Call-out 2012

Ecotopia Biketour 2012 - Towards Degrowth (9th July - 19th September)

English

Call-out 2012

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

We will have a preparation weekend in Barcelona from 6-9th July before setting off on our adventure on Monday 9th July, arriving in Venice just over 2 months later on 19th September. The theme this year is degrowth and on our journey through Catalonia, Southern France and Northern Italy we will be visiting projects, collectives and people who are experimenting with alternatives to growth as well as learning from each other and living sustainably. We also get to cross both the Pyrénées and the Alps with the help of our beautiful bicycles :-)

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 actions against dirty developments and critical masses. Our final destination is the international Degrowth conference in Venice. 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!

How to get involved

We would heartily welcome you to join us, if:

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

Each person is expected to pay a participation fee of €5/day minimum. Those with a better financial situation pay more than those who have less money and if this is too much for you you just need to talk to us. This fee should help cover everything – organisational effort, events, actions, workshops, three vegetarian meals a day and a place to pitch your tent (more info here: http://www.ecotopiabiketour.net/about)

You don´t have to join us from the start, you can join us at any point along our route but we ask for you to come for a minimum of a week. 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

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 (http://www.ecotopiabiketour.net/) and look at everything there. And if you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Hope to see you this summer,

Alice & Joâo International coordinators 2012