Directory

ECOCENTRO DE CIERTOS HABITANTES

DESIGNERS AND COLLABORATORS

Laura Valdés Kuri                              

Ecocentro’s Coordinator

Laura Valdés Kuri has characterized herself for being an Eco-Leader who, since 1985 has propelled actions in benefit of the environment and of society as well. With backgrounds in Social Studies, Environmental Education, Bio-Regionalism, Permaculture and Ecovillage, she is also the founder of the Bio-Regional Movement in Mexico and Latin America, member of the Red Ecoaldeas Mesoamericana (REM) and of Ecovillage Network of the Americas (ENA). Aside serving as counsellor for Tejalpa’s Environmental Group of Promoters (EPAT), she is also an associate for Ashoka (Social Entrepreneurs and Leaders’ Global Association), and coordinator of the educational project Ecohabitat.

Throughout the years, she han been counsellor for numerous environmental projects. She has organized events, symposiums, fairs, workshops, conferences and camps in Mexico, Latin America and the United States. She is a focalizer of national and international networks of environmentalists and bio-regionalists.

She is compiler and editor of books such as: Welcome Home: Life Experience and Bio-Regional Thinking (Mexico 2003) and Ecohabitat: Experiences Towards Sustainability (Mexico 2006).

Jorge Calvillo

Natural Architecture and Eco-Design

Renowned architect with wide experience in Eco-Construction. He studied at the Universidad Iberoamericana and also worked there as professor, where he introduced the ecological matter in the Architecture Major; he currently teaches subjects such as Eco-Design and Site Analysis, and coordinates the Diplomado in Design and Sustainable Construction. He was a founding member of Urban Desing Group, which garnered many awards, including American Society of Landscape Architecture’s Gold Medal for the Tezozomoc Azcapotzalco Park, among others. He lived for ten years in Rancho El Cazahuate, currently Nierika, in Chalmita, where he produced fruits and organic vegetables, and where he organized permaculture workshops.

As member of Sobrevivencia AC, he organized the first seminar of Profound/Deep Ecology (1983), alongside Dr. Michael Soule, and he also participated in the Environmental Toxicology seminar, with the Colegio de México. He was part of the first Ecological Groups Network (1980) and he introduced the subject of Geobiology in Mexico, together with Mariano Bueno. He has published two books: The Ecological House (CONACULTA) and Urban Environmental Design’s Basic Principles (Ed. Concepto), as co-author.

He currently works in diverse ecologically-based urban and architectural projects throughout the Mexican Republic.

Fabio Manzini Poli, Ph.D.

Renewable Energy

He majored in Physical Engineering at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM). He is Master of Sciences in Materials’ Physics and Ph.D. in Energetic Engineering from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). He currently devotes his work to full-time research at the Energy Investigation Centre (CIE-UNAM). His main field of research relates to renewable energies to halt climatic global change, bioenergetics, energetic systems and projects’ evaluation of environmental sustainability, energetic prospective. He has been counsellor at the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and at Mexico City’s Environmental Secretariat, taking part in projects from the Energetics Secretariat-World Resources Institute (SENER-WRI), OLADE and in the Senate Chamber. His papers have been printed in many international publications.

He has also devoted himself to research and installation of domestic equipment for energy saving and use of photovoltaic, photothermic, eolic, and micro-hydraulic solar energies.

Christian Geradon Delnooz

Forest Vegetation and Natural Agriculture

Originally from Belgium, Christian Geradon is an Agronomist Engineer and specializes in Agroecology and Ecological Agriculture. He has worked as collaborator and counsellor in many projects such as: Plan Candelaria’s Development alongisde Cáritas Católicas, in the mazahua zone; Caminemos Juntos Program in Tenancingo; as environmental counsellor in the township of Malinalco. He has also worked in promotion with diverse publications and educational videos regarding ecological agriculture, with the series La Tierra Viva, edited by ILCE.

Together with his wife, Fabiola González, in 1990 he founded Rancho El Amate, in Chalmita, which is devoted to fruit production, research and transformation of organic products, and to the promotion of natural agriculture, ecotechnique and sustainable development, which is kept open to people who are interested in learning from his experience.

Laura Pérez Cano

Environmental Healing/Clean-Up

Born in Mexico City, she studied Mechanical-Electrical Engineering at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), acquiring a vast experience in the process of cleansing muds polluted with lead from refineries in Mexico City. Since 1995, she has been living in Tepoztlán, where she is part of organizations that stimulate the participation of children and youth in communitary life. She loves nature and is committed to the quest for finding ways of damaging it as little as possible, so that more generations have the gift of its enjoyment.

Through SARAR she looks for the transformation of conventional thought and action regarding water and its cleansing towards more natural and hollistic systems, closing the nutrients’ cycle so as to stop our planet’s degradation and to improve the quality of life in a context of economical, social and ecological equity and harmony.

Lourdes Malvido

Architecture and Natural Materials

Born in Mexico in the heart of a traditionally environmentalist family, she studied Architecture at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), and collaborated in the formation of the environmental movement of the 80s’ Mexico. In the early 90s, she went off to France, where she lived for sixteen years and where she specialized in Bio-Architecture and Eco-Construction. She studied a Master’s Degree in Land Architecture, DPEA of The Center for the Research and Application of Earth Architecture (CRATerre), at the School of Architecture in Grenoble.

In 2007, she returned to Mexico. She currently works as instructor of Natural Architecture with GRUPEDSAC, in different states of the Republic. She is also in charge of a series of auto-construction workshops, at the Rancho El Amate, in Chalmita.

She has collaborated as trainer and constructor with Red Nacional Ecobatir’s Secretariat of the Commission “Saber Constructivo Formación”, with the  Integral Method of Bio-construction. She has taught many practical and theoretical courses of Agroecology at the Cruce Internacional de Intercambios Prácticos para el Desarrollo (CIEPAD), at the School of Agrobiology in Beaujeu and at the Association of Geobiological Studies (GEA). She manages Xochicalli’s Foundation for Ecodevelopment’s project Habitat’s Eco-technologies and Quality of Life, in Mexico.

She also collaborates with Nicaragua’s communitary eco-construction program. She is experienced in Biological Agriculture, Alternative Medicine and Bio-Construction.

Odin Ruz

Permaculture

Eco-designer, Permaculturer, and Organic Agricultor, with a life-long experience in the culture of sustainability. Born and raised in international artistic and ecological communities, his knowledge comes mainly from direct experience of a way of life that is closer to nature. He is teacher and designer of Permaculture and coordinates the Diplomado de Ecohabitat. He is a member of Huehuecoyotl’s Ecovillage in Morelos and is also a member of Mexico’s Ecovillages Network (REM). He is Coordinator of the Consejo de Visiones Guardianes de la Tierra and also has strong and varied artistic and musical training.

He is working in the design and construction of Playa Viva, an ecological hotel in Guerrero, which is an avant-garde project regarding the integration of the local community in a series of social, economical and environmental projects. He also works at the Nierika Center as Permaculturist.

Tiahoga Ruge

Fundraising and Sponsorship Counselling

Tiahoga Ruge has vast experience in education and environmental communication, as well as in the promotion of the environment through media such as television, video, internet, film and documentary. Fluent in a varied number of languages, she has studies in Biology, Social Anthropology and Film Direction.

She has collaborated both nationally and internationally in diverse projects regarding education and training for sustainable development. She has served as founder, coordinator, president, counsellor and lecturer.

Amongst her stand-out works, there can be mentioned: INCA Rural-Sagarpa’s Sustainable Development Program belonging to the Centro de Educación y Capacitación para el Desarrollo Sustentable, the Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat and the Center of Information and Environmental Communication of North America (CICEANA). Project Bioplanet@, Training and Commercialization for Sustainable Rural Communities, Friends of the Biosphere AC and CONACULTA’s Environmental Culture Program.

Agregada Cultural of Mexico’s Embassy in New Delhi, India. In the area of Communications, she worked as Federico Fellini’s Assistant in Direction (1979-1980).

She has received numerous awards, amongst them: GLOBAL 500 Award, International Ecology Award (given by the United Nations for the Environment Program PNUMA and by the International Relations Secretariat). She was also given the Outstanding Service to Environmental Education for an Individual at the Global Level Award in 2005, from the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE).

Arnold Ricalde de Jager

Township, State and Federal Relations

Social leader and activist focused on education and environmental politics. He studied International Relations at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo Metropolitano (ITAM). He was a Representative of the X District, President of the Ecology and Environment Commission, President of Mexico City’s Preservation of the Environment Committee at the ALDF II Legislature, where he worked intensively for the Solid Residues Law for Mexico City and he founded the Mexican Environmental Parliament.

He is CEO of Organi-K AC, an organization devoted to ecological action, promotion and education. He is Mexico’s and Mesoamerica’s representative at the Ecovillage Network of the Americas (ENA). He collaborates with diverse organizations such as: Manos a la Tierra, Azoteas Verdes, Asociación Protectora de Animales, Coalición de Manejo de Residuos Sólidos and with the Permaculture Network.

At the Colegio de México, he did the Social and Environmental Leaders’ Program. He is co-editor of the book Ecohabitat: Experiences Towards Sustainability (2006).

He is currently coordinator of the Compost Elaboration Program and is also an Advisor of the Ecohabitat Diplomat.