space. The term originated in Denmark in late 1960s. Each attached or single family home has traditional amenities, including a private kitchen. Shared spaces typically feature a common house, which may include a large kitchen and dining area, laundry, and recreational spaces. Shared outdoor space may include parking, walkways, open space, and gardens. Neighbors also share resources like tools and lawnmowers. Households have independent incomes and private lives, but neighbors collaboratively plan and manage community activities and shared spaces. The legal structure is typically a homeowner association or housing cooperative. Community activities feature regularly scheduled shared meals, meetings, and workdays. Neighbors gather for parties, games, movies, or other events. Cohousing makes it easy to form clubs, organize child and elder care, and carpool. Cohousing facilitates interaction among neig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
