Sobata – A Dream of Becoming a Thriving Ecovillage Community

Sobata is a traditional village of 500 people, in Guinea/West Africa.
They have no running water or electricity, and it rains only 3 months of the year.
The people of Sobata dream about becoming a thriving Ecovillage community that can inspire and empower others to unlock their regenerative power.

To make this dream come true, they are looking for support to join an Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) course in The Gambia. The EDE, powered by Gaia Education and GEN offers knowledge and tools that the people of Sobata can weave into their traditional way of living.

The course uses permaculture principles that enable the community to learn how to restore water cycles, start a reforestation process and let their bioregion thrive through connecting traditional wisdom with modern knowledge.

The Sobata community has selected 4 people to travel from Guinea to The Gambia to attend the month long EDE starting on 28 October. Right after the course, they will take part in the GEN Africa Conference, where they can introduce their project and network with other African Ecovillages.

The budget needed for this is 7,000 €, which includes transport, course fees and materials, accommodation and food.
– 600€ per person for a 1 month course fees (including food and lodging) so 2,400€.
– 1,240€ for the trip by car (return). No one in Sobata can drive, so we are hiring a car and a driver from Guinea to drive them to the border (about 800km) and we will do the same with someone from The Gambia to pick them up and take them to the course location. There are no direct flights from Guinea to The Gambia.
– 1,260€ for 4 people to attend the 4 days long GEN Africa Conference (attendance fee, food, accommodation).
– 400€ for transaction fees and potential taxes
– 1,700€ remaining are for unexpected events and miscellaneous (food for journey + potential accommodation for 1 night during the long car trip, taxes at the border, pens and notebooks etc), and for the next steps (a baseline study and permaculture training in Sobata in 2020).

Empowering village communities to learn about Ecovillage principles is a clear action to address the climate emergency and cultivate resilience around the world. It is a way to contribute to more equity and social justice and to protect the beautiful diversity on our planet – culturally, socially, economically and ecologically.

Would you like to help this dream come true? Donate now!