Podgora

In our souls we hear the ECHO
Nature is calling to become ECO

National park | Flora and Fauna | Canyon Point Tara River | Jurist

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7. Februar 2012.

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Ecovillage Podgora&Maps

Global Eco Villages Network ( gen.ecovillage.org )

Represents an international confederation of people and communties.

An ecovillage can be seen as a modern settlement, urban or rural, where humans live in harmony and cooperation with nature, testing new experiments, new technologies and new skills designed to create a more endurable, peaceful and diverse way of life.

Within the network, eco villages meet and share their ideas, exchange technologies, develop cultural and educational exchanges.

Eco villages are dedicated to restoring the land and living "sustainable plus" lives by putting more back into the environment than we take out.

Ecovillages typically build on various combinations of three dimensions:Social, Ecological and Cultural/Spiritual.

Some factors of ecological sustainability of an eco village

1. Biodiversity - Is the diversity of appropriate plant and animal species increasing or decreasing? Do people know their native plant and animal species?

2. Environment - Is the quality of soil, air and water increasing or decreasing? Are people protecting the natural resources?

3. Food Availability, Production & Distribution - What percentage of food is organically grown, is there any use of greenhouses, pesticides, herbicides and/or chemical fertilizers?

4. Infrastructure, Buildings & Transportation - ecological materials, methods & designs
Is there sufficient housing, are building materials used, natural / recyclable from own bioregion? Are buildings designed to minimize energy needs & orientation to provide optimum light and temperature control?

5.Consumption Patterns & Solid Waste Management - Are methods to reduce consumption of natural resources and generation of wastes applied? (Recycling, reuse, repair or making things). Is garbage removal organized and used by all the people?

6. Water - sources, quality & use patterns – Are there local sources of drinking water? Are there methods for water saving?

7. Waste Water & Water Pollution Management – Is there a sewage management system in the community? Is there water pollution?

8. Energy Sources & Uses – Whatis theamount of energy that generated from renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, biomass or geothermal) located at the community or elsewhere? Are the energy efficiency methods applied in construction & other activities?

Some factors of social sustainability of an eco village

Mutual cooperation and help, b a sic safety and trust, sharing of resources, communication, diversity & tolerance, conflict resolution, decision making, sufficient employment & healthy local economy, educational opportunities, health care & life standard.

Cultural and spiritual sustainability

C omm on ethnic & cultural heritage and the history of the community is preserved and celebrated; cultural manifestation; opportunities to develop artistic talents; leisure time and space available for recreation and cultural activities; design and aesthetic appearance of the community (traditional architecture); freedom of religion; tolerance; respect of elders; common goals and moral principles, sense of belonging, personal relations and help to members in crisis.

See also - the Community Sustainability Assessment tool, (http://gen.ecovillage.org/activities/csa/pdf/CSA-English.pdf) created by GEN.

It serves both as a method for measuring various aspects of sustainability for your community, and as a learning guide to the many approaches that can be taken to make your community more sustainable.

Some of the activities of Global Eco Villages Network

- Education through seminars, courses, living and working in eco villages and semestral programmes open to all interested people, and also through Gaia University which provides teaching in all languages and a worldwide network of lecturers and menthors - www.gaiauniversity.org

- Tourism in eco villages. Tourists can stay as guests, volunteer in eco villages or participate in events in eco villages.

- Maintaining a web site, Resource library and releasing newsletters

- Consulting on new sustainable technologies

- Meetings, congresses and assemblies

- Apprentice/internship programmes

- Fairs and festivals