The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) was founded on October 18, 1995 at the Findhorn Community, Scotland by two dozen ecovillagers and academics from around the world. The occasion was the first international conference on the subject, entitled, “Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities.” The purpose of this new organisation was to link together intentional communities, typically from 50 to 300 members each, that were becoming an inspiration for many people around the world, and whose vision was of a more sustainable, just and spiritual world—such as Damanhur in Italy, Findhorn in Scotland, and Auroville in India. It was all about adopting a strategy for lasting change – a more modest life-style, living in community and leading by example.
The butterfly became the logo of GEN as a result of a very special incident at that Findhorn conference. Ross Jackson was presenting the GEN concept to the conference, illustrating this phenomenon with the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. An analogy of the founders’ vision of the transformation of the planet from an exploitative civilization to a beautiful, flowering society, with the islands of ecovillages around the world corresponding to the imaginal cells of the chrysalis as they linked together and formed the foundation of something entirely new. Just at that point, a butterfly landed on Ross’ overhead projector to the great amusement of the audience—an amazing synchronicity. It felt almost as if GEN had support from the Universe. The next day, at the founding meeting of GEN, one of the members sketched a picture of a butterfly superimposed on a photo of the Earth from space, and after some refinements, this became the GEN logo, a powerful symbol of transformation.
The ecovillage movement evolved out of the co-housing movement, which began around 1970 in Denmark. Co-housing was basically a social movement responding to the needs of many young couples at the time, typically involving 30 or so families living in small intentional communities with private homes but also with a common house, no hedges, open spaces, shared resources and peripheral parking, ideal for raising children. The concept spread around the world in the 1970s and 1980s. In early 1990, the broader concept of ecovillages added to co-housing’s social dimension the ecological, economic and cultural dimensions. It too had its roots in Denmark at a historic international meeting at Fjordvang, in Thy, North-Western Denmark in September, 1991, at the home of Ross and Hildur Jackson. This was where the name “ecovillage” was coined and the idea of GEN conceived and adopted.
Today, after 30 years of ” the Butterfly Effect” GEN has grown considerably, with five autonomous global regions ( Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Asia/Oceania), a coordinating international office in Scotland and soon Ireland, and about 100 national networks around the world, including thousands of ecovillages. GEN estimates that there are about 10,000 ecovillages worldwide (not all are members of GEN) and about 500,000 persons are currently living in intentional communities. GEN is a living example of how citizens of all religions, cultures and ethnicities can work together harmoniously with the same basic values as if it they were one large family. GEN is now working on a project to establish a United Nations recognized “Global Ecovillage Day” on GEN’s birthday, October 18, with the sponsorship of the Danish government and the support of other governments sympathetic to GEN’s vision for humanity.
Duemosegaard 