Our first Journey: What’s next after the Gathering?

Dear new individual members of GEN Europe,

Idealistic as we are, we hope many of you left this year’s Gathering with a spark — that little fire that makes you want to live differently, closer to nature, and more connected with others. Our this years’ Gathering song captured it perfectly: the excitement, the laughter, the feeling that anything is possible when we come together.

And then comes the real question after the Gathering: what now? Do you take that spark and dive into community life, keep exploring, and grow these connections — or do you step back, go your own way, and find your personal comfort zone (Rome anyone?)? 😉

In this first article, we’d love to share some ideas to help you get active — in case the spark of community life caught you at the Gathering and you’re ready to see where it can take you! 😉

Visit and get to know a community in your local area

Many communities offer training courses or they have open days / weeks. It is also often possible to just visit a community. However, it is important to check and ask first. 

A good way to find communities to explore is using the GEN Europe ecovillage map. There are interviews available with some of the communities of our network so that you can get a more in-depth impression. The communities within the GEN network are really diverse and it makes sense to explore the characteristics of a community before you go. Many of them also have a website that you can find via the ecovillage map. 

There are several other ways to get information about upcoming volunteering opportunities:

People over the age of 30 can still participate in the funded Erasmus+ trainings for youth workers, that also often take place in intentional communities. Apart from that there is the option to find many volunteer opportunities in communities or ecoprojects through the WWOOF, Worldpacker and Workaway platform, where no age limits exist. 

And of course, it is also possible in many cases to visit a community and then find a personalised volunteering agreement. Many communities also offer information around the possibility of volunteering on their website.
But please keep in mind that most communities want to be contacted in advance before you pay them a visit. 

Or a very comfortably pre-planned guided tour?

Would you rather to a several day, all-inclusive guided tour where you have to take care of nothing and just immersive yourself in the world of ecovillages? Then you might want to check out this option by ecovillagetours.com

GEN Europe is not only a network of ecovillages but also a network of different national and regional ecovillage networks. There are usually plenty of engagement opportunities within the national networks to further support the ecovillage cause and the benefit of connecting.

And finally you can also explore the Global Ecovillage Network beyond the borders of Europe and find out what is going on in other GEN regions, like Latin America, North America, Africa and Oceania / Asia!