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CONTENT

Lead Article

Why we need to figure out a theory of consciousness
by Adam Barrett, EPSRC Research Fellow in Complexity Science, University of Sussex

Article 01

Life: modern physics can't explain it - but our new theory, which says time is fundamental, might
by Sara Imari Walker, Professor of Physics, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University

The Future Now Show

Consciousness
with Sesto Castagnoli & Mario de Vries

Nature Invest
with Benedikt Michale, Ralf Schnabel and Annegien Blokpoel

Article 02

Brazil: Reforestation to replenish water supplies | Global Ideas
by DW News

News about the Future

> Microgreens
> Swiss-Mile

Article 03

Terence McKenna - The Simple Truth About Consciousness!
by AwakeningJourney

Recommended Book

The Four Realms of Existence: A New Theory of Being Human
by Joseph E LeDoux

Article 04

I went to space and discovered an enormous lie | Ron Garan
by Big Think

Climate Change Success Story

Ecovillages

Global Ecovillage Network
Ecovillages Examples

Latin America
North America
Africa
Europe
Oceania & Asia

Futurist Portrait

Florence Gaub
Security Expert & Futurist

Tags:
Africa, Amazon, Animal Welfare, Asia, Australia, Baltimore,
Brazil, California, Climate Change, Consciousness,
Ecovillages, Ecuador, Europe, Ghana, Inner Development
Goals, Investment, Latin America, Microgreens, NASA,
Natural Reserve, New Zealand, North America, Oceania,
Paraguay, Peru, Portland OR, Portugal, Reforestation,
Scotland, Security, Space, Tanzania, West Bengal

Welcome




Felix B Bopp

Website statistics for
clubofamsterdam.com
January 2024:

2024
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Quotes

Ron Garan: "This was exactly what I experienced in space: immense gratitude for the opportunity to see Earth from this vantage, and for the gift of the planet we've been given."

Sesto Castagnoli: "... we are in a position to collectively preserve and ensure the sustained development of our planet. Individual development leads to collectivism in human development."

Florence Gaub: "I always say that in foresight you have done your job not when you were right but when somebody acted upon what you said."

Lead Article:

Why we need to figure out a theory of consciousness
by Adam Barrett, EPSRC Research Fellow in Complexity Science, University of Sussex

 

Adam Barrett

 

Adam Barrett, University of Sussex

Understanding the biology behind consciousness (or self-awareness) is considered by some to be the final frontier of science. And over the last decade, a fledgling community of "consciousness scientists" have gathered some interesting information about the differences between conscious and unconscious brain activity.

But there remains disagreement about whether or not we have a theory that actually explains what is special about the brain activity which produces our miraculous inner worlds.

Recently, "Integrated Information Theory" has been gaining attention - and the backing of some eminent neuroscientists. It says that absolutely every physical object has some (even if extremely low) level of consciousness. Some backers of the theory claim to have a mathematical formula that can measure the consciousness of anything - even your iPhone.

These big claims are controversial and are (unfortunately) undermining the great potential for progress that could come from following some of the ideas behind the theory.

Integrated Information Theory starts from two basic observations about the nature of our conscious experiences as humans. First, that each experience we have is just one of a vast number of possible experiences we could have. Second, that multiple different components (colours, textures, foreground, background) are all experienced together, simultaneously.

Given these two observations, the theory says that brain activity associated with consciousness must therefore be ever-changing, consist of lots of different patterns, and involve a great deal of communication between different brain regions.

This is a really solid starting point for a theory, and to some extent, we have been able to test it. In one experiment, for example, researchers looked at brain responses to a short pulse of "transcranial magnetic stimulation", in which a magnetic coil is placed on top of the scalp, and a very brief pulse of magnetic field emitted.

The response was recorded from electrodes at locations all over the rest of the scalp. When fully awake, the response to the little burst of magnetic field would spread far and wide, in complex patterns of ripples.

But when participants were in deep sleep, or under general anaesthesia, the response did not spread very far from the magnet, and the shapes of the ripples were much more simple. These results support the theory. They demonstrate that when we're conscious, each region of the brain is doing something different, but are all managing to communicate.

So far so good. But it would be great to go further than this. Hence the attempt to find a formula that can give us a precise "level of consciousness" from detailed data. It is here that the serious controversy begins.

The theory claims that the ultimate formula will somehow quantify the information something contains. In this context, "information"means how much you can find out about the past and future of the object in question by looking in detail at the present.

For example, you record voltages from a bunch of neurons in the brain, and see how well you can use one result to predict earlier and later results. If you can make good predictions from using the readings from all neurons, but only poor predictions if you use just some neurons, then you score high.

Deep thinking

It is understandable to be perplexed by all of this - attempts at a formula have run into numerous problems, theoretical and practical. A candidate formula has been written down, but it doesn't work. There are example cases of it not giving a clear answer. And it would take far too long to compute for complex human brain data.

Some people think perhaps this theoretical mathematical endeavour should be shelved for now. Experimental research on consciousness is going well, so maybe we should all just focus on that. But we can't just do fact gathering experiments - we need a theory to understand what we've seen, and the basics of Integrated Information Theory do hold promise.

What about the theory's "panpsychist" position - the idea that everything is conscious? Can this be taken seriously? We need to be careful how to express this - talk of conscious spoons is unhelpful.

If there were already many competing plausible mathematical descriptions of consciousness, none of which could be tested, then there would be no value in creating another. But so far there are zero, and only a handful of researchers have been working on this.

Einstein's theory of gravity was utterly compelling, even before it could be tested. Integrated Information Theory is not yet compelling to the informed mathematician. But it is by far the most promising foundation from which to tackle the very roots of consciousness. And progress on this ultimate frontier is worth some more conscious effort.

Adam Barrett, EPSRC Research Fellow in Complexity Science, University of Sussex

 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

CONTENT

Article 01

Life: modern physics can't explain it - but our new theory, which says time is fundamental, might
by Sara Imari Walker, Professor of Physics, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University

 

 

Sara Imari Walker

 

Sara Imari Walker, Arizona State University

 

 

 

Over the short span of just 300 years, since the invention of modern physics, we have gained a deeper understanding of how our universe works on both small and large scales. Yet, physics is still very young and when it comes to using it to explain life, physicists struggle.

Even today, we can't really explain what the difference is between a living lump of matter and a dead one. But my colleagues and I are creating a new physics of life that might soon provide answers.

More than 150 years ago, Darwin poignantly noted the dichotomy between what we understand in physics and what we observe in life - noting at the end of The Origin of Species " ... whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved".

The importance of time

Isaac Newton described a universe where the laws never change, and time is an immutable and absolute backdrop against which everything moves. Darwin, however, observed a universe where endless forms are generated, each changing features of what came before, suggesting that time should not only have a direction, but that it in some ways folds back on itself. New evolutionary forms can only arise via selection on the past.

Presumably these two areas of science are describing the same universe, but how can two such diametrically opposite views be unified? The key to understanding why life is not explainable in current physics may be to reconsider our notions of time as the key difference between the universe as described by Newton and that of Darwin. Time has, in fact, been reinvented many times through the history of physics.

Although Newton's time was fixed and absolute, Einstein's time became a dimension - just like space. And just as all points in space exist all at once, so do all points in time. This philosophy of time is sometimes referred to as the "block universe" where the past, present and future are equally real and exist in a static structure - with no special "now". In quantum mechanics, the passage of time emerges from how quantum states change from one to the next.

The invention of thermodynamics gave time its arrow, explaining why it's moving forward rather than backwards. That's because there are clear examples of systems in our universe, such as a working engine, that are irreversible - only working in one direction. Each new area of fundamental physics, whether describing space and time (Newton/Einstein), matter and light (quantum mechanics), or heat and work (thermodynamics) has introduced a new concept of time.

But what about evolution and life? To build novel things, evolution requires time. Endless novelty can only come to be in a universe where time exists and has a clear direction. Evolution is the only physical process in our universe that can generate the succession of novel objects we associate to life - things like microbes, mammals, trees and even cellphones.

Information and memory

Such objects cannot fluctuate into existence spontaneously. They require a memory, based on what existed in the past, to construct things in the present. It is such "selection" that determines the dividing line between the universe described by current physics, and what Darwin saw: it is the mechanism that turns a universe where memory does not matter in determining what exists, to one where it does.

Think about it, everything in the living world requires some kind of memory and information flow. The DNA in our cells is our blueprint. And to invent new things, such as rockets or medication, living beings also need information - knowledge of the laws of physics and chemistry.

To explain life, we therefore need to understand how the complex objects life creates exist in time. With my collaborators, we have been doing just that in a newly proposed theory of physics called assembly theory.

A key conjecture of assembly theory is that, as objects become more complex, the number of unique parts that make it up increases, and so does the need for local memory to store how to assemble the object from its unique parts. We quantify this in assembly theory as the shortest number of physical steps to build an object from its elementary building blocks, called the assembly index.

Importantly, assembly theory treats this shortest path as an intrinsic property of the object, and indeed we have shown how assembly index can be measured for molecules using several different measuring techniques including mass spectrometry (an analytical method to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of molecules).

With this approach, we have shown in the lab, with measurements on both biological and non-biological samples, how molecules with an assembly index above 15 steps are only found in living samples.

This suggests that assembly theory is indeed capable of testing our hypothesis that life is the only physics that generates complex objects. And we can do so by identifying those objects that are so complex the only physical mechanism to form them is evolution.

We are aiming to use our theory to estimate when the origin if life happens by measuring the point at which molecules in a chemical soup become so complex that they start using information to make copies of themselves - the threshold at which life arises from non-life. We may then apply the theory to experiments aiming to generate a new origin of life event in the lab.

And when we know this, we can use the theory to look for life on worlds that are radically different to Earth, and may therefore look so alien that we wouldn't recognise life there.

If the theory holds, it will force a radical rethink on time in physics. According to our theory, assembly can be measured as an intrinsic property for molecules, which corresponds to their size in time - meaning time is a physical attribute.

Ultimately, time is intrinsic to our experiences of the world, and it is necessary for evolution to happen. If we want physics to be capable of explaining life - and us - it may be that we need to treat time as a material property for the first time in physics.

This is perhaps the most radical departure for physics of life from standard physics, but it may be the critical insight needed to explain what life is.

Sara Imari Walker, Professor of Physics, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University

 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

 

CONTENT

The Future Now Show

Consciousness
with Sesto Castagnoli & Mario de Vries

 

How do I live a conscious life

Sesto shares his experiences and strategies for living consciously. The conversation explores the idea of conscious living as a journey of continuous learning and self-improvement, the importance of recognizing others, and the concept of fear as an opportunity for growth and the relevance of conscious living in modern society with its potential to transcend personal beliefs and unite individuals towards societal harmony. - AI summary by Zoom

 

 

 

 

 

Moderator

 

Credits

Sesto Giovanni Castagnoli
I have a dream: „Dignity for 8 billion people“.
Initiator & Chairman of the supervisory board, Future Cooperative
Interlaken, Switzerland

Initiator and Board Member
Zukunftsgenossenschaft SCE mit beschränkter Haftung - Future Cooperative
zukunftsgenossenschaft.eu

Initiator and President
YES GLOBAL ASSOCIATION
facebook.com/yesglobalassociation

Founder
Evolutant
evolutant.com

Moderator

Mario de Vries
Media Specialist
Portugal
gazooom.nl

Felix B Bopp
Producer, The Future Now Show
clubofamsterdam.com


The Future Now Show
clubofamsterdam.com/the-future-now-show

You can find The Future Now Show also at

LinkedIn: The Future Now Show Group
YouTube: The Future Now Show Channel

 

CONTENT

 

The Future Now Show

Nature Invest
with Benedikt Michale, Ralf Schnabel and Annegien Blokpoel

Nature Invest is a pioneer of natural agriculture and forestry as well as organic food production in Paraguay, we are committed to ecological protection, sustainable development and fair economic cycles. We combine nature and animal protection with economically sensible action and at the same time make a contribution to a future worth living.

To promote a sustainable business model, one focus is on identifying nature ambassadors.

Through our nature and agricultural projects, which we implement in collaboration with local farming families, we create the basis for sensible and resource-saving agriculture and forestry. At the same time, we are committed to protecting endangered animal and plant species as well as large areas of virgin forest.

 

 

 

 

Moderator

Nature Invest corporate introduction december 2023

Credits

Benedikt Michale
Green Investment Ambassador
Agricultural real estate
CEO, Nature Invest Para Madre Tierra S.A.
Paraguay

Nature Invest Para Madre Tierra S.A.
natureinvest.com.py

 

Ralf Schnabel
Business Coach and Trainer for Cultural Change
Founder of Denkraum21
Austria

Denkraum21
denkraum21.de

 

Moderator

Annegien Blokpoel
Board advisor, regenerative & catalyst investor, angel operator, strategy & capital raising
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Catalyst Impact Investment Club
Founder & Lead Angel
catalystimpactinvestmentclub.com

PerspeXo
Founder & Managing Partner
perspexo.com

Felix B Bopp
Publisher & Founder, Club of Amsterdam
clubofamsterdam.com

Producer, The Future Now Show
clubofamsterdam.com/the-future-now-show

You can find The Future Now Show also at

LinkedIn: The Future Now Show Group
YouTube: The Future Now Show Channel

CONTENT

Article 02

Brazil: Reforestation to replenish water supplies | Global Ideas
by DW News

Deforestation has left only 20 percent of the once gigantic Atlantic Forest. Cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro depend on the rainforest for their water supplies. Two sisters are realizing their childhood dream by planting new trees there.

 

CONTENT

News about the Future

> Microgreens
> Swiss-Mile

Microgreens

Microgreens are vegetable greens harvested just after the cotyledon leaves have developed with one set of true leaves. They are used as a visual, flavor and texture enhancement. Microgreens are used to add sweetness and spiciness to foods.Microgreens are smaller than "baby greens" because they are harvested soon after sprouting, rather than after the plant has matured to produce multiple leaves.

Researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service have published, as of early 2014, several studies that identify the nutritional make-up and the shelf life of microgreens. Twenty-five varieties were tested, with the key nutrients measured being ascorbic acid (vitamin C), tocopherols (vitamin E), phylloquinone (vitamin K), and beta-carotene (a vitamin A precursor), plus other related carotenoids in the cotyledons.

Among the 25 microgreens tested, red cabbage, cilantro, garnet amaranth, and green daikon radish had the highest concentrations of vitamin C, carotenoids, vitamin K, and vitamin E, respectively. In general, microgreens contained considerably higher levels of vitamins and carotenoids - about five times greater - than their mature plant counterparts. - Wikipedia

 

Swiss-Mile

aims at becoming the leading digitalization initiative for autonomous systems worldwide. As part of this initiative and in collaboration with Hexagon AB and Nvidia, we accelerate the development and approval process of autonomous systems by replicating the ETH's Hönggerberg campus in a digital twin. Also, we plan a pilot installation at ETH’s Hönggerberg campus for delivery with our wheeled-legged robot.

Swiss-Mile extends our research of the last five years by deploying a multimodal platform to tackle last-mile delivery challenges and logistics with superior speed, efficiency, versatility and payload capability. With both legs and wheels, our robot outperforms state-of-the-art wheeled delivery platforms as well as lightweight delivery drones. It is the only solution capable of carrying tools, materials, goods and sensors over long distances with energy efficiency and speed while overcoming challenging obstacles like steps and stairs and enabling seamless navigation in indoor and outdoor urban environments.

CONTENT

Article 03

Terence McKenna - The Simple Truth About Consciousness!
by AwakeningJourney

 

 

 

Terence McKenna

(November 16, 1946 – April 3, 2000) was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, including psychedelic drugs, plant-based entheogens, shamanism, metaphysics, alchemy, language, philosophy, culture, technology, ethnomycology, environmentalism, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness. He was called the "Timothy Leary of the '90s", "one of the leading authorities on the ontological foundations of shamanism", and the "intellectual voice of rave culture".

McKenna formulated a concept about the nature of time based on fractal patterns he claimed to have discovered in the I Ching, which he called novelty theory, proposing that this predicted the end of time, and a transition of consciousness in the year 2012. His promotion of novelty theory and its connection to the Maya calendar is credited as one of the factors leading to the widespread beliefs about the 2012 phenomenon. - Wikipedia

 

CONTENT

Recommended Book

The Four Realms of Existence: A New Theory of Being Human
by Joseph E LeDoux

 

 

One of the world’s leading experts on mind and brain takes us on an expedition that reveals a new view of what makes us who we are.

Humans have long thought of their bodies and minds as separate spheres of existence. The body is physical-the source of aches and pains. But the mind is mental; it perceives, remembers, believes, feels, and imagines. Although modern science has largely eliminated this mind-body dualism, people still tend to imagine their minds as separate from their physical being. Even in research, the notion of the “self” as somehow distinct from the rest of the organism persists.

Joseph LeDoux argues that we have hit an epistemological wall-that ideas like the self are increasingly barriers to discovery and understanding. He offers a new framework of who we are, theorizing four realms of existence-bodily, neural, cognitive, and conscious.

The biological realm makes life possible. Hence, every living thing exists biologically. Animals, uniquely, supplement biological existence with a nervous system. This neural component enables them to control their bodies with speed and precision unseen in other forms of life. Some animals with nervous systems possess a cognitive realm, which allows the creation of internal representations of the world around them. These mental models are used to control a wide range of behaviors. Finally, the conscious realm allows its possessors to have inner experiences of, and thoughts about, the world.

Together, LeDoux shows, these four realms make humans who and what we are. They cooperate continuously and underlie our capacity to live and experience ourselves as beings with a past, present, and future. The result, LeDoux shows, is not a self but an “ensemble of being” that subsumes our entire human existence, both as individuals and as a species.

 

Joseph E. LeDoux
is an American neuroscientist whose research is primarily focused on survival circuits, including their impacts on emotions such as fear and anxiety. LeDoux is the Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science at New York University, and director of the Emotional Brain Institute, a collaboration between NYU and New York State with research sites at NYU and the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research in Orangeburg, New York. He is also the lead singer and songwriter in the band The Amygdaloids.

 

CONTENT

Article 04

I went to space and discovered an enormous lie | Ron Garan
by Big Think

What astronaut Ron Garan saw in space changed his life forever – here’s what it taught him.

 

 

 

Ron Garan

Ronald John Garan Jr. (born October 30, 1961) is a retired NASA astronaut. After graduating from State University of New York College at Oneonta in 1982, he joined the Air Force, becoming a Second Lieutenant in 1984. He became an F-16 pilot, and flew combat missions in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Before becoming an astronaut he was the Operations Officer of the 40th Flight Test Squadron (FTS). He first flew in space as a mission specialist on the May 2008 STS-124 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). He returned to ISS on April 4, 2011, for a six-month stay as a member of Expedition 27. Garan is a highly decorated former NASA astronaut who flew on the US Space Shuttle, Russian Soyuz, and International Space Station. In total he spent 178 days in space and more than 71 million miles in 2,842 orbits of Earth, 27 hours and 3 minutes of EVA in four spacewalks, and 18 days on the bottom of the ocean during the NEEMO-9 undersea mission. - Wikipedia

 

CONTENT

Climate Change Success Story

Ecovillages

 

Global Ecovillage Network GEN

The Global Ecovillage Network‘s shared purpose is to link and support ecovillages, educate the world about them, and grow the regenerative movement – to inspire, scale and facilitate communities and people from all walks of life to become active participants in the transition to a resilient and regenerative human presence on Earth.

GEN defines an ecovillage as follows:
An ecovillage is an intentional, traditional or urban community that is consciously designed through locally owned, participatory processes in all four dimensions of sustainability (social, culture, ecology and economy) to regenerate their social and natural environments.

VILLAGE: A clustered human settlement, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town, with a population ranging from a few tens to a few thousand. Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to urban neighborhoods.

COMMUNITY: The word “community” comes from the Latin “communis”, which means “shared in common” and typically refers to:

A group of people living in the same place
A group of people sharing certain attitudes and interests

INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY: A group of people who intentionally live together or share common facilities and co-create at least some of their social, economic, ecological and/or cultural relationships.

There is an overlap between intentional communities and ecovillages, yet they are not the same. Traditional ecovillages are not intentional communities. Some intentional communities are too small to be recognised as ecovillages.

ECOVILLAGE: A rural or urban community that is consciously designed through locally owned, participatory processes in all four dimensions of sustainability (social, culture, ecology and economy) to regenerate their social and natural environments.

 

GEN’s definition of ‘ecovillage’ is broad, allowing for many different kinds of communities and projects to be recognised. Because each ecovillage is designed by the people who live there, according to their vision, context, culture and interests, no two are alike. Nevertheless, GEN categorized them into three general categories:

urban – communities or eco-neighbourhoods with a common vision to reinvent life in the city to become more sustainable, collaborative and participatory;

traditional – existing rural villages and communities that decide to design their own pathway into the future, using participatory processes to combine life-sustaining traditional wisdom and positive new innovation

intentional – created by people who come together afresh with a shared purpose or vision.

GEN evolved organically to bring together this rich and diverse tapestry of ecovillages that had grown independently around the world. You can check out our ecovillage database and our book to learn more. Today, GEN reaches out to around 10.000 communities on all continents.

As of 2021, at least 10,000 registered ecovillages exist worldwide with an estimated population of over 500,000 people, according to the Global Ecovillage Network. - Google

 

 

 

Other Resources

Ecovillages Worldwide

Foundation for Intentional Community

The Ecovillage Experience

Ecovillages around the world where you can volunteer at

Permaculture Magazine

Environment and Ecology - ECOVILLAGE RESOURCES

Noema Magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecovillages Examples

 

Latin America

Kerawa Village at Rancho Spondylus
Create a joyful, caring, supportive community to thrive in balance with each other and nature.
Ecuador

KERAWA
" A Collaborative Community in two unique locations.
Located on two unique properties on the Pacific Coast of Ecuador. Our initial vision for our green space property was 4 fully appointed casitas with renewable energy systems, community recreation building and community garden. The other property, an Ocean view lot located on the “Ruta del Sol” is the space planned to feature 4 individual suites. Both sites have completed amenities which include community pool and cabana.

We’re seeking co-creators that are in tune with our mission and focus to participate as members and help grow and sustain our collaborative community in 2024. We envision renewable energy, sustainable construction and artisan workshops held on site. We’ll develop a community garden and network with local farmers and vendors to interface in a positive way with our local commnunity.

If you have an interest in joining and being a co-creator of Kerawa, please reach out to us so we can provide more information, hear about your goals and speak with you about our Mission and Vision. We own the deeded property and intend to begin construction January 2024 on the Casitas and Suites."

Written by Austin Livingston on August 25, 2023

Source: GEN

 

Eco Truly Park
Aucallama, Huaral, Peru

 

Eco Truly Park is a beautiful Peruvian Pacific coast ecological, artistic community founded on Vaisnava principles, strategically located on Chacra y Mar beach, a district of Aucallama, in the province of Huaral, one hour by bus or car (63 km) north of the capital city, Lima.

We live together according to principles of non-violence, simple living and elevated thinking, and visitors can learn and experience how it is possible to live happily in harmony with nature, others, and themselves. We are looking for people that are basically open-minded and want to practice tolerance, compassion and patience.

Visit our Eco Village – Eco truly Park outside Lima city in a Pacific place close to the sea, before or after to go Cusco.

The architecture and values of the community is in part inspired by Indian traditional teachings and lifestyle, and we are the first lively ecological educational center of Peru. We have inspired similar successful projects in neighboring countries such as Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia.

Source GEN

Conoce Eco Truly Park, un ambiente mágico cerca al mar en Huaral
by Gobierno Regional de Lima

 

 

 

North America

Intentional farmstead co-living
The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) is an 80-acre research, demonstration, advocacy and organizing center in Sonoma County, California that develops strategies for regional-scale community resilience.

OAEC serves as a retreat center for networks, public agencies, foundations and other groups working towards social and environmental change.

7 friends built restoration ecovillage. Outcome 50 years on
by Kirsten Dirksen

 

 

In 1994 a group of seven friends began living and farming together after taking over an 80-acre, 1974 organic farm 70 miles north of San Francisco that had been left to decay. They set up an intentional community around farming and wildlife restoration, as well as water management and permaculture, raising their families & learning by doing during a long-term restoration process that will hit its 50 Anniversary soon.

One of the first actions taken in the founding of the Sowing Circle community was an agreement made by all partners that each owner’s “share” in the company that owns the land would not be linked to the land’s market value.

The group worked with the previous landowner to create the first Organic Agricultural Easement in the country which protects in perpetuity the organic gardens and orchards from any development or any use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Today their Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) is one of California’s oldest organic farms and their Sowing Circle one of its most-enduring intentional communities. At the start, they wanted to put to practice their ideas of permaculture, water management, and wildlife restoration.

The idea was to live like the land-based communities that predated them- like the Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok-, much like an old-growth forest. “Until recently, the majority of human settlement has functioned much like an old-growth forest,” writes OAEC kitchen manager Olivia Rathbone. “Humans... have long had the skills and knowledge to actually increase the biological carrying capacity of the land rather than deplete it, to render the concept of 'waste' obsolete.”

Today, their kitchen waste is composted, either directly or via their chickens. Their human waste is sent through one of three commercial-grade composting toilet systems - one of which involves mycelium - and which are being monitored by the county and state as testing grounds for more widespread use. Tree clippings (for fire management) become mulch. Their greywater is recycled in the gardens and even their seeds are saved in a very extensive heirloom seed library.

There’s a long history of land-based communities here, after the Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok cane Italian and Portuguese homesteaders in the late 1800’s and finally, from 1974 through 1990 the Farallones Institute established their Rural Center here (a counterpoint to their Integral Urban House in Berkeley) where scientists, designers, and horticulturists lived together and experimented around appropriate technology and sustainable design. Their cluster of 5 300-square-foot passive solar cabins (financed through the state’s Office of Appropriate Technology in the seventies) called “Solar Suburbia” is still the main residential cluster, though they have been enlarged to 700 to 900 square feet.

Brock Dolman moved here in 1994 as one of the seven founding friends of the Sowing Circle. His advice to those hoping to start their own intentional community or permaculture practice: listen to your predecessors rather than trying to follow trends or recipes for design. “It’s really taking our cues from what is the genius of nature that has been in that place for eons and eons and eons.

It has adapted to the conditions: temperature, moisture, soil, availability, slopes, aspects, the traditional ecological knowledge of indigenous people's interacting with that landscape over time. Why we would disregard those clues and impose an idea that we happen to make up because we think we have a better idea. I think our sense is that that's just human hubris and folly."

 

 

Baltimore Free Farm
a collective of gardeners and activists who aim to provide access to healthy food for all.

"The Baltimore Free Farm is an urban farm and cohousing collective in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood.

The founders of the Farm acquired the land through mixed efforts of peaceful resistance and local fundraising, eventually transforming an abandoned lot into a flourishing community garden.

The right to free food access is at the heart of the Farm’s mission, and several organizations operate out of the space, including Baltimore Food Not Bombs and Baltimore Food Rescue. The Farm also works closely with the Baltimore Gift Economy and several other local non-profits.

The current objectives of the Farm are to maintain upkeep of what we’ve built so far, and make the space more accessible to WWOOFers and visiting ecovillagers! This includes the construction of additional tiny houses on the Farm’s premises. The Farm also seeks to become increasingly connected to the web of ecovillages and intentional communities springing forth!" - Source: GEN

 

Kailash Ecovillage Tour, Portland OR. (Is the rental model more equitable, sustainable?)
by Parkrose Permaculture

Unlike many ecovillage communities that are based on a condominium model where the buy-in is $$$$, and the community makes the decisions (in consensus or committees), Kailash Ecovillage is a rental model. Here, one owner is responsible for the choices and design of the property, but the below-market rent allows folks who could not otherwise participate in ecovillage experimental living to join a community of like-minded folks pursuing sustainable living and gardening.

 

Kailash Ecovillage
a model for a sustainably focused intentional community
in inner SE
Portland, Oregon

An intentional community located on a two-acre site, about four miles from downtown in the Creston Kenilworth neighborhood The housing, garden landscape, and learning space at Kailash has been fostered by the vision of Ole and Maitri Ersson, who wished to create a model of sustainability in the city. Residents have their own private spaces but also enjoy shared activities and a sense of community. Principles of co-housing within a rental model maintain affordability and create opportunity for people looking to experience an intentional community.

 

 

Africa

Dream Village
Teaming with life
Ghana

" We aim to create a collaborative space for co-creation, where individuals can work with nature to thrive. This space will serve as an eco-village, agritourism hub, regenerative hub, prototype hub, co-living and working space, and meditation space."

Dreamivill - Dream Village a Regenerative College for Dreamers
by Matorwmasen (Kwaku) Clement
Ghanaian Regenerative Entrepreneur, Social Advocate, and Dreamer..

 

 

 

Zion Eco Village
Tanzania

'Zion Kingdom Building' Eco Village.

To usher in the Kingdom of the Most High Yah in Tanzania by building an off grid, self-sustainable, faith-based repat community, through practicing group economics.

Building A Traditional African Off-Grid Home In Our Eco Village
by T3 & Me

In this video we show you a traditional Tanzanian home we’re building for our workers at our Eco-Village. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Europe

Rubha Phoil
a nature based permaculture community on the Isle of Skye, Scotland

Rubha Phoil is an ancient, Sacred Rock and a nature-based regenerative culture project and community in Sleat in the south of the Isle of Skye, Scotland.

Ownership of Rubha Phoil is changing!
At the moment, Rubha Phoil is owned by one man: the founder, Ludwig Leòdhas (Otter).
We are changing that!

You too can own a little piece of Rubha Phoil!

Learn more here:
https://rubhaphoil.org/rubha-rocks-crowdfunding/

Rubha Phoil, a nature-based permaculture community on the Isle of Skye
by Earth Ways

 

 

 

 

Tamera
A model for how people can live with nature and begin distancing themselves from globalisation.
Portugal

Tamera is a peace project in Southern Portugal, a cooperative of future workers, who aim to build a so called “Healing Biotope” for a couple of hundred people – a community between humans, animals and plants whose relationships are based upon trust and mutual support.

In a Healing Biotope new answers in the existential areas of life shall be researched: peace and cooperation with nature, peace between men and women, implementation of a strong self-sufficient community of compassion without guru and peer pressure, practice of free religion by authentic religious experiences and an ongoing spiritual life practice.

Tamera was founded in 1995 and is a snapshot of over 40 years of research and development. It is a living model, a pioneer project for the question of humankind living together on this planet.

Currently, there are 150 staff members who live in Tamera; the circle of people co-operating encompasses some hundred more. Many who work here are committed guests who want to help continue the project.

There are no religious or ideological obligations. However, there is a common direction, giving the place its spiritual character. Joy in implementing and joy in new thinking, respect for all life, participating in all of creation, solidarity with all of its beings, honesty in relationships, truth in love, and transparency in the community.

Practical activities in the project take place in the „Escola da Esperança” schooling project, youth projects, horse projects, gardening, energy supply, soil improvement, architecture, and landscaping. Aside from this, we mainly work in theoretical and social fields on the question of the implementation of a non-violent culture on this planet.

Tamera - Peace Research & Education Center | Portugal
by Tamera - Healing Biotope 1

 

Findhorn
Scotland

Nestled on Findhorn Bay near Inverness, the Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust which has been in operation for over 50 years and is based in one of the largest intentional communities in Britain.

It offers workshops and gatherings to create time to pause and reflect on life, and deepen participants’ connection to spirit and nature. Its aim is to live the
vision of creating a better world.

 

Tuning into the Future

The Findhorn Foundation is entering a time of transition and transformation. On this year's Autumn Equinox (September 22, 2023) we stopped holding workshops, courses and retreats. Over wintertime a small core group of people are attuning to a sustainable future for the educational offerings this Center of Light can bring into the world. Our vision is to create a wholesome and sustainable way to hold core programmes in collaboration with our local and global community. Our dream is that these offerings will reflect the essence of this special place and embody our core practices.

 

About the Findhorn Ecovillage
by Findhorn Foundation

 

 

 

Oceania & Asia

Crystal Waters
Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Australia's Permaculture Village

Crystal Waters Permaculture Village in Australia, established in 1987, was the world's first intentional permaculture village and has since carried out pioneering work in demonstrating new ways of sustainable, low-impact living. As of 1996, there were 200 people living in the village, and this number has grown to over 250 people of all ages and from diverse cultures as of today?.

Crystal Waters EcoVillage is set in 640 acres of bushland at the headwaters of the Mary River, 26kms from Maleny or Woodford. It consists of 83 privately-owned one-acre plots, arranged in small clusters, large areas of common land and cooperatively-owned commercial properties including the Village Green and EcoPark Accommodations. Much of Crystal Waters was designed using permaculture principles?.

The Village is classified ‘Land for Wildlife’ and is seen as a beautiful Australian Wildlife Sanctuary. We’re home to a wide variety of local flora and fauna including numerous kangaroos and wallabies, as well as many types of birds and reptiles – we share our land with nature. We believe that our “No Cats & Dogs” policy has created this environment, which is conducive to nature, and therefore provides us with a peaceful living experience.

"Ngara", which means Hello in the local Gabi Gabi language. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of COUNTRY
With Respect, we begin by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live and host the PDC, the Gubbi Gubbi and Jinibara peoples. We pay our respects to the Elders past, present and emerging and give thanks for their caring for country for so, so long. We are honoured to live and offer our work in these beautiful lands.

 

With over 250 people living in Crystal Waters, and hundreds more in the local area around Conondale, Witta and Maleny, many of us enjoy regular events on our Village Green or on ‘The Deck’. Crystal Waters Residents include a broad range of ages and cultures, the people who have come here to live are from all areas of the world and regions of Australia. We are a multi-cultural community and there is no set belief-system except for the common agreements of respect for the land, wildlife and for each other.

The residents living at Crystal Waters are people of all ages, nationalities and a wide variety of beliefs - just like in other parts of Australia. We are multi-cultural, multi-talented, and diverse in our interests and activities. Although some people choose a more secluded life, most who live here find enjoyment in interacting during either Events, at the Coffee Shop or Bakery, or at some of the Groups activities organised for anyone to participate in. Some are Permaculture related, but other groups are for music, yoga, classes, martial arts, weeding & bush regeneration, painting & crafts and more.

Eco Village Pioneers - introducing the film in Australia
by Permaculture Magazine

 

 

 

Earth Village
New Zealand
To develop future leaders who help to shape a happier, healthier and more sustainable planet.

Earth Village is a 386-acre (156ha) block of native New Zealand forest and pines located on the edge of the Puketi Forest near Kerikeri. It is a sanctuary for a diverse range of experiences including wellbeing retreats and an educational hub for youth development programs. Features include spectacular views, amazing natural landscapes, tranquil spaces, walking tracks, cabins for overnight accommodation, meditation platforms and gardens designed to awaken the senses, calm your mind and invigorate your body.

Earth Village was created as a sanctuary so that people can experience the value of true nature, the value of the earth and the value of humanity. Here we offer you the time and space to envisage a new future and design your life’s path. We are happy to help as many people as possible with their life planning.

 

Earth Village in New Zealand
by Earth Village New Zealand

 

 

Green Village
West Bengal

A sustainable entrepreneurial hub accompanying excluded Young Women towards their professional.

As specialists of Youth Inclusion, Life Project 4 Youth decided to replicate its model and establish a Green Village solution in West Bengal: An entrepreneurial sustainable hub providing a platform boosting the professional inclusion of 240 Young Women per Year, 30 km from the city of Kolkata. It is also a community eco-village and catalyst oriented as the Youth host events and learning activities with the community in order to share professional decent world, digital inclusion and environment preservation.

In 2021, the team decided to focus their attention on the village of Kulai, in West Bengal, crossing challenged areas prone to human trafficking, women exclusion, and facing rural challenges along with a limited access to many resources. Close to Kolkata’s slums, it could also answer the urban challenges of extreme poverty. In this small-sized village (3,000 inhabitants), an ancient family house, abandoned, was presented to renovate to the LP4Y Catalysts. From an unvalorized building, was born the Green Village West Bengal.

Green because of its building eco-renovation and sensitization. Through the way our facilities and waste are managed, a better use of resources is thought of, at a lesser energy cost. Through partners, valorising eco-consciousness and training the Youth, for a cleaner, greener India, the community and the Youth are impacted, and can replicate a virtuous model : cultivate organic, compositing, steps of dishwashing, use of ecological cleansers such as bioenzymes…

Village because of its powerful link with the village community, through its ecosystem, Youth from LP4Y are true actors of change and organize Community activities, which are designed to highlight the importance of social bonds, women empowerment and citizenship as learning activities to empower their community, but also trash challenges, sport events…

Green Village West Bengal Presentation
by LP4Y

 

 

 

 

CONTENT

Futurist Portrait

Florence Gaub
Security Expert & Futurist

 

Florence Gaub is a Franco-German researcher, security expert and futurist who focuses on foresight based policy formation for international relations and security policy. She is director of the research division at the NATO Defense College.
She worked as deputy director at the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) in Paris from February 2018 until May 2022, worked as foresight advisor at the General Secretariat of the Council and is Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, member of the WEF Global Future Council on the Future of Complex Risks as well as founder and president of a think-tank and consultancy, Futurate Institute.

 

A hostile climate? The world in 2030
by Florence Gaub

What do we know about the future - and what can we do about it?

In this video I summarise the findings of the report "Global Trends to 2030: Challenges and choices for Europe".

Free footage from Pexels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTENT

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