Gaia Education was created by a group of educators called "GEESE" (Global Ecovillage Educators for a Sustainable Earth), who have been meeting over a series of workshops in order to formulate their transdisciplinary approach to education for sustainability. The GEESE are skilled trainers from all continents, with a wealth of experience springing from the broader GEN-movement. (read more)

Ecovillages around the world offer valuable experiences and lessons about the design and creation of sustainable communities in rural and urban settings. Gaia Education is united in the effort to make the knowledge and skills developed in ecovillages accessible to a wide audience. 

The Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) provides participants with an overview of the full spectrum of design considerations for implementing truly sustainable communities. As such, the curriculum (download here) focuses on the social, the cultural/worldview, on economy and ecology, as four dimensions that all need to be addressed in a holistic approach to sustainability.

Four comprehensive books compiled by members of the GEESE (the 4 Keys) cover each of the dimensions of the EDE curriculum: Economic, Worldview, Ecological and Social. They make ideal introductions to the EDE, companions on the journey of an EDE course or a GEDS (Gaia Education Design of Sustainability) virtual education or reference books for anyone seeking solutions to the complex problems of climate change, peak oil and carbon reduction. So far, the Social and Economic Keys have been published (download here).

The EDE is an education that imparts useful and instrumental life skills as part of the curriculum. The education is relevant to peoples of both developed and developing countries, rural and urban regions, as it has been designed to serve as a flexible template applicable to all. This inherent flexibility makes the EDE applicable in more traditional settlement settings. It is also an education that empowers communities with knowledge for becoming more self-reliant, that is universal in scope but local in application, directed towards preserving valuable cultural diversity, and where investigating theory is followed by practical application. 

By examining the complexity of transdisciplinary issues pertaining to the transition to sustainable culture, it helps to identify and reconnect all these essential considerations to “a meaningful, dignified, high quality life for all the world’s people”. The EDE is consistent and representative of values including: honouring unity through diversity, celebrating diverse cultures and beliefs; practicing racial, cultural and gender equality; promoting social justice and environmental awareness; striving for peace and local self-determination; raising consciousness and human potential; respecting the Earth.

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