Ecovillage Design Education Sieben Linden - Training for Trainers 2011

Introduction

This year's EDE course was the fourth to be hosted in the Ecovillage of Sieben Linden. 35 participants from 21 countries (Ghana, Egypt, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Colombia, Uruguay, Chile, China, India and all over Europe) attended.

The international focus of this particular EDE has always been strong. Now, after years of preparation, our work has received a new level of recognition and support from both the German Foreign Ministry and a German foundation (Heidehof Stiftung). We were able to invite a diverse group of experienced grassroots activists and are now able to engage in follow-up work (see below). The ongoing project is framed as a collaboration between GEN (Global Ecovillage Network) and Gaia Education in the area of North-South reconciliation and the spreading of strategies for climate change adaptation and stabilisation of communities. Scaling up ‘Ecovillage Design’ to describe not only the design of individual projects, but the emergence of whole ecovillage networks, is what makes this approach attractive to policy-makers. The Senegalese government's aim of transforming 14.000 traditional villages into ecovillages is a strong underpinning for this approach. The potential of civil society engagement is coupled with a supportive political climate to achieve effective change processes. The EDE course is a tool of empowerment and networking that can kick-start such processes. Linking emerging networks into regional and national GEN-networks adds recognition and effectiveness.

7Linden provides a radically ecological setting, having lowered its carbon emissions to a third of the German average. This aspect of walking our talk in changing our lifestyle invokes respect and a basis for collaboration with projects from the global South. The course lasted a full 30 days, which offered enough time for community building and personal change processes.

Special emphasis on Participatory Pedagogy, Integral Design and concrete follow-up projects

Like every year, many of our participants are experienced trainers and facilitators themselves – and come with the aim of starting up EDEs in their home countries. This year, we made the ‘Training of Trainers’- aspect, which is a part of every EDE, more explicit. Our focus on participatory pedagogy has always been strong, but was vastly intensified.

An introduction to both Permaculture Design and Dragon Dreaming (a holistic participatory method for the realisation of outrageously successful projects through dreaming, planning, doing and celebrating) is included in this EDE and highly appreciated by participants. Including these help for a process of creating follow-on projects to emerge from the group. This year, we included more sessions on the actual creation of project designs, business plans and concrete funding applications towards the end of course.           

Faculty Team

Kosha Joubert served as main focaliser of this course. Martin Stengel and Robin Alfred both collaborated in the overall facilitation of the course.

Other trainers included:  Chistian Felber (economist, teaching at university in Vienna and author of several books on a new economy of solidarity), Paulo Mellet (Permaculture teacher and Connecting link to LUSH), Silke Hagmaier (Horse whisperer), Beate (Permaculture Trainer and EDE-alumni), Jane Rasbash (Board-member of Gaia Education), Eva Stützel (project consultant at Sieben Linden).

The presentations of participants were essential: the richness of wisdom and experience they shared was central to the aims and effects of this course!

Outcomes

• One concrete outcome is the “Children’s caravan to COP 17: An expression of hope for our common  future”. The seed-funds for this project were generously offered by all of EDE participants during an empowered fundraising session. 
• The German Foreign Ministry has already offered to support the EDE in 7Linden again next year. It feels wonderfully effective to be able to build on current relationships and projects in various countries.
• Also, around 12-16 project proposals are being rounded off and will go in to German embassies worldwide. These include proposals for funding of EDEs in Senegal, Thailand, Bangladesh, Congo, Ghana, South Africa, Orissa; for adaptation of the curriculum for schools in India; and much more… (Thank you, Jane Rasbash!)
• Paulo Mellet from LUSH, an ethical green business, is supporting previous alumni in Peru, Ghana and Congo to set up training centres, run EDEs and permaculture courses, and to build long-term fair-trade relationships.
• The further emergence of GEN-Africa: we have 14 new GEN-Ambassadors. Kenya, Congo and Ghana are in the process of setting up national GEN-networks in their countries.

2012 Course

The 2012 course will follow similar lines as this year’s course. We look forward to deepening relationships with particular countries and organisations. May the seeds blossom!

With gratitude to all those institutions and people involved in bringing the EDE in Sieben Linden to flower:

• The focalising and training team
• The Ecovillage of Sieben Linden
• GEN-Europe and GEN-International
• Gaia Education
• The German Fedral Foreign Office
• The ‘Heidehof Stiftung’
• And all the NGO’s and organisations in Africa and elsewhere who supported some of their best people to come and share their valuable time and experience with us.