Eotopia

Eotopia is a forest.

We’re part of an ecosystem where beings learn and experiment in harmony with nature. Everyone of us is conscious of the living world and its limited resources.

In the forest, we cooperate and exchange in an atmosphere of confidence. By listening to our personal needs and those of others, we approach inner love and peace. We grow together and we find balance through horizontality and equity. Our diversity is a source of resilience and our joyful simplicity is a path towards abundance.

Eotopia offers an alternative space of harmony in a world of constant acceleration. We expand
the forest by opening our arms and our paths for all. We have confidence in everyone to do their best for the forest to spread.
Our pilars:

1.Take Care

Eotopia is a space of care dedicated to all that is living, our emotions, our bodies, our fellow human beings, the environment.

We have realized that kindness is a powerful ally in building relationships and bringing people to question themselves. We take care of ourselves, first, and then of what constitutes our environment: other humans, animals, nature, life in general.

This care is manifested in several ways:

- listening to the needs and emotions of each person
- respecting others, their values, ideas and needs
- the inclusiveness of all
- questioning our patterns and conditioning
- the reduction of our ecological impact
- improving our living spaces from an ecological and aesthetic point of view
- the consideration of comfort in our journey
the opening to all to come and experiment with us.

All of our other values are ultimately derived from this one.

2.Ecology and Permaculture

The forest is a whole, all its elements are interdependent. At Eotopia, we are aware that we are part of nature and that the Earth is at a critical threshold for major ecological changes. But we want to take part in its harmony! To do so, we observe and get inspired by the natural systems. We take care of the Earth and the people, and we try to share fairly – it’s permaculture! In all that we do, we seek ecological coherence through a holistic approach.

We approach the harmony by:
• Edible forest garden and vegetable garden
• Using wild plants (edible, materials, medicinal, etc.)
• Creating autonomous energy systems (electricity, heating etc.)
• Self-built machines (bike machines, bicycle transport etc.)
• Ecological self-built constructions
• Dynamic water management
• Reduce, reuse, repair, recover, DiY
• Buying in bulk, organic, local and seasonal
• Sociocracy and care of social relationships
• Experimenting and learning through sharing on the land
• Activism outside Eotopia as well as simply in the garden

These actions help us go towards self-sufficiency in food and energy and through this to end the use of fossil fuels. In this way, we seek to let go of our addictions, to stop consuming first-hand products and to produce zero waste. By reflecting before we act, we practise economical degrowth and chose a simple and resilient life instead of a consumerist life in constant acceleration.

3-
Learning Freely

For the forest to expand, the plants send their seeds and roots to new lands. In this wasteland they grow together throughout their lives. Like them, we continuously experience and learn. At Eotopia, we have much to learn and give. We want to forge lasting links with other projects and aide the creation of new initiatives. We want to disseminate information about what is possible – and why not be inspired and inspire others to have a positive impact on our environment.

Some means of free learning:
• Sharing of knowledge
• Spaces for experimentations that are accessible for everyone
• Non-violent communication
• Popular education

• Inclusive group games
• Attention to and respect of needs of everyone
• Anti-ageism and intergenerational approaches
• The choice of home education or “unschooling”
• Exchanges with the local network of friends and permaculture practitioners

We believe that the diversity of ages and experiences is important and that we can learn from each other without restrictions. A child makes us discover new horizons and an elder can be the pupil of a teenager…
We have all the right to make mistakes and receive feedback without judgments and preconceived ideas. In this way we can (un)learn together in this infinite forest.

4-
Gift economy

The forest gives without counting and is expects nothing in return. At Eotopia, we gather a part of our food from the wild herbs, flowers and even mushrooms… We give our energy, our time and our know-how to the world around us. Gift economy makes us part of the Earth system and helps us reflect on what is really necessary. This invites us to become aware of the abundance that Mother Nature is offering.

Some of the acts of giving we practice:
• Opening our doors to everyone and organizing public events without financial conditions
• Offering the space, the food, our time and energy freely and with love
• Moneyless exchanges on the land (however we still use money to buy groceries, etc.)
• Practicing permaculture ethics
• Salvaging scrapped items
• Harvesting wild plants
• Take care of ourselves and each other

The practice of gift economy differs from systems based on being totally free or with free price. In gift economy, everyone gives what they want when they want, without conditions. It’s based on a philosophy of mutual trust, commitment, responsibility and self-management leading to a transparent and collaborative economic system. We believe in the balance between giving and receiving at a global level and are aware that what we are working for is collective.

5-
Vegan

The forest has a balance where each individual finds their place while respecting the place of others. At Eotopia, we strive for harmony by drawing inspiration from this balance. We only consume what is necessary for our well-being while trying as much as possible to preserve the surrounding resources and ecosystems. While accepting death and suffering as inherent parts of our world, we dream of a society where respect and empathy extend to all living beings and speciesism no longer exists.

Some commitments:
• Eating vegan, local, healthy and seasonal
• Promoting healthy food
• Live and share life with animals free from speciesism
• Outreach to other humans
• Curbing climate change

We are a species like any other seeking to live in harmony with its environment. We made the decision not to have animal products on site, even from dumpsters. The cats’ food is still bought despite our wish not to endorse the meat industry, so we savage some of it.

6.
Living Together

In the forest each individual is part of the whole. At Eotopia, we live together and interdependently. Each one of us evolves in consciousness, both inside our hearts and outside our bodies, in a language of peace and harmony. From spring to autumn, we reserve welcome spaces for visitors who wish to cross the Eotopian forest or to immerse themselves in it, regardless of their age or their social and/or geographical roots.

To live together we practise:
• Sharing a common vision
• Sociocracy (consent decision making)
• Putting the community at the centre
• Shared responsibility of all the aspects of the project
• Transparency and confidence
• Putting love into action
• Openness, inclusivity and sharing
• Active listening and non-violent communication
• Individual commitment to seek inner peace
• Anti-ageism and intergenerational approaches
• Questioning our addictions and habits
• Do what we “feel like” doing, not just what we “have to” do

The growth of the forest is possible thanks to the ability to evolve individually and collectively. Everyone does their best to take care of themselves and others. Like a large family, residents and visitors are invited to express themselves with transparency, to listen with empathy, and to respond with calmness and presence. In this way we learn life together and transform conflict into an opportunity to make the group stronger and our relationships more sustainable.