Customer Reviews

And We Are Doing It!: Building an Ecovillage Future

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Although messengers harkening bad news are often killed with the message, I must put this book in proper context. In all honesty, it is not really about ecovillages, and it only touches upon the ecovillage movement in passing. Although the book is provocative and unique, I was expecting something completely different. What I got instead was the autobiography of Ross Jackson, with only 5 percent of the book devoted to what the title lead me to believe was the theme of this book: namely, ecovillages.Don't get me wrong. As other readers have pointed out, Ross Jackson's autobiography is incredibly provocative. A brilliant financier and businessman, with an almost alter ego that dabbles in Indian mysticism, the early co-housing experiments of Denmark, and sustainable business, his curriculum vitae is fascinating. But Jackson only discusses ecovillages and the ecovillage movement he helped create after running through 10 unrelated chapters of biographical gibberish. He then goes on to drop the theme as soon as it is found, instead providing a less-than-adequate (although noble) critique of the global economy and free trade. I say less than adequate, because other books -- like "The Case Against the Global Economy" and "Field Guide to the Global Economy" -- do a much better job along these lines. Jackson also relies heavily on David Korten's "The Post-Corporate World," when in fact that book would stand a better substitute for over three-quarters of the content of this book. Why downgrade from Korten? By far and away the most interesting aspect of the book was the last chapter, "The Era of Ecovillage," which was a mini-sci-fi excursion into a future where ecovillages had become the norm. Now that was cool! I must admit. In fact, it was so cool I hand copied the entire thing, edited out typos and punctuation errors, added footnotes for missing or obscure references, and sent it off to every compatriot I could muster. But why did I have to wade through 115 pages (the book is only 128 pages) of seemingly contra-thematic biography and second-rate economic theory to find it? It, like the short chapter of how he and a small cadre of friends started Gaiacorp and the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), should be posted on the GEN website. At least, that would seem logical to me. If you are interested in learning about ecovillages or the movement they have inspired, this book is a real letdown. Had the only information I have received about ecovillages came through this book, I would be forced to conclude that there is no serious Ecovillage Movement to speak of, nor would I have any concrete understanding of what an actual ecovillage looks like, or how it functions, in real life. For that, you would be well advised to check out the "Communities Directory: A Guide to Intentional Communities and Cooperative Living" .... It is the most comprehensive, detailed, and resourceful book about ecovillages, co-housing, and the broader intentional community movement available at present. If you just want the lowdown on GEN and ecovillages -- like, where they are and what they are about -- run a basic search on the internet the GEN homepage. Although all my website postings have been scrubbed by the review editors, I suppose I should try again in sisyphus-like futility to nevertheless provide you with that quick info. That said, see ... for concrete details on ecovillage movement. On the other hand, if you are interesting in reading the autobiography of Ross Jackson, look no further. This is the book.

j.w.k.

Building An Ecovillage Future

If you think all international financial-wizard business types are all the same, you have not heard of JT Ross Jackson, a true visionary and author of the new book AND WE ARE DOING IT! BUILDING AN ECOVILLAGE FUTURE (Robert D. Reed Publishers. September 2000. ISBN 1-885003-45-5. ()). A brilliant scientist and prominent financier, Jackson embarked on a clear path to financial success. He engaged himself and his money in the world of business and finance. Early on in his career he was dealt a major setback and found himself near financial ruin at the hands of a fraudulent stock firm. This experience provided new perspectives about money and clarified his ultimate goals in life. Jackson eagerly pursued his dream of moving his family into a shared housing community -- where several families lived on a compound, sharing responsibilities and providing a close-knit environment in which to raise children. He established a corporation (Giacorp) for the primary purpose of generating profits to finance progressive, social change. He also traveled through India where he discovered spiritual truths to guide him. Jackson's book provides a profound, insider's view of the real nature of the global economy and how it is being intentionally crafted by global corporations and institutions, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), which can exploit labor and resources at the expense of ecological, environmental, and human concerns. Readers will be amazed to learn about the foundation and operation of the WTO and the ramifications of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), a bill of rights and freedoms for transnational corporations. It is a document drawn up in complete secrecy, which if implemented would completely free corporate entities from any system of checks and balances. Jackson believes that global change will come only when an inevitable disaster occurs, which will force us to change our priorities and find a way to become sustainable without destruction. Still, he is hopeful about the future. Author of When Corporations Rule the World, David C. Korten says, "The work being done by Ross and Hildur Jackson helps us to see the alternatives toward a more intelligent and satisfying way of being, before we find ourselves in a struggle for physical survival." Recently, Jackson's main focus has been on the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), which he co-founded with other ecovillage enthusiasts. Those who join GEN do so for a variety of reasons. Some join because they are ecologically motivated. They are reacting to environmentally unstable policies and tend to emphasize living in harmony with nature and self-reliance in food production and energy. Others are spiritually motivated and reject empty materialistic philosophy and the dogma of organized religion. They take responsibility for their own personal development. The socially motivated "ecovillagers" are interested in re-establishing a sense of community and are closely associated with the co-housing movement. Many ecovillages are blends of all three categories; the socially motivated ones are in the majority. People learn from one another by integrating each other's values and experiences. In the final chapter of his book, Jackson illustrates a functioning ecovillage of the future and paints a much brighter picture of what lies in waiting in the realm of possibility-that We Can Do It. We Will Do It. And We Are Doing It! This book is for anyone who is interested in environmentalism. It is an inspirational guide to the development of self-sustaining, green communities. It sets forth a clear, practical, and feasible vision of the ecovillage and how it can be achieved and maintained. Author of Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh, Helen Norberg-Hodge says of Jackson, "For me, Ross Jackson is one of the heroes of our time." Jackson is a hero and champion to many, and will be credited in the future as one who played an important role in protecting the essential human, ecological, and environmental resources of the world.

Well written book (I read all of it even after I figured out that it was a finance book rather than about ecovillages). But .. It doesn't tell you anything about ecovillages and certainly not about How to do it. The author sounds like he could write such a book since he lived in an ecovillage for a while and follows that cause, but this book is about finance. I won't be keeping this book - I'll trade it at the used book store.

Wish I'd read some of the other reviews they mention this I just didn't read them.

I was so disappointed in this book that I put it aside for several years. Finally, this weekend, I picked it back up and read it cover to cover, just out of curiousity. It's kind of interesting, but it's not what it proclaims itself to be.

I originally found it by doing a search for "co-housing" and/or "ecovillages". Seeing the title, "And We ARE Doing It! Building an Ecovillage Future", and seeing that it even had a hammer and nails on the cover, I wrongly assumed that it would be about the actual building of an ecovillage. I was curious to see another insight into structures chosen and rejected, and what form of internal governance they chose and why. Well, this book has almost none of that.

Rather, this slim booklet is JT Ross Jackson's rambling musings about how Gaiacorp and Gaia Trust came to be. Just as he gets to the topic of co-housing, he makes a radical departure and devotes all of chapter 4 to his mystical and paranormal experiences with a spiritual awakening during a brief trip to India. At that point, I really felt like he'd lost a lot of credility to a wider audience. He goes on to do a good job detailing some of the problems he and his wife encountered setting up some "Green" financial institutions. And he does a good job describing some of the problems with the WTO and MAI and out of control Trans-National Corporations. He paints a picture of a world about to crash ecconomically, socially, and environmentally through greed. It's a good message, but the folks that need to hear it aren't going to wade through the rest of the book to get to that part. Then, he ends the booklet with a few pages of badly written sci-fi. While I happen to like futuristic sci-fi, I found it sad that the only part of the book that touched on a vision of an ecovillage and the inherent internal policy issues, had to be one set in 2064 with some very unlikely touches.

I really can't recommend this book. If you already tend towards "Green" and you want a fun read, this might be worth checking out. But, if you want info on actually establishing an ecovillage this book is going to disappoint you.