Pillars of the Movement
Each of these following pillars has an important part to play within the W.S.N. Below are the landmark pillars, as I see those that formulate the network.
Intentional communities
The website directory Fellowship for Intentional Communities (FIC) establishes intentional communities as “pioneers in sustainable living, personal and cultural transformation, and peaceful social evolution.” According to FIC, people come together in intentional communities based on explicit common values. Often people intentionally live together to share lifestyles and/or religions, split living costs, support each other in building movements/businesses, etc. Although not all communities practice systems thinking deliberately, there seems to be a commonality that all of these groups face. When causes and issues are recognized in community, the members begin to use systems thinking to find solutions. Intentional communities serve as “laboratories” in the network, allowing us to experiment with alternative ways of living.
Ecovillages
A sub-sector of intentional communities is ecovillages. According to the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) website, “An ecovillage is an intentional or traditional community using local participatory processes to holistically integrate ecological, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of sustainability in order to regenerate social and natural environments.” According to the book Ecovillage: 1001 ways to heal the planet, ecovillage directories include international traditional villages that “take their future into their own hands.” GEN has considered over 4000 tribal villages to be part of their network, which allows for a global and diverse range of interests in the movement.
Structures established in these eco communities have been known to drastically remediate their surroundings from dilapidated flooded areas into fertile, water storing lands. Many of these villages are physically isolated from their surrounding region but interconnected via stewardship and support of the community.
Oftentimes, they utilize many acres of land for large food production, timber growing, orchards, livestock, and/or other local business endeavors. Community members in ecovillages seek out renewable energy sources, food processing technologies, and/or efficient natural / sustainable housing. They often barter and exchange services. Also, they practice alternative forms of governance like consensus decision-making (See Ch.4 sec. “Decision Making” below). Ecovillages can be a great representation of how people can live in an ideal future that is interconnected, regenerative, and sustainable. In the network, I see ecovillages serving as hubs that experiment with self-reliance and resilience techniques more heavily than the other pillars.
Permaculture
Permaculture is interwove with the other pillars within this networking platform. Bill Mollison and David Holmgren are considered the “fathers of permaculture.” They have incorporated ancient, sustainable and ecological practices developed around the globe to create a permanent culture for future generations. In the book The Permaculture Designer’s Manual, Mollison covers ethics and practices for tangible use. His partner, Holmgren wrote the book Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability to identify and explain the principles. The ethics highlight the importance of community and the desire to live harmoniously with the Earth.
Unfortunately there is an underlying perception that alludes to permaculture as being a white dominated movement. Although the fathers of permaculture are two white males, some core tenants of the permaculture movement have been drawn from observations and practices devised by many cultures around the world. An example of a core tenant, I learned from a presentation at Goddard with Leah Penniman, that has been adopted is the theory of regenerative agriculture, which was established by an African American man, George Washington Carver, in the beginning of the 20th century. Another helpful and diverse source that is current is from permaculturist Pandora Thomas, who has a talk on YouTube called “Social Permaculture: The Magic of Diversity” The talk is important for permaculturists because it emphasizes the need to practice permaculture on a social level and not just physically. Practicing permaculture ethics can be applicable when creating business structures, community ground rules, and other social interactions.
Because permaculture is an ideology, as well as a set of practices, I see it serving in the network as a guideline for a set of techniques and processes that can be applied to permaculture farms, permaculture communities, ecovillages, and movements like Transition Towns.
Transition Towns
The Transition Movement, which consists of settlements referred to as “Transition Towns,” is targeted towards urban / suburban dwellers. Its mission is to apply sustainability and resiliency within a small city or “village.” The movement was named by Rob Hopkins, a professor who taught permaculture at universities in the UK. The ideology of permaculture and community inspired the Transitioners. Their motive is to combat the looming issues of peak oil and climate change. Transition Towns are known to “regreen” their cities by planting rooftop gardens on all capable roofs, creating an abundance of community gardens and farmer’s markets, planting food forests, raising livestock and implementing tool-sharing centers, all within their city limits. There have also been a few similar, parallel movements, such as the Cooperation Jackson in Mississippi. They are a sustainable urban initiative based on the premise of replacing “the current socioeconomic system of exploitation, exclusion and the destruction of the environment” especially for “black and latino communities”. In the W.S.N, transition towns operate as urban ecovillages. They act as a vehicle for our society to transform into regenerative whole system communities by introducing techniques, practices, and ways of living developed in the other pillars and incorporating them into cities.
When describing the practices and thinking about the potential within these pillars, I’ve come to see this Whole Systems Network as an emergent response to our planetary crisis. Through supplying basic needs, supporting resilient communities, and providing new ways of thinking, it is my hope that these types of organizations will serve as a platform that facilitates a brighter future for some of humanity
About the Author:
Chloe Buzzotta – Director of Whole Systems Network
Since early adulthood I have been on the journey of environmental stewardship. What are the most ethical and just ways to harmonize our planet, humans, and animals? I have worked with different sectors in the environmental field from Greenpeace to Global Ecovillage Network. My current self-journey is building a livelihood that can support the my passion of healing our planet and empowering others.