Ecovillages

Die staatliche Nachhaltigkeitspolitik hat den Wert der Sozialen Innovationen entdeckt. Wenn sie deren Potential nutzen will, muss sie sich mit den dahinter stehenden Menschen auf einen Dialog über Sinn und Werte einlassen. Falls sie die neuen Graswurzel-Akteure nur instrumentalisiert, verpasst sie eine Lernchance.

A study of the Libera Universita di Alcatraz, an event center, ecovillage, and free thinker community in central Italy. As an intentional community and a holistic organization, Alcatraz contributed to the global peace and justice movement with its courses, hospitality style, events, and esoteric books. The article claims this commitment called the energetic presence of Gaia to the community. Alcatraz was founded by Jacopo Fo, son of Nobel Prize winners for theater, Dario Fo and Franca Rame. Its art and sense of humor reflect the style of this  magnificent duo.

Tension between substantive and instrumental rationalities: case study of on ecovillage in the south of Bahia

Abstract
The present article aims to investigate the manifestations of the tension between substantive and instrumental rationalities in management of the Itapeba Ecovillage. It is an ex-post-facto qualitative research. Was adopted ethnography as our methodological strategy. Was applied participant observation at the Itapeba ecovillages between May and September 2011. Was adopted the substantive approach to organizations as our theoretical basis. This work introduces in the Administration Science the study on a previously unpublished kind of organization, the ecovillages. The result of the analysis of the fieldwork point to the following conclusions: instrumental and substantive rationalities are not self excluding; the process of communication provides support to balance between self-imposed normativity of management with aspirations, values and self actualization of subjects; regular gatherings, decision making, conflict management, rituals celebrations and unplanned gatherings are all part of the interpersonal relationships universe of sustainable communities; the creation of spaces designed for decision making and exercise of political life that privilege substantive rationality do not imply the reduction of typical instrumental spaces such as technical and bureaucratic ones; to participate in decision processes, to have accesses to political and power instances and the possibility to affirm personal principles are essential to conciliate personal expectancies and organizational demands; ecovillages represent a synthesis between knowledge and action, between theory and practice, and are viable answers to the current civilization crisis.

Resumo
Este artigo tem por objetivo compreender a tensão entre as racionalidades substantiva e instrumental na gestão da Ecovila Itapeba. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo ex-post-facto. O método utilizado foi o etnográfico, por meio de observação participante realizada entre maio e setembro de 2011. Teve como base teórica a abordagem substantiva das organizações e o campo de estudos de racionalidade na prática administrativa. Este trabalho introduziu na Ciência da Administração o estudo de um tipo de organização inédito, a ecovila. A análise dos resultados do trabalho de campo aponta às seguintes conclusões: racionalidades instrumental e substantiva não são excludentes; o pro-cesso de comunicação permite equilibrar a normatividade autoimposta pelo modelo de gestão com as aspirações, os valores e a autorreal-ização; encontros regulares, tomada de decisão, gestão de conflitos, rituais, celebrações e encontros não planejados compõem o universo das relações interpessoais no âmbito das comunidades sustentáveis; a criação de espaços para tomada de decisão e exercício da vida política que privilegiem a racionalidade substantiva não implica redução dos espaços técnicos e burocráticos típicos da racionalidade instrumental; a participação no processo decisório, o acesso às instâncias políticas e de poder e a possibilidade de afirmar princípios pessoais são essenci-ais para conciliar as expectativas pessoais e as exigências organizacionais. As ecovilas representam uma síntese entre conhecimento e ação, entre teoria e prática, apresentando-se como uma das diversas respostas possíveis à crise civilizatória da atualidade.

Palavras-chave: Racionalidade Substantiva. Racionalidade Instrumental. Tensão entre Racionalidades. Ecovila. Etnografia.

Tensión entre la racionalidad sustantiva e instrumental: Estudio de caso en una ecoaldea del sur de Bahía

Resumen

Este artículo tiene como objetivo comprender la tensión entre la racionalidad sustantiva e instrumental en la gestión de la ecoaldea Itapeba. Se trata de un estudio cualitativo ex-post-facto en el cual se utilizó el método etnográfico, por medio de observación participante, realizada entre mayo y septiembre de 2011. La base teórica fue el enfoque sustantivo de las organizaciones y el campo de estudio de racionalidad en la práctica administrativa. Este trabajo introdujo en la Ciencia de la Administración el estudio de un tipo de organización inédito: la ecoaldea. El análisis de los resultados del trabajo de campo muestra las siguientes conclusiones: la racionalidad instrumental y la sustantiva no son excluyentes; el proceso de comunicación permite equilibrar la normatividad autoimpuesta por el modelo de gestión con las aspiraciones, los valores y la autorrealización; reuniones regulares, toma de decisiones, gestión de conflictos, rituales, celebraciones y encuentros espontáneos componen el universo de las relaciones interpersonales en el ámbito de las comunidades sostenibles; la creación de espacios para toma de decisiones y ejercicio de la vida política que privilegien la racionalidad sustantiva no implica en la reducción de los espacios técnicos y burocráticos típicos de la racionalidad instrumental; la participación en el proceso decisorio, el acceso a las instancias políticas y de poder y la posibilidad de afirmar principios personales son esenciales para conciliar las expectativas personales y las exigencias organizacionales. Las ecoaldeas representan una síntesis entre conocimiento y acción, entre teoría y práctica, presentándose como una de las diversas respuestas posibles a la crisis civilizatoria de la actualidad. Palabras clave: Racionalidad sustantiva. Racionalidad instrumental. Tensión entre racionalidades. Ecoaldea. Etnografía.

The greatest challenges of the 21st century will presumably require tremendous shifts in the way cities, neighborhoods and buildings are formed, designed and shaped. While the regulations and constrains predicated primarily by environmental concerns steadily rise the role of planners, urban designers, architects and engineers in shaping metropolitan cities and urban areas of the future will, more than likely, remain in the forefront of providing unparalleled vision and innovation.

Introduction of chapter by Christopher Mare: In the past several years, the term ‘Resilience’ has surged into the lexicon of sustainable
community designers as being a goal of the utmost importance; yet not until I read this
exposition by Daniel Wahl did I fully grasp what it meant. Daniel does an excellent job
explaining not only the essence but the context of this rapidly spreading meme. In well-
versed systems languaging, the author draws on numerous recent studies to make the
case that not only is resilience an important goal, it is the way of Nature herself.
Dr. Wahl makes accessible these recent scientific findings to our global readership.

The  growth  of  the  Autonomous  City  of  Buenos  Aires  (CABA)  does  not  escape  the worldwide trend of population growth in urban areas. In this context, social movements emerge seeking to  build  alternatives  to  the  way  of  life  imposed  by  modernity  in  large cities. One of these movements takes place around the socio-environmental processes of defense and restoration of green spaces and the conformation of new communities. The movements can  be  thought  in  the  framework  of  a  resignification  and  appropriation  of territory  to  constitute  it  in  an  urban  common  good. The  objective  of  this  article  is  to analyse the tensions produced by the creation of new urban commons based on the case analysis of the Velatropa Ecovillage, located in the University Campus of the University of  Buenos  Aires, in  Buenos Aires City,  Argentina.  For  this,  the  research uses  a qualitative methodology, based    on    the    ethnographic    method    of    participant    observation, complemented by the analysis of secondary sources of information. The results describe the fundamental tension that arises from the conflicting rationalities over which each one of  the  actors  involved  in  the  conflict  acts. In  this  case,  the  community  and  ecological coexistence of the territory with the mercantile use of the property are face to face.

This article uses foodscapes as a lens to explore the potential of ecovillages' food practices towards enhancing sustainable food systems. Ecovillages are collective projects where members attempt to integrate sustainability principles into daily community life. In these communities, food acts, not only as an element of social life, but also as a venue through which to interact with mainstream food systems and society. Yet, how food practices at ecovillages contribute to sustainable food systems remains vague. This article proposes foodscapes, as a lens, for exploring the sustainability potential of place-based food practices in ecovillages, while also directing attention to how these practices intersect with networks at broader social and spatial scales. It asks, how can we better understand and draw from sustainable food practices, when considering these as both, place-based and relational? And what is the potential and the role of ecovillage communities to contribute to broad...

Reflexo do sucesso do modo de produção capitalista, a crise no mundo urbano apresenta inúmeros problemas socioambientais com implicações diretas para o modo de vida da sociedade, e hoje evidenciados pela pandemia do corona vírus. Associado aos desafios
globais, o modo de vida contemporâneo é uma expressão das formas de produção de sentido da cultura dominante ocidental, relacionados aos níveis natural/ambiental, sociocultural e socioeconômico. Com o objetivo de compreender a emergência do conceito de ecovila, na tentativa de amenizar os problemas decorrentes do modo de produção capitalista, este artigo volta-se para grupos, organizações e pessoas que exploram meios alternativos de produção e de consumo a fim de reduzir impactos ambientas, disparidades socioeconômicas e questões mais sutis, relacionadas aos aspectos culturais. Uma destas medidas ligase ao surgimento de grupos e comunidades intencionais que, a partir de valores e princípios distintos, propõem outras formas de se viver e de se relacionar, indicando possíveis caminhos na transição para uma cultura regenerativa. Inicialmente, as ecovilas eram comunidades rurais intencionais formadas por grupos de pessoas que compartilham valores ambientais e sociais, que expressam comportamentos sustentáveis. Ao adotar modos de vida de baixo impacto, buscando aplicar práticas integradas ao ambiente por meio do uso racional de recursos. A revisão bibliográfica evidenciou a ampliação do conceito, que passou a incluir iniciativas rurais e urbanas, comunidades intencionais e tradicionais, e grupos diversos envolvidos com a prática da sustentabilidade. Representando uma síntese entre conhecimento e ação, tradição
e inovação, e teoria e práticas sustentáveis, as ecovilas e seus projetos se configuram como possíveis respostas às questões da Agenda Global do século XXI.

Bir ekoköy projesi başlatırken akla gelen en önemli sorulardan birisi, bu projenin nerede hayata geçirilmesi gerektiğidir. Projenin başlatılması ve bitirilip hayata geçirilmesi arasındaki süreçte en çok dikkat edilmesi
gereken adımın yer seçimi olduğu gibi bir düşünce yaygındır. Özellikle, böyle bir projenin korunan alanlarda, milli parklar içinde, ya da ekolojik karakterleri açısından son derece zengin bölgelerde hayata geçirilmesi
gerektiğine dair yaygın bir kanı olduğu görülmektedir. Bu görüşün doğru olup olmadığını daha iyi analiz edebilmek için, dünyanın her köşesinden farklı hikâyeleri olan ve önemli başarılar elde etmiş ekoköylerin kuruluş aşamasında yer seçimi ile ilgili karar süreçlerine bakmak sağlıklı olacaktır. Bu çalışmada hem boş bir alanda kurulan ekoköy örneklerine hem de mevcut bir yerleşkeyi ekoköye dönüştürme projelerine örnek olacak, dünyanın farklı yerlerinden ekoköyler irdelenerek kuruluş aşamaları araştırılmıştır. Bu bilgiler ışığında, ekoköy projeleri için yer seçimine dair, araştırılan komünlerin deneyimlerinden yola çıkarak tespitlerde bulunulmuştur.

An early study of the Libera Universita di Alcatraz in the context of the Global Peace and Justice Movement. Alcatraz is considered as an event center, as an ecovillage, and as a free thinker community in central Italy. As an intentional community and a holistic organization, Alcatraz contributed to the global peace and justice movement with its courses, hospitality style, events, and esoteric books. The article claims this commitment called the energetic presence of Gaia to the community, as a way to also resonate with the global peace and justice movement. Alcatraz was founded by Jacopo Fo, son of Nobel Prize winners for theater, Dario Fo and Franca Rame. Its art and sense of humor reflect the style of this  magnificent duo.

Este trabalho visa questionar a adequação da individualização característica do modo de vida metropolitano contemporâneo aos propósitos e preceitos da ideia de sustentabilidade - conceito cujas interpretações serão aqui também revisadas e questionadas. O trabalho apresentará brevemente o movimento de ecovilas com o intuito de sugerir atenção a seus fundamentos e propostas, que parecem indicar um caminho mais próximo àqueles delineados pelos ideais de sustentabilidade. Os paradigmas que apoiam o processo de individualização e aqueles que sustentam o movimento de ecovilas serão brevemente investigados e relacionados ao conceito de sustentabilidade. A autora considera relevante a reflexão acerca das bases filosóficas e de valores nas quais se fundamenta o conceito de sustentabilidade a fim de buscar coerência entre discurso e prática. Se está-se buscando uma condição sustentável, fica assumido que a condição presente não o é. A investigação se pautará em uma revisão de literatura científica pertinente ao tema e aos conceitos em questão. Este trabalho não pretende abarcar amplamente o tema, mas esboçar diretrizes de pensamentos que possam contribuir para a avaliação dos valores e ações que têm sido adotados ao mesmo tempo em que se faz presente o discurso de busca por sustentabilidade. Especula-se que, com base nos padrões sociais firmados especialmente nas metrópoles – com destaque para a individualização, que será apresentada -, o almejado desenvolvimento sustentável seja inviabilizado. Já que, como será discutido, ele vai além de iniciativas pontuais, requerendo uma abordagem mais ampla de interdependência entre os processos humanos e os ambientais.

espanolEste articulo esta dirigido a caracterizar el discurso de comunidades intencionales. Para cumplir con este objetivo, implementamos un enfoque cualitativo basado en estudios de casos para describir y contrastar el fenomeno de las comunidades intencionales utopicas que tienen lugar en Chile. A traves del analisis del discurso, describimos tres iniciativas en torno a los ejes: vision de si mismos, vision sobre la sociedad, y practicas dirigidas a crear formas ideales de existencia en comun. Nuestros hallazgos muestran que los discursos articulan el conocimiento disciplinario y las practicas con puntos de vista tradicionales y espirituales. Reconocemos las transformaciones sociales centradas en el cambio personal y el papel desempenado por la comunicacion mediada por Internet, para revelar disputas entre iniciativas comunitarias que sugieren alternativas a lo que es la norma en el contexto social neoliberal de Chile, promoviendo formas de reinvencion del individuo, la comunidad y...

Desde mediados del siglo XIX, la noción de movimiento social fue asociada a la estructura de clases y a la conflictividad pública. A partir de las décadas de 1960 en Europa y de 1980 en Latinoamérica, esta concepción comienza a ser cuestionada, debido al surgimiento de actores y demandas que privilegian aspectos valóricos o identitarios. Como consecuencia, la noción de movimiento social se amplió para abordar a colectivos orientados hacia la transformación de aspectos específicos de la vida cotidiana. Uno de los actores que se visibiliza durante esta mutación de la acción colectiva fue el movimiento ecologista. Parte de él, se imbricó con la tradición de las colonias utópicas del siglo XIX y de las comunas contraculturales de la década de 1960 para dar origen a distintos tipos de asentamientos que sostienen discursos a favor del medioambiente o de la sustentabilidad, tales como ecoaldeas y comunidades ecológicas, reunidos aquí, bajo la noción de Asentamientos pro-Sustentabilidad (Ap...

We use concepts from social practice theories to better understand how grassroots innovators recon- figure their daily practices and create ‘niches ofnew normalities’. Through a qualitative study of a specific grassroots organization e an ecovillage in Brazil e we explore the local dynamics of development and normalization of innovative social practices. We describe the role of meanings, materials and compe- tences in the reconfiguration of practices, and explain how the normalization of sustainable social practices in the ecovillage creates new social norms that encourage members to adopt them and, in turn, engender new circuits of reproduction. We argue for the importance of social norms as a ‘structural’ element influencing the emergence, maintenance, and development of social practices.

В статье рассматривается самая распространённая разновидность российских экопоселений – поселения родовых поместий (ПРП), или анастасийские. Представляется, что уровень успешности отдельно взятого ПРП зависит, прежде всего, от сплочённости жителей и их укоренённости в нем, которая, в свою очередь, подразумевает высокую долю зимующих, их финансовую обеспеченность, налаженность быта и уверенность в закреплённости за собой прав на землю. К факторам, определяющим сплочённость и укоренённость, автор, опираясь на полевые материалы, относит а) число живущих в поселении семей (чем их больше, тем сложнее им договориться между собой); б) возраст поселения (от него зависят отношения между жителями и их общий настрой); в) расположение относительно крупных городов (в непосредственной близости укорененность обычно невысока, но растет по мере удаления от города, затем падает и, наконец, растёт уже в труднодоступной местности); г) специфику управления (из управленческих решений наибольшее влияние имеют правила приёма новичков и решение об оформлении земли – на жителей или на специально созданное юридическое лицо).

The paper considers the most widespread type of Russian eco-settlements – kin’s domain (or Anastasian) settlements (KDS). The author claims that the success rate of every separate KDS depends primarily on the settlers’ cohesion and their rootedness, which implies a high proportion of permanent settlers (including during the winter season); their financial security; well-organized household; and confidence in obtaining and maintaining legal title to the land. Based on field research, the author identifies the following factors that determine the degree of the settlers’ cohesion and rootedness: a) the number of residing families (the higher the number, the more difficult it may be for them to find common ground); b) the age of the settlement (this influences the relations between the residents, as well as their general sentiment); c) the distance to large towns (rootedness is generally low in the proximity of large towns; however, as the distance increases, rootedness tends first to grow, then drop, and finally grow again in remote places; and d) governance (the most important administrative decisions concern the policy on admitting newcomers and the decision on who will hold title to the land — the settlers themselves or a special purpose legal entity).

Фердинанд Тённис в своей фундаментальной работе «Общность и общество» еще в конце XIX в. предсказывал появление на исходе общественной эры новых общностей, из которых впоследствии может развиться новая культура. Сегодня, возможно, мы наблюдаем за зарождением таких общностей в форме самоизолирующихся локальных сообществ (экопоселения, идейные и религиозные общи-ны, поселения родовых поместий и др.). Причем в России сложилась уникальная, не предвиденная Тённисом ситуация — сосуществование в одной стране и даже в од-ной этноконфессиональной среде новых локальных общностей и еще не полностью исчезнувших старых — пространственно изолированных локальных сообществ (труднодоступные, отрезанные от «большой земли» села). В статье на основе выделенных черт общности проводится сравнение пространственно изолированных и самоизолирующихся локальных сообществ (на примере самой распространенной в России их разновидности — поселений родовых поместий) с идеальной тённисов-ской общностью. Автор приходит к выводу, что пространственно изолированные локальные сообщества пока ближе к идеальной общности, что, по крайне мере частично, объясняется тем, что поселения родовых поместий еще находятся на стадии становления и выросли из общества и несут некоторые его черты. При этом уже сейчас общностное преобладает в поселениях родовых поместий над общественным, и движение в сторону идеальной общности продолжается. Тем не менее, новые общности останутся качественно иными связанностями, нежели старые. Мате-риалы собраны методами глубинного интервью и наблюдения с элементами включенного наблюдения в труднодоступных селах и поселениях родовых поместий.

In his seminal work «Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft », Ferdinand Tönnies back in the late nineteenth century already predicted that the end of the gesellschaft era will be marked by the appearance of new gemeinschafts, which may give birth to a new culture. Nowadays, we may be witnessing the emergence of such gemeinschaft s in the form of self-isolated local communities (ecovillages, intentional and religious communities, kin’s domain settlements, etc.). The situation in Russia is unique and unforeseen by Tönnies — new local gemeinschafts coexist in the same country and even in the same ethno-religious environment with the remaining old ones — territorially isolated local communities
(remote hard-to-reach villages). Based on the identified features of a gemeinschaft , the article compares territorially isolated and self-isolated local communities (on the example of the so-called kin’s domain settlements — its most widespread variety in Russia) with an
ideal gemeinschaft . The author concludes that territorially isolated communities are closer to an ideal gemeinschaft. This can be partly explained by the fact that kin’s domain settlements are still at the initial stage of their development. They grew out of the gesellschaft
and bear some of its traits. And even now, gemeinschaft features in kin’s domain settlements are prevailing over the gesellschaft ones as evolution towards an ideal gemeinschaft continues. Nevertheless, new gemeinschafts will remain qualitatively different social ties as
compared to the old ones. The data were collected in remote villages and kin’s domain settlements using such methods as in-depth interviews and observations with elements of participant observation.

At the end of the last century Anastasia, the heroine of the "Ringing Cedars of Russia" book series inspired people to create family homesteads in the form of Kin's domains which has turned out into national movement with more than 400 eco-communities of Kin's domains developing now in Russia.

A Kin's domain is a piece of land at least 1 hectare (2.5 acres) in size owned and developed by an individual or a family who prefer living their lives in nature, off the grid, to the hustle and bustle of city life. They provide a sustainable way of living which also helps improve the quality of our planet.
Why one hectare? Because this is a sufficient minimum amount of land sizable enough to sustain the basic life-long and multi-generational needs of each family or domain settler. This is an amount of land that can be stewarded sustainably by the efforts of an individual or family, without becoming too difficult to manage and that can be managed without the need for heavy industrial agricultural machinery or harmful chemicals and fertilizers or pesticides and without the need for reliance on declining fossils fuels.

Each Kin's Domain is created with the specific goal of being a self sufficient area that can support all the basic human needs of the owner including life-long food production, shelter and water supply. Each domain is designed with the specific intent of surrounding the home by a supportive natural eco-system that will additionally support the domain owner by providing the clean air created by oxygen producing plant life, creation of forest land for the optional use of timber for seasonal home heating needs etc and a wide variety of other plant life with a focus on edible perennials as well as plants that can be grown for medicinal purposes.

Each domain settler or family owns their own land. It is not owned by the community. The reason for this is so that they can fully invest in the beautifying of the land by restoring natural systems and commit to making a lifetime long-term investment, first in the initial restoration of the land followed by the lifelong stewardship of their land plot which can then remain in the family and be passed on to successive generations.

A Kin's Domain differs from the eco-village or commune model where each individual is dependent on the collective always functioning and properly working together to meet the basic needs of all its individuals especially in matters of food production. On a Kin Domain each family/settler's goal is to become self sufficient, to stand on their own, with the surrounding domains creating a strong supportive network and community.
Of course, there is a great need for working together in a Kin community, and this vital work must begin before even a single person builds their own unique domain. Much forethought and planning is needed. In each village of Kin's Domains there will most likely be land that is shared by the collective community. This shared land could include such areas as:

* a shared lake or large body of water, * a school, * a community meeting centre, * community agricultural lands or pasture, * a visitor’s centre, * forest lands, * riverside, * roadway access,  and more....
Read more: https://ecominded.net/russian-family-homesteads

Вскоре после распада Советского Союза в России, с опозданием на 25–30 лет, начало формироваться экопоселенческое движение, весьма разнородное по многим признакам (идеология, управление сообществом, образ жизни и др.). Наиболее активные предста-вители объединялись в сообщества и создавали в сельской местности поселения, нахо-дящиеся в разной степени изоляции от современного общества. Процесс ускорился на рубеже тысячелетий, что было вызвано выходом книги Владимира Мегре «Анастасия» (1996), первой в серии «Звенящие кедры России». Анастасийские поселения, так назы-ваемые поселения родовых поместий, быстро стали самым распространенным видом экопоселений в России. Тем не менее со стороны научного сообщества им по-прежнему уделяется крайне мало внимания. Статья посвящена социальной структуре поселений ро-довых поместий, которые рассматриваются на фоне всего экопоселенческого движения в России. Работа основывается на материалах полевых исследований, проведенных автором в 2012–2015 годах в девяти экопоселениях в европейской части России и на Урале. В ка-честве основных методов исследования применялись глубинные интервью и наблюдение (в том числе с элементами включенного наблюдения). Особое внимание уделено составу населения, моделям жизнеобеспечения сообществ, источникам дохода, самоорганизации, управлению сообществами, взаимоотношениям с местной и государственной властью, а также с жителями окрестных сел. Выявлены коренные отличия сообществ экопоселений от традиционных сельских сообществ (про-исхождение жителей, образование, средний возраст, количество детей в семье, размер усадеб, методы ведения хозяйства и др.).