Hello, my name is Bernarda!
Bernarda (she/her) has spent the past decade traveling and learning through volunteering, study, and community life. Her interest in human connection first led her to study Organizational Psychology in her home state of New York. Dissatisfied with the work-centered form of community of her studies, she spent some time traveling to explore ecoprojects and alternative lifestyles that value sustainability and nature connection.
She returned to continue her studies in Europe, where through seeking out ecstatic dance and contact improvisation she was connected to her first intentional community in Portugal, Servivo. Once again, she completed her studies feeling disillusioned by the capitalist framework, yet still deeply curious about what truly brings people together – an inquiry that led her to ecovillages. In 2024, she volunteered at Arterra Bizimodu to help organize the RIE’s (Iberian Ecovillage Network) Gathering where she also learned about the Global Ecovillage Network. She returned the following year as the Events Coordinating ESC volunteer to learn more about GEN Europe and to deepen her experience of living in community. She feels deeply grateful for another year of learning with GEN and for the opportunity to be a part of organizing the 2026 GEN Europe Gathering.
For the past year, she has been based in or nearby the ecovillage Arterra Bizimodu in Northern Spain where she stays connected with the community and is shifting her university studies towards the study of group facilitation. She is also preparing to join a new ecovillage project starting in Galicia called Tribo Salvaxe in 2026.
