Ecovillage In-depth

Anna Kovasna

Workshop holder

Anna leads GEN’s work on resilience, supporting ecovillages to scale community-led ways of navigating polycrisis in solidarity and service to life. She is the creator of the Community Resilience Tracker, and previously co-developed key GEN frameworks like the Ecovillage Design Cards and Impact Assessment. Anna is trustee of Transition Network and Gaia Education, and co-founder of Kincentric Leadership, an organisation placing kinship with all life at the heart of resilience and transformation

Workshop title

Resilient Ecovillage Design

Join this participatory exploration of ecovillage resilience. Together, we will explore attibutes and principles of nurturing social and ecological resilience, and how these can translate to community practice. We’ll ground and resource ourselves before using a map developed together with leading reserchers and ecovillages around the world to look at what communities can do, and are doing, to be more resilient to the escalating effects of ecological and social unravelling. I hope y a sense of how you and your community can keep working for your vision – while navigating disruption, and weaving resilience around you in widening circles.

Dara Casey

Workshop holder

After traveling the world for over 8 years, visiting many communities, eco-projects, jungles and mountains, Dara is now living in the south of France, tending the forest garden in the school of regenerative culture Catfarm Education. As well as teaching about regenerative agriculture, herbalism, and natural building Dara is passionate about social movements, and is looking forward to co-creating ways of bringing about a regenerative transformation to modern society.

Workshop title

GEN in the Context of Global Movements
for Radical Transformation

This workshop aims to create a space to talk about the ecovillage movement in the context of other allied movements around the world.

The ecovillage movement is emerging as a response to the diverse set of crises of the modern world. In other parts of the world people have been developing their own responses to these same challenges. Understanding them helps us to better contextualise and understand our own movement.

Two such movements are the Zapatistas in Mexico and Moviemento Sem Terra in Brazil. What can we learn from these movements? What strategies and tactics have they developed for community led social transformation, and could they be useful for the ecovillage movement?

Juliana Valverde

Workshop holder

Beatriz Arruda and Juliana Valverde are Brazilian architects and researchers engaged in sustainability, regenerative cultures, and ecovillage education. They are active in the research circles of CASA Brasil and CASA Latina. Beatriz is a PhD student focused on Zero Waste in ecovillages. Juliana is a postdoc at UFRJ whose work explores ambience and community life. Together, they bridge academic research and grassroots practices across Latin America.

Workshop title

The role of collective living spaces in Brazilian ecovillage design

This workshop shares insights from a doctoral research on how collective living spaces in Brazilian ecovillages support regenerative ways of life. Stories and examples from two communities are combined with a current map showing the diversity of ecovillages across the country. Participants will be invited to reflect on how architectural choices, especially shared spaces, can nurture community connection, care for nature, and regenerative culture, and how lessons from the Brazilian context might inspire their own territories.

Maksym Zalevskyi

Workshop holder

I am a regenerative community builder, eco-activist, and Master of Practical Ecology and Permaculture. As president of GEN Ukraine, I initiated the creation of ecohubs, bikeworkshops, nature reserves, and regenerative climate ecocenters. I build partnerships within Ukraine and internationally to promote resilient communities, regenerative living, and the integration of Web3 and ReFi tools in ecovillage development.

Workshop title

Growing Hope: How Ukrainian Ecovillages Respond to Crisis and Cultivate Community Strength

Ukrainian ecovillages have become hubs of resilience during the war — offering shelter, rebuilding ecosystems, and cultivating grassroots economies. In this workshop, I will share real-world practices of regenerative community building, including creating ecohubs, nature reserves, and climate ecocenters. Together, we will explore how crisis can become a catalyst for regeneration, mutual support, and the rise of local ecosystems.

Sergey Dmitriev

Workshop holder

12 years in the high-tech industries (Siemens, DELL), including cooperation between industry and universities (co-founder of program Game|Changers with Education Engineering Days co-hosted by Aalto University in Helsinki). 10 years of living/researching in ecovillages in post-Soviet countries, Northern Europe, and the Balkan Region. Now he works on starting Symbiocenic Environments, the framework for long-term cooperation between ecovillages, universities, and nature-protected areas.

Workshop title

Ecovillages and Universities: Achievements and Perspectives in Collaboration. How to Start Cooperation for Your Ecovillage.

Together with GEN Research members, we will observe ‘small’ activities and large cooperative projects like Ecoprise, where universities play a significant role and how to become partners with academia.
Intro Session + Panel Discussion (first day)
Joint Projects Generator (the next day)
Our experts:
Ana Margarida Esteves, University Institute of Lisbon, a co-founder of “Interface: A journal for and about social movements”. She collaborates with ECOLISE.
Judit Farkas, University of Pécs, Research Center for Contemporary Challenges. She researches movements and ecovillages.
Dr. Anne-Kathrin Schwab, Universities of Siegen and Vechta. She researches post-growth society and life-serving economy.

Taisa Mattos

Workshop holder

Taisa Mattos – Gaia Education Face-to-Face Programmes Coordinator & Gaia Schools Coordinator – is passionate about ecovillages and regenerative education. With 16 years of experience teaching Ecovillage Design Education (EDE), she has contributed to over 30 certified EDEs in Brazil, Portugal, Mozambique, Argentina and online. Lead facilitator for Gaia Education's Training of Trainers in Mexico. Co-founder of Terra Una Ecovillage. Author of Ecovillages: Building a Regenerative Culture.

Workshop title

Looking Back & Forth
– Fish Bowl with Ecovillage Elders

In celebration of Gaia Education’s 20th and GEN’s 30th anniversaries, this interactive session invites you to engage with movement elders. Reflect on the early years, hear their insights, explore the evolution and the key topics shaping the future of the ecovillage movement. With: Ross Jackson, Daniel Greenberg, Lucilla Borio, Macaco Tamerice and more! Facilitated by Taisa Mattos & Sally Bogale.
Questions to be explored:
How did it all begin? What have been some of the major milestones, highlights, and challenges along the way? What are the main contributions and lasting impacts of the ecovillage movement? How is the movement evolving? What is your hope for the next 30 years?

“The variety of workshops was incredible. Every day brought something new to learn, experience, and reflect upon. I felt both challenged and inspired.”
Participant of the Gathering 2024