Pedagogical Inovation and Children's Action on Circular Economy Projects
EKOA is a Learning Community, a group of families searching for a better learning environment for them as parents, for their children and the community. We have been working on the autonomy, sociocratic relatioships, community involvement, ecological practices on agriculture and healthy food with children. And
in moment, we have an open window to act on Carbon Zero construction with HempEcoSystems, across borders, to be ambassadors of Climate change on Circular Economy goal.
Cross-border/international
Portugal
Denmark
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Explaining its beginning and Region/Municipalitiy involved we intend to say that: This project was previously named Comunidade 7 Pétalas (2021), with Noemi Paymal’s inspiration and guidance. And latter with José Pacheco’s guidance (2022), until today, who is the founder of “Escola da Ponte”. It exists for almost 3 years in Fafe, Portugal. The Iniciative "Faféducação" with Fafe’s Municipality support, helped preparing the outcome of this project through the developpment of workshops with invited guests, for educational change. In this present moment we in partnership with a company with ecological Carbon Zero construction, named HempEcoSystems, and its Hempel Climate Change (2023) Institute arising in Denmark with the Municipility Middelfart and which integrates strongly Circular Economy, and whose founder is Jorgen Hempel, a danish citizen now living in Fafe, Portugal.
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Yes
ERASMUS
Project n°619336-EPP-1-2020-1-PT-EPPKA2-CBY-ACPALA - certificates YouthPass.
Through YUPI (Youth union of people with iniciative), we had an non-direct ERASMUS participation. YUPI works with the CES (European Solidarity project working with EU funds, makes possible for young people, have volunteerl participation during a period that can go from 2 to 12 meses, num país da União Europeia ou país parceiro, as they did in our project. Their portuguese contact: Rua Camilo Castelo Branco 96, 4760-127 Vila Nova de Famalicão; geral@yupi.pt; +351 927 113 521
No
Yes
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): Mundo em Flor Association Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Natalie Last name of representative: Martins Gender: Female Nationality: Portugal Function: Pedagogical representative, working for "Teach For Portugal" https://teachforportugal.org/ Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Rua da Escola, 62, Fornelos Town: Fafe Postal code: 4820-429 Country: Portugal Direct Tel:+351 934 963 034 E-mail:giselalexandra@gmail.com Website:https://www.facebook.com/comunidadeekoa/
Name of the organisation(s): Parish Council of Fornelos Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: David Last name of representative: Fernandes Gender: Male Nationality: Portugal Function: President Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Praça Mártires do Fascismo, 26, Fornelos Town: Fafe Postal code: 4820-422 Country: Portugal Direct Tel:+351 965 242 514 E-mail:geral@jf-fafe.pt Website:https://www.fornelos.pt/
Name of the organisation(s): HEMPECOSYSTEMS Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: Jorgen Last name of representative: Hempel Gender: Male Nationality: Denmark Function: Founder Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Rua Camilo Castelo Branco, 91, 1º, Sala C Town: Vila Nova de Famalicão Postal code: 4760-127 Country: Portugal Direct Tel:+351 962 477 858 E-mail:hemp@hempandlime.com Website:https://www.hempecosystems.org/
Name of the organisation(s): Hempel Climate Institute (under foundation) Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Jorgen Last name of representative: Hempel Gender: Male Nationality: Denmark Function: Founder Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: CO Municipaly of Middlefart, Nytorv 9 Town: Funen Postal code: 5500 Country: Denmark Direct Tel:+351 962 477 858 E-mail:middelfart@middelfart.dk Website:http://www.middelfart.dk/
Name of the organisation(s): Quinta do Minhoto (Rural Tourism and center for workshops and others) Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: David Last name of representative: Fernandes Gender: Male Nationality: Portugal Function: Director Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Paçô Street, 90, Fornelos Town: Fafe Postal code: 4820-428 Country: Portugal Direct Tel:+351 965 242 514 E-mail:quintadominhoto@gmail.com Website:http://quintadominhoto.com/
Name of the organisation(s): Fafe Municipality Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Paula Maria Last name of representative: Ramos Nogueira Gender: Female Nationality: Portugal Function: Councilwoman for Education and Youth Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Av. 5 de Outubro 177 Town: Fafe Postal code: 4820-115 Country: Portugal Direct Tel:+351 253 700 400 E-mail:paula.nogueira@cm-fafe.pt Website:https://cm-fafe.pt/
We have been develloping a path of ecological, participatory grow on children, families and community, in sociocratic way of living in respect for nature and all human. With this proposal we intend to go further in our intervention, giving competences to every person that is participant on it. So, our aim is to devellop interventions on spreading Circular Economy specially on the Construction field which produces the bigest footprint and change the present and the future. model houses with children, presentig it nationaly and internationaly, as we have a partenrship with Denmak's Climate Hempel Institute and Hemp Eco Systems. In an educational sociocratic way we aim to grow in respect to better way of existance, continuing the path already achieved among us and with these important partnerships. We want to engage on a mission that aims to change mentalities, in an educational respectfull manner, practical and transparent. We believe in potencial human value in each one and on the natural connection possible with these participatory actions. Grow in pleasure and self-esteam, we are most certain on the dream of thriving this chalenge:)
Pedagogical Inovation
Participatory Comunitarian Actions
Human Grow
Eco-building and circular economy change
Present and Future through children's action
HempEcoSyastems has developed a complete series of building materials, substituting sintetic products. The four materials are derived directly from nature (hemp, hidrated lime, natural minerals and water). These materials regulate humidity in houses without using ventilations, they lower consumption of energy by 30 to 50 percent, they do not burn or rot and their cost is close to actual building materails. Their foot print is below the requirement of any Government or Technical Institution, with its 30 years of technical devellopment, before arriving to this result. This has been aproved by Universities, such as Bath University, Polithecnical of Milan, and more. Sustainabilitie is already an ongoing proven path that will be strongly adressed with our initiative, develloping with children the possibilitie of demonstrating its processes and results, and in this way achieving more and more effective results. Also, with the partnership and strong participation of the Hempel Climate institute ongoing, with the aim for world distribution of expertise and knowledge, sustainability with effect on climate and people's health will continue to be implemented in a very serious and practical way. So, our sustainability objectives are. 1. Climate improvement; 2. More healthy living conditions; 3. Spreading this information to the younger generations; 4. Making young generations active participants on social field.
Building an healthier environment for people and nature, we search for effective results in changing people's lifes, local and globally. This will affect them emotionally through the following points: 1. Being participants on discussion groups; 2. Making decision on their own lives; 3. Presenting this to others; 4. Improving their lifes, even on the possible new economical activities they can go through, they will get a sense of comunitarian participation and everyone's life improvement, but also self-fullfillment on working for a better world.
1. Childrens, families and communitie as ambassadors of HempEcoSystems tecnhiques and Circular Economiy in Portugal and abroad. 2. Learning specific skills in building ecologically and on Circular Economy. 3. Puting in pratice this skills and knowledge, throug actions, as model houses, and other pratical materials wich will be used to demonstrate. 4. Envolving others in these pratices as a means of teaching and making this a movement, always replicable and receiving inputs of improval; 5. Working in a planned and evaluative manner, with investigative centers and municipalities, who can participate spreading these actions;
The municipalities, schools and other entities, will always be involved in a participatory and educational manner. 6. The aim already going through with our sudents, as connecting to the nature in its present and future, connecting to himselfs as responsible, conscious and active citizens, being a model to parents an peers and the overall society will increase and show wonderful results in their present as well as in their future; 7. The objective of increasilgly go adjusting the project incorporating not only new participants and partners, but also new ideas and actions, growing its influence on the global change (wich is always local in its beginning); 8. We intend to act on helping to reinforce or discover the natural sensitivity that exists in each one of us (no change begins outside the individual), to the beauty of nature and our relation with it, the deap meaning of our relation to nature and protection on all of us as one nature and humankind. The participatiory level of every achievement, the beauty on living healthier an happier in harmonie and complentarity. Connections in some manner lost with the industrialized society, economical interests and self-fulfillment needs, all of this which can be understand widelly with the UBUNTU concept, the notion of the inter-independence of all human beings and with nature's beautifull example.
In our goals, we intend clearly, which in no other way could it be accomplished:
1. Present and future parterships, as a movement toward everyone's participation. Per se partnerships mean the comittement, involevment of new public, priorizing a part of their lives, discovering complementarity on nature's and humankind, understandig and defense, towards a better home living.
2. We intend to devellop participation, through citizen assemblies, school assemblies, conferences, and all kinds of presentations, with open round tables, including concrete examples, in a starting questions manner, as a pedagogial, empowerfull strategy, as we in our shool do when a student has to do its process of finding his inner needs, realising the consciousness of living complementarly in a society, plannig when, why and how to put them in pratice, and establish a compromisse, which then can be followed, supported, evaluated, re-evaluated, re-done (a wonderfull challenge for growing). 3. We intend to help the public, "our new friends in this goal", to experiment, try through practical workshops or other comunity projects to understand and learn how to put this in pratice, gainnig the feeling of being capable on changing, and improving their lives. From litlle to bigger steps. 4. We intend to make a serious register on this achievementes and the ongoing process in order to reinforne the capability of feeling and proud to show to other as an example what each of us all are capable off, through all kind of advertising and in a regular, intensive manner; 5. We intend to involve all public, no matter age, in this processes, either by obersing, by touching, by feeling, by creating, by sharing, by saying how it is making them feel. Comparing after and before, designing and re-designing projects, puting in action ideas an ideals. 6. We aim to create a network spreading the actions made real and the possibilities, upon support in a manner that everyone feels inviolved.
1. Present and online meetings.
2. Associação Ekoa through internal meetings between children, parents, educators.
3. Associação Ekoa, the Municipalities, and HempEcoSystems, through meetings.
4. Received training from José Pacheco, Escola da Ponte founder, with 40 year experience on Communities of Learning:
5. Faféducação initiative.
Our learning community is based on project work. To this extent, we have developed projects around the design of buildings with our children. This intentional approach, freely chosen according to the interests of the children, makes it possible to integrate:
- Basic notions of architecture;
- Basic notions of Engineering;
- Basic notions of building a circular economy;
- Research and planning;
- Action based on autonomy, creativity and cooperative work.
2. Community participation, educators. parents and partners took place actively through the exchange of ideas on this topic and the design of intervention possibilities. At the moment, a design procedure for an ecological construction project is taking place between HempEcoSystems and the Parish Council of Fornelos, with the envisaged support of the Council, in which an ecologically sustainable school will emerge. This same school already has the ideas of the children and will count on their introduction to construction techniques in the future.
3. This project, which among others, counts on the participation of the community, families and community of Fafe and Fornelos, which will materialize through participation in the design, construction, professional specialization and consequent job creation and offer of ecologically sustainable social housing.
4. The sociocratic, participatory vision of valuing human beings, improving their living environment and cooperative work, which we have already developed with the children but which we increasingly want to develop simultaneously with the community, creating bonds, has always been in progress, is one of the major objectives pursued and the greatest work base that we believe we have at hand for a happy and citizen construction.
5. The connection with the Hempel Climate institute has been worked on since November and actively in January by the founder of HempEcoSytems, jorgen Hempel, always traveling but residing in Fafe.
Having Children as Embassadors, and with local partnerships and with the partnership of HEMPECOSYSTEMS, as a certified parter for this knowledge and action, with 30 years of experience worldwide, we are fully certain of the actions we will engage in, in such a participatory, sociocratic, community discussion level.
All our work adresses spreading the concepts in local, national and international fields.
Educational approach and participatory approach creates bridges of possible action.
Through a strong, clear advertising we intend to atract public attention to our knowledge and actions.
Spreading the concepts throug students and comunitie participation.
As referred, the methodology will be a practical, sociocratical, participatory, empowering people and communities.
Through pratical and theoretical wokshops, demonstrative and active, we aim to show the Society a better way of conneting people and nature and improving well-being in healthy environments, that include the care of all.
Building concrete examples of this kind of ecological building, wich includes circular economy, we will be effectively spreading the change we aim.
We already have the partnerships needed for the project and will count on their fulkly support.
Eco-building and circular economy change, will permite to change presente and future throuh practice and dicussion co-work, towards a circuklar Economy strong implemented sustem, growing in steps.
Transforming society with the implementation of new ecological well-being places, comunity co-participated and then, with the possibility of creating new jobs, nem lovers for nature.
Support on experience, with prooven and certified techniques. Too with the active participation of the Danish Center for investigation and training and, with the supportos pa partnership being established with the Portuguese Investigation Center in Engeniering located in Porto, and some interested scholars.
Practical actions on spreading the concept with children´s participation, through workshops and experiences on building little model houses.
