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The Global Ecovillage Network prepares for the Johannesburg Earth SummitIn February-March 2002 Albert Bates, of ENA's International Office, attended the PrepCom in New York City, for the upcoming Earth Summit. He presented a GEN Slide Show: The Ecovillage Movement in Agenda 21, Progress and Prospects for the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN). GEN will present a series of events, workshops and ecotours in South Africa in connection with the World Summit on Sustainable Development, August-September, 2002. SEE RELATED ARTICLES: A Movement for Change In OUTLOOK 2002 - Friday, February 1st the thrice-weekly newspaper for the Prepcom put out by the World Summit Stakeholder's Forum. Information about ecovillage workshops and activites in Johannesburg
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The World Social Forum, at a Glance...It was a very special event, an excellent opportunity to give our message, to meet people, and to know what is going on in the world about environment, education, justice, democracy, peace work, policy, and so on.... A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words... The Americas at Night, from spaceView the entire Earth at night |
The Ecovillage Network “Trilha do Sol” (Sun Trail) ...was born when people from the Bioregion in the South of Brazil felt the need to get together to create and share more sustainable living in all its aspects. The first meeting was held in December, 1999 in Maquine (Rio Grande do Sul State), in the Community Vale do Encantado, 20 to 60 members were present, people from different age groups and cultural backgrounds. We have been conducting meetings every two months ever since, and at the moment this is our most important activity. Gatherings happen at potential ecovillages, places where people live in harmony with the natural world. Network members get together and help these communities with building or planting. Workshops and courses have been organized on themes such as: sustainability, consensus decision-making, networking, and organic agriculture. Nighttime is left for art, music, dancing, being around the fire, and mysticism - expressions of a diverse culture of brotherhood and peace. Within “Trilha do Sol” we created an economic network of solidarity between the rural and urban areas, and a biodiversity network, where we exchange and preserve organic and native seeds. This network is formed by agricultural workers, university students, teachers, artists, craftsmen, other professionals... whoever wants to join us and the Great Spirit that unites and guides us through this trail of the sun. Our last meeting happened on September 7th - 9th, on a MST (Landless Movement) settlement in Eldorado do Sul (Rio Grande do Sul State). We planted 2,500 native trees. This settlement is formed by 73 families, some of whom live in an agricultural village which belongs to COPAE (cooperative for agricultural production), one of the first ecological farms of the MST movement. The families which hosted the meeting were happy and very enthusiastic to find out about the ecovillage network which acts locally and globally. They recognized the ecovillage movement as being related to the “communities of resistance”, which is the MST concept. We keep having meetings every two months, and working to make the ecovillage dream a reality in our land. by Marceu Estivalet, Communidade Tribal Vale Encantado |
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From Witness for Peace
202/494-8004 (voice)
