The United Nations named the village a model of sustainable development. Gabriel Garcia Marquez has called founder Paolo Lugari the "inventor of the world." An example of the ‘Blue Economy’; self-sufficiency on a local scale.
Links to video films and descriptions of what goes on there.
Senegalese eco-village in Africa. An agricultural commune founded in 1933 by a group of French people.
Still actively working for social and environmental change.
Since 2009 it has been a commune. To find out more, check out their website.
Link to the website of, and a film about, La’Akea Permaculture Farm on Big Island, Hawaii. They host permaculture courses and conferences in an amazing setting of lush forests and volcanoes.
It’s a small community group with equal co-ownership of the land.
Links to their website and a short video.
The Burgers factory building in Eindhoven, Netherlands, was squatted originally in 1990.
Now, the HertogStaat Foundation aims to create and maintain affordable living and workshops for starting entrepreneurs, artisans and artists. Includes events and happenings.
A lively community of residents and creators.
Homeschooling: A site that explores some of the practicalities of de-schooling and home-schooling.
A nice simple title for a big idea. This portal site is an on-line ‘Enquire Within’. Lots of good links to articles on hippies, alternative culture, plus lots of ‘straight’ stuff.
The site claims that: ‘It is an open community of passionate people — writers, explorers, knowledge seekers, conversation starters. Interacting and informing. Sharing words, pictures and videos. Asking questions. Finding answers. It’s a rich and rewarding experience with a unique set of tools and resources to help Hubbers find and build an audience, easily create articles, and earn all sorts of rewards, from accolades to ad revenue. Over 24 million people explore the site every month.’
You have to join to fully explore the contents. Here are a links to a couple of samples. You can see how they are sorted into categories and sub-categories.
The UK has a small, but interesting, ‘hutting’ movement particularly focused on Carbeth to the north of Glasgow in Scotland and Humberston in Lincolnshire. ‘Huts’ are sort of garden houses in rural areas – a home from home. They started out as somewhere for poorer people in urban areas to build and then experience their personal slice of country life.There’s a lot of them called ‘tuin’ houses in the Netherlands, especially around Amsterdam.
There’s a current Reforesting Scotland movement to achieve a new total of 1,000 huts and changes in planning regulations. Here are links to a couple of hub sites. Fascinating stuff!
This café and gallery is a pretty neat space, place run by creative people.
The Ideas Block offers a place for displaying art works, putting on shows and even encourages artists and creators to apply for ‘artist in residence’ places. It is located in the fairly alternative area of Vilnius near the bus and railway stations.
This cultural, business and education platform in Aarhus was founded in 2009. It was established by Bureau Detours. The Institut (X) say:
“It is an independent and not-for-profit culture association arising from citizen initiatives.
The (X) is continuously redefined by the members of the platform, which include:
250 + active members
90 studios & workshops
50 businesses
25 associations
The outdoor spaces and park areas are public and we invite everyone to use and co-produce them.”
Austrian radical thinker, perhaps best known for his concept of ‘deschooling society’. These links provide an introduction to his ideas and writings. Very influential in radical education and ecology circles. “An astronomer of humanity.” The second is an interview in French from 1972 with English subtitles.