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Contributors to The Great Debate
Jonathan Dawson
Jonathan Dawson is a sustainability educator, author and consultant.
Recent president of the
Global Ecovillage Network,
Jonathan is principal author of the sustainable economy curriculum
that forms part of the
Gaia Education programme
that has been endorsed by UNESCO as a valuable contribution to its
UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
This curriculum is taught at universities and ecovillages on every
continent. Jonathan is widely published on issues relating to
sustainable economy and was part of the team that created the
Findhorn community currency, the Eko.
When not working as an advisor to the UN on small enterprise
projects in East Africa, he is a story-teller, gardener and chef.
Jonathan Dawson was on the panel of
What is Sustainable Culture? and
Limits to Imagination as part of
The Green
Phoenix debate programme
in August 2010.
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Jonathan's comments on
The Green
Phoenix Festival debate and talk programme:
“A really stimulating event that asked the participants to dig deep, to question
their deepest assumptions and to think outside of the box – all in an atmosphere
of relaxed conviviality.
“Festivals of ideas are something we need more of – thanks for showing the way.”
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Books by Jonathan Dawson
Ecovillages: New Frontiers for Sustainability (Schumacher Briefings)
by Jonathan Dawson
In the last twenty years ecovillages - local communities which
aim to minimise their ecological impact but maximise human
wellbeing and happiness - have been springing up all over the
world. They incorporate a wealth of radical ideas and approaches
which can be traced back to Schumacher, Gandhi, the 1960s,
and the alternative education movement.
This briefing describes the history and potential of the
ecovillage movement, including the evolution of the
Global Ecovillage Network and the current developments in both
North and South. The threads that are brought together in
"Ecovillages" include: learning from the best elements
in traditional and indigenous cultures; Alternative economy:
community banks and currencies, and voluntary simplicity;
Designing with nature: using permaculture design, eco-building,
small-scale energy generation, waste-management,
low-impact transport systems, etc.; organic, locally-based
food production and processing; reviving small-scale
participatory governance, conflict facilitation and social
inclusion as well as reviving active inter-generational community;
and creating a culture of peace, and holistic, whole person education.
In an age of diminishing oil supplies, the briefing examines the
lessons that we can learn from ecovillages to show us how to live
in a more ecologically sound and sustainable way.
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Publications
Ecovillages:
New Frontiers for Sustainability,
Schumacher Briefing 12, Green Books, 2006
Ecovillages and the Transformation of Values for Sustainability,
Worldwatch Institute State of the World Report, 2010
The Permaculture Of Pensions: making savings work for people
and planet, Resurgence 236, 2006
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