Sicilia Integra
Design for Sustainability and Organic Food Systems Five-week Course
Sicilia Integra: Five-week Course
For Migrants, Refugees and Sicilian Youth
17 Oct – 18 Nov 2016
Comunale di Floridia, Viale Turati, Floridia, Sicily
Presented by Sicilia Integra, Gaia Education, University of Catania and Passwork
The project benefits from a range of methodologies that include approaches developed by best practices within the sustainability education, ecovillages, agroecology and Fair Trade movements.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) supports migrants and unemployed youth to gain a clear understanding of the viable alternatives for food security and healthy diets while promoting organic food production that in turn will strengthen local economies and develop sustainable micro enterprises and small farms.
This, combined with a practical and reflective education through an interactive curriculum of activities and on-the-job training, enables the creation of new pathways for migrants and unemployed youth that develops new skills, improves their social status and facilitates their entrance into the regional and European organic agricultural job market.
Week 1 – Social Design
May East
Chief Executive, Gaia Education, and Findhorn Ecovillage, supported by Caterina Timpanaro and Vincenzo Santiglia
Week 2 – Economic Design
Massimo Candela
President, Italian Permaculture Academy, Ecovillage Torri Superiore
Week 3 – Ecological Design
John Button
Permaculture Designer Educator, experience in 30 countries on five continents
Week 4/5 – Organic Food Systems
Prof Paolo Guarnaccia
Department of Agriculture, University of Catania
[fbls]
Sicilia Integra
A Journey of a Thousand Miles…
Imagine a journey, a journey that takes you many miles from home, across land and sea. Our story is of a migratory journey.
The Context
Each year thousands of men, women and children attempt a dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Many of them end up in Sicily.
Grani di Gaia
Much more than pasta: the ancient organic grain, the mill, the master baker...
Five-week Course Fall 2016
For migrants, refugees and Sicilian youth. 17 Oct - 18 Nov 2016 at Comunale di Floridia, Viale Turati, Floridia, Sicily.
Five-week Course Summer 2016
For migrants and Sicilian youth. 23 May - 24 Jun 2016 Dom Bosco 2000, Piazza Armerina, Sicily.
Implementation Methodologies
Developed by best practices within the sustainability education, ecovillages, agroecology and Fair Trade movements.
See our other Project Based Learning programmes
A Journey of a Thousand Miles…
Imagine a journey, a journey that takes you many miles from home, across land and sea. Our story is of a migratory journey.
Building Capacity and Empowering Communities towards Sustainable Agriculture, Aquaculture Development and Climate Change Adaptation Interventions
A four-year project in the districts of Khulna and Bagerhat, Southern Bangladesh. Funded by Scottish Government. Partners: BASD, CIFAL Scotland.
Courage Chocolate for an Inclusive Valentine
The project combines the wild herbs of the Iblei territory with the traditional art of chocolate making of Sicily with a view of opening opportunities for the young women in organic herbal chocolate making.
Courage Chocolate for an Inclusive Valentine 2020
This project aims to build the capacity of these young women to begin a new life as they arrive in a region with the richest concentration of biodiversity in Europe, in terms of medicinal and aromatic herbs.
Design for Sustainability and Organic Food Systems for Asylum Seekers
Six-week Course for Asylum Seekers in Avnstrup, Denmark. Funded by Udlændingestyrelsen. Partners: Chora Connection, Gaia Trust and Red Cross Denmark.
Education for Sustainable Development: Holistic Curriculum for Youth & Guide for Educators
Socio-Economic Integration of Migrants and Sicilian Youth through Organic Products, Design for Sustainability and Organic Food Systems in Sicily. Funded by LUSH, Eileen Fisher and the Global Whole Being Fund.
Five-week Course Fall 2016
For migrants, refugees and Sicilian youth. 17 Oct - 18 Nov 2016 at Comunale di Floridia, Viale Turati, Floridia, Sicily.
Five-week Course Summer 2016
For migrants and Sicilian youth. 23 May - 24 Jun 2016 Dom Bosco 2000, Piazza Armerina, Sicily.
Grani di Gaia
Much more than pasta: the ancient organic grain, the mill, the master baker...
Implementation Methodologies
Developed by best practices within the sustainability education, ecovillages, agroecology and Fair Trade movements.
Increasing Food Security, Income Generation and Environmental Sustainability
A three-year project in the villages of Guede Chantier, Lahel, Mounduwaye and Diarra, Podor Region, Northern Senegal. Funded by UK AID. Partners: CIFAL Scotland and Le Partenariat.
Milestones Year 1
Delivering training courses in climate change awareness, Permaculture Design and Ecovillage Design.
Milestones Year 1
Building skills in sustainable village design, permaculture and agroforestry to achieve sustainable food production for subsistence and income generation.
Milestones Year 1
42 community, NGO and university student leaders took part in Transition Town Training and EDE Training with 77 villagers attended the ecological dimension at Jinjira village. These practical sessions have created a lasting impact on the village.
Milestones Year 1
Youth leaders are taking a Conservation Agricultural Training in Zambia. 2017 saw the beginning of this 3-year project in the districts of Chitambo, Serenje and Mkushi.
Milestones Year 2
Further developing and growing new sites for food and water security, while strengthening communities’ resilience to climate change.
Milestones Year 2
Observing the outstanding results attained in four villages from using the permaculture and agroforestry knowledge gained during training.
Milestones Year 2
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced to the tribal women. They were able to associate each one of the Goals to their reality.
Milestones Year 2
Poultry training, Sustainable Organic Agriculture trainings... The youths are learning more about conservation and agriculture in 2018.
Milestones Year 3
Increasing varieties in crop production, preserving water and surpassing domestic requirements.
Milestones Year 3
Twenty new women have benefited by the creation of plots in a garden extension in Diarra and a new pipeline has been installed to carry water there.
Milestones Year 3
250 families engage in the Grow Your Own Food Project, totalling 750 families in all. The average supplementary income was in the range of 6,000 to 9,000 Rupees.
Milestones Year 3
Year 3 has started with Beekeeping Training and hives are already being colonised.
Milestones Year 4
Developing sustainable agriculture and aquaculture techniques, while increasing female participation.
Regenerative Strategies for Climate Justice in Odisha, India
Empowering and Building Capacity of Tribal Communities of Koraput District in Odisha to Increase Food Security, Strengthen Social Cohesion and Enhance Climate Resilience. Funded by Scottish Government and Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland. Partner: THREAD.
Sicilia Integra
Socio-Economic Integration of Migrants and Sicilian Youth through Organic Products, Design for Sustainability and Organic Food Systems in Sicily. Funded by LUSH, Eileen Fisher and the Global Whole Being Fund.
The Context
Each year thousands of men, women and children attempt a dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Many of them end up in Sicily.
Youthful Herbal Chocolate
This project aims to build the capacity of these young women to begin a new life as they arrive in a region with the richest concentration of biodiversity in Europe, in terms of medicinal and aromatic herbs.
Zambian Youth for Conservation, Agriculture and Livelihood Action (ZYCALA!)
A three-year project in the districts of Chitambo, Serenje and Mkushi in Central Province, Zambia. Funded by Scottish Government. Partners: WWF Zambia and YEFI.
Project Based Learning – Supporting SDGs Implementation
Gaia Education’s Project Based Learning is a dynamic learning approach in which stakeholders acquire appropriate skills and analytical tools while actively exploring real-life solutions to the challenges of designing sustainable settlements.
We work with traditional and indigenous communities in the global South to improve the way they manage their environments and villages, while addressing climate change vulnerabilities. Engaged communities benefit with more stable and fertile soil, secure supply of food, clean water and enhanced livelihoods.
