TECH & CRAFTS STREAM WORKSHOPS

Piggott wind turbines in Los Portales ecovillage

Presentation
Day One: July 14 2026
The presentation will talk about the “Piggott” small wind turbine, as a low technology solution for producing and consuming renewable energy in a remote area ecovillage. These technology has been designed by Hugh Piggott a recognized worldwide expert, with more than 30 years experience, living in Scotland. We will share the 10 years experience of Los Portales, where 2 wind turbines have been built and installed and show many photos of the building process and installation. This open source technology has proven itself it is a reliable, efficient, simple and robust system. It requires regular maintenance that can be done ourselves.

MARIE-LAURE BRUNEL

Los Portales

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Workshop-holder Bio

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Marie-Laure used to be a trainer of self-building wind turbine, Piggott technology, with the French association Tripalium. She has more than 10 years experience in renewable energy, and is passionated by low-technologies, as a sustainable solution. She has worked 2 years in Senegal to implement a local company of these wind turbines. Then she lived 5 years in Los Portales ecovillages, where the community has implemented 2 wind turbines with her, in addition of solar panels.

PAUL BARTLETT &
CLEO MIEULET

Research Institute for
Sustainability (RIFS) at
GFZ Potsdam DE

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Workshop-holder Bio

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Paul Bartlett & Cléo Mieulet are Fellows and Alum at RIFS, a transdisciplinary transformative co-creative Research Institute. Paul is an environmental scientist & ecological economist who works on pollution prevention and with contaminated communities, often indigenous and teaches at CUNY..

Cléo is a Franco-German community organiser, degrowth advocate & resilience specialist. She develops participatory projects and campaigns that promote ecological, social and economic transformations.

 
 

 

 

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Repair Cooperatives as Community Technology

Presentation
Day Two: July 15 2026
Repair is more than fixing broken objects. It can become a practical infrastructure for resilience, circular economy and community learning. In this session, we explore repair cooperatives and circular community hubs as examples of community technology: places where tools, skills, knowledge and social relations come together. Drawing on the experience of Kreisler in Berlin and research on cooperative practices in Germany and France, we will discuss how practitioners and researchers can collaborate to strengthen local repair cultures. Participants will be invited to develop first ideas for their own practitioner research or repair-based community projects.

Natural Plastering with Clay and Lime

Hands-on Workshop
Day Two: July 15 2026

Join us for a hands-on introduction to clay plastering using natural materials. Come mix up a batch of clay, sand, and straw, slap it onto a wall, and discover just how satisfying natural building can be. We’ll work through a full two-layer plaster from scratch, and while our hands are busy, we’ll dig into the theory behind it: the science behind the mix, the surfaces that work, and the long tradition of people building beautiful things from nothing but earth and wate

TUDOR TESCOVEANU

Nascut din Tarana

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Workshop-holder Bio

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Architect by training, builder by experience. Living in an earthbag hoise that i am building in a romanian forest.

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ULRICH JUNG
ULRIKE SCHIMMEL
& JOSIANE SCHMIDT

Nature Community, Sieben Linden,
& HouseEurope!

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Workshop-holder Bio
  • Pronouns (he/him)
    Ulrich Jung is an architect and
    energy and sustainable building consultant
    who has been living in Nature Community for 10 years.

Repurposing Buildings for Community Led Housing

Presentation
Day Three: July 16 2026
Two ecovillages, two approaches: Nature Community shares their experience repurposing existing buildings, while Sieben Linden presents their bioconstruction practice using natural materials. The session also features an online presentation from HouseEurope!, introducing their European Citizens’ Initiative Power to Renovation: a campaign to make building renovation a right across Europe. Three inspiring examples of communities shaping their own housing future.

Handspinning: A Traditional Textile Art

Hands-on Workshop
Day Three: July 16 2026
This hands-on workshop will teach participants to spin wool from ethically raised sheep in the German/Austrian alpine region using simple, affordable tools. This direct experience will allow you to reconnect with a traditional essential material that clothes and warms us, learning foundational skills while engaging with the gift of wool in a meaningful and responsible way. Embracing imperfection, the workshop offers participants a way to deepen their relationship with the place of this year’s Gathering and empower themselves with traditional handcraft knowledge.

KATHERINE LACLAIR

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Workshop-holder Bio

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I am a biologist and self-taught handspinner, knitter, and textile artist working with regional wool. My skills span the full process from raw fleece to finished yarn, and I have co-taught hands-on spinning workshops. My work is rooted in reconnecting with land and the more-than-human world, alongside a deep interest in traditional European plant knowledge and training as a medicinal herbalist.

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EMIN DURAK

Samarbetet

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Workshop-holder Bio

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I'm an open source software developer with years of experience building software. Previously I've worked for several different companies in Stockholm, and then founded a software called Cocoso and Librella: a book-lending app.

Apart from these we've been building Samarbetet (utilizing Cocoso), a federated network of local initiatives in Sweden. Samarbetet enables its members to cooperatively share their resources, publish activities and leverage community building & collective learning.

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Cocoso: An Open Source Tool for Community Cooperation

Presentation
Day Four: July 17 2026
Cocoso is a set of tools to create a public website, as well as an intranet to keep track of all organization practicalities in one place. It meets the generic needs between having a productivity tool such as for booking resources, a public website that is accessible world-wide, and social media that helps community members to find and get to know each other.

Cocoso It can also used to create large, federated community networks that are composed of local initiatives.

"I love to be among people who seriously believe that a new world is possible. At the gatherings, I meet the passion of young people and the thoughtfulness of elders who have thought deeply about how it is possible and why it is difficult."
2025 Gathering Participant