Sunshine Ecovillage in Anji, Huzhou, inland from Shanghai, hosted China’s first major ecovillage conference in October, 2015. I was invited to be a keynote speaker by one of the organising team, Jiang, who participated in the Shenzhen PDC in 2014 and joined us for the final days of the 2015 PDC. He insisted that I …
The Eco-Social Matrix (ESM) developed by permaculture designer, Robyn Francis, provides a useful tool for bioregional planning, human settlement and ecovillage design, transition initiatives, and for thinking more deeply about the consequences of where we live in terms of accessing our needs and interacting with community
It seems to be a common failing in a society that is so peer-oriented, that people rarely seem to design and plan for the changing needs of the full human life cycle. It is easy to relate to the here and now, and the needs of our immediate, short-term future. As permaculture designers we need …
A series of Eco-villages in the making Declan Kennedy, founding director of Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) reflects on his visit to Djanbung Gardens and Jarlanbah
A community treading lightly on the earth I enjoy wandering up the path weaving through my tropical food jungle, over the invisible boundary line and straight onto a Jarlanbah track. No fences obstruct my way, nor the freedom of the wallabies and other wildlife we share the land with. This is how it should be …