Bergen Ecovillage Bergen kologiske Landsby BL Talk held

Bergen Ecovillage Bergen Økologiske Landsby BØL Talk held 25 th September during the visit by representatives from Eco Info Centrum Ostrava, Czech Republic 29. 10. 2020 Bergen Økologiske Landsby 2008

Bergen Ecovillage • Today: A (small) community, gathering regularly to do things related to sustainable development • Tomorrow: A (large, human-scale) community living together in an ecovillage near Bergen 29. 10. 2020 Bergen Økologiske Landsby 2008

Bergen Ecovillage • Founded 1. March 2005 • Mission: To build the first ecovillage in the Bergen-region 29. 10. 2020 Bergen Økologiske Landsby 2008

Bergen Ecovillage: Highlights • • • Start: Early 2004 Summer 2004: Trip (excursion) to Denmark, visiting ecovillages and almostecovillages Autumn 2004: A first draft of a project description March 2005: Foundation March 2005: Kick-off seminar (with designers and architects antd others) Spring 2006: BØL organizes certifying course in permaculture 2006/2007: Organic farming at Bolstad (east of Bergen): vegetables, potatoes, herb-spiral 2006/2007: Farmers marked, once a month: Selling own-made flat-bread, vegetables etc. , information activity Spring 2007: BØL organizes the annual national permaculture gathering (1 week-end) 2007: People Care: adopted by BØL as a useful concept 2008: A decent web-page is up and going 2008: A strategy for how to escalate activity on all sectors - in the making 29. 10. 2020 Bergen Økologiske Landsby 2008

Bergen Ecovillage: ”Experiences” • 2004: Meetings. The need for an explicit structure ( Foundation) • 2005: Assessment of the Hovland gård estate (200 daa, 30 km south of Bergen) • 2005: Assessment of the Løvås estate (40 daa, 6 km south of Bergen) • 2006: Assessment of the Olav Bjordalsv. 20 estate (house, 1000 sqm), 25 km north of Bergen • 2007: Assessment of a smaller farm (some 100 daa, n. of Bergen) • Ongoing: Assessment of a large farm 25 km n of Bergen, 400 daa 29. 10. 2020 Bergen Økologiske Landsby 2008

What is an ecovillage? human-scale 100 -1000 people: all able to know each other + influence full-featured settlement residence, food provision, manufacture, leisure, social life, commerce human activities harmlessly integrated into the natural world all cyclic (energy, food, “waste”), ban on toxic materials in a way that is supportive of healthy human development and can be successfully continued into the indefinite future. physical, emotional, mental, spiritual; also at community level. Network with other ecovillages 29. 10. 2020 Bergen Økologiske Landsby 2008

Bergen Ecovillage: Status • About 100 sympathizers: occasional supporters/ future eco-villagers • About 4 co-ordinators organizing activities for members and non-members • Competence in design, lobbying and community building • A high standing on the local political stage and in the Permaculture community in Norway (1 board member) • A web page, fairly useful for internal communication and information to the outside • A good network with architects and some other specialists • Several activities going on, attracting various people 29. 10. 2020 Bergen Økologiske Landsby 2008

The Ecovillage: Challenges • • • • The bio-system challenge (preserve natural habitats on the village land, produce food, wood, and other bio-resources on site) The built-environment challenge (use renewable energy sources, have a minimal need for motorized transport) The economic system challenge What are our resources (human, material, skills, economic) and to what time? What are sustainable economic activities? Common vs. private ownership? Buildings vs. land How to reduce both expenses and environmental impact? Business organization and alternatives and/or supplements to the money economy The governance challenge Conflict resolution and decision making. Decision enforcement. Leader-ship Relation to the outside? The "glue" challenge Common values, behaviors, or practices. Do we have a vision? How do we evolve it? Interpersonal closenes and its development. Relation to others /”strangers”. • • The whole-system challenge To grasp the need for change in all areas of life, and the time needed for that process. How to avoid too big stress on financial resources, emotional resources, and interpersonal relationships. to get an honest sense of the scope of the undertaking allowing the community to develop at a sustainable pace. • Sustainability is not just a characteristic of the "completed" community; it needs to be part of the thinking and the habits of the group from the very beginning. 29. 10. 2020 Bergen Økologiske Landsby 2008

Bergen Ecovillage: Plans, near-term • Phase 1: Investigation and design – Become 5 -7 co-ordinators – Learn more on community building – Make a more detailed project plan: Emphasize organization, housing design, financiation – Make new brochure and fine-tuning of the web-page – Stay informed and prepared wrt. localization opportunities in Bergen – Keep up skill attaining activities, also to attract new people • Phase 2: Implementation – – Active promotion: become a community of committed villagers Fund raising Preliminar presentable plans Preliminar lobbying; extend our network • At the moment (Oct 2008) we are in phase 1 29. 10. 2020 Bergen Økologiske Landsby 2008

29. 10. 2020 Bergen Økologiske Landsby 2008