Global Ecovillage Network
The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) is a worldwide group of ecovillages—communities that aim to live more sustainably and contribute back to the land and people.
Members share ideas, transfer technology, and exchange education to help ecovillages grow.
Origins: In 1991, Hildur and Ross Jackson of Denmark started the Gaia Trust. Gaia funded studies on sustainable communities, including the report Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities. The report found many good projects but no fully developed ideal ecovillage yet. It did show a clear idea of a different culture and lifestyle that could be built.
That year, Gaia Trust organized a meeting in Denmark of eco-community leaders, which led to the creation of GEN. In 1994, the Ecovillage Information Service began. In 1995, the first international ecovillage conference, Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities for the 21st Century, was held at Findhorn, Scotland, and the movement grew quickly afterward.
GEN gained consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2001. In 2005, a group of young adults started NextGEN, the Next Generation of the Global Ecovillage Network.
GEN does not run a central verification or membership system on its site. It has a Community Sustainability Assessment Tool to measure how well an ecovillage improves sustainability.
GEN supports many kinds of sustainable settlements and aims to help eco-communities evolve worldwide. It is organized into five global regions:
- Africa (GEN Africa)
- Europe (GEN Europe)
- Latin America (CASA)
- North America (GENNA)
- Oceania & Asia (GENOA)
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:50 (CET).