CONTEXT

It is easy to become disempowered by events happening around the world that seem to be taking humanity in the direction of greed and short-term self preservation. Social inequality, climate change, geopolitical resource wars, rising fascism, neo-slavery… At the same time, people across the world are experimenting with new forms of organising; where decision-making takes each of us, all forms of life, the earth and our collective future into consideration. These networks and projects are already shaping the world. There are so many things to get excited by. Global peace movements, activists in politics, indigenous land rights, civil society supporting refugees, ecovillages, local currencies and the growing sharing economy, transitions towns and cities of the future, the largest ever worldwide union for women's rights….    

The question is, how do we prepare ourselves for this work?

  Eroles Project creates space for learning and exchange in the form of Eroles residencies. During and after the residencies we support one another to dare to step into making the changes we feel are needed in our own lives. To have the courage to be response-able to the the world around us. As a network of changemakers we collaborate on diverse projects across the world to make tangible, joyful and radical social change. Being part of a thriving community keeps us inspired; through gatherings, residencies and an online forum. We invite you to join us.

OUR STORY

The project was seeded in November 2014 when a few friends, Maria Llanos Del Corral, Annabie Daly, and Ruth Cross participated in a course at Ecodharma Centre in Spain. After they stayed a few days with Carol Alvarez, a core member of Ecodharma, in her creative and spacious house La Casita de Colores, nestled in the hamlet of Eroles in the Catalonian Pyrenees. During those days they had a vision of transforming the space into a living collaborative experiment. A group of enthusiastic artists, activists, performers, change-makers, innovators and sustainability experts came together to make this dream a reality. Inspired by different experiences from places such as Schumacher College, The Spanish CSOA’s (Squat Self-managed Social Centres), EcoDharma and Embercombe, we wanted to create a place where we could gather, ask the big questions and explore the answers together. Since then we've expanded our work from Summer residencies to also include leading on action-based projects, running workshops in other places and growing the network to support change-makers all over the world. There is a team of four people who work with organising Eroles Project activities, with a large network of supporters who help us make decisions and an advisory board who help to steer the direction of our work. The house in Eroles has now turned into the Ulex Centre, home of The Ulex Project which runs high quality and much needed trainings for social movement impact and resilience, during the Autumn and Spring. Eroles Project has been invited to continue holding residencies in the centre during the summers.

The Eroles Approach

Community

When we cook, garden and live together in community, learning becomes an integral part of the whole experience. We learn to listen to what is emerging in ourselves in response to activities and the group. There is no single person in control of what happens; everyone is influencing the possibilities of how and what we create together. This can be challenging, but living and working in community is a rich space to learn how change happens inside and outside of ourselves.

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Complexity

Complexity research informs our understanding of how change happens on a large scale by explaining how global issues begin from the amplification of multiple small happenings. Instead of looking at big issues as if they are unrelated to our individual lives, we seek to increase our own perception and understanding of how we and others amplify or change the complex patterns of global issues.

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Action Learning

We attempt to understand how change happens through an iterative cycle of reflection, learning, stillness and action. We believe learning by reflecting is crucial, so that we can evolve with our changemaking rather than replicate outdated patterns of behaviour.

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Our Values

Team Members

Dr Alexandra Lagaisse

Mona Rathsman

Ruth Cross

María Llanos del Corral

Board Members

Gilbert Jassey

Doctor Shantena Sabbadini

Professor Eve Mitleton-Kelly

Jill Mackechnie

Doctor Patricia Shaw

Our Partners

These are friends who we sometimes collaborate with, share ideas with and who do amazing things.