Gaia Education EDE: Schloss Glarisegg, Switzerland | Jan 8-14 - Jan 2026

📅 08 - 14 Jan 2026 | 📍 Steckborn, Switzerland | 🏷️ course

The EDE by Gaia Education in Schloss Glarisegg is an immersive Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) program scheduled for January 8-14, 2026, at the picturesque Schloss Glarisegg ecovillage in Steckborn, Switzerland. Organized by GEN Europe in collaboration with Gaia Education, this intensive week-long course is tailored for aspiring ecovillagers, permaculture designers, community builders, and sustainability activists eager to master holistic regenerative living. Participants, from novices to experienced practitioners, will explore four core pillars: Social, Worldview, Economic, and Ecological design, with a strong emphasis on permaculture as the backbone for land-based regeneration.

Over seven transformative days, attendees will engage in hands-on workshops on ecovillage governance and conflict resolution, regenerative economics including alternative currencies and cooperative business models, ecological auditing and permaculture site analysis using tools like sector mapping and zoning, and personal worldview shifts through nature connection practices, meditation, and systems thinking. Expect field trips across the ecovillage's 22 hectares of forest gardens, strawbale buildings, and off-grid systems, where you'll learn to implement swales, food forests, natural building techniques, and biodiversity enhancement strategies directly applicable to European contexts. Renowned Gaia Education facilitators, certified permaculture teachers, and ecovillage residents serve as instructors, sharing real-world case studies from thriving communities like Schloss Glarisegg itself.

This event holds immense value for permaculture practitioners by providing a blueprint for scaling individual designs into community-scale projects, addressing common pitfalls in group dynamics, and integrating agroecology with social permaculture for long-term viability. You'll leave with an internationally recognized EDE certificate, a personal project proposal, and connections to a pan-European network of change-makers. Amid growing interest in resilient communities, this course equips you to pioneer or join ecovillages that model sustainable agriculture, zero-waste living, and environmental stewardship, making it essential for anyone committed to regenerative futures in Europe.