Jake-Sustainable Higher Education

My name is Jake Jay-Lewin, I turned 20 on the 2nd of October 2012, and this is a little about me:

I was born into and lived for most of my life (age 7 till now) in the Findhorn Foundation and Community. This is an intentional Community based in Morayshire, in the North East of Scotland.

Apart from nine months in 2011 when I worked at an Outdoor-Activities centre in the south of England, I have lived here for all of my adult life. I have been working in the IT department of the Findhorn Foundation for the past twelve months.

Living and then working in an intentional community and being a part of the Foundation's vision as an education centre has given me an amazing chance to experience the world from a perspective that most young people miss out on, and I strongly believe more should get the chance to experience for themselves. I have had an almost unique chance to meet fellow young people from all over the world, interact with and befriend people of all ages from every corner of the globe, partake in organised events such as the 'Youth in Action' funded 'Butterfly Effect' International Youth Exchange (more info on this can be found by clicking here) and be able to independently create my own world-view based on my own experiences and interacting with those around me, rather than through the generic media and interaction with strong biased opinions.

What is 'Jake-Sustainable Higher Education'?

I chose this title as I think it best represents what I am trying to achieve over the next four years of my life. I strongly believe that education never stops and, importantly, that I need to live what I want to learn. It is for this reason that I have decided create my own individual pathway of learning. How, you might ask? Well to start with, from next February and for approximately five months, I am going to be travelling around the United States of America visiting as many intentional communities and Ecovillages as I can. Through doing this, I get the chance to learn from people based all over the country and gain experience and knowledge that is not only varied but will also give me a good base to work from in the coming years. At some point in the future, I aim to do the same thing in other areas of the world, creating a multi-cultural base of knowledge and experience. This will be something that I will benefit from personally but will also be able to pass on to others. Ultimately my goal is to contribute to promote international inter-community exchange. Especially ways that would allow children and young people to stay, work and learn in other communities - a sort of "International Community University". Obviously I cannot get a student loan to cover the costs of this 'life and learning adventure'. So I am looking for funding and support in addition to my own savings.

The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) is a growing network of sustainable communities and initiatives that bridge different cultures, countries and continents. GEN serves as an umbrella organization for Ecovillages, transition town initiatives, intentional communities and ecologically-minded individuals worldwide.

I am currently in talks with GEN and we are looking into the possibility of me officially becoming a 'GEN/NEXTGEN Ambassador' (NEXTGEN being the youth movement side of GEN). The exact specifics of my role are still being looked into. What it will mean is that I will have official backing on my journey, get to promote GEN/NEXGEN as I travel, support other community's engagement with GEN/NEXGEN and document my journey in a way that reaches more people.

I will more than welcome any donation of any amount, and if you live in the Findhorn area feel free to catch me for any work you may have!

Thank you all so much in advance for any and all contributions -Jake