Collaborative Organizations

Sunseed Desert Technology, Andalusia, Spain

Sunseed Desert Technology is a center for practical education in off-grid living. It offers studies in sustainability, soil erosion in drylands, appropriate technology, eco-construction, and organic gardening.  The center has been teaching in the off-grid village of Los Molinos del Río Aguas in Andalusia, Spain for 30 years.

Sunseed Desert Technology Sociocracy 3.0 Workshop

Sunseed Desert Technology Sociocracy 3.0 Workshop, May 2019

Sunseed is in the process of adopting a more horizontal organizational structure inspired by Sociocracy. In 2019, the community worked with facilitators Xana Piteira and Maria Rute Costa from Orla Design in a four-day course in Sociocracy 3.0.

In Spain, sociocracy is becoming popular in alternative communities, from ecovillages to anarchist campaigning organizations. It is not just a toolkit for decision-making but a totally new way of relating to others. Sociocracy avoids perpetuating a system of hierarchies and rigid leadership in which an elite group takes control and makes decisions for the whole. Sociocracy is committed to allowing the diverse wisdom in groups to emerge. It creates a safe space for all members to be heard and to steer outcomes.

From undated blog post accessed 2 June 2019.