It is our vision to live with love and peace amongst ourselves and within nature. We strive to be aware of our social and ecological responsibility and to create space for each individual’s personal development. In order to make this vision come true, a welcoming and open-minded village is being founded in which all generations, forms of life, and convictions can find their place within a context of sustainability and peacefulness.
At this very moment, ecovillages are sprouting up all over the world and demonstrating ways of life designed to carry us into the future. These projects are unified by the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), which has been supporting individual initiatives and representing common interests at the UN since 1994. The ecovillage movement embodies the essence of the great UN conferences of recent years: the environmental aspects of Rio de Janeiro, the social aspects of Copenhagen, and Istanbul’s decisions on settlement topics.
There is a great variety of ecovillages in many different regions of
the world. They are, however, unified by a common goal.
They strive to set an example of how society’s bonds can be
strengthened and of how humans can rediscover their niche within the
ecology of the earth.
Ecovillages serve to create lifestyles that can carry us into the
future, all over the world. The globalisation of our present way
of life, which is resource-intensive and heavily based upon
exploitation, is simply impossible. It is therefore necessary to
develop lifestyles that unite both a high standard of living and
sustainability.
In addition to these ‘global goals’, ecovillages offer their
inhabitants the chance to develop themselves in a socially secure
setting. Ecovillages are open to all people, regardless of age,
philosophy of life, or religion; provided that they help support the
common good. Ecovillages are also places of integration for
marginalized groups of society.
In the long term, it will not remain possible for humans to live so far removed from their environment. Accepting an ecologically sustainable lifestyle is one of the great challenges of our time. Preservation and support of bio-diversity, waste reduction, usage of renewable energies instead of fossil resources, brief and enclosed material circuits - these are only a few of the many ecovillage key words. The foundation for success is handling the earth and all its inhabitants respectfully, whether human, animal or plant.
As opposed to the increasing loneliness in today’s society, ecovillages embody a form of community that offers security that goes far beyond the family. Everyday solidarity and charity are the supporting pillars of living together. The ecovillage’s social network is there for its inhabitants during all phases of their lives.
A future-oriented lifestyle isn't conceivable unless it is economically feasible. Managing resources carefully and sparingly and embedding into the regional environment are just as important having a stable and strong internal economic structure capable of weathering times of crisis. Some of the elements of this are; near to complete self-sufficiency, short routes, need-based production. Economic understanding in an ecovillage is marked by a change in values, based upon long-term planning, cooperation instead of competition, quality instead of quantity, etc.
The ecovillage offers room for the development of the individual as well as common spirituality, without pushing in any particular direction. The conscious discussion of all levels of being human is beneficial to the unfolding of free and self-responsible individuals. Living spiritually can support purifying and healing processes.
The ecovillage is a cultural workshop that unifies tradition and innovation. The influence of ecological, social, economic, and spiritual aspects forms an integral culture, which connects people with each other beyond all religious, social, or ideological barriers.