Facing Mexico’s zero-waste challenge
The work of civil organizations and citizen efforts as a driving force towards a zero waste economy
Love & Waste Aboard a Bus Called Home
In reference to the Vietnam War and President Nixon’s “Pentagon Papers,” whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, decried: “They hear it, they learn from it, they understand it, and they proceed to ignore it.” Both my personal and professional lives focus on how we can re-interpret “information” in order to embody our interdependencies. How can we learn to […]
The Parable of the Three Burglars
Erik Assadourian is a writer who describes himself as a “sustainability researcher, ecophilosopher, servant of Gaia, and father of one.” A characteristically zen description for someone who, as a Senior Fellow at the now-dormant Worldwatch Institute and founder of The Gaian Way, has been trying to come to terms with the collapse that is unfolding […]
Esperanza Project at a Crossroads
This year The Esperanza Project will celebrate nine years of life – nine years of bringing inspiration and hope to the work of environmental and indigenous rights journalism. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, and poised to take our work to the next level. Please read on to see our highlights, our exciting plans for […]
8 ways you can help build hope in 2018
Feeling a little hopeless about the state of the world today? It’s understandable. Most of the news you see these days doesn’t inspire a lot of optimism. But there are a lot of positive trends and uplifting initiatives that are putting us on the path to a better world. How can we nurture and grow […]
From Death Squads to the Web of Life
By Tracy L. Barnett For Global Sisters Report In February 2017, while researching the impact of hydroelectric dams on the rivers and rural communities of Panama, I happened across Melinda Roper, a Catholic sister who had played a part in history as the leader of the Maryknolls at the time the four American churchwomen were […]
Translating Transition: New book shares experiences of Spain and Latin America
By Tracy L. Barnett For Magis Magazine Rob Hopkins is one face of the Transition movement, but there are many more. In the Spanish-speaking world and particularly in Spain one of those faces is Juan Del Rio. Del Rio, author of a new book in Spanish on the movement of transition, La Guía del Movimiento de Transición (February […]
Other names, other colors: Transition, Latino style
Above: Transition Network founder Rob Hopkins, left, grants an interview to Raul Velez at the train station in Totnes, England, birthplace of the Transition movement. (Raul Velez photo) By Tracy L. Barnett For Magis Magazine One of the early Transition Town initiatives was launched in Ensenada, Baja California, by an American expat, Robert Frey. Frey went to […]
Rob Hopkins, Transition and the Power of Just Doing Stuff
By Tracy L. Barnett For Magis Magazine Once there lived a permaculturist, far from the city on an old Irish farm. Together with his wife and four children they had nearly finished creating the house of their dreams, a house of cob in a grassy ecovillage with an organic farm. By day he taught permaculture […]
‘The Seeds of the Future, Interconnecting’
FINDHORN, Scotland — It was a meeting of the minds that won’t soon be forgotten in permaculture and ecovillage circles. The Global Ecovillage Network 20th Anniversary Summit (GEN + 20) brought approximately 400 participants from 70 countries co-create a temporary weeklong global community, illustrating through its example the pillars of sustainability: to live together, work […]
Living with the Land: Animal-Free Farming
Phil Moore and Lauren Simpson Permaculture People Editor’s note: We are very happy to share with you the sixth short film, Animal-Free Farming, in Lauren and Phil’s new documentary film series Living with the Land for Permaculture Magazine. A pioneer in plant-based agriculture, Iain Tolhurst has been a practising organic vegetable producer since 1976. Specialising in a […]
Living with the Land: Natural Building
Phil Moore and Lauren Simpson Permaculture People Editor’s note: We are very happy to share with you the second short film, Natural Building, in Lauren and Phil’s new series Living with the Land for Permaculture Magazine. Natural buildings are an ancient tradition with a modern appeal. Creating healthy, beautiful homes from natural materials such as earth, […]
Igniting regeneration. A Latin American Permaculture Convergence in Colombia
Story and photos by Ivan Kuxan Suum Ancient Futures Lead photo by Adrian Felipe Pera The recent Latin American Permaculture Convergence (or CLAP ) was held from the 15th to the 21st of June in Varsana Ecovillage south of Bogota, Colombia. For five consecutive days the different open-air and indoor spaces of the host community hosted a buzzing […]
GEN+20-Day 1: Healing to create something worth living for
Photos by Leila DreggerReporting from GEN+20(Global Ecovillage Network 20-Year Anniversary Summit) FINDHORN, Scotland — One of the world’s oldest ecovillages, this legendary community is host of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN)’s 20th anniversary Summit. Founded 52 years ago, it is a modern spiritual and educational campus on multiple acres in the northern tip of Scotland, United […]
El Llamado de Quetzalcoatl: Materializando la Visión
Por Tracy L. Barnett Traducido por Angélica Narákuri TEMICTLA, México – Si alguna vez hubo duda de que Quetzalcóatl vive, esa duda fue disipada en una luminosa, húmeda y brillante semana en el corazón de México. Aquí en Temictla, un valle sagrado, una pequeña ecoaldea y un centro de retiro espiritual en el borde de […]
Común Tierra: A journey through sustainable communities of the Americas
Editor’s note: In November of 2010, as I was winding down my journey through the Americas, documenting sustainability initiatives in the 10 countries I visited, my path crossed with that of Ryan Luckey and Leticia Rigatti, the couple who make up Común Tierra. They were doing exactly what I had wanted to do but ran […]
Bienvenidos a CASA! Bem-vindos a CASA! Welcome HOME!
CASA is the Council of Sustainable Settlements of the Americas, a network of projects that are working towards sustainability in diverse countries of Latin America. Sustainable Settlements are: EcoVillages, EcoNeighborhoods, EcoTowns, Transition Towns, Nomadic Ecological Project (EcoCaravans), Permaculture Centers, Organic Farms, Collectives, Networks, Cooperatives. Projects who are creating a regenerative and sustainable culture through the […]
Call of Quetzalcoatl: Materializing the Vision
TEMICTLA, Mexico – If there were ever any doubt that Quetzalcoatl lives, that doubt was dispelled in one moist, glistening, luminous week in the heart of Mexico. Here in Temictla, a sacred valley, a tiny ecovillage and spiritual retreat center on the edge of Chalmita, a pilgrimage destination to millions of people of diverse traditions, […]
Meet Anna and Dave, the Permacyclists
Meet Dave and Anna, the Permacyclists. She was a corporate lawyer from Brussels; he was a sociologist from New York. Neither of them was happy with their chosen profession, and after a great deal of soul searching, they decided to do what many dream of but few actually do: They quit their jobs, studied permaculture, […]
MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Thanksgiving day – I awoke this morning far from home and family but filled with a profound sense of gratitude. Grateful for the sun that was just beginning to brighten the sky outside my window; grateful for the dear friends who have given me a home in this city of cities. […]
It's not enough to be biodegradeable...
Life in Guadalajara is not so different from life in Houston. Sometimes, only the language is different. My friend Alicia, like me, struggles to remember to bring the cloth shopping bags when she goes to the supermarket. This day, she remembered. Here’s a little reminder she likes to keep handy: “It’s not enough to be […]
(Deejay Pilot-istockphoto) Somewhere to the south of us, an indigenous farmer is raising his voice against the eradication of ancient seed stocks by corporate interests. An army of volunteer gardeners is sowing a food security system on rooftops, patios and abandoned lots. A tribe in the Amazon is using Google Earth to give virtual tours […]
Today I will follow in the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway, Che Guevara and Celia Cruz to the irrepressible rhythm of the Cuban son – emanating from Cuban human beings, not my CD collection or a cover band in downtown Houston. Far from the Bayou City, I’ll savor the sunset breezes on the Malecón, the famous […]
Greening the barrios in Mexico City
Saving your garbage is a tough sell in a place where gardening is seen as peasant labor. But that doesn’t stop Dulce María Vega from rolling up her sleeves, going door-to-door and recruiting her neighbors for a grand mission. Dulce is the friendly face of sustainability in her neighborhood. With more than 30,000 residents, Lomas […]
Mexico City Ecological Park: A wilderness restored
Dahlias were first cultivated here by the Aztecs. This could be any other forest on the outskirts of any other city, I think to myself as the path curves through a grassy field, past a burst of orange sunflowers and into the shade of a mossy oak grove. Then Guadalupe stops and gestures for us […]
Roads Less Traveled hits the Houston Green Scene
I’m excited to announce some new collaborations that will be taking Roads Less Traveled to a greater audience and in a greener direction. Channel 39’s Going Green With Yolanda Green, Houston’s only TV program dedicated to sustainability, is now featuring my blog on its website, www.39online.com. Going Green is an exciting initiative in itself, with […]
Hundreds of miles of coastline stretch from Galveston to the Coastal Bend. I’d always wanted to explore that stretch in between where the Colorado River meets the sea. But aside from a state park on an island that is no longer accessible, nobody I spoke to could say much about what I might find there. […]
My last trip was planned around a special event organized by San Antonio expressive arts facilitator and playwright Dianne Monroe. “I know it’s a long drive, but I’d really like for you to be there,” she told me the last time we met. Now when Dianne organizes an event, I always want to be there. […]
Previous page Next page