Call-out 2012

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Ecotopia Biketour 2012: Towards Degrowth (6th July - 19th September) - Join us!

We are very pleased to announce that registration for the biketour 2012 is open!

The Ecotopia Biketour is an eco-mobile do-it-yourself activist community which cycles through Europe each summer. This year our journey takes us through Catalonia, the South of France and Northern Italy and our theme is degrowth, challenging the damaging mentality of growth which overlooks real social and environmental values. We will visit projects, collectives and people who are experimenting with alternatives to growth, learn from each other and live sustainably! And we also have the challenge to get to cross both the Pyrénées and the Alps with the help of our trusty bikes :-)

The Route

Along our route of just over 2,000km we will visit squats, ecofarms and growing projects, social centres, intentional communities, cycle activists and bike workshops and take part in critical masses and actions against dirty developments. Our final destination is the international Degrowth conference in Venice (see http://www.ecotopiabiketour.net/links). We will be travelling through some stunning scenery, national parks, beaches and mountains as well as some mad tourist spots at the height of the summer season and big bustling cities. Paired with all our personal experiences to share, this exciting expedition will be fertile ground for thinking and acting out degrowth ideas. We have some awesome camp spots and activities planned but, as usual, there is room for us to create the biketour that we want together!

When?

After a preparation weekend in Barcelona from 6-9th July we will set off on our adventure on Monday 9th July, arriving in Venice just over 2 months later on 19th September. You don´t have to join us from the start, you can join the tour at any point along our route but we ask for you to come for at least a week, so you have the time to adapt to group dynamics. Please let us know in advance where you plan to join us and when we can expect you to show up. The itinerary is a continuous work in progress but the latest information can be found here: http://btwiki.ecobytes.net/Route_2012

How to join

We would love for you to join us, if:

1. you can cycle around 50 km per day (probably with some very hot days on hilly roads!)
2. you are interested in environmental and social justice issues and want to take part in actions
3. you want to take part in consensus decision-making (communicating!) and
4. you want to help with the daily tasks such as preparing meals, pulling trailers, washing up or tidying the sleeping places.

First: Read the info about the Biketour on our website & fill out the registration form asap: http://www.ecotopiabiketour.net/registration

Then: find out if you need visa for the countries we travel through: Spain, France and Italy are in the "Schengen" visa zone. Contact us, so we can see how we can help you to arrange your visa (see http://btwiki.ecobytes.net/Visa).

If you’re on facebook, you can join the Biketour event here and our facebook page here… following us on Twitter is also possible!

Each person pays a small participation fee, those with a better economic situation more than those who have less money. This fee should help cover everything – organisational effort, various events, actions, workshops, three vegetarian meals a day and a place to put up your tent (more info on the website).

There are a lot of hints and tips we can give you for getting ready for the Biketour, but to keep this invitation to a decent length, you can delve into our website yourself (http://www.ecotopiabiketour.net/) and look at everything there. And if you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

One final thing to let you know is that we are looking out for people who are interested in coordinating the biketour in 2013, if you think you might be interested make sure you come along this year so you will get a feel of what this involves :-)

Hope to see you this summer,

Alice & Joâo International coordinators 2012