Project Type: Energy

School of the Earth (SoE)

School of the Earth (SoE) was founded in 2009 in Greece with the aim to inform, educate, inspire and support people to redefine their needs and redesign their lives, for the transition to a regenerative future.

The SoE develops activities along the following streams:

  • Permaculture design and regenerative agriculture
  • Renewable energy and off grid systems
  • Climate crisis and nature based responses
  • Homesteading skills
  • Community building and cultural regeneration
  • Refugee support, vocational training and integration

Until 2013 SoE was an urban community centre, facilitating the transformation of physical and social spaces in Athens. It then moved to a small suburban farm and created a permaculture community centre and test site for researching and adapting different techniques to the Mediterranean climate. This was the first permaculture educational centre in Greece and serves as a focus point for the local network.

Over the years, SoE has:

  • Designed and established regenerative land-based projects and off grid renewable energy systems for farms, businesses, refugee settlements and remote communities – across Greece and abroad.
  • Organised 150 seminars and 80 long-term educational programs, with more than 7000 participants and supported students’ projects
  • Produced educational material and manuals
  • Worked with local grassroots initiatives around food sovereignty, energy and climate justice and organised related events, gatherings and festivals with more than 10,000 attendees
  • Introduced permaculture design and homesteading skills’ sharing into Greek refugee camps and promoted them as a tools for facilitating integration and developing entrepreneurial initiatives.
Photo: School of the Earth (SoE)

Fundo Abraço

Fundo Abraço is a project in São Paulo, Brazil. It works in three neighbourhoods: Vila Anglo, Jaraguá and Luz.

The city of São Paulo is one of the largest and most unequal in the world. It suffers from a range of socio-environmental problems that especially affect low-income families. Vila Anglo is characterized as a “pocket of poverty” in the midst of more wealthy housing. Issues include unemployment, hunger, organised crime, and evictions because families are unable to pay bills and rent. The Jaraguá and Luz neighbourhoods similarly face problems, with significant unemployment and low incomes.

Fundo Abraço’s solidarity fund and wider work seeks to reduce the cost of living, inequality and improve food security for low-income families. It distributes equipment such as ‘Fogão de Caixa’, a heat-retention cooker, and solar cookers. These can reduce the use of cooking gas by up to 75% – saving money and fossil fuels.

Fundo Abraço’s work is solidarity-oriented, so it invites beneficiary families to contribute a fraction of the savings made with our equipment, so it can distribute more equipment free of charge and collectively share its benefits.

In the future, it aims to work with a wider range of technologies that can:

  • Generate solar energy
  • Capture and treat greywater and rainwater for reuse
  • Heat water
  • Grow food.
Photo: Fundo Abraço

Mycorama

The idea for the Mycorama project emerged at a community group meeting at the ‘Re-Green Permaculture Farm and EcoCulture Centre’ in Seliána, Greece. Community members had gathered to discuss ways to support food sovereignty and diversify income streams.

The project’s work centres on “the infinite potential of fungi to restore our damaged earth systems, reduce animal suffering and support human health”. It perceives mushrooms to be the nutrient recyclers of our planet, which have a lot to teach us about regeneration and how to live in circles.

The project began by growing oyster and shiitake mushrooms on logs, and soon expanded to Lion’s Mane and Reishi. It is exploring opportunities mycelium provides for degrading plastic cigarette butts (a big pollution problem in the local area). It has also explored ways to create regenerative, fully circular products out of Reishi – so far, a lampshade prototype has been made.

Mycorama plans to:

  • Have a fit for purpose mycological lab with the right inoculation and growing equipment (within a year)- Invest in training and knowledge sharing with other citizen scientists in the field and grow the fungi culture and industry in Greece.
  • Further explore possibilities for full circularity through use of mycelium.
  • Explore opportunities for designing mycelium household products that could replace the fossil fuel-intensive plastic that is the norm in Greece.
  • Consider the potential of mushrooms as meat alternatives in Greece, where meat consumption per capita is the 5th highest in the world.

Transition US

Transition US was established in 2008 as the result of a collaboration between the UK-based Transition Network and the Post Carbon Institute in the US. Since then, its national network has grown to encompass more than 160 local initiatives, several regional hubs and five national working groups.

All of these (mostly volunteer-led) organisations are working hard every day to revitalize local food systems, strengthen local economies, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and unleash the collective genius to design and implement innovative solutions to some of the greatest challenges of the times.

Transition US provides support for these efforts by offering leadership trainings and webinars, facilitating networking and peer-to-peer learning, sharing replicable models, and developing key resources for grass-roots leaders.

The organisation follows the eight key principles that are common throughout the international Transition Movement. These include respect for resource limits, promotion of inclusivity and social justice, paying attention to balance and the fostering of creativity.

Photo: Transition US

SCOPE Uganda

In September 2014, several Ugandan organizations came together to form the Schools and Colleges Permaculture Program (SCOPE) Uganda. In doing so, they aimed to create a ‘common space’ that encouraged information sharing and collaboration between like-minded organisations.

It was hoped that Permaculture’s principles could be taught nationwide, better preparing Ugandans for the challenges presented by climate change.

In a nation where 70% of the population is under 25 and nearly 50% is under 14, it was clear that schools had to be the entry point into communities.

Now a network of 23 organizations, SCOPE Uganda works with schools to ensure youth gain the practical skills education needed to foster ecological, climate-smart and sustainable landscapes. Integrated land use design and Permaculture education is used to create food forests on previously barren school compounds. By targeting rural areas (as opposed to urban areas), its work directly supports areas that feel the burden of food insecurity more.

SCOPE Uganda has so far worked with 3766 youth and 159 teachers to create, maintain and monitor eleven Food Forests in seven different districts.

Photo: SCOPE Uganda

Cooperativa Integral Minga CRL

This integral cooperative was founded to reverse a process common to many rural Portuguese towns: population loss, the abandonment of agriculture and the decline of local commerce.

Located in Montemor-o-Novo (a small town in the south of Portugal), Minga is creating tools that support the development of local circular economies, whilst aiming to operate in all sectors needed for living: the production of goods, services, housing, health, education etc.

Minga has supported the creation of new businesses in different fields, including biocosmetics, ceramics, detergents, clothes and solar panel installations. It shares the administrative and management costs among its members and operates a financially sustainable shop that sells local products.

It promotes agro-ecological farming practices and helps to organize production and distribution channels for local farmers. It shares a space that acts as a venue for socio-cultural activities and operates an internal currency that facilitates the exchange of products and services between members.

Through its work, Minga promotes ‘degrowth’ principles that include: the deeper integration of humans in ecosystems, consuming less, reusing resources and sourcing locally, seasonally and slowly.

Photo: Cooperativa Integral Minga CRL

Future Rural Economic Empowerment (FREE)

FREE aims to address a triple threat to the dignity, livelihood and ecosystem of a community in South Africa through providing the three most essential basic needs: water, energy and healthful food.

This idea was born from personal experience and observation of their rural village, where people have to walk kilometres to collect buckets of water; where kids can’t study at night due to a lack of light; and where, although they have plentiful land, most people live in a food desert.

Every home should have a rainwater tank, a solar panel and a permaculture garden. FREE plans to foster a culture of self-sufficiency by setting up a local company of young apprentices who will be responsible for the installation and maintenance of these systems. Profit can be reinvested to repeat the cycle.

“In 5 years time, I imagine looking over my wall to the hillside – currently degraded by erosion and litter – turned into rows of abundant, green, fresh, healthy vegetables, tended to by smiling women singing songs of gratitude, while kids play in the street, made safer, healthier and smarter by being able to study at night, drink clean water and eat good food.” Co-founder of FREE.

Photo: Future Rural Economic Empowerment (FREE)
  • Energy, Food, Water
  • English
  • Mohale Street,
    QwaQwa,
    Freestate 9866,
    South Africa

Earth Freedom Collective

Earth Freedom Collective is a decentralized network of co-ops working in the domains of food, solar, housing, hemp/cannabis and health justice sanctuaries. Each co-op has a trauma-informed workforce development component, providing economic opportunity to society’s most marginalized.

The collective has access to over 700 acres of rural land in Northern California and a network of urban eco-villages in Oakland seeking to address issues of racial and economic justice, community health, sustainable housing and climate resilience.

It is working with diverse community partners to establish a hybrid model LLC cooperative and community land trust rooted in black and Indigenous land reclamation. These channels will provide practical pathways for large numbers of people to gain access to land, food and freedom from exploitation. It envisions the creation of numerous healing centers anchored by elders from various wisdom traditions that provide spiritual and practical support for marginalized communities.

Photo: Earth Freedom Collective

Protect the Future Association/ApPró Tech

Protect the Future, founded in 2000, has been a formative environmental NGO in Hungary. It functions as an incubator for projects which promote citizens’ participation in all levels and creative action on environmental issues, food sovereignty and small-scale energy initiatives. In 2013 it established the Transition Communities project which is now an active network of 30+ grass-roots community initiatives in Hungary.

ApPró Tech was set up to tackle fuel poverty and winter heating in rural, and mostly Roma, communities who use wood-fired systems. The project works collaboratively with the communities to help people build efficient masonry heaters for their homes with a process that also promotes social cohesion.

Photo: Protect the Future Association/ApPró Tech

Transition Network

The Transition Network was set up in 2007. The Transition Hubs and Transition Network set up the Municipalities in Transition project in early 2017. The project is collecting and publicising cases where Transition groups and municipalities have worked together to create much greater impact towards sustainability and regeneration, with already more than 70 examples worldwide.

It is creating a recommended framework to help community groups and municipalities work together, and will launch an innovative pilot programme and set up an international community of practice.

It continues to deepen relationships with influencers and decision-makers at EU, national, regional and municipality level. The Municipalities in Transition project means it can step up in this influencing work, to reach policy makers.

Photo: Transition Network