Ecovillages: New Frontiers for Sustainability, Schumacher Briefing No. 12 (Schumacher Briefings) [Paperback]

Jonathan Dawson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Schumacher Briefings | Publication Date: September 15, 2006

In the last twenty years ecovillages - local communities which aim to minimise their ecological impact but maximise human wellbeing and happiness - have been springing up all over the world. They incorporate a wealth of radical ideas and approaches which can be traced back to Schumacher, Gandhi, the 1960s, and the alternative education movement. This Briefing describes the history and potential of the ecovillage movement, including the evolution of the Global Ecovillage Network and the current developments in both North and South. The threads that are brought together in Ecovillages include: - Learning from the best elements in traditional and indigenous cultures - Alternative economy: community banks and currencies, and voluntary simplicity - Designing with nature: using permaculture design, eco-building, small-scale energy generation, waste-management, low-impact transport systems, etc - Organic, locally-based food production and processing - Reviving small-scale participatory governance, conflict facilitation & social inclusion as well as reviving active inter-generational community - Creating a culture of peace, and holistic, whole person education In an age of diminishing oil supplies, the Briefing examines the lessons that we can learn from ecovillages to show us how to live in a more ecologically sound and sustainable way.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jonathan Dawson is Executive Secretary of Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) Europe, and a sustainability educator at the Findhorn Foundation, Scotland, where he lives.

Product Details

• Paperback: 94 pages
• Publisher: Green Books (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903998778
• ISBN-13: 978-1903998779
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Developing a Village Model that Holds Hope, December 6, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ecovillages: New Frontiers for Sustainability, Schumacher Briefing No. 12 (Schumacher Briefings) (Paperback)

I don't think it is big enough yet to call it a trend, but there is certainly a movement, an interest of mostly isolated people to live with less of an impact on our society. We see this in the occassional solar powered house, the growth of the self-sustaining small (or even tiny) farms, the commune system that began to be set up in years past.

All of these, of course, had problems associated with them. The solar house may well not, probably doesn't meet building codes, so they may have to be built outside a cities limits, they are difficult to sell, difficult to find someone who will issue a mortgage on them.

The tiny farm takes an awful lot of work, more than most people want to do. And the cost of the food is expensive in terms of working at a real job and buying at the supermarket.

Communes work only when everyone get along with each other. But soon people begin to feel that they do more than their fair share.

The next logical step is to put together a small village. Perhaps a dozen famlies, perhaps 20 or 30. Here you begin to get the small town mentality that is so famous in literature. This book talks about local communities that have come together with shared goals. It offers a lot of the advantages of the traditional small village, with a vision that transcends and enhances the individual goals of the residents.