EDE - Avnø Højskole, Denmark
Overview
Type: Face to Face
Start Date: August 9th 2026
End Date: October st 2026
Website: avno.org
Contact: kristiane@avno.org
Certified by:
Hosted by:
Why this course?
The period between crises becomes shorter and shorter indicating that the world, as we know it, can’t continue. We face multiple imbalances. On the individual level – anxiety, stress, loneliness and poor health. At the collective level – inequality, discrimination, separation, oil crisis, financial crises and pandemic. On a global scale – climate and biodiversity crises, polluted air, water and soil.
For centuries we have improved life by treating symptoms and borrowing resources from future generations. We can’t maintain such an unsustainable lifestyle any longer. A paradigm shift is on its way. For a solution to work, it needs to be perceived as an increase in the quality of life.
The course Health, Happiness and Green Living is a unique opportunity to increase your understanding of how life works and learn how to design sustainable projects, such as a community, a garden, an economic system, an enterprise, as well as your own health, home and career.
What is this certified education about?
You will learn to design a successful community or business by using the sustainability wheel as a guiding framework.
You will explore how to create positive change in your (dream) community across social, cultural, ecological, and economic dimensions – while simultaneously enriching your own life.
A life-changing course for those who want to live in an ecovillage or ecocommunity or work in a community-oriented green project/business based on authentic relationships, shared values and permaculture design.
The venue
The emerging ecovillage Avnø Oasis is a vibrant space of enlightenment, community, transformation and change-making. No one will leave from there untouched. The same counts for an EDE. No wonder, that the combination of an EDE and Avnø Oasis is a perfect match!
Avnø Højskole, one of the first projects of Avnø Oasis offers a global learning space in an inspiring environment. Avnø Oasis is in the process of establishing a co-housing community, a health sanctuary and other green socio-economic enterprises. We aim to turn it into one of the most inspiring green hot spots in the world.
The venue is rather big, with enough space for students to both have privacy and also get the sense of community. Besides the classrooms and the well-equipped auditorium, you find facilities like a gym hall, a fitness center, a library, a music room and even a sewing and a painting room. Avnø is situated near the sea in beautiful natural surroundings with a public nature center just a short walk away. At the site, a permaculture garden is being established and the forest is just next to the main building, offering outdoor ‘classroom’ options.
During your stay you will have rich opportunity to
- Experience the creation of a living community with all its challenges and opportunities. A learning experience that is not possible in an established community.
- Become involved in designing and implementing green projects.
- Meet people from all over the world, who seek a higher quality of life and want to contribute to a better world.
As a student, you may be involved in group decisions, daily-life chores, cultural activities and entrepreneurship. A process that challenges and stimulates your willpower and develops your ability to actively participate in any type of community.
We look forward to having you here, exploring and developing this 3-months-long EDE adventure with us!
If you can’t join the full EDE, it is possible to join selected parts. Contact us for more information.
How to run an EDE?
Several of our EDE graduates have carried on organising EDE programmes in their local areas, and you are warmly encouraged to do so after completing your course.
The recommended time frame of an EDE is four weeks, however this is not fixed and varies with each individual programme.
The material can be condensed into smaller workshops, spread out over a longer period, or distributed in blocks at different times and locations.