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Embodying Unity and Finding Community at DUP Camp Thailand 2022

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On December 12th – 14th, a group of us came together in the Dances of Universal Peace Camp Thailand 2022 at Gaia Ashram – a learning center and community for ecological lifestyle. This camp is the final event that concludes a series of DUP workshops in multiple countries in Asia and also the first regional camp with participants attending from different countries in Asia. We stayed together for a few days to immerse ourselves deeply in the practice of Dances of Universal Peace, connecting with ourselves, each other, and the universe.

Participants came from Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Maldives, Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Indonesia, USA, UK, Slovenia, Netherlands & Colombia

The diversity of the camp participants was striking. It was a privilege to be a part of this camp along with the presence of 30 people from 15 different countries in Asia and beyond. Each of us enriched the camp with unique culture, stories, and energy making the camp very colorful and interesting. We all engage in this collective dance exploration under the guidance of Arjun Calero from Colombia, our senior mentor of the Dances of Universal Peace, who has been traveling to India, Vietnam, Indonesia, The Maldives, and finally Thailand in the past 3 months to share the Dances of Universal Peace in Asia.

The two-day camp started with us getting to know each other, knowing each other’s names and where we come from. A lot of us knew each other already as we have been together participating in another preceding activity hosted by the center called Gaia Calling. However, there are some friends who came especially for the DUP Camp, so we warmly welcomed them to the group and made them feel at home. And from then, the dances began!

Over the course of two days, we had dance sessions in the morning, afternoon, and evening. By the end of the workshop, we have experienced more than 35 songs and dances from different wisdom traditions of the world including the teachings of indigenous tribes like the Mapuche people of South America and Zulu people of Africa, and various religions of the world including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and more.

In some of the sessions, we had specific themes such as Zikr night where we focused on songs from the Islamic tradition of the Middle East. We also had one session where a representative from the four countries Arjun visited to share the dances (India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Maldives) to lead one dance each. This session symbolically represents the seeds of DUP growing in Asia, as people who participated in the workshops in those countries have started to practice leading dances.

In between sessions we ate, sang, and did home chores together. This was also time for folks who need time to space out from the group to process the experiences that they have had. The space between sessions is just as valuable to us as the dance sessions themselves. It was where we got to talk with each other, exchange stories, and connect on a personal level.

The Dances of Universal Peace Camp provided us with a safe space to open up our hearts, let our sense of individuality dissolve, and learn to integrate ourselves to be a part of a larger entity and the universe. Through singing songs and body movement, we are invited to be in the present, concentrate and co-create beautiful life-affirming vibrations. All throughout the camp we bathe in the energy of love, forgiveness, peace, and the harmonic relationship between all beings.

By the end of the camp, we bonded deeply to the point that we really feel like we are a family that genuinely wishes each other to be well and live wholesome lives, ready to support each other in whichever way we can, whenever needed. It is powerful to be a part of and witness people representing different parts of Asia (and the bigger world) coming together, blending, and moving together in harmony. We each brought home this embodied realization that despite all differences we have between us, we share a common denominator – that we are all human and we are all interconnected with each other.

The camp was a really rich experience for all involved indeed. We’d like to express our deep gratitude to everyone who contributed to making this camp possible. We thank Arjun and the Beyond Initiative Project for the energy and resources they have poured in to share the Dances of Universal Peace in Asia; Gaia Ashram community for providing us with a beautiful, natural, and loving space that allows magical things to happen; and all participants for coming to Thailand and heartfully co-creating a safe and loving atmosphere throughout the camp.

May all beings be well and happy,

may all beings be free from strife.

May all beings return to love,

peace be with you forevermore…

The sense in deeper into the camp experience by looking at reflection pieces from participants:

Reflection of 2022 – Peace a reflection article by Joanne Chua

Dances of Universal Peace in Vietnam and Indonesia

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We have wrapped up the journey to bring the Dances of Universal Peace to Vietnam and Indonesia for the first time!

Through singing and moving together with meaningful music and lyrics, participants were guided through many levels of emotions, and depths of consciousness together. Community healing happens as naturally as flowers bloom when everything is in sync.

This experience has probably been summed up as the name of this practice: Dances of Universal Peace. Peace, in an intimate way, is about connecting deeply with yourself, and in harmony with those around you.

The Dances in Vietnam

Within 2 weeks from Oct 29 to Nov 6, Three Workshops were held in Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City with the participation of nearly 100 young people from all over the country.

Ms. M – A participant in Hanoi shared that this was a magical and memorable experience for herself, like opening a new door to connect deeply with herself, seeing people around with tolerant eyes, and lots of love.

“Now I understand (not only in reasoning) what it is like to connect with myself and connect with everything through this song. I feel like I can love more”

T in HCM

After Arjun and Jessie left Vietnam, the team in Vietnam continues to maintain 2 practice hubs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The Dances in Indonesia

In Indonesia, we held three workshops in Jakarta that happened over the course of three days from 18th-20th November. The dances were shared with around 40 new people.

Like in Vietnam, the dances are also very well received in Indonesia. After the workshop sessions, participants shared that they really enjoyed the dances, and how it help them connect with themselves and each other.

This is something I really need in my life. In my daily life, I spent a lot of time in front of my computer to do my work and get my entertainment. Meeting people, dancing and singing together like this makes me really happy

R, Jakarta

I appreciate how [the dances] makes me feel more connected and engaged with myself, other fellow human beings and my surroundings.. totally keeping the practice”

E, Jakarta

Acknowledgements

We are deeply moved with how the dances have touched people’s lives during the workshop. This experience is only possible through the collaboration of different people involved. Our sincere gratitude goes to:

🍂 Arjun and Jessie for coming to Asia to share and spread this practice in the spirit of gift for the community here.

🍂The organizers in Vietnam: Kin, Phuong, Ly as well as the team of volunteers in Hanoi, Saigon, and Hue for drawing a beautiful experience.

🍂 Thank you to the organizers in Indonesia: Friends from Rasasastra Community and Semesta’s Gallery: Elghandiva, Andra; and the team at Anindhaloka: Agung, Welin, Eileen, Cokorda Dewi, and Ariel for co-creating these workshops and prepared a wonderful atmosphere for the sessions.

Up next: Thailand

We will be having our final workshop series in Thailand. It will start with a introduction workshop in Chiang Mai on December 8th and followed with the two-day camp at Gaia Ashram from 12-14th. If you’re in Thailand around this time, be sure to join us!

Dances of Universal Peace is Coming to Asia!

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Only if we are united, do we stand a chance to overcome the global problems we face as humanity. It’s time to heal the fragmentations of society and use our differences as an enrichment rather than an impediment to our harmonic presence on Earth.

The Dances of Universal Peace (DUP) is a very simple practice, suitable for all people and at the same time very special, because in circles we relate and harmonize intimately: we shake hands, we share looks, we listen and we sing. The dances set scriptures and sacred phrases from various spiritual traditions to music and movement of the world.

It can be a powerful and transformative practice, dissolving our illusion of separation, and invoking an embodied sense of unity, presence, and compassion. Offered in an atmosphere of safety, authenticity, and mindfulness, the Dances help us to open ourselves to qualities that emerge and remember the interconnectedness and harmony of life.

Our Communications Coordinator, Luvian, has recently joined one of the International DUP Camps in Turkey. He shared his experience joining the camp which you can read in this article.

You can also earn more about DUP here: Dances of Universal Peace.

The Dances in Asia

Having mostly been practiced in the West, we are excited to announce that the Dances of Universal Peace is coming to Asia. We will be collaborating with DUP International to hold several workshops and camps to share this beautiful and transformative tool in different countries listed below.

Arjun Calero, Senior Dance Mentor from Colombia

This series of dances in Asia will be led by a very experienced facilitator, Arjun Calero from Colombia, who has more than 20 years of experience holding dance circles in different countries of the world. Arjun lives in Atlantida Ecovillage, in the Andes of Colombia, a place he co-founded in 2003 with friends and family in order to fully embody the search for an alternative and restorative way of life on the planet.

He has worked for years with local native communities, youth groups, movements, and networks to build a better future. He is a senior mentor in the Dances of Universal Peace (DUP) International Network and Sufi Guide in the S.R.I., and is very much involved in the native ceremonies and ancient wisdom of the Americas, serving as a medicine man and ceremonies conductor since 2003.

Details of the events

Register for DUP Camp Thailand 2022

If you’re interested to join the events in Indonesia and Maldives, please mark your calendar and fill in the interest form below, we will inform you of updates and the registration link to your email as soon as it’s ready.

See you at the in-person workshops!🌺❤️

Engaging Youth for Regeneration in Taiwan

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It was a cool winter and a misty morning. We walked along the giant greenery stairway at the center of Tunghai University shaded by local banyan trees, a common scene in school campuses with long history around Taiwan. Along the two sides of the stairway are modern buildings designed with a touch of traditional wood and brick materials, while the stairway is decorated with Christmas puppets as the holiday vibe was in the air. For Luvian, it was nice to share with Hema fond memories of being a student on this beautiful campus. And for Hema, it was interesting to observe the Eastern-Western, modern-traditional mix of styles around the campus in which Luvian completed his bachelor studies. Somehow this style of cultural melting pot felt relevant to the special mission we had for this trip, which is to bring inspiration from the ecovillage and regeneration movement around the world to young local and international students currently studying here at the International College of Tunghai University.

The Tunghai University Campus

Our experiences of participating and engaging with the ecovillage movement have been life-transforming and empowering, to say the least. In the past few years, Hema has been visiting ecovillages and communities around the world, participated in Ecovillage Design Education and became an EDE trainer, and is also a part of the team behind GENOA’s REGEN-Nations program. Luvian has been studying ecovillage development for his master’s program and is currently a resident of Sun Clover Ecovillage, an aspiring ecovillage community on the east coast of Taiwan. He is also working as the Communications Coordinator in the GENOA Office Team. Both of us have become actively involved in the ecovillage and regeneration movement in the region in various ways ever since we discovered these concepts and practices.

When we found out about the NextGENOA Seed Grant last year, we thought it’d be a great opportunity for us to do something together here. We came up with the idea of holding sessions for us to share about ecovillages and regeneration, our stories and experiences of being involved with the movement to university students. We hope this session will facilitate them to internalize the issues we face today as humanity and realize that the future is in the hands of us, the young generation.

By early December 2021, we had the funding granted, sessions booked, and materials prepared. And on the 21st of December, we made our way to Tunghai University located in the western part of Taiwan. When we met that night, it was the first time we got to meet each other in person. Although we are both living on the same island, we have only been interacting in the online space prior to this. It was a wonderful experience being able to meet friends from GENOA in the three-dimensional realm and work on an on-the-ground project together.

Our session flow

The way we designed our session was inspired by Joanna Macy’s Work that Reconnects. We started our session with an attunement of gratitude. Then we honored the pain of the world by taking an overview of the complex and interconnected socio-ecological problems we are facing as humanity, sinking in the fact that we are living in planetary collapse, and that within our lifetime, we will continue to witness the degradation of our planet. The session then continued by a section where we saw the world with new eyes through learning about the concept of regeneration and seeing the plethora of regenerative action that has already been happening for decades across the globe, including the ecovillage movement. And finally, we offered pathways of how to go forth in integrating regenerative practices into our lives. You can take a look at our presentation slides here.

The Session

We conducted two sessions in total. One with the freshman students of the Sustainability Science and Engineering (SSE) program and the other with the sophomores of International Business Administration (IBA) program of Tunghai University International College. With the different backgrounds of students, it is interesting to see the difference in their responses towards our session. Students from the SSE program are those who already want to learn about how to solve sustainability issues in the world. During our session, they were active in sharing their thoughts, perspectives, and views about the global problems we are facing. On the other hand, the IBA students were not as vocal in sharing their perspectives and opinion in the big group, although they were listening attentively to our talk and did participate in smaller groups. Perhaps this is a topic that they haven’t had much chance to pay attention to before.

Most students found the Map of Regeneration activity very engaging and mind-stimulating. In this activity, students explore the principles within GEN’s Map of Regeneration and were asked the questions “which principles do you feel more energized about?” and “which principles do you feel are most neglected in your community?” It was interesting to see which principles or aspects of the map resonated with the students at the moment. To our surprise, in the SSE class where students are learning about sustainability, a lot of the stones and sticks (where they find most energetic and feel most neglected) were placed in the economic dimension. While in the IBA, where students are learning about businesses, a lot of the stones and sticks were in the ecolo gy, culture, and whole system design aspects of regeneration. 

The tally from the Map of Regeneration Activity of the two classes
IBA students feel energized to learn from nature and practice whole systems thinking

For us as facilitators of the session, the sessions are also insightful. We learned what students in that particular age group are thinking and feeling about the current situation of the world and the idea of regeneration. During the small group discussions, we were able to connect with the students and listen to their sharing- the deep sharing with fellow students by which most of them appreciated.

It is really interesting to have these [discussions and activities] because I learn what other people think about climate change or environmental problems. Actually everyone notices the issues or news, so they have their thoughts about the questions. And when they share their thoughts, I get different opinions.

A lot of students also feel that they know about this problem(s) but have been feeling disconnected from it as they are not feeling the direct impact of the social and environmental problems. Some also mentioned that their attention has been so distracted that they haven’t been able to pay attention to crucial and existential issues. Some shared that they were overwhelmed by the scale and complexities of the situation and they felt powerless as individuals, but they feel more empowered and motivated to act now instead of waiting for others to find solutions. Some students shared in their reflections :

I am happy that I got this opportunity to listen to a new perspective of people who focused themselves on developing their community of sustainability like Luvian and Hema. I was reminded of how climate change is real and is slowly destructing our earth. They reminded us that the world is changing and everyone needs to be alert to contribute to their communities, especially the youth, because the future is in our hands. A lot of youngsters are indifferent, in the sense that they already care about their interests and showed less enthusiasm and sympathy for things that matter. However, we need to start to care for things that are around us. Therefore, we can improve ourselves according to our fields and change in our ways, for the future ahead of us.

I felt inspired to look at my own life and see how I can make a difference in the world so my children can have a better future and Earth. I also learned about regeneration and how I can implement this into my life by becoming mindful of my choices. I have a responsibility to make the world better.

Some students also appreciated the social and community aspects of regenerative living, the students said:

Personally speaking, the concept of sharing and living together of ecovillage fascinated me. I believe having this kind of village around the world glues everyone together. In the present world, people are becoming more selfish than before. Hence, having goals to work together as a community might reduce the self-centered idea.

Some concluding words

Overall, we felt our aim of the project was delivered and well-received when we saw feedback like the following:

“This talk was very engaging. The main topic of this subject is a topic that all of us can relate to. All of us are aware that climate change and the destruction is being inflicted on the environment, this issue should be prioritized over everything. If our survival as a species is threatened, you would think every single person would be motivated to do all that they can to solve this issue. Unfortunately this is not a reality. People care, but are not motivated enough to take action towards making a change in their lifestyles. So I was really impressed with the speakers. It was nice to see two people who have taken it upon themselves to do something, and live in a way where they not only take but also give back to the environment, as it should be.”

We are thoroughly moved by the depth of some students’ reflections and feedback after the session. The whole process of this project has been a deeply rewarding experience for both of us. We got a glimpse of what students in universities from various backgrounds are thinking and feeling about the current state of the world and their response to ecovillages and regeneration ideas. We got to test out our materials and see the response of the students to the sessions we designed and held and now we have a better idea on how to further improve our sessions to better suit the needs of university students.

We’d like to express our gratitude to Dr. James Sims and Dr. John J. Perez from the International College of Tunghai University for kindly welcoming and supporting us to share about ecovillages and regeneration to their students. We’d also like to thank NextGENOA for the seed grant that helped us cover the preparation of materials, travel, and accommodation expenses of the trip. And finally, we’d like to thank all the students who have actively participated in the workshop sessions with us. May the experience we delivered through the sessions be a source of deep meaning and inspiration to regenerative actions for the youth, as well as for the regional activators in the network.

About the Authors

Hema Wu. EDE Trainer & Facilitator/ GEN Ambassador

Hema is an intentional community and transformative process facilitator and an Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) trainer. She has worked in the field of international development around South/Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and South America. Upon seeing the international scene of all types of projects, she was driven to think more deeply about the impacts and sustainability of human development, which inspired her commitment to foster a more conscious culture of human existence on earth. She is currently founding her own school with the goal of rehabilitating relationships between/with humans and all beings.

Luvian Iskandar. Communications Coordinator, GENOA

Originally from Indonesia, Luvian came to Taiwan for his studies. He completed his bachelor’s program in International Business Administration at Tunghai University and master’s program in Humanity and Environmental Science at National Dong Hwa University. During his master’s program, he focused on the early establishment stage of ecovillages. After his graduation, he moved to live in Sun Clover Ecovillage, an aspiring ecovillage community in Fuli, Hualien while working as GENOA’s communications coordinator.

Edited and proofread by: Alisa Sidorenko, Matt Inman & Thao Kin

The Green Unconference 2021

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For thirteen days, as world leaders, community leaders and climate youth activists met at COP26 in Glasgow to make decisions that affect our common future, We at The Green UnConference gathered daily to listen to each other’s stories.

From the mountains and rivers of the Himalayas to the seas and forests of Palawan, Siargao, Dumaguete, Boracay, and Baler. 

From our metropolises in Manila and New Delhi and Bangalore 

From intentional communities in Crystal Waters, Queensland, Bulacan, Japan, Bangalore, Udaipur, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan

We have seen rivers of gold and silver stars. 

Healing ourselves, our relationships, our projects. 

Weaving together our golden threads of light, spun from passion and purpose, a touch of magic — affirming that at this critical time in the history of humanity and our beautiful planet — we are here for one another, and for Mother Earth.

TGU 2021 truly connected rivers of people, projects to the ocean ecosystem. 

The journey was the destination. It taught us that life is about the little things. 

We are so grateful to co-travel with Binhi Supper Club, Daloy, Ecoversities Alliance, FarmLab, Good Food Community, Green Releaf, Re:Source Labs, Healthyndahan, Inner Moon Well-Being, Isla Medisina, Jabez Perma Research PH Tala, Jail University (TBC), Kayumanggi Organic, New Deli by Kashmir, Permayouth, Project Thrive, ReGEN Nations, Ritual (TBC), Soul Kitchen El Nido, Swaraj University, The Living Library, The Social Enterprises, TI Eco-Village, Weekend Wild Child, and Local Futures 

Together we distilled and displayed what works for our collective wellbeing. 

Our goal was to weave and celebrate learning and unlearning and together reimagine the new map and blueprint of the beautiful world we know is possible if we indulge and converge for radical collaboration. Collaboration begins by knowing our stories and what makes us flow and grow as living systems. We showcased what we need to do to come closer for collaborations and co-create larger connected systems. 

We established that we simultaneously need a culture of inner and outer transformation and transitions to birth the new humanity that takes compassionate care of mother earth and all life on it. 

We focussed our themes similar to the COP26: Regeneration, Agriculture, Energy, Youth, Gender,  Women, Adaptation and Indigenous People, Social Enterprise, Transitions in Education, Transitions in Tech, Nature, Biodiversity, Transport, Travel Cities and Built Environments.

Please visit GENOA FB Page to tune into the Transition Journeys and stay tuned for the TGU 2021 short Film to be launched soon!

The Green Unconference 2021: Transition Journeys

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The year was 2015. The first TGU 2015 gathering was in Manila, Philippines. A simple and soulful act by friends, with Karla and Amena wishing to weave their world for healing and wellness. The seed was sown for TGU 2017 and TGU 2019. A biennial gathering, a celebration of all things green, nurturing life with compassion, courage, consciousness, and collaborations. 

The Green Unconference 2019

Now in this time of the pandemic, we are being called on to transition to a way of life that supports our collective health & wellbeing.  

In this time of climate crisis, we are being called on to transition to living in a way our planet can thrive.  

The Green Unconference 2021 is a gathering of intergenerational earth carers, wisdom keepers, healers, activists, regenerators, regen-preneurs, creatives, reimagining and making change happen to birth the new healed humanity and transition our earth to a beautiful world we all know in our hearts is possible. 

This year’s theme is Transition Journeys, and we are partnering with groups who are already transitioning and inspiring others to transition. 

Official partners are

GENOA -Global Ecovillage Network Oceania & Asia 

Kai Farms

Kids for Kids 

Lokal Lab Siargao

MAD Travel

Our timing and themes coincide with the COP26 Climate Conference October 31-November 12, 2021

We are collaborating with many people and groups all over the Philippines, India, Australia, and beyond. 

Our line-up includes online as well as face-to-face events where they are possible. We are also curating transition travel journeys next year when possible. These journeys will allow immersion in projects and interaction with people and communities that are supporting regeneration at the grassroots. 

TGU is a call for friendship, to regenerate our relationships and live from a place of unified loving awareness in service to the wellness of all life. 

We welcome you to journey with us for the kind of joyful, radical collaboration these times call for. 
We are supporting and energizing a culture of gifting. Registration is free. We welcome participants to gift what their heart desires. Funds raised will go towards supporting the regenerative community projects of partners.

Ecovillage Transition in GENOA

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This article is a short summary of the GENOA community call written by Roky Biswas and Thao Kin

On 21st September 2021, GENOA conducted its monthly community call for restoration and transformation of the earth as a global ecovillage. The topic of this month is Ecovillage Transition – transforming existing communities into regenerative communities. At the beginning of the sharing and discussion Amena Bal – GENOA Network steward & Fundraising Coordinator – led the whole group into a meditative spiritual prayer. After that, Thao Kin – GENOA Networking coordinator – described the purpose of this call where she emphasized that a lot of the work in the Oceania & Asia region are with existing communities; supporting and working with how the communities can be more regenerative.  Anna Kovasna from GEN International took us through a tour of the Ecovillage Impact Assessment which is now officially launched, every community and project with a profile on GEN website can now take this impact assessment either as individual or collective.

The focus of this call was to learn from the practices of Ecovillage Transition around the region. We welcomed Thalea Tane – Aotearoa New Zealand, Hiroko Katayama – GEN Japan, Hai Chao Wang – Sunshine Ecovillage Network, China, Karen Wang – Sunshine Ecovillage Network, GEN China, Tanya Mottl – Narara Ecovillage, GEN Australia – five-speaker from four different countries have shared their experience about the regenerative activities in their communities.

Marrying the ecovillage map of regeneration with the local/indigenous wisdom 

Thalea Tane from Aotearoa/New Zealand, shared about her research and experience on ecovillage, she showed how to incorporate the concepts, tools, ideas from GEN to communities in Aotearoa. She said, “In our traditional communities, they already have this regenerative sense.” She is a tutor for sustainable living courses, builder of earth brick homes, facilitator of workshops, developer of people and communities.  The Universal Maori Principles – Mana, Tapu, Mauri, Kaitiakitanga –  are the same principles that the GEN cards have. When she uses the Ecovillage cards, it speaks volumes to her people as it resonates with the Maori principles. They have the belief system that we are the guardians of their landscape – the land, the rocks, the trees, the animals, etc. in their surrounding environment. One of the things that they have realized in Maori culture is that we need to re-indigenize ourselves and the community. People need to go back to the principles passed down by our ancestors and these principles are no different than the GEN principles. She has been incorporating the GEN playing cards for her community, this made the community feel that they are one with GEN.

Modeling a new world that we can live in

C:\Users\us\Dropbox\202109 GENOA Call新しいフォルダー\10-0.jpg

Hiroko Katayama from As One Community shared that Japan has a capitalistic economy and people do not have much interest in environmental or ecovillage issues. In Japan, her community has been networking with different communities and ecovillages. GEN Japan works on networking to connect, raising awareness, education and supporting domestic initiatives around the country. They have also been trying to engage young people in the ecovillage activities and teaching the ecovillage concept. 

ScienZ Method

Communities like As One Suzuka are experimenting and creating a model to showcase a “new world” – showing how eco-communities are the gateway of the next civilization. They are interacting with mainstream society through trade, selling goods, education programs, workshops and other activities. The As One Community has developed the ScienZ Method for living together – learn more about ScienZ Method here.

Demonstrating and educating the ecovillage lifestyle 

Haichao Wang is the co-founder of Sunshine ecovillage in China. Together with Karen Wang, he shared a very motivating experience from his ecovillage concept and practice. In 2015, Sunshine Ecovillage ran the first international ecovillage forum in China. This is the first time the ecovillage network was introduced to China. Now there are already more than 100 aspiring ecovillages in China. People living in the cities are slowly realizing that they need green life. While city people would like to bring their city life back to villages, Haichao and his team bring the ecovillage concept to them to show that there are different ways of development. They wanted to demonstrate what eco-living really looks like by the life in their ecovillage. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the community created online programs for people to learn about ecovillages.

This ecovillage has about 20 ecovillage-related online courses and workshops on permaculture.  The community organized a eco-person gathering activity every new year (Jan 1st). In this gathering the community awarded one person who has outstanding contribution to the regeneration of China for the ecovillage transition. With the high rate of urbanization, the Chinese government is trying to promote rural revitalization. The Ecovillage team in China are building a model ecovillage (like Sunshine Ecovillage) for people to see and learn from. 

Envisioning with the aboriginal community

Tanya Mottl shared how GEN Australia has been engaging with the Jumbun Community to look at the way that the community wanted to come back to their traditional values and not depend on the government so much. They held a 3-day workshop which led to envisioning and strategizing with the local community. A key initiative they are undertaking is a truth-talking circle. The message that came out is strong and clear: we have the power to change this. GEN Australia  is also supporting Permayouth working with the local school in Jumbun. They have created the ecovillage design cards to be culturally appropriate to the community. The Jumbun Community shared that the ecovillage cards align with their community values. What they’d like to work on is to engage their youth in the regeneration of the community. 

The rich sharing from representatives around the network has sparked interest in all of us. It is important to realize that the process of Ecovillage Transition is very much context-dependent, we can utilize the sharing from our network, with the guidance of the Map of Regeneration and adapt it to our local context. As shared from the group discussion, building ecovillages is challenging in many countries and people who are living in urban areas would like to seek ways to live regeneratively where they are as well. This gives us the opportunity to explore how members of the ecovillage network can engage the urban sector and communicate eco-living to more people in different contexts.

For more information, you can watch the replay of this call on youtube here.

Below are some resources to dive deeper and explore other Ecovillage Transition work in the region:

We’d like to take this opportunity to introduce and invite you to take the Skills and Capacities Mapping, this will help us to understand and map the abundant skills and expertise of people within the GENOA network. With the results of the survey, GENOA will build future connections, projects, and consultancy services, which in turn will strengthen resilience for each member and also the network as a whole.

To stay updated with our events and news, please subscribe to our newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/gxtA65

Cover picture credit: GEN Japan

GEN-Japan Online Series: Creating Communities & Surviving Together

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How will we live in the age of with corona? In addition to climate change and Fukushima, we need to take a sincere look at the reality we are facing now, and live out the future brightly and powerfully with people from all over the world.

 It is with this hope that GEN-Japan’s online series, “Creating communities and Surviving Together,” will be held from January to March 2021.

GEN-Japan, which started as a non-profit organization in 2016, has been actively promoting awareness of eco-villages and localization for the past three years, in collaboration with Keibo Shin’ichi Tsuji, a well-known cultural anthropologist and an activist of Local Future Japan. 

GEN-Japan has been organizing EDE and consulting on community building in various regions as well as actively promoting eco-villages and localization for the last three years.

This three-month project, we were able to deepen the relationship among more than 20 practitioners of ecovillages, localization, and transition activities who agree with our aims, and connect with a total of 500 citizens and younger generations who are looking for their future way of life. Especially, Helena Norberg=Hodge appear to give the great speech. She is a director of the organization, Local Future, “Human has amazing ability in genes. Essentially we can live such community living as a big one family. People around the world are restoring ecosystems with their own well-being by strengthening their communities and localizing their economies. People have the power to do this.

This project has led to the birth of new eco-villages and communities that want to join the Network, the start of new online projects in cooperation, and mutual visits and information sharing in preparation for Earth Day in April and World Localization Day in June. The role of GEN-Japan as a platform is expected to grow further. 

It is certain that this movement will lead to the survival of the human race, and at the same time, to the blossoming of a rich humanity in harmony with the Earth throughout the world, and a chance to open up a new civilization with a fundamental joy of life.

In the depths of the crisis of climate and corona, the silence, the darkness, the heaviness, the anxiety, the loneliness, even the resentment, feed us.

It is time to step into a new story that has been fermenting in each of us like miso.

From separation to relationship. From separation to connection.

Let’s find ourselves as “Aida” everywhere and meet each other in “Aida” communities.

by Shin-ichi Tsuji

The first event, on January 15;  The keynote speech by Shin’ichi Tsuji: “The Next World Opened up by “Aida” , and the world-historical perspective of Pracha Hutanuwar, led us to deeply explored the view of humanity and society that is the basis for the realization of a sustainable world. Many of the participants looked up and started to move towards the next step.

Some words from participants….

Somehow, humans have been destroying the “space between”. Also, “I don’t know” is not allowed anymore. This, Tsuji pointed out, is the reason for the various problems in our society today.

Today, we take it for granted that “I” and “you” exist separately and independently, and we are forgetting that there is a vast “space” between us. For example, even the hundreds of trillions of bacteria and microorganisms in our bodies and in the air interact with each other and create new existence while nurturing the “aida”. At the base of all this, are we also “one of the beings that have appeared”? The culture and community became a device that could accept the overwhelming “unknowability” of the whole.　(Female, 30s)

Tsuji quoted Satoru Saishu’s words about “Duality. In the first place, “I” is not given to us “from the beginning. I think. I am not the “I” of separation seen through the selfish attitude of “I think, therefore I am,” but rather “I am your you. I am a being that is connected to all. We are inseparable from ourselves and others.

And he gave us a message to encourage us.

Let’s regain the “Aida” that is not just “Subject” and “Object.

You and I are one, and we are connected.

Don’t be afraid to enter into the “aida” without fear of not knowing.

And let’s build a community!

I’m very motivated.

(Male in his 30s)

In February, 16 localizers and eco-village builders from as far south as Okinawa and as far north as Hokkaido, who support the purpose of this series, appeared.  Following the themes to create something new raised by Shinichi Tsuji, they presented their activities and issues in five groups. Amena Bal introduced the activities of GENOA. and on the last day, Giovanni Charlo, the director of Gaia Education, introduced EDE, a human resource development program to nurture people who can actually build communities. Finally, facilitated by Tsuji and Hiroko Katayama of GENJapan, representatives of major movement organizations such as Permaculture, Transition, As One Network  and Workers Co-op, all drew the mutual future activities.

Few words from speakers

“Although we have heard of each other, we were able to  communicate to understand sincerely this time.”

“I gained confidence in the direction of this movement”

“A deep realization that we can all advance the movement together by demonstrating our own strengths, and the reassurance and trust,” “ It was a really warm and good time that we shared together”.

Localization in Japan

Friday, February 19,  8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.　

 (Facilitator) Shin-ichi Tsuji, Hiroko Katayama

Initiatives in Isumi City (greenz.jp, Nao Suzuki) / Activities to connect the forest and the sea in Itoshima ( NPO Itonami, City council member, Yoshihiro Fujii)

Initiatives in Kamogawa (Chiba pref. Yoshiki Hayashi)

Ecovillage in Japan

Saturday, February 20, 13:30 – 16:30

 (Facilitator) Daisuke Yoshitake, Takaaki Kumakura, Hiroko Katayama

(Talk) Tetra Tanizaki

UMIKAZE (Kento Ito) / WA Island (Shin Kunugiza) / Misumi Eco Village Saihate (Sink Kudo) / Yoichi Eco Village (Junka Sakamoto) / As One Suzuka Community (Ryu Kishinami)

“Welfare and Child Care Create a Community

Saturday, February 20, 20:00 – 22:15

 (Facilitator) Hirosui No Seiketsu: From the perspective of community building

From the perspective of community building (Ryo Yamazaki) / Nasu Machizukuri Hiroba (Takaaki Kaburaki)

General Incorporated Association Sukoyaka-no-Wa (Kyoko Kibayashi) / NPO Sachi House (Maki Kawamura)

The Future of Living and Creating a Place for Learning

Sunday, February 21, 10:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

 (Facilitator) Sawyer Kai (Hiroko Katayama)

Well Yokodai (Hirotaka Toya) / Yakushima Earth Tribe (Hiromi Suzuki)

Dana Village (Minori Ogawa) / Permaculture and Peace Dojo (Sawyer Umi)

The Future of Localization and Ecovillages in Japan

Sunday, February 21, 13:30 – 16:30

 (Facilitator) Shin-ichi Tsuji, Hiroko Katayama

EDE  (Gaia Education CEO) Giovanni Ciarlo

Transition Town (Toshiro Yoshida) / As One Network (Masashi Ono)

Permaculture (Shinji Yotsui) / Workers’ Co-op (Nobuhiro Tamaki)

On March 19, the last month of the Big Gathering, Helena Norberg-Hodge took the stage. and said, “At this time, people around the world are restoring ecosystems with their own well-being by strengthening their communities and localizing their economies. People have the power to do this. Helena is a linguist, founder and president of Local Future, a global non-profit organization, and is world-renowned for her book “Ancient Future” and the movie “The Economics of Happiness”.

On March 20, Henry Coleman, a 25-year-old project leader of Local Future, called for participation in the World Localization Day in June, Ngothao Kin from GENOA introduced the activities of NEXTGENOA, and Wang Shan from Shanghai gave a presentation on localization in China. Wang Shan, a native of Shanghai, introduced the state of localization in China. 

As a model case of localization, As One Suzuka Community was introduced, and we discussed how we can cooperate with them to promote the movement.

 Tsuji, Sawyer Kai, Azumi Nozaki, and Masashi Ono discussed how to create communities where children and the younger generation can live freely in the future.

At the end of the session, ten community building practitioners from around Japan who took the stage in February, appeared at the finale with their friends and families in each site. They sent messages of congratulations to each other.

GEN-Japan will continue to provide more opportunities to freely discuss what is needed to create a healthy community. With the cooperation of many of you, we were able to make this a three-month series to begin with. I would like to thank all of them and at the same time, I would like to work to further strengthen our ties and foster cooperation toward the realization of a sustainable and conflict-free world.

By Hiroko Katayama
GEN-Japan Executive Director

Hiroko Katyama is the Executive Director of GEN-Japan, an
established non-profit organization since 2016. She has been
actively working in building trust and network among people and
organizations that has purpose along the line of social and
environmental regeneration for five years. Sensing into the current
context and wishing for a clear vision to a regenerative future, she
and her team have been planning and facilitating this online event
since last fall, and achieving it with a lot of support.

Re-imagining Education Conference by Ecoversities Alliance

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The Ecoversities Alliance is a community of over 100 transformative learning spaces around the world. They were present in our last year’s Restore and Re-story gathering, holding a very insightful panel session titled “The Great REset- What do we have to RElease, REstore, REclaim and REimagine?”  that featured four Ecoversities’ members around Asia who have taken up the challenge to re-imagine education, healing from collective trauma and nurturing the shift to planetary consciousness. This year they have just hosted a four-day online conference on these topics. Read more about the outcomes of the conference and their reflection by downloading the file below:

Ecoversities Re-imagining Higher Education ConferenceDownload