Welcome to the Travelling School of Life!
http://www.zajezka.sk/tsolife/
Travelling School of Life is an international (initially
European-wide) youth education-network with 'students' traveling around
Europe visiting different "living and learning centres". The
network helps to improve the educational skills of the
"host-ecovillages", and as well prepare the students for their
travel to communities. In addition we aim to offer formal accreditation
in the future.
Through an on-line portal experiences will be shared, also to potential
new students and hosts; in addition courses are being coordinated,
offering a more coherent, complete life-education for youth than one
single place can offer. The network also searches for funding, as
financial support is necessary to significantly improve this
education.
TSoLife is in process of changing idea into reality. It is inspired/part
of concepts such as “Living and Learning Centers” and GAIA University
which has been developed through the past five years. During autumn of
’04 a group of youth conceived the action plan for ‘The Traveling School
of Life’ the concept document for following initiatives.
A 7 week pilot course will take place this summer. It will start
with an 'Opening Course' in Permalot (Czech rep.), and will be followed
by 2 theme courses Ecotopia (Romania) and Zajezka (Slovakia). This
project is supported by the Czech National Agency/EU Youth. The project
will run onto February 2006 and allows for a part time job and facilities
to start off TSoLife.
During the month of March '05, the communities of Ecotopia, Permalot,
Zajezka, and Zegg + Balkan Sunflowers and a Latvian group made another
application to EU Youth programme which could fund TSoLife for 2 more
years. The decision about the project will be done by September 2005.
The most important for us is all to get active and initialize TSoLife:
We'll likely be able to do it all without having to deal with
bureaucratic funding mechanisms; saving more of our time, so we can
rather focus on healing the planet!
WANTED: 20 Young People for a Fabulous Summer!
Join the Traveling School of Life, as we’re running our pilot course for
an alternative future youth education for youth activists. It will take 7
weeks of your summer, and you’ll never be the same afterwards…
You’ll gain new insights about yourself, others, various skills and
techniques towards social and environmental sustainability. You’ll learn
this in 3 very different community initiatives in Romania, Czech and
Slovak Republics
Once you have participated in the pilot course, you’ll be eligible to
join future thematic courses hosted at various ecovillages/ living and
learning centers around the world!
The Deal
Financially we’ll create some social justice by charging 130 euro for
‘old’ EU countries, 85 for ‘new’ and 65 for potential. This includes
food, basic accommodation facilitators etc + low cost travel between
locations during the course. Travel to the course and back home is your
own expense (yea?). Someone suggested a bike trip between the host
places... Sounds like a good idea?
How to apply
You’ll need to download the PilotQuestionnaire, fill it out and send it
attached by e-mail to tsolife@gmail.com as soon as possible. Courses in
Ecotopia and Zajezka are optional, but we will prefer students willing to
participate on both of them. We will let you know if you’re one of the 20
lucky ones!
And remember
The First Principle of Teaching is that Nothing Can Be Taught
-Traveling School of Life is for youth actively interested in learning!
Hosts' point of view
(how you can become our partner...)
You are an eco-village, community, NGO, or any other group which offers
courses, hosting possibilities, youth education etc. You focus on your
topics, but you see "whole picture" - the need of holistic
education. Serve better to our planet - become "host of
TSoLife" - our partner.
Basically many of the 'hosts' will just continue their usual educational
work; but through the network we can share experience with each other,
and also help new ones who have no experience with youth work; and we can
offer a more coherent, complete life-education for youth than one single
place can offer.
Maybe you dream about youth which is somehow prepared to stay in
eco-village or community. All of us would like to welcome people who are
interested, active, sharing, able to deal with problems etc. All the
young people, who come to you through TSoLife, will be trained at Opening
course about community values, conflict prevention and resolution, group
dynamics,...
Hosts will offer suitable courses by publishing them with all necessary
information in a TSoLife public online database. The courses will vary
considerably from place to place depending on the needs, capacity and
experiences of the place. Maybe some places want to host a group of 2-5
people for 2 months, while another one would like to offer a 3-week
course for 20 people. All hosts have to take part in a ‘host-intro
course’, emphasizing a certain overall quality of the program.
The network also searches for funding, as financial support could help
this education to improve a lot. Many of the possible courses fit in the
EU youth program and can be applied for individually; and we are in
process of communicating to the responsible in order to investigate
whether/how it could fit as a whole into the new youth program in 2007.
However within the EU funding it is not possible to include non-european
countries, so other sources have to be found as well.
But even if we do not get additional financial support, there are many
possibilities, how to cooperate - do it together and better!
Actual projects:
TSoLife Action Plan.zip (37 KB) or unzipped document (437 KB)
Action Plan of developing TSoLife created at meeting in Permalot,
Sept.2004
Summer 2005 Pilot Course Project - (64 KB)
First common project of TSoLife. The project was submitted by Permalot in
January 2005 and accepted by Czech National Agency of EU Youth programme
under Action 5.9.
Big application to EU Youth.zip (41 KB) or unzipped document
(675 KB)
Common application of actual partners of TSoLife under EU Youth Action 5.
The goal of this project is to make TSoLife stabile educational
institution/network. There is open space for another partners - hosting
organizations! The project was submitted to EU Youth programme on March
2005 and they will decide whether it it will be accepted during September
2005.
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requently asked questions
1) Who's organizing this?
Well, in effect you are!
That said then I'll be happy to tell you that the organizers are both a
wide range of people with an emphasis on youth, who has been meeting a
different Youth TC's. For the pilot project I'm the central facilitator
(Max), however working with the instructors and hosts of the various
involved EV's/living and learning centers as well as involved youth. Much
of the background work had been done within Global Ecovillage Network,
however we felt they did not include youth enough, so we made an open
organization structure instead, and added a bit here and there.
If you're curious about little me you may want to look at
www.permalot.org.
As for the main facilitator of the opening course, Wam Kat; Try to enter
his name in Google.com or check
www.wamweb.net!
You'll be impressed! In other words: No sect, cult, religious or
otherwise affiliated organization: Just trying to help save the
planet...
2) Costs
During the 3 week + 2 week + 2 week periods of the pilot projects you
will not have any extra costs, apart from personal spending money (Which
you don't really need!) It's basically structured as an action 1
exchange, however you have to pay transport to PermaLot and return from
Zajezova 100%. There's also the co-financing amount ranging between
65-115 (?) euro. During the time between you're free to go on vacation,
home or whichever: Which means your time: Your pay!
-Our motivation: Prior to EU's blackmailing of youth, millions of youth
was able to travel on their own; We made money here and there, and
learned the most when we were out of money. Through my personal
involvement with the youth program I've experienced some (not all!)
pretty spoiled youth and an amazing waste of resources: We believe that
if you're motivated enough to come, you'll bike or hitch hike here and
sell your grandmother to get money for the fee!!! (?)
3) Age limit
The pilot course is an EU Action 5,9: The rules are as in a Youth action
1 for youth between 18 and 26. We will be able to 'smuggle in' a few
'group leaders' who's slightly older, or some participants who's younger
BUT VERY MATURE! -Part of the focus is self development, and it's hard to
do for a too young group.
4) Detailed Program
What's wrong with you? Computers gets programmed: Not Youth! :o)
Anyhow, so far an overview is available in the "Summer 2005 Pilot
course project”. We'll have a host meeting in start of May and get more
in detail, however we're leaving some ends open for the input of the
participants; We'll email the program out to the 20 participants and post
it here somewhere...
5) Information about living and learning centers/ Ecovillages
Have a look at Other links .
6) Alternative to EVS
Will this influence my chance of later doing EVS (European Voluntary
Service)? No. This is comparative to joining a youth exchange, though we
hope that in time EU will make it a sponsored compliment to EVS. However;
the fact that you graduate the 'Opening Course' will make several
Ecovillages etc. more likely to consider you as EVS...
Here's some answers. You'll be able to find them and others
in following documents. You can also track development of the idea in
past months.
Action Plan of developing TSoLife created at meeting in Permalot,
Sept.2004
Summer 2005 Pilot Course Project -
First common project of TSoLife. The project was submitted by Permalot in
January 2005 and accepted by Czech National Agency of EU Youth programme
under Action 5.9.
Common application of actual partners of TSoLife under EU Youth Action 5.
The goal of this project is to make TSoLife stabile educational
institution/network. There is open space for another partners - hosting
organizations! The project was submitted to EU Youth programme on March
2005 and they will decide whether it it will be accepted during September
2005.
There's likely issues we haven't thought about yet, and you can be part
of answering them!
June 20 July 10 - The Opening Course: Personal growth/ Social
experience
Czech Republic: Permalot
In a tee-pee camp in the heart of a remote orchard we'll be secluded and
focus on creating trust in community and learning the significance of
Traveling School of Life. This includes initial bonding within the group;
gain knowledge about conflict prevention and resolution tools, to be used
within the group as well as globally. The stay will include some basic
introduction to permaculture and natural building: We’ll be tending and
landscaping the orchard and garden, mud-plastering the new center of
PermaLot and perhaps heading up to the mountains to cut a meadow with
hand tools: You’ll be part of making the program, so who knows? We hope
to be able to make something with/for the local youth.. None the least
you’ll learn about nutrition and vegetarian cooking for groups:
Facilitated by Wam Kat and Andrea Zettel + various instructors.
July 13 - July 27 or August 1 - August 14: Practical experience
Romania: Ecotopia
(Group will split into 2 groups, creating a more intimate/ effective
learning experience; the other group relaxes, travels, works and/or party
in the mean time. The course is optional, if we will not have enough
participants for 2 courses we will organize only the first one.)
The stay in Ecotopia, in the heart of a small Romanian village, will be
focused on communal living and active citizenship. It will be
demonstrated through activities such as gardening and designing a
communal space. You will learn about the diversity in nature, crop
rotation, introducing and nurturing diversity. This will be extended to
the cultural diversity of the group: working in groups, decision making
process, facilitation, and celebrating diversity. Facilitated by Pam
Dunsdon and Gabi Gogan + various instructors.
(Comment to avoid confusion: The rural eco living project Ecotopia in
Stanciova/Romania is not the same thing as the EYFA summer camp Ecotopia
2005 happening in the neighbouring country Moldova around the same time
as the TSoL Pilot Course.)
August 17 - August 31: Cultural / Spiritual experience
Slovakia: Zajezka
(The course is optional for TSoLife students. We will have limited space
also for participants who have not attended opening course in case they
are under 26 and come from Germany, Czech rep., Romania or Slovakia. Ask
for more info at mirec@tsolife.org )
11 days in Zajezka - an alternative community deep in the traditional
Slovak countryside + 3 days in natural forest. By trying practical
skills unknown for most (e.g. how to make bread from grain, pot from
clay, spoon from wood, textiles from raw wool etc.), you will have an
unique possibility to understand that everything comes from nature. And
also that it takes plenty of energy to make even simple things.
Contrasting to this one day you’ll try to help in local Separated Waste
Treatment Centre, where you will have hand-on experience with piles of
not needed things, called waste. Daily presentations and debates around
campfire will focus on the inner core of ‘quality of life’. The stay
includes an opportunity to become an integrated part of nature. You will
learn some practical knowledge needed in forest, and all the activities
will lead you to a deeper feeling of our connection to nature.
Facilitated by Mirec Kasiak + people from Zajezka community.
On the last day we’ll have an evaluation and farewell party.
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Santa Barbara Permaculture
Network
(805) 962-2571
sbpcnet@silcom.com
www.sbpermaculture.org
"We are like trees, we
must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." -
Anonymous
Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
(805) 962-2571
sbpcnet@silcom.com
www.sbpermaculture.org
"We are like trees, we
must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." -
Anonymous