Care
and respect for the environment and
all living beings to promote harmony
and understanding.
Vision
we desire to cultivate an ecological awareness
that expands the realm of the possible in relation
to human actions. Ultimately this will lead to
the proliferation of more ecologically and considerate
forms of development through ecovillages and ecocities.
We envision oneVillage Foundation as one vehicle
to communicate this vision through a more ecologically
mindful way of living. Unity Centers will be one
of the prototypes that will facilitate this process
of global transformation.
Current Reality and Challenges
Global Warming
- Human induced climate change
will dramatically impact life on this
planet causing massive extinctions and
die offs. Many areas now populated by
humans may be depopulated due to either
sea level rise or drought.
Loss of Biodiversity
- Loss of biodiversity is driven by powerful
economic and political forces at every
level from the global to the local.
Pollution
- While mitigated in many affluent
regions, air and water pollution remains
a problem in many parts of the world.
In addition, persistent chemicals have
seeped into soils, ground water and into
food chains. We know little about the
long term impact of many of these chemical
residues.
Agriculture
- Western agriculture relies
on crop monocultures that involve large
plantations or farms and a high level
of inputs like petroleum, chemicals such
as pesticides and fertilizers and as well
as expense farm implements.
Dwindling
Water Supplies - One of the greatest
concerns is the rapid loss of safe, reliable
and clean sources of water throughout
the world.
Social Sustainability
Ecological issues of degradation are related to
social issues of under performance. It is hard
for many of us to visualize the reality of so
many who are barely surviving. They are a world
away from the state of the art technologies that
sustain a modern way of life that we very much
take for granted.
To address this issue, the UNDP has come up with
the Millennium Development Goals.
the MDGs are ambitious they seek to cut poverty
by half in 2015. Within the existing global infrastructure
this is pure fantasy. In order to reduce poverty
on this level, there needs to be a rethink in
existing practices and the reforming of global
structures.
Global inequity must
be addressed issues such as the disproportionate
use of money, resources, internet...are
leading to grossly unequal, unfair and
unjust global society.
Consumption
needs to reduced in affluent regions to
allow for a basic standard of living in
less affluent regions.
Future
growth and development must live to a
higher standard and be sustainable in
every sense of the word: ecological, social
and economic.
Approach
To address the above issues, it is not enough
that we promote sustainable solutions or socially
just laws and policies a fundamental change
in the structure of governance and administration
is needed. How we relate to each other and the
environment needs to change. Now to do this
we need to develop a way of developing human
systems that considers the ecological dynamics
of all life. Specifically our area of focus
is on the development of local infrastructure
in underserved communities. We do this not just
out of compassion but with the understanding
that it is vital to global stability in any
sustainable global society.
Integrated Approach to Sustainable
Development - The new sustainable
economy is about designing and building
rapidly replicable human systems that ensure the
constant flow of resources within a closed system
where everything is recycled and there is no waste.Paul Hawken’s in his book Ecology
of Commerce makes the case foraugmenting sustainable development. The
term regenerative or Restorative
Economy is used to describe the transition
away from existing economic models and behaviors
towards more sustainable ones that restore degraded
ecosystems and social systems to their full life
regenerating capacity.
oneVillage Initiative for Sustainable
Development - The oneVillage Initiative
is one model for revitalizing local human social
systems with the understanding that restoring
balance between human and ecological systems is
central to sustainable local community redevelopment.
Integrated living systems that include regenerative
agriculture, renewable energy, use of 'waste'
as 'food' for other systems, and business that
supports the community.
To create a village economy first basic needs
have to met. This means organizing a process of
evaluating local community needs. The oneVillage
initiative by deploying ICT augmented field agents
will collect data in the field, sharing best practices
as well as bringing together key leaders in the
community to develop a plan for local community
development.
Goal: promote an integrated
approach and will demonstrate that local, grassroots,
community-oriented development can be done in
a ecologically sustainable way:
Creating jobs
for local people
Providing inspiration
Promoting locally
based but highly scalable carbon
sequestration technologies techniques
Restoring
local ecosystems
Developing
appropriate technologies
designed specifically to address the needs
of the developing world at the grassroots
Planning and construction of a
renewable energy systems will be a priority
in the development of Unity Centers. These systems
will be designed to ensure reliable power for
the ICT systems as well as for basic components.
We eventually anticipate these alternative energy
system will provide an alternative to unreliable
grid power and therefore will present significant
advantages in enabling a local economy that
sustainable and business friendly.
Social
Sustainability - Considers the long
terms social impact of technology &
development
Value
Added Products - products that add
value to farming & resource extraction
Natural
Capitalism (Restorative
Economy)- Considers the economic value
locked in natural systems and how harvest
that sustainably, promoting free markets
systems
Biomimicry
- Mimicking natural processes in the design
of human systems
Bioregionalism
- a alternative top down governance systems
that puts the focus on indigenous &
cultural values
OVF
Ecology Pillar Projects
Ecoliving
Solutions Module and Knowledgebase Development
Jukwa
Srowie Mixed Farmer's Coop - In Jukwa, Ghana, we have funded
a process enabling the local farmers cooperative
to secure a palm oil processing plant
(still under construction). The focus
for the next year is to develop integrated
farming practices along with a small bio-diesel
facility to utilize a portion of the palm
oil produced for local energy needs. Future
plans are to develop this facility into
a center for sustainable agriculture.
Compelling
Ecology Stories
Integrated
Farming and Waste Management System - The IF&WMS was developed
by George Chan of the Zero Emissions Research
Initiative (ZERI) and is a biointensive
and bio-integrated agricultural system.
These and similar systems utilize anaerobic
digesters to turn waste into value-added
products mushrooms, algae, feeds, compost,
fish, crops, fruit trees, etc.
Eden
Project's The Edge - The building
will be a model of cutting-edge architecture
and technology, harvesting water and energy
from the sun, wind, and rain to show how
we all might live in the future. It will
be a testament to one-planet living, built
to the lowest possible carbon footprint
and designed to last.
ZERI
Pavilion @ Hanover Expo 2000 - Build
for the EXPO 2000 in Hanover, it represents
the principles of ZERI´s work in
expressing an approach to living and thinking
while offering an new way of building
more sustainabily.
Visionary
Movers and Shakers
Dr
Michael Braungart - Worked with William
McDonough to develop the Cradle to Cradle
approach to greening the economy. He is
now focusing on working with the Netherlands
to become the first country to develop
this comprehensive approach to sustainability.
Dr
Timothy Foresman - Pioneered the Digital
Earth concept working within NASA and
organized the June 07 International Symposium
on Digital Earth which OVF helped plan
and participated in.
Dr
Christopher Daughterty - Founded Essential
Living Foods and BeOn Holdings and is
now pioneering a sustainable development
model that "goes beyond Fair Trade."
