Augustusplatz 10, 04109 Leipzig
Sehliser Str. 31, 04425 Taucha
The course "Mental Infrastructures and Degrowth Transformation" will take place in Leipzig from September 2nd to September 11th. It is built around the IV. International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity (http://leipzig.degrowth.org/en/).
Image by TZA: "Brain"
The participants will first take part in the conference and get an all over impression of the degrowth debate. After the conference the GROWL participants will meet as a group to focus on the question of mental infrastructures.
Mental infrastructures are a persons unconsciously internalized psychological, social and cultural settings. At the moment these models are strongly shaped by a growth-oriented pattern which affects also our actions and daily habits and help keeping us from building a sustainable society. But if social and ecological transformation is very closely linked to a transformation of our mental infrastructures – how do we deal with these? Can we „change“ mental infrastructures? And how?
In the course we want to adress this topic from different perspectives. We will theoretically discuss infrastructures of growth and where they come from. And we will try to reflect our own mental models actively and experiment with their convertibility by offering a variety of experience-based workshops.
For details on the program of the course and its respective workshops, see pdf-files below.
Fees and Accomodation:
Costs for participation are limited to the attendance fees of the degrowth conference (see: https://register.degrowth.org/). Unfortunately, we cannot cover travel expenses of German participants. Participants from Austria, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, Czech Republic and France may contact our GROWL partners for the coverage of their travel expenses. Other international participants may contact us in order to check out individual solutions.
Regarding accomodation, we have arranged that all participants may stay together on the campground, which is accessible through your conference participation. Please choose the camping option during the registration process for the Degrowth-conference. Unfortunately we cannot cover the fees for your stay on the campground. If you feel uncomfortable staying on the campground for any reason, please let us know to check out other options. During the four day working period in Sehlis after the conference, we will provide accomodation in the respective educational facilities.
Please register until July 31st, 2014: http://degrowth.co-munity.net/growl/courses-registration
Further questions? Write us!
Christoph Maria Sanders
A course by:
Transition Seminar House, Brückenstrasse 20
University Park, Steinstrasse, Witzenhausen
Jugendburg Ludwigstein, Witzenhausen
In this course we will explore the power of community and ways of community building, via different methologies and experiences, as well as from the evalution from already ongoing (transition) projects in a small town in Germany, Witzenhausen, which suffers from big debt payments. The goal of our course is, to develop creative ways of thinking, being and doing, so that instead of scarcity the „Buen Vivir“ comes in full power in our communities.
We start from the „I narrative“, explore our (gender) roles and our body (language), then shift to the next level, and explore ourselves within the generational context, and different ways of living constructs. We explore historical and also critical aspects of community building. In the next step we will go to the community level (village, small town, barrio) and explore aspects around city development and civil participation on a theoretical as well as academic level, as well as hands-on projects which already run in Witzenhausen and evalute them in the context of degrowth discourse and the level of sucess for community building.
The course will be taken place on the Jugendburg Ludwigstein, which is a very interesting historic place, and has a strong link to community building, as the "Wandervögel", a reformist youth movement in the early twenties of the last century bought it and started to restore it.
The second part takes place in the center of the city in the „Transition House“ from Transition Town. The central point of the course will be a yurt in a public part. There will be a lively exchange between the course participants, inhabitants of Witzenhausen and students of the organic agriculture faculty with an rich cultural programm.
Further information and materials at the course community space
Narmur and Bruxelles, Belgium
The Belgian course “Social dimension of agroecology – City and countryside” will take place in Brussels and Namur in November 11-16.
The Belgian course is builded in two parts:
- The first three days 11-13/11 will take place in a ecovillage called “la ferme de Wevy-Weron” on the countryside where the participants will be part of the life of the 40 inhabitants living there (Old farmhouse + Self-made woodhouses + Houses in the trees +… . This experience will be an opportunity to meet the people, to see their activities (gardening, agriculture, raising goats, bio-food distribution, bakery …) and how they organize the life together.
- The three last days 14-16/11 will happen in Brussels around city commun and shared garden and other agroecological experiences open to people with disabilities or social difficulties (children in risk, homeless people, eldery etc.)
The focus of the course is:
- Transmission of an eco-village experience and sharing with other existing experiences
- Transmission of agroecological experiences with people with disabilities or social difficulties
- Reflection and training about socio-economical degrowth context
- Exercices about training the trainers on those subjects and experiences
Preliminary Course programme:
Tuesday 11 : 4:00 p.m. home in Namur ( Farm Vevy – Wéron Wépion )
Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 – Training in Namur
Friday 14 and Saturday 15: Training in Brussels
Sunday 16 : return – departure
TUESDAY 11 /11: Home , meals and first debate around the issue of degrowth with local actors
WEDNESDAY 12 /11:
- AM : Degrowth Module 3 – 4 hours
- PM : Visit Vevy – Wéron farm – theme : social dimension rethink its way of living in community, sharing, place in society …
- Late PM : Meeting at a festive meal with the residents of the farm and village
- Methodology of the day : deductive approach ,starting with the course and illustrated on the field.
THURSDAY 13 /11:
- AM : Social Dimension part 1 : “agroecology in the everyday life”.
- PM : Meeting of market gardeners and goatherds and other artisans of the farm and the village : how can we live decently declining fashion : the countryside – agroecology
- Provide social theory module Dimension 1: during build in advance : make a proposal, a theoretical basis (syllabus on line ) that will be revisited , completed … that is kept or not , what is changes , what we should add … the syllabus . Three stages: 1 syllabus starting 2 methodology fieldwork , 3 debriefing with amendments , criticism, suggestions for improvement , that we retired to the training of trainers . (before – during – after the seminar ) .
- Methodology of the day : deductive approach ,starting with the course and illustrated on the field.
FRIDAY 14 /11:
- AM : Social Dimension Part 2 : Social institutions (disability, homeless, … )
- PM : Visit of ” Nos Pilifs” : 4-5 Pilifs professionals that tell their Pilifs point of view : their role in social integration and agroecology ? Perhaps than , “Le debut des haricots” (early beens)
- Methodology of the day : inductive dimension from the field , in situ reflection with professionals.
SATURDAY 15/ 11:
- Europe Day : meeting and personalities involved in the agro- ecological approaches European associations.
- Meeting in Brussels transition groups (Etterbeek in transition, transition St- Gilles , Brussels center , … )
- Methodology of the day : inductive dimension from the field , in situ reflection with professionals.
- Festive Evening
SUNDAY 16 /11: A last breakfast (or brunch ) in common and sweet time for good- bye … and free scheduling of the departures
Course in organised by: HEB
Bogoria Górna, Poland
Resilient food production and distribution.
Bogoria Górna, Poland, March, 18-22, 2015.
Bogoria Górna is a small village in the Mazovia region. We will work there with the Transformacja Foundation which is a group of ecologists starting a new permaculture farm.
Wednesday the 18th of March from the morning until afternoon we will organize meetings at Warsaw food initiatives counting that you will be arriving the whole morning.
The place:
The place of the course is about an hour from Warsaw by train (that we will take together at Warsaw Central Station around 4-5 p.m.to Łowicz, a nearby town) plus around 20 min by minibus that we will rent to take you all from the Łowicz station to Bogoria. Than on Sunday at noon or not very early morning we will organize a collective transport from the place of the course to the Łowicz station where you can get the train to Warsaw and than the train home or any transport to the Chopin airport or to Modlin airport.
The subject:
The subject of the course taking place in Poland is an alternative food production and distribution in the degrowth context. The course will address the following topics: a critique of industrial agriculture, an overview of possible alternatives such as local and organic production, cooperatives, Community Supported Agriculture, and a critical analysis of the functioning and results of these alternatives.
Aims of the course:
The participants will gain a basic knowledge about degrowth: the roots, theory and practices.
The participants will be able to relate the degrowth theory to a critique of industrial agriculture and alternative forms of food production and distribution.
The participants can name the fundamentals of a degrowth critique of industrial agriculture and the regional and international policies connected to it.
The participants can name basic degrowth arguments that support an alternative food production and distribution and related problems:
principles and social and economic aspects of cooperativism,
principles and social and economic aspects of agricultural production,
pros and cons of organic agriculture,
- pros and cons of local food production.
Methodology:
During the course we will use interactive learning methods in accordance with the degrowth principles of non-hierarchic structures, spirit of equality, democracy and participation.
The participants are an important source of knowledge and trainers should take advantage of that.
Resources and workshop methodologies that encourage linking alternative food production and distribution with a degrowth mindset.
The “head, heart and hands” approach combinig three types of experiences:
reflecting, analysing, discussing,
experiencing and expressing feeling to convert knowledge into something personal,
learning through practice together with communities practicing degrowth
- A continuous reflection on the process of learning.
Check the course community space for more infos.
Course in organised by: Kultury Swiata Foudation
- 65042 Aufrufe