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Bringing ecovillage design to Rainforest Aboriginal communities

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Wet Tropics Management Authority (WTMA) held the Rainforest Aboriginal People’s Forum, 23-25 July 2021 where Jumbun representatives, Nicole Huxley, Uncle Abe and Aunty Phyllis attended. Jumbun were invited to not only attend the conference but also to have a stall to share about their work to transition to a regenerative resilient community and to showcase the ecovillage design framework and cards.

Nicole printed stand up banners with all the areas of regeneration and principles and displayed the GEN Ecovillage Cards packs at the table, and facilitated many conversations about ecovillage transition and design at the conference, with other rainforest Aboriginal communities, NGOs and government bodies.

Nicole is stepping up as a GEN Ambassador and hopes to facilitate ecovillage workshops with other Aboriginal communities in Queensland. Together with GEN Australia, she hopes that many more indigenous communities can transition to be regenerative communities, becoming self-reliant and creating abundant pathways for future generations.

Uncle Abe, Aunty Phyllis and Nicole Huxley at the WTMA Rainforest Aboriginal People’s Forum

Journey to Jumbun and Murray Falls

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A small team from GEN Australia travelled to up to far north Queensland in June 2021, to visit Jumbun Community and to facilitate a 3-day ecovillage workshop for Jumbun community members, their stakeholders and surrounding Indigenous communities.

3-day ecovillage workshop, held at the Murray Falls National Park near Jumbun Community

We explored the ecovillage framework and 32 principles of social, ecological, culture and economy, integrating into whole systems design, which helps to create pathways to transition to being a thriving community. We had space not only to learn about a design system that aligns with indigenous culture and values, but also to hear Jumbun’s story from the eyes of elders, to listen to each other and the current issues we are facing and how we can address them collaboratively into the future. An important aspect that became visible is that Jumbun is rich in land and culture and the possibilities to regenerate their community are vast. 

The Jumbun elders and GEN Australia team also visited the local school, Murray River Upper State School before the workshop, so the elders could engage the children and form stronger bonds with them. The elders shared openly and lovingly, their knowledge and wisdom with the children, of tree and plant species that have both medicinal values and are and have been bush tucker for many generations before. 

Jumbun Elders, Aunty Phyllis & Uncle Abe with children from Murray River Upper State School

We had the opportunity to have a representative from Permayouth, a youth-led network and the founder of AI.AM Naturals, an ecological and ethical enterprise making home and self care products, hold mini-workshops with the students and teachers from Murray River Upper State School at the Murray Falls National Park, where the workshop was held, a few kilometers away from the Jumbun community.

Maia Raymond sharing about Permayouth & Sion Zivetz doing a soap making demonstration

Next steps & broadening outreach

Through this workshop, many opportunities have emerged for Jumbun and the network. A few key projects have emerged from the process and Jumbun, GEN Australia, Permayouth and other stakeholders are exploring the next steps and are co-designing the initiatives.

The ecovillage design framework is a broad design system that can be applied to any type of community, as it is diverse yet easily adapted to any local context or country. The framework and design principles have been distilled over 25 years from thousands of communities (intentional, traditional and indigenous) worldwide and are constantly informed by the people and communities who choose to use it as a guiding tool. The approach we take in the workshop is interactive, yet intimate, sitting in circle, listening and sharing stories, while allowing the space also to connect to the broader global systems and issues and the state of the world. 

GEN Australia uses a set of ecovillage cards (areas of regeneration and principles) and mat that are laid out on the floor so you can see the principles (words and pictures) and reflect on how that relates to our community. Jumbun is currently in discussion with GEN Australia about developing a project to adapt the cards with pictures and words that could be more relatable to Aboriginal communities.

If other Aboriginal communities are able to step into ownership of their pathways to self-reliance and sustainability, the opportunities for peer-to-peer exchange, knowledge transfer and collaborative work grows immensely. 

We will share more stories like this as our connection and relationship deepens with Jumbun and other indigenous communities in Australia

Ecovillage Design Intro

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The GEN Australia team organised and facilitated a 1-day workshop at the Quaker House in Brisbane on 17 July 2021. A group of 20 participants came together from various disciplines, representing different new and emerging communities and organisations, with enthusiasm and openness for collaboration and learning and cross-pollination.

The facilitators, Shane Sylvanspring and JJ Blake, use the GEN Ecovillage Design Cards, to take participants on a journey through the ecovillage principles and shared how these principles could be used to enhance their projects and communities. The workshop also introduced the Global Ecovillage Network, the movement and the ecovillages on the ground, as well as tips and guidelines on how to start ecovillages and navigate and set up appropriate legal and financial systems.

Sharing hearts at Renew Fest

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The Renew Fest was a beautiful space set at Mullumbimby Showgrounds, 7-9 May 2021. It was a relaxed family atmosphere with hundreds of people from near and far buzzing with excitement to meet each other but also with concerns about the multiple crises, such as the affordable housing and bushfire, we are currently facing here in Australia.

Our small team, Shane Sylvanspring, Trudy Juriansz and Sion Zivetz, set up an information stall so we could share about ecovillages and the movement both in Australia and globally. We displayed the ecovillage design cards and shared stories and insights from communities and community led projects. We were also joined by familiar faces from the GEN network who are ecovillagers themselves, have done GEN education programs or are ecovillage advocates.

Some key insights that came for some of us was about processing conflict in our own communities, how to deal with different levels of conflict and how to create a safety net for people dealing with conflict in communities.Judy Atkinson shared trauma stories from indigenous and non-indigenous people and creating safe space and the need to learn how to create safe spaces. 

I was so excited to run the stall and chat with people but it was also tiring as I had to also take care of my daughter, Maia. The one session I was only able to attend fully was on anti-racism by Erfan Daliri. For a person of colour, an immigrant to Australia and someone who has been affected by racism at various points in my life, I was immensely touched and felt very vulnerable.  If nothing else, this was cutting edge for me – to have the conversation so openly on race/ethnicity in this type of space.  I truly appreciated that this piece was held at the festival.  It reminded me that the heart of ecovillage is culture – looking at the dominant worldview and understanding how and why we have come to be here. And how might we rethink and reshift these structures so we can embrace each other fully. 

GEN Australia co-hosts regional ecovillage gathering at Currumbin Ecovillage, 23-25 Nov 2018

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REGIONAL SE QLD AND NTH NSW INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY AND ECOVILLAGE GATHERING

23-25th November 2018, The Ecovillage at Currumbin, QLD

An amazing opportunity for people already within intentional communities, landsharing communities and ecovillages to come together to discuss, laugh and connect with each other. With a rich timetable and hosted by Currumbin Ecovillage, this weekend will delve into many aspects of living in community and ecovillage design.