Communities for Future Network

21 Solutions give advice, guidance, and support to organisations on issues relating to sustainability transition, putting people at the heart of change.

21 Solutions designs and implements a variety of tools (diagnostic, management, guidance, capacity-building and networking) for citizens, collectives, businesses, non-profit organizations, and public authorities, on issues relating to the transition to sustainability.

Asociatia România în Tranzitie (ART) is a NGO established in 2009, within the Transition Town Movement with a clear objective to serve as an instrument to the Tomanian grassroots emergent movement and to promote community oriented projects focused on the sustainable development.

CAIXA DE MITOS is a consulting company that focuses its activities on social innovation. It brings together experts, consultants, researchers and leaders in Europe and Portugal on the basis of a flexible agency model for Social Innovation. Its action takes place on two levels: in partnership with local associations, municipalities and local development agencies and a more global level around strategic issues and systems development, innovative solutions and implementation for studies.

Established in 2007, Carraig Dúlra is a family-owned social enterprise dedicated to providing education, experiences, and connections related to sustainable living.

These subjects are shared through hands-on courses, local and national partnerships, and outreach projects in County Wicklow and beyond.

If you want to get involved Carraig Dúlra hosts courses and projects and you can also be a volunteer.

CELL hosts the Transition movement in Luxembourg. It brings together initiatives focussed on social, ecological, and economic change. It aims to make Luxembourg less dependent on fossil fuels, more equitable, and more able to respond to climate change.

The Collectif pour une Transition Citoyenne brings together 29 organizations involved in ecological, social and democratic transition. The Collective’s action is based on two projects: the Fête des Possibles, an annual event that celebrates community-led action (and which is part of the European Day of Sustainable Communities) and the Pacte pour la transition. Both projects focus on change at the local level, somewhere between the neighborhood and department level.

Founded in 1995 by local permaculture pioneers, Hrvatska permakultura is dedicated to the personal and professional development of permaculture practitioners, and their networking, within Croatia, the European Union and South East Europe.

Since 2013 it is a platform for adult education in the field of permaculture, urban and rural community development, and effective collaboration in groups.

Cultivate is a national NGO and Civil Society Organisation focused on education, communication, and citizen engagement. Cultivate organizes practical courses, events, and publications.

Denmark is probably the country with the most ecovillages relative to population size. At last count there were 49 member communities in the Danish network, known as LØS (Landsforening for Økosamfund) in Danish. LØS has its own newsletter, is widely recognized and has been consulted concerning legislation related to community issues, such as financing of ecological housing.

For more information see the Danish language LØS website, or read this article in English “Danish Ecovilllage Network History”.

DRIFT is a world-leading institute for research on and for sustainability transitions. They conduct interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research to better understand and facilitate new ways of thinking, doing, and organizing in transitions.

FCiências.ID – Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências, is a non-profit private association, endowed with legal personality and with the public utility statute. It was created in january 9, 2017, as a common initiative of 7 organizations.

FCiências.ID envisages to develop, support and potentiate R&D and innovation activities of its associates, therefore creating a more challenging environment for research and innovation.

The Finnish Village Movement Association is a nationwide umbrella organization for 4000 rural village development associations, hundreds of urban neighborhoods, and 54 sub-regional LEADER Local Action Groups. It is a network of community-led initiatives, more and more of which also relate to climate change and environmental sustainability.

Find out more about this extensive network and its members here.

Gaia Education is a international NGO that provides participants with the knowledge and skills to design a thriving society. We teach our students how to use energy and resources with greater efficiency, distribute wealth equitably, and make quality of life the focus of future thinking.

As a leading provider of Education for Sustainable Development, we empower our students to see the interconnectedness of life – teaching the knowledge & skills needed to design regenerative communities.

We offer online courses, face-to-face courses, webinars, Masterclasses, and international project-based learning.

We believe that education is the biggest tool in the fight for a more regenerative future and reversing the climate crisis. We welcome students from diverse backgrounds and walks of life.

The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) catalyzes communities for a regenerative world. GEN is a growing network of regenerative communities and initiatives that bridge cultures, countries, and continents.

GEN builds bridges between policy-makers, governments, NGOs, academics, entrepreneurs, activists, community networks and ecologically-minded individuals across the globe in order to develop strategies for a global transition to resilient communities and cultures.

The Institute actively supports the practice of permaculture in Romania from an economic and environmental perspective, through research, education, demonstration sites, cooperation, and connection to similar national and international institutions in the region and in the EU.

Liberta Care is an organization (Foundation) that provides social relief. Everyone has talents and can develop them, depending on the right circumstances and guidance.

Talents ensure that people can develop into independent citizens who can provide for themselves (according to their ability).

The network promotes cooperation and the transfer of experience between Local Action Groups (LAGs). It has more than 160 LAG members covering more than 90% of the country. LAGs are public-private partnerships made up of representatives of municipalities, local entrepreneurs (including farmers) NGOs and active citizens.

The Permaculture Association is working to radically and positively change the way we live in the UK and actively supports a worldwide movement. We’re helping educate, network, support and redesign all aspects of our daily lives to transform ourselves, our communities and our landscapes.

Permakultur Danmark is a membership association which includes 9 local networks throughout Denmark and a number of so-called LAND centres which help people to understand and appreciate permaculture. Permaculture is a design process that helps design intelligent systems which meet human needs whilst enhancing biodiversity, reducing our impact on the planet, and creating a fairer world.

To find out more about guided tours, skills-exchange and courses and how you can learn, share and volunteer check out the website.

The association Permakultur Institut was founded in 1983 and has developed into the most stable organization of the permaculture movement in German-speaking countries. The purpose of the association is to support the development of sustainable lifestyles. To this end, we organize educational work and network permaculture activists. We realize our educational mission through our special-purpose company, the Permaculture Academy, which has been offering “further training in permaculture design” since 2003.

The Permaculture Association in Sweden promotes permaculture’s vision of a sustainable society and works to adapt and develop permaculture according to Swedish conditions. We make visible, connect and support projects with a permaculture orientation, in cities and in the countryside, throughout Sweden.

Red de Transición (RedT) is a non-profit association recognized by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, which is part of the international Transition Movement (supported by the Transition Network), also known as Towns and cities in Transition (Transition Towns), especially during its origins.

We are part of a great ecosocial experiment that supports people and their communities to move towards more sustainable and regenerative ways of life with less dependence on fossil fuels, at a time of very probable and imminent ecosocial collapse, respecting the biophysical limits of the planet. , and promoting a cultural change towards degrowth based on collective action, care and mutual support.

The Iberian Ecovillage Network is the network that relates, connects and brings together:

• The different Ecovillages that are operating in the Iberian Peninsula.
• The different Ecoaldeas projects that are wanting to be created.
• To different Associations with similar objectives.
• To the people who are living, searching, finding how to express ourselves, concretize ourselves in this world: respecting the Planet, respecting the People.

In November 2001, the Founding Assembly of the Iberian Network of Ecovillages was held in Madrid. From then until today our basic objectives are:

• The exchange of information and resources between members of the network, other people or groups.
• The diffusion of the concept of ecovillage and sustainable settlement.
• Facilitate the approach of people who, from towns and cities, want to bet on these ways of life.

Resilience.Earth SCCL is a nonprofit cooperative of change management, committed to community resilience and regenerative design and social and solidarity economy as critical tools for the social, ecological and economic transformation.

The members of the cooperative offer diverse services, as design, planning and evaluation; facilitation and training; or innovation and research. We work with more than 50 local and international organizations, we have provided support to more than 100 projects, communities, municipalities and institutions who want to face the challenges of our times, in a positive, creative, stimulating sustainable way.

Rete Italiana villaggi ecologici (the Italian Network of Ecological Villages) is an association made up of communities, ecovillages, community projects and individuals interested in promoting and supporting community experiences.

Different realities take part in RIVE in terms of philosophical orientation, vision and organization, but all inspired by a model of sustainable life from an ecological, social, spiritual and economic point of view, meaning by sustainability the attitude of a human group to satisfy own needs without reducing, but rather improving, the environmental prospects, present and of future generations.

The Schumacher Institute is a think tank. We believe that our planet faces complex social, economic and environmental crises that are hard to solve, however, we are optimistic that solutions can be found. We apply systems thinking to explore and test sustainable options, which acknowledge the complexity of our world. We see social justice as integral to sustainability and look for answers that are fair to all, within the limits the Earth can sustain.

SCCAN is a volunteer-led network with membership open to any community group across Scotland that is taking action on the climate crisis and to any organisation that is involved with or supports such community-led action.

Sunny Hills of Istria is a project that aims for sustainable revitalization of rural area of Slovene Istra.

Association Sunny Hill organises workshops, retreats, conferences and events immersed in pristine nature, away form the hustle and bustle of the cities but still, only half hour away from tourist centers at Slovene and Croatian Adriatic coast.

Cooperative Sunny Hills of Istria offers the venue. 200 years old traditional building where the events take place was fully renovated in 2016 and exhibits sustainable solutions such as compost toilets, reedbeds for waste water treatment, clay plasters and more.

Cooperative and association are entangled in a vibrant community that hosts long and short term volunteers who help with the household, maintenance, garden and whatever is on the to do list at a time. Cooperative members, volunteers and long term guests live and work together in luxurious simplicity following four guidelines: agreement of people, harmony of space, resonance of life, and joy of co-existence.

Park Istra is a charity organization, located in a beautiful inland of Istria region. Our mission is to help the local population and support sustainable development with daily volunteer actions throughout our region. We help people whenever they need our hardworking hands, but we especially like to support the ideas and projects that bring long-term positive effects to our region and beyond.

Terra Livre has teams able to design educational programs for cultural and regional specific needs. Contact them for training, mentoring, and consultancy in Project Management, Governance and Decision Making, Regenerative Practices, Community Building, and Entrepreneurial Initiatives.

The Irish Local Development Network CLG is the representative body for Ireland’s Local Development Companies. These 49 not-for-profit groups are building inclusive, vibrant communities and better life chances for people in every part of Ireland.