Meander: (noun) the bend in a river that takes the path of least resistance 

so that the flow can continue.

 

To Meander: (verb) to go about in a winding, unhurried manner, 

open to exploring new pathways and revealing unexpected discoveries. 

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An innovative learning center located on the Meander River in the heart of Nova Scotia, Canada offering a retreat for meandering minds, bodies, and spirits, where together we discover new pathways to sustainable peace. Sustainable peace entails the physical, material, psychological, cultural/religious, and ecological well-being of all peoples. Meander Village serves both international visitors and the local community as a living model of a positive vision of our shared climate future, through ecological design, regenerative agriculture, peacebuilding and healing practices, and IPSE: Institute for Peace, Spirit, and Environment. IPSE gathers leading scholars together with a variety of change makers – in religious life, community engagement, activism, business, media – in a transformational research hub and learning community co-creating impactful ideas for a world of sustainable peace.

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Statement of Purpose

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We at Meander Village know we are standing at the hinge point of history, a critical moment when "securing a livable future" for humankind requires cutting net global greenhouse gas emissions roughly in half by 2030 and reaching net zero global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (IPCC AR6).

 

Meeting these ambitious targets will require unprecedented creativity, courage, and clarity, as well as a level of global cooperation never before seen in human history. Peace is a necessary first-step to this cooperation, yet genuine peace is more than the absence of physical violence. Real peace, sustainable peace, entails the physical, material, psychological, cultural/religious, and ecological well-being of all peoples, who ultimately share one planetary ecosystem.

 

Meander Village is a living model for reimagining and creating a shared climate future that is more equitable, just, and meaningful.

 

Meander Village cultivates and supports local and international peace and climate leadership in a restorative and innovative learning environment featuring:

• an operational biovillage–an ecovillage practicing sustainable living and peacebuilding–including conflict transformation and collective decision making,

• workshops that cultivate resiliency, peacebuilding skills, interconnected self-sufficiency, and adaptive, sustainable practices,

• artistic, musical, and cultural events to uplift, educate, and inspire,

• demonstration sites showcasing regenerative agriculture and ecological building techniques,

• a local farmer's market,

• a beautiful natural setting in the heart of Nova Scotia, in the Avon River watershed in the dynamic Fundy Shore and Annapolis Valley region

• and courses, workshops, and conferences offered through the transformational research hub of IPSE, attracting an international cadre of leading scholars and thinkers.

 

As part of the One Billion for Peace movement, our theory of change is "Local + Local + Local = Global": when we connect and energize the many individual efforts working towards a sustainable future, a movement emerges that makes civilizational change possible on a global scale. Meander Village is our local project that is a catalyst for global change. We invite you to this tranquil space to unwind and let your mind, body, and spirit meander, as together we find inspiration, learn, and co-create solutions for a future of sustainable peace.

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Commitments and Values

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As a project of BioEarth, Meander Village is imbued with BioEarth’s values rooted in a sustainable peace paradigm.

 

Additionally Meander Village commits to:

• Elevating Nova Scotia as an internationally recognized model of sustainability and climate leadership.

• Fostering ecological conservation and economic vitality in the Fundy Shore and Annapolis Valley region in the Avon River Watershed in the heart of Nova Scotia.

• Honoring the First Nations of the Mi'kmaq people whose unceded territory forms the setting of Meander Village, by deepening our understanding of Mi'kmaq history and culture, listening to and elevating their voices in our community, and exercising humility, reciprocity, deep listening, and fair compensation for any time and knowledge they wish to share.

• Supporting and amplifying aligned organizations working for sustainable peace.

• Nurturing diversity as a core strength of our organization and community.

• Respecting the needs of the other animals and plants with whom we share our ecosystem.

• Cultivating an organizational culture that understands sustainable peace as an ongoing journey of learning and unlearning, upholding both rights and responsibilities.

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