EDE Report: SHE-EDE
The She-Ede was a World Premiere program. A four weeks journey that had the objective to empower women, raise awareness and create future resilient communities inside the Ecovillage Design Education Model. Bringing together experience in ecovillage design, matriarchal societies, feminine wisdom, activism, community building and healing circles, a diversity of facilitatresses coming from Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Portugal and Italy created a new format of EDE – responding to the worldwide need of mutual female support and empowerment.
EDE Report: Avnø Højskole, Denmark
Avnø Højskole is an integral part of the aspiring ecovillage, Avnø Oasis, which, in addition to the school, is in the process of developing several other projects including a cohousing community and green entrepreneurship since 2020. This multi-dimensional framework provides a profound learning environment in conscious and active interaction with people who are committed to being part of Earth's regeneration.
EDE Report: Sainte Camelle, France
The EDE adventure continued in France for the second successive year!
In October 2022, 25 participants gathered in the ecovillage Sainte-Camelle to explore community living and a regenerative lifestyle – a deep, transformative, joyful and rich experience, at the heart of Life!
As an EDE team, we took this opportunity for a second edition to strengthen the foundations of the program in a French context and to take further steps towards enriching this transformative experience aiming for a regenerative culture.
EDE Reports: Schloss Tonndorf
Tonndorf 2022
This Ecovillage Design Education was a 3-week residential training for 27 participants that took place in the picturesque Schloss Tonndorf ecovillage, located in and around a castle in the German state of Thuringia. It was the first EDE taking place in the community. The EDE was conceived, planned, organized and facilitated by an international team of trainers (Ana Armano Linta, Katja Štemberger, Mieke Elzenga, Thomas Meier, Veljko Armano Linta), in liaison with GEN Germany and the host community, whose member Thomas Meier was one of the ecovillage founders, Mieke Elzenga was the founder of the Liberterra community in the Netherlands and Veljko Armano Linta is a Gaia Education certified trainer.
EDE Reports: Estonia
Estonia 2020
Gaia Academy is an education institution for holistic worldview and ways of life. Gaia Academy is part of Estonian Ecovillage Association and both are working together to contribute for sustainable development education. Gaia Academy offers different courses for adults, main course being the EDE.
Gaia Academy’s EDE courses are organized in close cooperation with Small Footprint and other communities in Estonia.
As our modules are held in different places around Estonia, it allows more possibility for participants to join from different parts as well. Every year, each course is different whereas the age differs from youth (ca 25 y.o.) to rather experienced people (age ca 60 years). It enriches the course as youth have new perspectives and older ones their wise experience.
EDE Reports: Netherlands
Netherlands 2020
EDE 2020 was organised by Gaia Nederland and Algoed Estate and supported by Gaia Education, with the team of Monica and Henk Petter and Hugo Schönberck of Gaia Nederland as experienced organisers and Angelien Hoppen was Algoed Estate’s liaison to the EDE group.
This year’s host site, the Algoed Estate is situated near Enschede, in the east of the Netherlands, close to the German border. Having been in operation as a social project for more than twenty years, the Algoed farm combines a number of buildings, a camping site, several food and permaculture gardens, meadows and some forest land totalling nearly 50,000 sqm.
EDE Reports: Wandelreise
Germany 2020
Wandelreise is a holistic lifelong learning place, they develop practical and sustainable answers to the global challenges of our time. This open learning workshop is embedded in a community that lives permanently on site.
EDE Report: Schloss Glarisegg
Switzerland 2020
The Glarisegg community on the Swiss side of Lake Constance has been in existence since 2003. Glarisegg includes a free school, a permaculture garden, a seminar center with a guesthouse and campsite and offers amazing vegetarian and vegan food.
This year, for the third year in a row, the four-week Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) programme was hosted at Schloss Glarisegg. With the four dimensions of social, worldview, ecology and economy, participants learnt how to create, develop and maintain eco villages and eco projects. 36 participants from 16 different countries were welcomed
Switzerland 2016
The focus of the EDE in a Swiss castle was to provide the possibility to connect to the field of Deep Ecology and Democracy while building an inclusive community.
EDE Report: Altea
Spain 2018
In May 2018, a group of facilitators conducted an introductory 4-day course for educators in Altea, Valencia in Spain. The course dealt with the themes and practices of forest therapy, reconnecting with nature, forest schools, and human development through different tools, such as the social dimension of the Gaia Education curriculum.
EDE Report: Findhorn Foundation College
Scotland 2018
In 2018 many of the participants were themselves Educators. EDE is promoted as a course for beginner to intermediate participants, however, in part due to the Gaia Education trainer track we had some participants who had completed the GEDs and the TOT and in other cases we had people who were already quite advanced in their knowledge relating to the EDE Wheel of Sustainability.
Scotland 2016
An engaged and diverse group of individuals shared a life changing experience. Local cultural events enriched the time together: local ceilidhs, concerts in the Universal Hall, the Samhain celebrations and bonfire, as well as activities organised from within the group such as evening bonfires and excursions to see Scottish beauty spots, by land and sea, including visits to Inverness and the Clava Cairns, and a west coast train trip to an area for a mountain walk.
EDE Reports: Damanhur
Italy 2022
This year we managed to run the 11th edition of the EDE at Damanhur, organized by the NGO Damanhur Education APS, in partnership with Gaia Education. the Global Ecovillage Network and Arca Tentyris APS, despite the small number of participants.
Italy 2021
It took us two years to be able to run the 10th edition of the EDE at Damanhur, organized by the NGO Damanhur Education APS, in partnership with Gaia Education. the Global Ecovillage Network and Arca Tentyris APS, as in 2020 we had to cancel the course because of the Covid situation. So we are even more happy that this year the EDE took place.
Italy 2019
We are so happy that this year, we held the 7th EDE in Damanhur, organized by the non-profit organization Damanhur Education APS, in partnership with Gaia Education and the Global Ecovillage Network.
Download the final report here
Italy 2017
The 2017 EDE in Damanhur Report, organized by the non-profit organization Damanhur Education APS, in partnership with Gaia Education and the Global Ecovillage Network.
Italy 2016
This year we held the sixth EDE in Damanhur, organized by the non-profit organization Damanhur Education, in partnership with Gaia Education and the Global Ecovillage Network.
Italy 2015
The theme of Damanhur’s EDE was the search for a different way of life, finding new models of society, based on cooperation amongst human beings and also between humans and nature.
Italy 2014
This year’s EDE was Damanhur’s third EDE, organized by the Non-profit Association “Damanhur Education”, in partnership with “Gaia Education” and the “Global Ecovillage Network”. Founded in 1975, Damanhur is an ecosociety of about 1000 citizens: a federation of communities and ecovillages with their own social and political structure in continual evolution in the north of Italy in the foothills of the Alps, 40km from Turin.
Italy 2013
This year’s EDE was Damanhur’s third EDE, organized by the Non-profit Association “Damanhur Education”, in partnership with “Gaia Education” and the “Global Ecovillage Network”. Founded in 1975, Damanhur is an ecosociety of about 1000 citizens: a federation of communities and ecovillages with their own social and political structure in continual evolution in the north of Italy in the foothills of the Alps, 40km from Turin.
Italy 2012
Damanhur’s 2012 EDE was the second to be run in Italy. Founded in 1975, the Federation of Damanhur is an eco-society of about 1000 citizens: a federation of communities and eco-villages with their own social and political structure in continual evolution in the north of Italy in the foothills of the Alps, 40km from Turin.
EDE Report: Azores
Portugal 2012
The EDE Azores took place on São Miguel island in Portugal, an island where plants grow verdantly out of the volcanic soil, where the air is fresh and clean, where people live naturally in community and the ocean is alive with dolphins and whales. Our course was located in Sanguinho - a tiny village usually reached by foot through a steep trail winding past Kahili ginger flowers, junipers, banana trees, Japanese cryptomerias, ginkgo biloba and acacia trees. Our course took 5 weeks and it had 21 participants - 14 women and 7 men - who were between 17 and 48 years old and were coming from Portugal, many European countries, South & North America, Israel, and New Zealand.
What is an EDE (Ecovillage Design Education programme)?
Ecovillage Design Education programmes, often referred to as ‘EDEs’, take place in 50 countries in settings ranging from tribal and traditional communities to intentional ecovillages, from urban slums to universities and training centres. The duration of these programmes are around 125 hours over a full month, although this may vary slightly depending on where and when they are taken. The EDEs provide participants of all ages with the knowledge and practical skills to design a society which uses energy and materials with greater efficiency, distributes wealth fairly and strives to eliminate the concept of waste.
How to run an EDE
Several of our EDE graduates have carried on organising EDE programmes in their local areas, and you are warmly encouraged to do so after completing your course.
The recommended time frame of an EDE is four weeks, however this is not fixed and varies with each individual programme.
The material can be condensed into smaller workshops, spread out over a longer period, or distributed in blocks at different times and locations.
