Our work

in the field of ecology

Since the early years of Eurasia Association, we have always sought to integrate the preservation and protection and preservation of the natural world into different facets of our work. In our conception, humans are not separate from nature and cannot be Happy as long as they experience themselves as separate from nature. By ‘Working towards Happiness’, we refer to the processes that support the development of the inner and outer conditions that allow individuals and organisations to develop their full potential, to learn to live in harmony with oneself and with others, in fair institutions, caring for our precious planet.

TTG, The Peaceful Bamboo Family was a pioneer for biodynamics in Vietnam and our wish is to share our knowledge widely, fostering the expansion of biodynamics in Vietnam. TTG has become a learning center for biodynamic agriculture and develops courses in biodynamics in Vietnam since 2017.

Our courses always include a mix of theoretical knowledge from Rudolf Steiner, as well as practical activities involving going out into the garden, looking at composting and preparing biodynamic supplements together. Through our courses, participants also get a sense of community-life first hand, and thus experience Steiner’s integrated view of socio-economic life.

THE HAPPY SCHOOLS PROGRAMME AND THE EMPOWERMENT PROJECT

Based on the experienced gathered over 20 years - and at the request of provincial authorities - Eurasia started an educational project to bring Mindfulness, Social and Emotional Learning and Ecological Awareness to the public schools in Hue. The first training session for 120 « Happy Schools teachers » was held in April 2018 with the support of the Education Department of the province, and a second batch of 120 teachers started their one-year training in August 2018. Over 6000 children are currently part of this pilot project. The project includes bringing classes to our community to learn about Biodynamic gardening, community life, arts and crafts. The aim is to fully empower our young people living with disabilities to become co- facilitators and trainers - together with our staff - of the children, adolescents, and students who come to TTG to learn about ecology, biodynamic agriculture, sustainable living, mindfulness, social innovation, arts and crafts, and community life.

There is a growing awareness in Vietnam of the environmental challenges caused by chemical and other pollution, loss of tropical forest and climate change. In this context, the TTG biodynamic organic garden offers an exceptional setting for children and youngsters to be actively involved in taking care of the planet, by caring for a garden and growing their own fruit and vegetables. However, we can no longer rely on our current garden, which is too small to welcome all the students and also as the focus of this garden is on producing food for the TTG community.

In order for us to develop our activities with school children, we need a bigger piece of land. We are currently fundraising in order to buy a piece of land next to TTG. We need a bigger vegetable garden where students, teachers and parents can come and experience nature and touch the importance of caring for the environment. Along with the garden we would like to create a natural space for outdoor physical activities, as well as a sensory experience park.

the inner dimensions of ecology: reconnecting to nature as a living being

ELI trainings - whether short one or two-day workshops or long-term courses, and our line of work with organisations -always intentionally includes this dimension of the inner reconnection to nature.

Our work often includes practices from The Work that Reconnects, an educational framework that comes from the Deep Ecology tradition. Joanna Macy developed the WTR practices over years of environmental activism and anti-nuclear work around the world.

This framework and line of work was born in direct response to the ecological challenges of our time. The philosophy of WTR is that humans are responsible for much of the harm done to nature including climate change, the mass extinction of species, soil degradation, and ocean acidification. This is due not only to our behaviors and systems, but also, our false assumption that nature is something separate from ourselves that we can exploit for our own gain. The ‘reconnects’ part of WTR refers to the reconnection with nature that must be made if we are to be responsible co-members in what Macy calls the ‘Web of Life’. What follows from this connection is a desire to protect our fragile environment and live in harmony with our source, the natural environment.