Tuesday, September 1, 2015

We can live sustainably.

Over the course of the last five years, I have been practicing at downsizing, minimalist living and educating myself on my impact due to my living. So when I come across some good information, I like to share it, especially if it promotes low impact living.
To start with, please note that all references are typically American (I will attempt to provide Canadian links).

10 Steps To Get Ready For The Global Ecovillage Movement



Are you tired of stress, anxiety, unhealthy food, chlorinated water, traffic jams, air and noise pollution, paying rent, not having time to pursue your real interests and passions?
Do you want to live a life more in balance with nature? Are you looking for more meaning in your daily life? More real connections with people, time in nature, time to pursue your interests and dreams, fresh food straight from the ground around you, deep sleep at night, bubbling streams and cooing birds?
Living in an ecovillage may just be the antidote to many of the ills of modern urban life. Humans have lived in small settlements with close kin and extended tribal family in tandem with the cycles of nature for hundreds of thousands of years, and some psychologists say that current unprecedented levels of depression, stress, anxiety, drug addiction, and suicide are due to this fundamental disconnect from our past close relationships with each other and with nature.
An ecovillage is an intentional community committed to becoming more sustainable. In practice, this means that the resource inputs for the necessities of living come from local sources and are by and large derived directly from nature in a way that allows nature to perpetually replenish itself and continually supply the needed materials. Ecovillages are also designed using whole systems design principles, to maximize overall quality of life for humans. Check out this great article on ecovillages.
Here’s how to get started making the shift.



1. GROW YOUR COMMUNITY, YOUR CONNECTIONS, YOUR NETWORK.

Solidifying relationships with an extended community of like-minded people is going to pay you back in a multitude of ways, opening up endless possibilities. The more you see other people living out their dreams, the more you will realize that yours are possible. Community can inspire and support you to live your dreams.

2. JOIN THE PROJECT NUEVO MUNDO MOVEMENT!

  • Connect with selected impact centers around the world matched to fit your interests and needs, and like-minded people on a search for transformation.
  • Participate in the PNM by using the network to find ecovillages and impact centers for work-exchange, trainings and events. (available this winter)
  • Attend a fundraising event to meet others in the network
    Re-Inhabiting the Village, November 2nd in Vista, CAEarth Odyssey Fundraiser –
  • Engage with us through our Facebook and Twitter
  • Supporting our IndieGoGo Campaign for Earth Odyssey 2013
  • Contribute $1000 the highest reward to the campaign and we will be your committed support team to get ready for the global ecovillage movement.
Want to know more information? Reach out to us at contact(at)projectnuevomundo.org to find out how we will support your transition into the regenerative villages movement.




3. ACQUIRE THE SKILLS TO BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT WHILE REDUCING YOUR LIVING COSTS AND TO MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL ON THE LAND.

4. START USING SHARING ECONOMY NETWORKS TO EXPAND YOUR PERSONAL NETWORK WITH OTHERS IN THE NEW PARADIGM ECONOMY

  • Use Couchsurfing, Warm Showers (for cyclists), AirBnB when staying in new places. Use mealsharing platforms whenever possible, or share your left-overs.
  • Use WWOOF, GrowFood, and soon Project Nuevo Mundo to exchange time for meaningful experiences, new skills, room and board.
  • Use Dhamma, a Vipassana meditation network of globally linked centers and volunteers, to attend “pay-it-forward” ten-day long meditation courses that teach valuable techniques in understanding your fears, desires, and consumer impulses, and eliminating them by finding internal peace and satisfaction. After attending your first course, volunteer in selfless service for the next retreat.
  • Sign up and trade with or create a local timebank or local currency. Exchanges use different websites and systems so search for your town’s name plus the keywords  timebank, time exchange, LETS, barter or local currency.
Create or join a gift circle. Start a Really Really Free Market.

5. IMAGINE YOUR DREAM VILLAGE.

What would it look like? Who would live there? How would you spend your day? Start talking to other people, and see if there are others out there who share a similar vision. Sustainable Ecovillages is a social network to bring people together who have similar visions for building communities and joining Facebook groups like Evolver and Visionary Culture can help you find others who share the same vision. Find a Meetup group near you that shares your interest like !

6. CONNECT TO YOUR LOCAL PERMACULTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS, AND DIY/MAKER SPACES

  • Use Wiser Earth to connect with local projects and Transition Network to check if your local community has a Transition Town movement, a community led response to climate change. If not, you can start one!
  • Search the global database Makerspace and connect with local DIY projects. “Maker spaces are community-operated workspaces where people with common interests can meet, socialize and/or collaborate.” (Source: Wikipedia).
  • Visit Permies.com and join a conversation about permaculture.

7. TAKE AT LEAST ONE MONTH TO LIVE IN A REMOTE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY

…or an ecovillage where local production and consumption is still the norm, and understand closed-loop living systems first-hand. Check out organizations like Ecuador’s Yanapuma.
  • Decide what kind of skills you would like to learn, and do your own research to find indigenous communities where those skills are prevalent (example: traditional healing with medicinal plants, crafting, hunting). There is currently no single database of indigenous communities that accept homestay, but Project Nuevo Mundo is working on one!
  • Explore Living Routes, a program to “Study Abroad in Sustainable Communities

8. FOCUS ON A TRADE OR MASTER CRAFT.

Discover your passion in life. What makes you energized and enthusiastic? What brings out your creative burst? Gain experience by doing, and by apprenticing with a master or teacher who has successfully based their livelihood on the craft you desire to master, preferably something a community might need or want.

9. LEARN AND PRACTICE COMMUNICATION SKILLS.

  • Practice “holding space” – The idea is to allow someone to express themselves without the pressures of being judged or being told that they need to ‘improve’. This might run contrary to the labels we give to the ‘conscious’ or ‘sharing’ movement– we often believe that we need to ‘change’ people in order to bring them into the movement.
  • Set aside our personal desires and our need to ‘improve’ those around us. We may find ourselves guided by our collective purpose.
  • Holocracy or Non-Violent Communication provide structures for good communication. Check out Holocracy.org’s post on “Differentiating Organization & Tribe”,
  • Trying to focus on the collective purpose rather than individual needs allows a circle “to be more driven by its own unique purpose in life, like a child developing its own identity and goals beyond those of its parents.”
  • Find a local circle to participate in that brings intention to communication– non-violent communication circles, gifting circles,
  • Identifying yourself as an impartial ‘facilitator’ during a house meeting with your roommates.
Read more about collective decision making – “How to Make Better Decisions Together.”

10. CHECK OUT PNM’S RECOMMENDED READING LIST, AND DIVE IN!

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