Slash your living costs with us by wintering in Goa!

[matslats]

Do you want to live more simply and with socially conscious people? Are you reluctant to leave the city because the nice places seem like social deserts with alien languages? Do you want to spend less time paying your overheads and more time doing whatever you want?

We are a small group of tele-working professionals planning to spend the coming winter working in a warmer, cheaper, and more relaxed setting.

We invite fellow social entrepreneurs to join us and share facilities such as wifi, cook, scooter, etc. We are looking for people who are engaged in some professional work (rather than just holidaying), and keen to spend time among like-minded people and support each other professionally and creatively.

The house chosen for the centre is near the village of Mandrem in the far north of Goa. It is next to http://www.atmangoa.com

Costs
Residents (October - May) will contribute 2000 Euros for the 8 months
Non residents will contribute 150 Euros per month (from November) for internet, proper workstations, daily meal and some transport & seminars. 1/3 off for payments made before end of September. Accommodation can be found very close by from around 100 Euros per month. A good meal can be had for one Euro.

We are:
Jo - Worked in London in CSR for a number of years before deciding that London was not conducive to sanity. Spent the last 2 years freelancing for an international NGO specialising in training and consultancy in Cross-sector partnering for sustainable development. Relocated to Goa a year ago, and have been blissfully happy tele-working from my sea-view terrace.

Jem - Works in Geneva and Brisbane as a consultant and academic, on responsible enterprise and partnerships for social change. Wanting more low-key time to write a book, develop a wild portal idea, and focus on just a few clients. Also wants to learn yoga and how to cook good curry.

Matthew - Spent some years doing IT with non-profits, but didn't like the affluence and complacency of Geneva life. Now working on software to help communities use complementary currencies in their own web sites. To this end I have recruited Nick...

Nick - Likes work, peace, people and dancing.

To join us, tell us about your work and any what other ideas you have to make this winter more productive, creative, affordable and fun! Write to [e-mail].

[Franz Nahrada]

great stuff! I activate the URL for convenience here

[Olga Ulyanova]

Hello, and what exactly do you plan to do? and what goals are pursuing?

[matslats]

Update: We're settled now, not in Goa, but in Auroville, which is much more appropriate. The office is up and running and the bedrooms are full...

[Franz Nahrada]

Hello - we recently established connections to Auroville veterans. One of them is Knut Berndorfer who is now located in Austria, another one is Frederick Schulze - Buxloh, one of the early Auroville pioneers whom I met recently in Vienna. It would be very interesting to have a GVN group or chapter in Auroville, helping us exploring the further development of the lifestyle and the design!

[matslats]

Thanks I will attempt to contact Frederick.

[Franz Nahrada]

Knut came to Auroville 20 years ago, at the time he was product manager for solar technology at the German company Messerschmitt - Bölkow - Blohm (now acquired by EADS). He was impressed by the self - confidence and determination of the locals. He taught physics at the school and came back for 10 years every winter from 1973 - 1980, because he had a parralel project in madas. He also made a studies on wind energy and biomass for Indian villages. The overall experience was that large firms have structural difficulties to really adapt and cooperate with villages. He tod me one of the most beautiful experiences he had was a worknight at the Matrimandia.....Knut is now head of the local GIVE group in Linz - GIVE/Globally Integrated Village Environment is the Austrian organisation that initiates GVN. We are thinking of how to fill the network with life, and the main issue is specialising on cooperation and knowledge transfer between villages. In january we will have a workshop in Vienna, to work on a model how this knowledge transfer can work. There is a technical side to this, and there is a social and cultural side. We want to bring all these sides together and create a pattern language in our January Workshop. - It would be great if we could have Auroville as participating location in our stream on January 25th, but I am affraid the time will be impossible for you, because we are doing it in the early evening in Vienna.