Design for Sustainability
Economic Design -
Week 2
Saturday 20 - 26 October, 2012
Facilitated by Jonathan Dawson
Shifting
the Global Economy Towards Sustainability
The urgent need is to make the shift from the current
situation where ecology is a subset of economy,
to one in which economy is a subset of ecology.
Topics include:
How the current
economic system has evolved
What impacts it has on people, communities and the
Earth
How we can make it more just, equitable, resilient
and sustainable
Ecological footprints
An exploration of despair, anger and hope in the
face of current realities
Visioning of a more just, equitable, resilient and
sustainable global economy
Transitional paths towards a new global economy
How Money Works: Community Banks and Currencies
Far from being a neutral lubricator of economic
activity, the way that money currently works is
a major driver of our unsustainable, growth-dependent
economies. We will explore how money currently works
and how to make it our servant rather than our master.
Topics include:
Exploration
of how money works and the various impacts of the
current monetary system
Exploration of how money systems (global and local)
could be reformed to encourage greater equity and
sustainability
Theory and practice of community and alternative
currencies
Exposure to Findhorn's community currency and bank
Examples of thriving community economies from around
the worlld
How
Money Works: Community Banks and Currencies
Far from being a neutral lubricator of economic
activity, the way that money currently works is
a major driver of our unsustainable, growth-dependent
economies. We will explore how money currently works
and how to make it our servant rather than our master.
Topics include:
Exploration
of how money works and the various impacts of the
current monetary system
Exploration of how money systems (global and local)
could be reformed to encourage greater equity and
sustainability
Theory and practice of community and alternative
currencies
Exposure to Findhorn's community currency and bank
Examples of thriving community economies from around
the world
Right Livelihood
An exploration of the values underlying our economic
activities and decisions; of the ways in which individual
and community quality-of-life can be unhooked from
material consumption; and of how values-based choices
can help us move towards more satisfying and sustainable
lifestyles.
Topics include:
Voluntary simplicity
and sustainable abundance
Sustainable contraction
Alternative well-being indicators
Exploration of alternative ways of considering ‘wealth’
other than financial income
Exposure to community members who have chosen to
downsize and simplify their lives Exploration of
participants' skills and values and of possible
paths to increasing right livelihood
Social Enterprise
Social enterprises have as their principal aim
not the maximising of profit but the delivery of
social and/or environmental benefits that will enrich
the communities in which they are based.
Topics include:
Exploration
of how we can use enterprises to meet many of our
communities social and environmental needs
Review of existing social enterprises in ecovillages
around the world
Reflection on the creation of social enterprises
with guidance on how this can be achieved
Legal and Financial Issues
"While these questions may seem technical,
their answers reflect your community's basic values
. . . Does this legal entity inherently support
your community's vision, mission and values? Does
it support your ownership, financing and decision-making
structure?" - Diana Leafe Christian
A review of the various legal, ownership and financial
options available both for ecovillages and social
enterprises within them.
Topics include:
Overview of
financial and legal issues to be taken into consideration
when launching and managing social enterprises and
ecovillages
Feasibility studies
Business plans
Different forms of capital, their uses and how to
raise them
Creating abundance visualisation
The Gaia Education Design for Sustainability has been
introduced to complement, correspond with, and assist
in setting a standard for the United Nations' Decade
of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014.
Jonathan Dawson is Head of Economics at Schumacher College in Devon, England. He is the principal author of the Gaia Education sustainable economy curriculum, drawn from best practice within ecovillages worldwide, that has been adopted by UNESCO as a valuable contribution to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. A recent president of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), he has over twenty years experience as a consultant, researcher, author and project manager in the field of community economic development in Africa.
Findhorn's
EDE course teaches holistically - from the heart
and the head. The different facilitators taught
from a place of optimism and love of their work.
I was inspired by the other participants as much
as from the wonderful teachers. I left the EDE month-long
course with a huge number of new skills, new friends
around the globe, and most importantly, a sense
that a more gaia-centered civilisation is not only
possible, but is happening already. I am honored
to have been a part of such a rich programme and
to help spread the word.
Miranda Loud, Rialto Art Inc, USA
For
me, the month I spent at Findhorn for the EDE was
incredibly powerful. Well-taught, empowering, motivating,
it gave me a wide array of tools facts, excercises,
rhetoric, personal empowerment, process and practice
to take the message of sustainable living out into
the world. Gandhi said Be the change you want to
see in the world, I feel that having completed the
EDE I really can.
Annie Palone
Training fees
Income related price for the first four weeks (Modules 1-4)
£1735 payable by participants with low
income
£1925 payable by participants with medium
income
£2395 payable by participants with high
income
£495/£545/£695 per module according to income
£495/£545/£695 for Facilitation Skills module - Week 5
Fees include tuition, accommodation, vegetarian
meals and field trips.
Please complete
the Application
Form and Enrolment Questionnaire
Enquiries by e-mail: admin@findhorncollege.org
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