ECOHOME

What is it?
Ecohome is a nation-wide NGO in Belarus.

What do we want?
We want  to set up the model of  interrelations between human beings and nature, which sees them not as rulers or guests but as an inseparable part of the wonderful life system of the Earth. We are looking for balance between Nature and Civilization and hope to improve our understanding of the Universe and our place

What we are doing?
Promotion of sustainable living; environmental architecture; permaculture; environmental education.

Setting up the ECOHOME

1st stage
Permaculture courses, seminars and other events.This stage will be completed by the Practical Permaculture Design Course scheduled for April 1998.The Course shall develop participants' ability to apply systems approach to specific ecological problems and work out sustainable development strategies. Realizing their own project and working on a concrete piece of land will enable participants of the Course "to feel the taste" of permaculture design and to see its immediate results. Apart  from that, the plot of land used for the Course  and redesigned by its participants will become the first demonstration permaculture garden  in Belarus.

The Course is a follow up event of the Permaculture Introduction Course held by Ecohome last autumn. Participants of the Introduction Course will attend the new event. They are expected to share their experiences in the year that passed. All the participants of the Course  are very much welcome to make contributions about their activities. The Course aims at establishing new connections among people and projects in the sphere of permaculture.

The participants of the Course will be awarded special certificates.The Advanced Practical permaculture Design Course, as well as the Permaculture  Introduction Course are organized as a part of the main Ecohome Project, which ultimately is a creation of the Ecological Education and information Center (Ecohome)  near lake Neshcherda in North-Eastern Belarus.

2 stage
Setting up demonstration permaculture project 1998-1999 This will be: energy efficient house permaculture garden which will be the place for seminars, courses and living example of sustainable living principles.

3 stage
1998 - miricale future. Ecological educational Center creating on the base of permacultural spot.

The Ecohome project is an offspring from Youth Organization "Next Stop New Life" in Minsk, which emerged in the wake of Scandinavian youth campaign "Next Stop - Sovjet" in 1988-1989. The Ecohome project is probably the most ambitious of all nitiatives started by Next Stop New Life. In 1991-1995 the project was a part of "Next Stop New Life" activities.  Since 1996 Ecohome is established as an independent NGO.

In 1995 the project was allocated the plot of land on the shore of lake Neshcherda by the byelorussian authorities for the construction of the Center. The Ecohome center (the building) is on the stage of finalizing its architectural and technical design. This work is being done by a group of young byelorussian architects and engineers.

Events held by Ecohome as a part of preparation of its main project:

since April, 1994:  printing ecological magazine «Belorusskij Klimat»(«Byelorussian Clime»),
August 1995  -  Ecological camp for children in Belarus. Financed by ISAR ($ 1300 grant).
Autumn 1995 - Publishing of a brochure on energy saving construction in cooperation with the Ukrainian Permaculture Center. Financed by ISAR ($200 grant).
December 1995 - May 1996 - Children's ecological projects program. Financed by Soros Fund ($ 4900 grant) and ISAR ($ 500 grant).
April 1996 - Environmental workshop (seminar+exhibition), where representatives of 34 organization discussed problems of environmental education in Belarus. Organized in cooperation with SCI, Ecoline, Next Stop New Life. Financed by the Embassy of  the Netherlands in Belarus ($ 7800). Technical support from the Soros Fund in Minsk.
August 1996 - Ecohome took part  in the US-Belarusian demonstration project on straw block construction and publishing the book on the straw block construction technology.
October 1996 - study tour to the eco-villages in Denmark and making the film about it. Financed by the Plumps Fund  (7500DKK) & ISAR-Kiev (000USD)
November 1996 - The first international Permaculture Introduction Course in Belarus with $ 16000 budget. Financed by the Soros Fund ($ 6800 grant) in Minsk and a number of other contributors.
November 1997 -  The training course for belarusian EcoNGOs «Menagment, marketing and development of NGOs» organized organized in cooperation with Shool-2 & Next Stop New Life. Financed by ISAR-Kiev (000USD).
December 1997-  The training course for belarusian EcoNGOs «Social partnership for EcoNGOs»  organized in cooperation with Shool-2 & Next Stop New Life. Financed by ISAR-Kiev (000USD).

"Ecohome" - environmental Education centre
address: Belarus,
220012, Minsk,
76-18 Skoriny Ave.
tel.: 375-172-324544
fax.: 375-172-324544
e-mail: ecohome@nsys.minsk.by