Ecovillage Transition Toolkit and Handbook

 Source: https://ecovillage.org/ecovillage-transition-in-action-2

Ecovillage Transition in ActionAn EU funded collaboration to scale up ecovillage solutions

August 29, 2022 by Carolin Waldmann 

Project Summary

Addressing systemic crises will not derive only from international organisations, governments and politicians, they require a greater collective response. Communities, citizens, NGOs and other forms of civil society hold many of the solutions. In a fragmented world, successful cross-sectoral collaboration is key, particularly partnerships that blur the lines between top-down and bottom-up, i.e. partnerships between municipalities and community-led initiatives (CLIs).

It is common in our networks to see examples of engaged communities working for positive change who feel unsupported by local governments. We also see municipalities determined to act and support, who are struggling to build genuinely collaborative relationships with communities and other local initiatives.  

The project “Ecovillage Transition in Action” explored how ecovillages, community-led initiatives, local government and local academic institutions can better collaborate to scale both horizontally and vertically in order to catalyse regional sustainability innovation.

Completing a three year long partnership, the Ecovillage Transition in Action is now proud to share learnings, inspirations, outcomes and tools created throughout the international project to:

– Grow the capacity of educators, local initiatives, local authorities, citizens and community organisers to facilitate this crucial but complicated collaboration, and to teach those skills and capacities to others.

– Provide accessible and transferable educational tools, curricula, and methods for bringing together community-led initiatives and local government actors, and increase the depth and quality of collaboration between them.

– Provide a set of replicable trainings that support our target groups to acquire key competencies and skills for what we call Ecovillage Transition – a process where municipal authorities and local citizens work together to develop alternative pathways to local development, based on a holistic framework of social, cultural, economic and ecological regeneration.

Collaboration Partners

Ecovillage Transition in Action was a strategic partnership between 5 organisations from 4 countries funded by the EU Erasmus+ programme.

University of St Andrews – ECOLISE – Hurdal Ecovillage Norway – Global Ecovillage Network Germany – Global Ecovillage Network International

Materials and Resources developed through the 3-year project

Ecovillage Transition Toolkit

A toolkit to collate and curate knowledge and practices in ecovillages and community-led initiatives can integrate with local government institutions and processes (municipalities, regional municipalities, local authorities and community councils as appropriate) to catalyse regional innovation and impacts in line with the SDG aspirations and actions. The educational exercises and tools previously developed in other Erasmus+ partnerships like T2R, CLIPS and SIRCle can provide core ingredients, as will the foundational tools of the Map of Regeneration (with the Ecovillage Design Cards) and the Journey of Regeneration. In addition, new tools and knowledge creation has been fed into the Toolkit while making tools available in French, German and English.

Ecovillage Transition Toolkit von Carolin Waldmann

Handbook: Communities and local authorities collaborating for sustainability

A curriculum offering fresh framings for different actors to work with communities and across sectors for bioregional transformation and restoration. Individuals from ecovillages, community led initiatives, local government and local colleges or universities can come together to learn how to design and implement local and bioregional regeneration in line with the Ecovillage Principles and the SDGs. The complete handbook is also available for you in French and German.

Handbook von Cameliaz Olarte

Trainer’s Handbook

A train the trainer programme to equip facilitators with the tools, skills and competencies to facilitate local and regional processes of transformation and regeneration.

Trainer’s Handbook von Cameliaz Olarte

Localization - Action Guide

 Source: https://actionguide.localfutures.org/

Join the global movement to build resilient local economies and flourishing local communities. Take action with the tools and resources in this guide.

137 Actions to resist and renew.

Solving our current crises requires actions that resist the drivers of social and ecological destruction, and those that renew local cultures, communities and economies. Let’s take action at a personal and community level and build a movement powerful enough to turn the tide.

LOCAL ACTION AND SYSTEMIC CHANGE

In the pursuit of never-ending growth and profits, the corporate-led global economy is putting all life on earth at risk. When we take action to localize our economies and strengthen our communities, we are helping to bring about a systemic shift in direction – towards cultural and biological diversity, social justice, genuine democracy, and our own health and happiness.
It’s time to bring our economies back home, to return to a human scale, to localize.

LEARN MORE 

“From farmers markets and consumer-producer co-operatives to local business alliances and community finance schemes, people are reweaving the fabric of local interdependence from the ground up. Out of common sense and heartfelt intuition, they are finding innovative ways to step out of the consumer rat race to live local lives at a human pace and scale.”

Helena Norberg-Hodge, Founder - Local Futures

Localization Action Guide

This guide, created by Local Futures, provides tools and resources to build resilient local economies and flourishing local communities.

Doing what matters in the times of stress

 

Dong what maters in the times of stress from Little Daisy

Council Ways

 Source: https://howlingcastle.wordpress.com/council-ways/

Inviting all who want to explore this simple and powerful way of communication. More than a way of sharing, it is a practice that moves us to a deeper, more compassionate level of communicating and being.

Mostly based on The Way of Council and on ancient traditions that keep on crossing my paths, these spaces are just a circle—or a spiral?—where each part, each node can witness and be witnessed in the moment, with whatever is alive. Sometimes we come together with a prior intention to explore particular issues, sometimes the doors are open to whatever comes. Most often we sense a wisdom beyond each part, and although unexpected, the flow, the themes, the sharings simply make sense.

Circles holding circles within circles

A Council Way into our Full Humanity

These one and a half hour sessions are a place to come and taste the space of council, and are suited for any level of experience.  Sometimes once is what you need, sometimes they become a place of refuge, or connection. They’re offered at different times and days of the week in the hope of bringing together an ever-changing flow of peoples, ages, stories…

Here you can check the current offerings

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Council Journeys

Over several weeks (usually four), we explore the practice of council, in a small-group setting. You get to know more about different shapes and variations, some of the history and evolution of this way of inquiry. We get to deepen connections with our selves and each other.

Here you can check the current offerings

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Council of Beings

What happens when we let go of our circumstantial identity as a human being, when we touch the connections with other beings and let them speak through us? A space to witness what moves us deeply from the world we live in. Especially powerful in the context of the ongoing crises of our biosphere.

Offerings coming soon!

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My own Council Journey… I’m Dita. I fell in love with the Way of Council some six years ago, when I attended my first one at High Heathercombe, up in the dramatic moors of Dartmoor. My dear friend Mel Lamb held it with her characteristic and amazing energy—I learned much from Mel in the coming years, and got to hold circles with her until her passing in 2020. Since that first one, I have attended many councils, in different contexts, and have experienced a wide diversity of flavours and intentions. I’ve had the honour and privilege to learn from the expert and caring hands of many, especially Klaudia van Gool, Jeremy Thres, and Sophy Banks. But most of my learning comes from a beloved teacher and my council guide, Pip Bondy. It is from her that my council tradition comes from. She was taught by Gigi Coyle in the tradition of the Ojai Foundation, where the Way of Council as we practice it today was co-creatively brought into life.

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School Circles (2021) - documentary

School Circles (2021) - documentary - Short Version (44 min)

School Circles is an independent documentary that explores the practice of democratic schools in the Netherlands. The film shows students, teachers and staff members coming together to dialogue, discuss proposals, mediate conflicts and make decisions about their school life.

These schools not only challenge the mainstream education, but also democracy as we know it. They put into practice Sociocracy, a method for collective organisation based on a systems perspective, in which the decisions are made by hearing all the voices and getting everyone's consent.

School Circles connects the theory of sociocracy to its practice within schools, taking us to new possibilities of organising ourselves and our communities.

MORE INFO:

• https://schoolcirclesfilm.com

The directors of the film are trained sociocracy facilitators and offer courses around democratic governance and sociocracy within schools and educational settings. For more info visit: https://www.wonderingschool.org/socio... 

The Circle Way

 Source: https://www.thecircleway.net/

The Circle Way — Putting Equity and Justice in the Center
The Circle Way unequivocally affirms the essential practice of turning to one another to uphold racial, ethnic, gender, disability, economic, and environmental justice. We can imagine a different way.

Quick Links

Two-page Circle Guidelines available in 14 languages

The Circle Way Pocket Guide available in 3 languages

The Circle Way Hosting Guide for Virtual Online Grief Circles

Resource Bundle: Hosting Circle Online

What is The Circle Way?

• A way of being in the world

• A structure for deep conversation and wise outcomes

• A methodology founded by Christina Baldwin and Ann Linnea in 1992

• A growing movement of global practice

• Learn more: https://www.thecircleway.net/the-circle-way

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What is The Circle Way process?

The Circle Way gathers people into a circular shape with participants at the rim and the purpose in the centre. Each person has a voice and everyone can see and hear one another. Social agreements and practices help facilitate respectful conversation. Circle supports a leader in every chair.

Learn more: https://www.thecircleway.net/the-process

SDG Academy Library

 Link: https://sdgacademylibrary.mediaspace.kaltura.com/home

https://sdgacademy.org/

Free educational resources from the world’s leading experts on sustainable development.

 Source: http://www.coeworld.org/guiding-principles

Guiding Principles

• Trust your intuition
• Demonstrate dignity and respect
• Communicate with honesty and clarity
• Assume the good intentions of others
• Support shared leadership
• Celebrate diversity
• Be inspired to take risks
• Allow decisions to emerge and embrace the process
• Understand the whole is greater than the parts
• Strive for actions based on selflessness and love
• Support sustainability both personally and environmentally
• Honor agreements and take ownership for outcomes

Guiding Materials

You are about to embark on a beautiful life-altering journey that will give you the tools to connect with your peers by sharing on a spiritual and practical level.

We hope you find this materials inspiring and useful!

If you use this materials we ask you to kindly give recognition to COE.

Thank you

ATTACHMENT	SIZE
Chapter_Leaders_Guide-How_to_Start_your_Own_Community_Project.pdf	1.39 MB
How_to_Plan_your_own_Gathering_Kit.pdf	415.02 KB
How_to_Plan_your_own_Gathering__Appendix.pdf	331.48 KB