Global Ecovillage Network Ukraine

NGO 'GEN Ukraine' has been developing since 2018 a network of ecological communities and initiatives.
When the war began, with the partner NGO 'Permaculture in Ukraine', it created a map of locations (ecovillages and permaculture centers) ready to accommodate people seeking short-term or long-term shelter. As for the end of October we have around 70 locations in Ukraine and 300 in Western Europe, and Ukrainian locations hosted about 3,000 people.
Around 600 people are going to stay in the locations for winter. We coordinate people and locations, raise funds, and redirect them to the shelters.

Why ecovillages and permaculture centers?
- Our locations are in rural areas, which are safer than cities.
- Our network covers the whole of Ukraine, which allows people to find a location closer to them, but also to move around the locations as a corridor in case you are moving towards the western border. That's how the name "Green Road" came about.
- Ecovillages are quite sustainable due to cohesion, food supplies, and the ability to grow food.
- Most ecovillages have vacant houses that are used to house internally displaced persons.
- Residents of these communities are friendly and able to provide psychological support to displaced persons.
- Almost all communities have children, which simplifies the stay of displaced persons with children.

Currently, we have several areas of activity:
- Improving the living conditions of internally displaced persons. Often people are hosted in the old houses that had been abandoned. With the help of donations and grant support we have renovated around 60 houses and restored around 30 wells, provided basic things and household appliances. A lot of improvements were made but they are still not enough for winter time and the situation with economical and energy crises.
- Arrangement of playgrounds and playrooms. Internally displaced children and local children need comfortable and safe places to spend time. We installed a number of playgrounds and a lot of summer camps for children from displaced families took place in our locations in summer. But for winter there is a need to organise new common spaces for children.
- Development of agriculture. Our locations are able to grow food for themselves in an environmentally friendly way. Now they have an important task to provide food not only for themselves but also for the people they have sheltered, and even more. Food security is now of particular importance in Ukraine. Our locations need small agricultural machinery, greenhouses, rainwater collection tanks, etc. for efficient farming.
- Development of green energy. The situation with unstable access to fuel and power outages demonstrates the need to find alternative energy sources for self-sufficiency.
- Development of sustainable entrepreneurship. A lot of residents were left without income and the opportunity to continue their professional activities. They need to reorient and invest in new directions. The most promising in their situation are food processing, repair, and construction activities.

THE MOST URGENT NEEDS before the winter 2022/2023:
- generators, powerbanks, powerstations, solar panels, rechargeable flashlights
- isolation of old houses, changing windows, bringing water inside of the houses etc
- beds and warm blankets
- electricity and fuel coverage for low-income categories of people
- repair the car of the organisation that assures the logistics

STRATEGIC NEEDS
- Food processing machines for community businesses
- Building common community facilities: common houses, kitchens, playgrounds
- Holding soft skills and hard skills courses for strengthening the communities