The Regen village way of life is a perfect illustration of how humans could live harmoniously with nature. Undoubtedly, the design takes an eco-driven lens, placing most of its focus on optimising the system - much the opposite of egocentric methods. The village ecosystem is confined within a circular area - self-sufficient and detached from civilization. Its architectural composition creates a dynamic community space that restores social cooperation. In some way, it is its own world in a bubble, but how does it fit into the pluriverse?
The villages propose a relatively specific way of living, subjectively a eurocentric vision of future living. The world may be tailored for specific types of people (those who would like to escape to a simple, leisurely environment ). However, how can we make the ReGen village world adapt to a greater diversity of backgrounds? The Fourth Declaration of the Lacándon Jungle states: “The world we want is a world in which many worlds fit”. We cannot deny the interconnectedness of different worlds to each other, so I would question how Regen Villages can connect with both nature, and societies of the outside world.
How would I modify Regen Villages to better align my values/worldview?
I navigate my life through connections, exploration, experiences, and growth, and openness is a value I hold strongly. After learning about the pluriverse, I now understand the importance of learning from diverse worldviews. My modifications cannot speak for everyone. Therefore, to reiterate the villages with relationality, I would first invite perspectives from different cultures and communities. Along with this, I propose two personal modification approaches:
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The first, to make spaces within the village more malleable, to welcome a heterogeneous community. The constructed walls and structures seem to feel slightly untouchable since they serve specific functions, some managed by the Village OS. Throughout the briefs for Regen village, I have not seen a mention of personalisation. However, we must create more flexible and customisable spaces to invite the people of different ways of living and cultures to help shape the Regen Village ‘world’ to their own. As Teo Montoya said in his Indigenous futures podcast, ”Indigenous people found belonging by entertaining a pan-tribal existence … to see the different tribes, to see all the different dances, to hear all the different songs, and even share in those” (Montoya, 2020). It is important for the people to have their own spaces or expression, for tradition, for connection with and between indigenous cultures and non-indigenous. In Chinese culture, we celebrate several festive events throughout the year. Personally, I would add a cultural hub, perhaps a large tent, where people can cook, eat and celebrate traditions together. This will make life and connections in the village much more exuberant.
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The second approach (future adaptation idea): To branch the villages from isolation to accessibility. In my worldview, freedom is extremely valuable, and the ‘outside world’ is something I seek out to connect to and explore without limits. Regen Villages was initially designed exclusively for rural areas but I would like to also see it implemented in suburban areas. The current model separates itself from urban cities, however, weaving these sustainable systems closer to cities can influence system shifts on a larger scale. We are currently living in the era of the Anthropocene (where humans have a large environmental impact). And to guide sustainable management requires a “shift in human behaviour, internationally accepted, large scale geoengineering projects to optimise climate” (Crutzen, 2002).
Although redistributing living towards rural areas may be the most sustainable solution, I believe that megacities will be inevitable, with many transition designs focused on reinventing city components (the hyperloop, vertical forest). Just as a speculation, Regen villages could be transformed into bubbles of living headquarters within cities or in neighbourhood type areas. It should still keep the principle of self sufficiency and circulatory resource management, however provide easy transport pathways to city areas. This allows greater freedom for those living in it, and promotes the mingling and reinforcement of values and practices between the two systems (Regen Villages and capatilistic urban areas). By doing so, the people who live in city areas can adapt to more circular systems, and this will deliver a long term change to peoples' living patterns and behaviours. This will serve to create larger incremental improvements towards large scale sustainability.
References
Crutzen, P. Geology of mankind. Nature 415, 23 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/415023a
Effekt. (n.d.). ReGen Villages [Illustration]. https://www.effekt.dk/regenvillages
Quote in Ejército Zapatista De Liberación Nacional, translated in : de la Cadena, M., Blaser, M., & de la Cadena, M. (2018). A World of Many Worlds. Amsterdam University Press.
Montoya, T. (2020, November 1). Exploring Indigenous Futurisms [Podcast]. Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6voZb14VpOD2zqPPZhy7ya?si=GdRmQQUrTpu6UR6Hb9X3eQ&utm_source=native-share-menu&dl_branch=1
National Geographic Society. (2019, June 5). Anthropocene. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/anthropocene/
