The best is to travel together with others. For example by bus. Or even better by train. If there is none going, you may consider to organize one (if there are enough travellers). You can join a bike tour as well. If you for any reason have to come by car, take at least other participants with you.
According to your duration of stay 10-15 Euro per day and participant (look at
/apply/costs)
Eco is our own, a bit bit more fair currency. 1 Eco=1/1000 of your monthly income (minimum 50 Eurocent). For example, if you earn 850 Euro a month your Eco-rate is 0.85 Euro for 1 Eco. If your monthly income is 500 Euro (or below), your Eco-rate is 0.50 Euro for 1 Eco.
None. We have faith that you are able to calculate your Eco-rate yourself.
You are free to come for as long as you want. If possible, please state your times of arrival and leave in your application (look at
/apply/participants).
The best is to travel together with others. For example by bus. Or even better by train. If there is none going, you may consider to organize one (if there are enough travellers). You can join a bike tour as well. If you for any reason have to come by car, take at least other participants with you.
Fill in the form
/apply/workshop on this website, take what you need for your workshop and come to Ecotopia. In case you can't take everything you need, please get in contact with us, we won't promise anything, but might be able to arrange something.
We will try to arrange tents for people who don't have any. Again, we can't promise anything, at least at the moment, but please state in your application that you need a sleeping place in a tent. Be prepared to sleep with others in one big tent though.
Rampenplan (our kitchen) cooks vegan food. For people who do not eat strictly vegan there will be cheese, milk and honey. Maybe some white cheese as well.
There will be an area for living waggons and campers on Ecotopia2010. Please state in your application that you will bring one.
Yes (to both questions). We will need people for building up and taking down Ecotopia2010. Furthermore there is the "Altstadtfest" (festivity in the old town in
Belzig (a nearby town) one week after Ecotopia2010. We will have a space there and need people to present Ecotopia2010.
You can always sell self- or home-made things or materials for Ecos (see: What is Eco?)
In case you need visa for Ecotopia2010 they will be very easy to get. If you need visa for the country it takes place in you can figure on the website of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany .
Ecotopia attempts to use a „
Leave No Trace“ philosophy, in which the camp site is left in the same or better ecological condition than when the event started. (source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotopia_gathering). Of course Ecotopia participants will use water and produce waste. We try to keep our (bad) influence on the environment as little as possible. Actually, „Leave No Trace“ on this Ecotopia is not entirely true: we have promised the twon to leave the place in a state which is not worse than it was before Ecotopia happened there. And of course we will try to leave the place in an even better state than before. Furthermore we hope that the positive energy and new established contacts and networks will remain in the region.
Of course. We do need money to build up Ecotopia and to support participants with low income and high travel costs.
For example by email. Or through your national contact person. If there is no national contact person for your country yet, you may consider to become such.
By email or in the forum on this very website. And of course on Ecotopia!
We will take part in the „Wiesenburger Parkfest" (park festivity). An ecological film sequel with the local cinema in
Belzig (next town) is in the pipeline. We are looking forward to ideas to come.... One week after Ecotopia is the "Altstadtfest" (festivity in the old town in
Belzig (a nearby town). Being organized several years by a private company, the citizens of
Belzig will do it this year. Ecotopia will have a space there. Participants are invited to stay til then.
Many of the problems of our time are of global nature, solutions towards them have to be as such. To network ecological, social and political groups, organizations and individuals. To learn and teach. For intercultural exchange. To take a deep breath, get to know each other and try out.
We invite everybody to Ecotopia2010.
While preparing Ecotopia, an already existing network of organisations, inititives and groups grows. We made contracts with organic farmers, to grow vegetables and corn for the participants of Ecotopia2010. We anticipate a growing network as well of international and local ecological, political and social groups. We anticipate a positive push in the region into an ecological and inter-cultural direction. We believe new ideas, also for the region, will develop during Ecotopia2010. We will try to advertise the advantages of the region to the Ecotopia2010 participants to enable them to do so back home.
Ecotopia was organized till now by a youth network, but always all age groups were welcome.
Ecotopia is for all generations. Not only for those who are young, are still young or feel like it.
At the moment our financial resources move in a tight frame. Thus we are not able to offer anything like travel reimbursement or support at the moment. Possibly there is in your country a special fund or foundation (in many countries f.e. offices of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung). In case you find fund-raising possibilities, please get in contact with us to inform other participants. In case we find any such possibilities we will inform about those at a suitable place.
Follow the developments on both newsletter and this website. Get in contact with participants of your region. Become national contact person for your country. Discuss how you can present your concerns on Ecotopia201. Organize lifts, busses or even bike tours to Ecotopia or join already existing ones. Do you have any idea how the infrastructure of Ecotopia can be build up in a sustainable, ecological way? Can you work on the realisation of such an idea, bring even material (not truck loads!) with you? If yes, please contact us.
„Ecotopia“ is a neo-logism of the terms eco(logical) and (u)topia. What we mean by this, is a sustainable, ecological utopia. The term was created by Ernest Callenbach, who puplished the novel „Ecotopia“ in the year 1975. During Ecotopia the participants try to live such an utopia for three weeks.
We already had invited Ernest Callenbach to Ecotopia in Cologne (Germany) in the year 1989. He was excited by the idea, but unfortunately was not able to come. We also have invited him to this years Ecotopia and he feels honoured.
