Hello!
Ecotopia??
One of the topics that came up during the meeting in December 2023 was
about the name of the biketour. More specifically, if we want to change it.
The name has a lot of history – it was first used as a name of a bus
tour and later gathering from many years ago, starting in 1986, then a
biketour was attached to the gathering in 1990, and then the gathering
stopped happening in 2008, and since then there is just the biketour!
This isn’t the first time we have discussed the idea of changing the
name. It has already come up a few times in meetings over the last
years, but the decision to change it was never made. When we discussed
the idea in the last meeting, we came to conclusion that the
organisation group is too small to make this decision and we want to ask
more people what they think.
The main reason we discussed, as a reason to change the name, is to have
something that reflects more of the values that we try to practice.
Sustainability and the environmentalist approach are still main points
on our agenda, however some felt like the name “Ecotopia” can give the
impression that we are only that. And since many
eco-/sustainability-/climate movements in Europe are very white, ableist
and cis/heteronormative, we worry that the name “Ecotopia Biketour”
paints that same image instead of the intersectional approach that we
want to have. The biketour has changed a lot over the years and has a
wider focus than just environmental issues.
On the other hand, we are quite widely known under the name Ecotopia, we
have lots of connections and it’s easier for us to receive funding,
while we have this long history.
As a small group we couldn’t reach any decisions or concrete ideas, so
we want to ask all previous participants, current participants, hosts,
friends and community, what you all think. Below is a link to a poll
where we want to hear from you what you think.
Here is the poll
<https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/7LwFw7T5WvS620tZMpnY22UcjIk2L4SvxKIv…>
https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/7LwFw7T5WvS620tZMpnY22UcjIk2L4SvxKIv…
Hello friends,
as some of you might know, I'm currently living with another ecotopian,
Lino, in the north of Italy (Piedmont region) in a rural house with
quite a big land. We're looking for people who would be interested to
create a living community with us here in Italy. Below is our call-out
and a link to the vision in English and Italian. If what you read
interests you and you would like to visit us, you can write to:
sysyfo(a)protonmail.org or just respond to this email. Also you can share
it with your friends who could be interested. :)
abbracci,
Michal
----------------------------------------------------------------ENGLISH----------------------------------------------------------------
Living simply and generously
An open call for community co-founders
*_The dream:_ *'We imagine ourselves to be a rural community of *many
people * (ideally several dozen), living according to the principles of
*agroecology* and *solidarity*, *co-owning* our place of life as equals
and with a solid method of *governance* from the start (to organise
ourselves harmoniously and make truly shared decisions).
We live in the countryside in large shared farmhouses with several
hectares of land around them. Each member has access to large common
spaces (big kitchen, etc.) and has their own *personal space* (a room, a
yurt, something else?). We run some *collective activities* together,
for example a permaculture garden and a free hospitality room, through
which we embody our values in the world.
From an economic point of view, we feel it is important to support each
other, and we have set up among ourselves ways to do this. For example,
by *pooling* both the income from collective activities and possibly
part of the salary of members who work outside. All individuals have a
lot of*free time* to develop their talents and contribute to the
evolution of the community.
*How to get there: *We are a small group of people who have been living
in a farmhouse in Monferrato for a year, trying to form a core community
and immerse ourselves in activities "closer to life" (agroforestry,
self-production and transformation of food, repairs of all kinds,
recovery and recycling of materials, construction, making wood...). *We
are looking for new people to form a more solid core group with the aim
of co-buying a place to live together.* We think that a nucleus of about
ten people can already acquire (with differentiated contributions
according to the availability of each*) a place large enough to
accommodate a few more members. IWe's like then expanding further by
acquiring more buildings as more people arrive.
We suggest that those to whom this message resonates contact us on
sysyfo(a)protonmail.com to arrange a phone call. If we then get on well
together, you could *visit us for a week* at the farm to really get to
know each other. We hope that *by June* we will have a core group that
can decide how to move forward.
To see our vision and understand our concrete proposal, click here
<https://cryptpad.fr/pad/#/2/pad/view/KSoqq-0TjECWwMabeV+6r2apqHBAPAQoRwUX+4…>
-----------------------------------------------------------------ITALIANO-----------------------------------------------------
Viviamo in semplicità e generosamente
Una chiamata aperta per fondare insieme una comunità
*_Il sogno:_ *“Immaginiamo di essere una comunità rurale di tante
persone (idealmente parecchie decine), che vivono secondo i principi
dell'*agroecologia* e della *solidarietà*, *comproprietar** alla pari
del nostro luogo di vita e con un solido metodo di autogestione fin
dall'inizio (per organizzarci armoniosamente e prendere decisioni
veramente condivise).
Viviamo in campagna in grandi cascine condivise con alcuni ettari di
terreno intorno. Ogni membro ha accesso ad ampi spazi comuni (cucinone
ecc..) ed ha il proprio *spazio personale *(una stanza, una yurta,
altro?). Gestiamo insieme alcune *attività collettive*, per esempio un
orto permaculturale e una stanza di ospitalità gratuita, attraverso le
quali incarniamo i nostri valori nel mondo.
Da un punto di vista economico, riteniamo importante *supportarci
reciprocamente*, ed abbiamo stabilito tra di noi il modo di farlo. Per
esempio, *mettendo in comune* sia il reddito delle attività collettive
che, eventualmente, parte del salario dei membri che lavorano fuori.
Tutti gli individui hanno molto *tempo libero* per sviluppare i loro
talenti e contribuire all'evoluzione della comunità”.
*Come arrivarci: *Siamo un gruppetto di persone che vive da un anno in
una cascina nel Monferrato cercando di formare un nocciolo di comunità e
di immergerci in attività “piu’ vicine alla vita” (agroforesteria,
autoproduzione e trasformazione di cibo, riparazioni di tutti i tipi,
recupero e riciclo di materiali, costruzione, far legna…). *Stiamo
cercando nuove persone per formare un gruppo di base piu’ solido con
l’obiettivo di arrivare a co-acquistare insieme un luogo di vita.*
Pensiamo che un nucleo di una decina di persone possa già acquisire (con
contribuzioni differenziate secondo le disponibilità di ciascun*) un
luogo abbastanza grande da accogliere un altro po' di membri. Ci
piacerebbe poi espanderci ulteriormente tramite l'acquisto di ulteriori
edifici man a mano che piu' persone arriveranno.
Proponiamo a coloro a cui questo messaggio risuona di contattarci su
sysyfo(a)protonmail.com per organizzare una telefonata. Se poi ci troviamo
bene insieme, potreste *venirci a trovare per una settimana* alla
fattoria per conoscerci veramente. Speriamo in tal modo che*entro
giugno* avremo un gruppo di base che potrà decidere come andare avanti.
Per vedere la nostra visione e capire la nostra proposta concreta,
clicca qui
<https://cryptpad.fr/pad/#/2/pad/view/YZTIxj4lSwAPqEAD3XHbiy858gXsnY0pdpBDEH…>