Ecovillage Impressions

GEN offers inspiring examples of how people and communities can live healthy, cooperative, genuinely happy and meaningful lifestyles --- beacons of hope that help in the transition to a more sustainable future on Earth. We foster a culture of mutual respect, sharing, inclusiveness, positive intent, and fair energy exchange.

GEN-International works trough three broad regional organisations: GEN Oceania and Asia (GENOA), the Ecovillage Network of the Americas (ENA), and GEN-Europe/Africa/Middle East. GEN-International is currently supporting the emergence of GEN-Africa and CASA (El Consejo de Asentamientos Sustentables de las Américas) as independent networks in order to make more visible the dynamic and impressive work already being done in Africa and South America.

Welcome to the Intentional Communities website – your source for community information

Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing communities, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives, intentional living, alternative communities, cooperative living, and other projects where people strive together with a common vision.

This web site serves the growing communities' movement, providing resources for starting a community, finding a community home, living in community, and creating more community in your life.

Twin Oaks Communities Conference 2012 - Labor Day weekend (Aug. 31 - Sept. 3)

Living for free: a community thriving by recycling other people's waste

'Recycling' has become something of an empty phrase these days, with much of what we discard being 'down-cycled' rather than properly re-used or re-purposed.

So it's very refreshing to hear about a community that not only meets its own needs through recycling, but even gives away surplus from their activities to the surrounding community...

 Our recent trip to the Plukrijp community made a strong impression on us. Situated in Schriek, Belgium, this small farm has developed into a thriving community hub over the last few years and offers solutions in various aspects of Permaculture design. Most notable, however, is the way this community lives at virtually no cost. Around 4000 people pass through here a year in addition to a 15 strong community, and the running costs have been reduced to gas for cooking and water rates!

Permaculture livestock

The chickens and geese are kept in netted pens joined by hundreds of meters of netted tunnels that run the entire perimeter of the fields. Frank has designed this in to ensure weeds do not encroach from the neighboring land and has overplanted the tunnels with Jerusalem artichoke, berries and other fodder, creating a multifunctional system producing fodder and yielding crops whilst keeping edges of the field clean and allowing the birds much greater freedom. Good design!

On vast racking around the freezers there is 200l of olive oil (a year out of date), jars of pickles and preserves made from the farms crops, as well as all manner of organic wholefoods, the oldest of which are 20 years out of date! And yet still safely consumed by the Plukrijp inhabitants.

We leave amazed at the potential to engage with surrounding communities in this multifunctional and beneficial way. This is certainly the most organized and shining example of valuing the marginal in this regard I have heard about or experienced, and I depart grateful for the possibilities Plukrijp represents.

om mani padme hum

Drummondville couple fights to keep vegetable garden

New bylaw will ban front lawn vegetable gardens.

A couple is fighting to keep a vegetable garden they grow on their property in Drummondville, 100 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

This spring, Michel Beauchamp and his wife, Josée Landry, planted an elaborate vegetable garden on the front lawn of their Richelieu Street home.

They used to have flowers growing, but Beauchamp has high blood pressure and wanted to eat healthier. So they planted cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchinis, beets, onions, and brussels sprouts, among other vegetables.



Landry said the garden has had a big impact on her and her husband's health. "Michel lost 75 lb since March, I lost 25 lb," she said.


But the couple will face fines if they don't rip up part of their garden in the next five days.


The couple said they will not give up without a fight. "It must be a right to be able to grow our vegetables on our land. It is nonsense to ban it," said Beauchamp.

A spokesperson for the city said neighbours have complained about the garden.

Beauchamp said no one has complained to him. He said he shares his fresh produce with his neighbours.
"They love it. Everybody is surprised by the kind of taste we can have from fresh vegetables," he said.


This fall the city plans to make it illegal to grow vegetables on front lawns anywhere in the city.

That makes perfect sense!!  People want to grow fresh food, what a stupid idea, when they go to the shops and by Monsanto GM crap.  I despair at the lunacy in the world!!

Quote

“We can spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or insane. Saints or sex addicts. Heroes or victims. Letting history tell us how good or bad we are.Letting our past decide our future.

Or we can decide for ourselves. And maybe it’s our job to invent something better.”

Chuck Palahniuk

Tattoo

I also got a tattoo this year, something I've always thought I'd like but way to scared of the imagined pain.  Anyway, my daughter booked me in with her tattooist, Steve A, for an after work consultation.  They were so good making special arrangements for me, working after hours and sitting with me till the end.  Thanks so much!

I wanted a quote from Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist.

The words meant a lot to me, they were a sort of mantra for getting out of the house and now I can see them all the time, and hold on to my them on my wrist for support.

Steve was patience itself, and really kind and very talented.  He wrote out the words I wanted in the design I had in mind and it came out better than I ever imagined.  It wasn't painful and I didn't get any after effects.

My fabulous tattooist Steve A.



I had to go into town for this, my son took me, and drove me home after, and my daughter sat with me, but the feeling of being trapped, which is what most agoraphobics get, was what I was most frightened of, but that didn't happen and when I got home I felt invincible!! and ready for anything.

Thanks to everyone for that great day.