Ecovillages and entrepreneurship: the ECOPRISE journey begins

Thursday 11 April 2024

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Are you ready for a journey into the future of sustainable entrepreneurship? ECOPRISEis here to take you on a unique adventure where sustainability meets entrepreneurship to create a real and positive impact on our planet.

Imagine a world where ecovillages become hubs of economic and social innovation. If you are a member of an ecovillage who intends to transform your community, a person working in agricultural entrepreneurship seeking more sustainable practices, or a sustainability enthusiast who wants to contribute to change, ECOPRISE is the project for you!

Join our mission to create a new professional figure-the ecovillage designer-that combines environmental knowledge, entrepreneurial practices, and a passion for social change. If you want to make a difference and shape the future of sustainable communities, join us on this exciting journey.

The inauguration of the project

Our inaugural meeting was held in Palermo on March 20 and 21: a time when we focused on the strong innovative nature of the project, along with thegoal of creating a replicable product that can be adapted to other contexts.

The project’s number one objective is to create a new professional figure, the ecovillage designer, capable of marrying the principles of ecology and sustainability of ecovillages with entrepreneurship. Their advice can be sought both by an ecovillage seeking greater market integration, and by an agricultural entrepreneur seeking more sustainable and collective environmental practices.

The consortium’s efforts go towards defining practices and knowledge that integrate the cultural diversity of EU countries. From Palermo to Vilnius, ecovillage models are many and diverse, each rooted in its local reality. The challenge of the project is precisely to develop a model that can respond to the economic, social and environmental needs of each of these realities.

The first step will be to conduct extensive mapping and empirical research to find out about local ecovillages and their associated educational facilities. This will take place in 6 countries, with the help of 12 partner organisations. First steps, but perhaps the most important, as they will define the content of the designer training course that the project will create at a later stage.

Are you part of an ecovillage, or a structure that provides training in agricultural sustainability? If you are interested in participating in the mapping and research phase, please contact Jelena Mazaj: jelena.mazaj@cesie.org.

ECOPRISE’s social channels will soon be activated, where you will be able to follow every update of the project and follow its future steps. In the meantime, to find out more, read the project sheet and follow the social accounts of CESIE e LAND so you don’t miss any news.

About the project

ECOPRISE – Future-oriented social entrepreneurship through Ecovillage Design is a project funded by Programma Erasmus+ Azione Chiave 2: Partenariati per l’innovazione – Alliances 2023.

Partners

For further information

Read more about the project.

Contact Jelena Mazaj: jelena.mazaj@cesie.org.

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CESIE ETS