Diseño General

Ecovillage Design Course
from 3 to 28 November 2007
ECOVILLA GAIA, Navarro, Buenos Aires
- Instituto Argentino de Permacultura -

Based on the Gaia Education Ecovillage Design Curriculum - an official contribution to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014.

Gaia Education is a programme of the Global Ecovillage Network

This course exposes participants to a full range of issues to transfer skills, techniques and experience involved in creating sustainable human settlements in the fields of ecological building, renewable energies, cooperative socio-economics, food production, communication skills, conflict resolution, governance, vision and general design.

It is a residential course where the lifestyle of the Ecovillage is part of the learning program.

We will investigate how to implement a sustainable community through interdisciplinary and multidimensional study and living. What makes this course unique is the hands-on experience on sustainable living which includes the possibility to experience the integration of the physical, social and spiritual elements of Ecovillage.

The participants can see and feel involved in most of the theoretical principles in practice and how they have provided solutions to the present challenges. This possibility is seldom offered in a classroom that is isolated from the material it proposes to teach.

The teachers are permaculture designers who live in Ecovillage, and share the challenges and the success of their projects. They facilitate the exploration on how to transform pain and frustration related to environmental and social issues through positive, effective and compassionate actions. The participants learn how through community life, a space is provided for a profound reflection on how to live in a post- oil society.

This course can be experienced as a journey into the future for each participant, where through learning to understand the conditions of the Earth, they become sustainable community designers loaded with skills, tools and knowledge to facilitate sustainable communities’ development in their regions, while preserving the cultural and natural diversity.

During the four weeks the students become part of a ceremonial educational village. This course is an opportunity for them to learn how to live and enjoy the sacred connection with a place. Everyday there will be time for group attunement, meditation, circle dances, reflection circles, and for contemplation of nature. These experiences help us to connect to the natural order of life, and the small scale practice of service to the planet as a profound experience. At the same time the group activities bring the sense of cooperation that community life generates. In carrying out daily work projects to create an abundant life, the course generates the feeling of caring for each other and the earth in the Ecovillage. In a nutshell, this course is meant to be a manifestation of our belief that to live and to learn is part of one whole.

This course is organized in four weeks, with six days a week of well balanced theoretical presentations and practices to integrate the theory, making a total of 168 hours.

The theoretical topics of the curricula will be experienced by seeing and by living in the systems that function in the Gaia Ecovillage and complemented with slide shows, power point presentations and videos of different subjects.

Natural construction (cob, straw, clay, adobes, and etcetera) artistic murals, art with natural materials.

Alternative technologies: gray water treatments, composting toilets, ponds, (and different systems of storing and saving water) Autonomous systems of electricity by photovoltaic and wind generators, solar kitchens and ovens, solar water heaters, high- efficiency mud stoves and ovens, etc.

Agro forestry system, food production, seeds production and conservation (seed bank), production of medicinal herbs and aromatics, restoration of land, refuge for wildlife,

These activities will be complemented with design exercises about different aspects of an ecovillage.

Each participant will perform a basic design exercise (individual). They will have to define a topic to develop during the training. For example: art in nature - designing a walk path or a relax place - building a solar dryer - designing and build innovations in children’s playground

On the other hand there will be the opportunity of creating in small groups, an integrated design exercise on different areas of the Ecovillage, during 5 days. The presentation of the full design will be the closing activity of the course.

The sessions about building community life skills and the facilitation of its process will be theoretical and practical, and will include in depth individual and group work for the adequate incorporation of these tools.

Furthermore, the participants will have the opportunity to interact daily with the community members that will share their personal path into community living. They may participate on the daily task (cooking, cleaning, etc) as well as the group activities: meditation, yoga, circle dances, celebration in the labyrinth, and educational games for the children.

This immersion experience will allow the participants to have experiences on different levels, on what is the significance of community living, and how do the principles of Ecovillage function.

THE SITE
Gaia Ecovillage Project, is located in Navarro 110km. southwest of Buenos Aires City, on the Argentine pampas. Built as a milk-processing plant 50 years ago, Gaia has been extensively rehabilitated as a Living and Learning Center, with sleeping facilities, classrooms, library, community Center, etc. Power at Gaia is generated by wind turbines, and good examples of reforestation, forest garden, natural building, appropriate
technology, waste water treatment, composting toilets, solar showers, solar
ovens and several sustainable systems in different stage of development may be seen at the site. All of this in the context of a small pioneer
community in evolving process.
Gaia hosts the regional office of ENA (Ecovillage Network of the Americas), and the Argentine Permaculture Institute (IAP), as a space for
experimenting, implementing and teaching Permaculture systems. It offers an updated library covering a wide range of topics based on sustainability, as well as interesting videos (most in english).

Vacancies are limited. We will try to have a wide diversity of people from North and South. If you are interested, please send your application form, and once you are accepted, you can send a deposit of 30% to confirm your place on the course. The deposit is non-refundable unless your programme is fully booked or cancelled. You can pay the balance of your fee at your arrival, before the start of the course.

The proposal is to live in the site during the entire course. The lodge is in dormies, and the meals are vegetarian

The fee for the course is us$900 include tuition, accommodation and vegetarian meals during the 28 days
There are some scholarships available for local participants.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Asociación GAIA - Argentine Permaculture Institute
www.gaia.org.ar / Email: gaia@gaia.org.ar
Postal Address: Almafuerte 1732 - San Martin -
(1650) Buenos Aires - Argentina
Phone (+54-2272) 492072
Celular (+54-2227) 15552554
Fax (+54-11) 47522197