2009 evf ssri annual review final

8/8/2019 2009 EVF SSRI Annual Review Final

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2009Annual Report

Eco Valley FoundationSustainability Sciences Research Institute


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Contents

Leadership &Governance

Introduction

Operation review

Looking ahead

Table of contents

The world makes way for the personwho knows where hes going.

- English proverb

Contacts andInformation


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You must be the change you wantto see in the world!

- Mahatma Gandhi

Contents

Introduction

Letter from the Chairman

Introduction


Operation review

Looking ahead



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Sustainability has become a core part of building strategies in industrial, agrarian, nancial,environmental, social and in corporate sector and in business in general. Furthermore, it is not onlybuilding strategies but none will be successful unless one recognizes and addresses the importanceof the three levels of sustainability - environmental, economic and social and is embedded ineveryday decision making.

Eco Valley Foundation is committed to develop and propagate applied sustainability strategies whichmake it successful. The model farm, Krishna Valley, shows a good example of a sustainable life inpractice. It has the principle embedded in its everyday life: walk the talk. Thus Eco Valley Foundationhas a lot to contribute to community development, education, public policy and even more tocorporations and businesses.

The Eco Valley Foundation along with its model community - Krishna Valley - has been the drivingforce for and the source of inspiration to many, both for Hare Krishna farms and for other, non-religious communities.

We have expanded and strengthened our presence in many areas including education-, the

scientic-, the governmenta l-, the NGO and corporate sector also. We have launched effective reachout programs in the above areas thus increasing the direct involvement of people internationally bymore than 250% from last year.

In conclusion, during the ye ar 2009 Eco Valley Foundation has been solidifying its position on thenational and international level as being a source of knowledge and inspiration. Being reliable,accessible and having integrity emb edded in our dealings have invited our partners to work with usin order to build a more sustainable future.

It is my pleasure to report on another outstanding year of the Eco ValleyFoundation. With increasing interest in the United States as well as in Europe, inthe CIS countries and in India toward sustainable community building, it hasbeen proven that the seeds of the Eco Valley Foundations efforts have beenfalling on fertile soil.

Zoltan Hosszu

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1 The sustainability Sciences Research institute is a branch of the Eco Valley FoundationEco Valley FoundationSustainability Sciences Research Institute

Contents


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Introduction


Operation review

Looking ahead



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Leadership & GovernanceContents


The Board

The Chairman

An individual without informationcannot take responsibility; an

individual who is given informationcannot help but take responsibility.

- Jan Carlzon

Introduction

Operation review

Looking ahead



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The BoardContents

Introduction

The Board

The Chairman

Members

To fulll its role, the Board comprises the Chairman, the heads of divisions, a scientic advisor, aprogram coordinator and independent advisors as well. The Board meets on a fortnightly basis. Wehave a small but committed staff. The members dedication of time and effort and theirprofessionalism is highly recognized by many of EVFs partners. Being a small organization, decisionmaking is quick and smooth.

The Board is ultimately accountable for maintaining the values, quality of work and the nancialstability of the Foundation by elaborately developing strategic plans, annual budgets, appointment of key personnel for the purpose of fullling its constitutional statement.

The mission of the Eco Valley Foundation isapplication, research, development andpropagation of knowledge accumulatedthrough interdisciplinary sciences for thepurpose of establishing applied sustainabilityif the ecological system in general inclusive of environment, society and economy.

Excerpt from EVFs constitution

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The ChairmanContents

Introduction

The Board

The Chairman

Zoltan Hosszu is responsible for maintaining the vision and for sustaining a culture of respect among the Foundations people and to assure the high standards in dealing with ourpartners. The Chairman is also responsible for leading an effective Board ensuring that theBoard fullls its role.

IndiaAgriculture Ministry

FinlandGEN Annual Meeting

Denmark Climate discussions

The key areas of the Chairmans work are:

1. Financial and operational management2. Internal education

3. Building relationships with decision makers and corporates4. Representing the Foundation at numerous venues

5. Developing international training programs

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Operation review

Looking ahead



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Operation reviewContentsIntroduction

Operation review

Our partnersOur audience

Our people

Performance summary

Too many of us, when we accomplishwhat we set out to do, exclaim, Seewhat I have done! instead of saying,

See where I have been led.

- Henry Ford

Activities


Looking ahead


Our brand


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Our partners

We cooperated with a company regarding the application of microorganisms in agricultureand sewage-water purication technology, as well as with another one concerningcultivation of different varieties of amaranth.


ContentsIntroduction

Our partners

Our audienceOur brand

Universities and Colleges:

Research Institutes

We have concluded cooperative agreements with 8 institutions of higher education:- We provide research theme regarding our model area and ensure a tutor for

dissertations, as well as an opportunity to spend a term of meaningful eld-work withEVF;

- Two university groups had their eld-work research for one week each at EVFsmodel farm;

- We organized eco-logic clubs for students.

We are looking for answers concerning scientic questions of sustainability together withtwo scientic institutes in areas of pedology (soil science) and plant ecology.

Environmental non-prot organizations

We organized public programs (e.g. clubs, trainings) with 3 organizations;We have close contacts with eco-villages. Our most prominent model area anddemonstration farm is Krishna-valley.

Businesses


Operation review

Looking ahead


Our peopleActivitiesPerformance summary

The Founadtions New partners - 2009 9


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Our audience

Our people

Or brand

Activities

Conclusion



Our audience

Our strong belief is that humanity can only achieve great resultsif these 3 sectors can work together and go side by side. Sustainability is a matter of

consciousness and until a wide range of the society starts working at itsimultaneously the results will be less effective.

The third group of people who is ourtarget audience are the NGOs aiming at amore sustainable life.

The second category is the corporatesector which has to implement CSR in its

work streams. Thus they shouldunderstand their responsibility and shouldbe committed to a more livable world.

People in academia have natural interestin sustainable development and ecosolutions to the present problems. Their

strong involvement in the EVF programsis giving them opportunity to makeprogress in better understanding thisspecic eld and develop a wide range of sustainable technologies.

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Operation review

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Our partners

Our brand



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Our Brand

Our peopleActivities

Conclusion

Sustainability can be accomplished!



Our brand

We do not merely talk about environmental protection. It is our intention to link theextensive international interests in sustainable technologies with the application of its

principles in everyday life and also in academic research and development.

The direct evidence for this is our Foundations model area of research and

demonstration, namely the eco-village of Krishna-valley spreading over 230 hectares of land, which can be found in the vicinity of Somogyvmos, Hungary. The 150 inhabitants of Krishna-valley have an ecological footprint of 1.5 hectare/capita, which is much less thanHungarys 3.6 ha/ca and the worlds average 2.7 ha/ca respectively. Residents set an exampleto others by their lifestyle and provide a model of sustainability put into actual practice.

Vegetables - 100%

Fruits - 100%Grain - 10x

Honey - 7x

Waste water - 100%

Milk - 100%Energy - 30%

250.000 trees

Krishna Valley

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Operation review

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Our peopleThe Partner Judit Farkas Ph.D.

Judit Farkas is an adjunct of the Universityof Pcs, lecturer of the Department of

Etnography and Cultural Anthropolgy. Formore than ten years one of the mostimportant projects of her scientic work is the functioning of the HungarianISKCON community and that of eco-villages. In 2009 she had an Eco-valleyseminar in relation to Krishna-valley forher students of cultural anthropology.Dur ing this seminar 12 st udents visitedKrishna-valley and spent tw o weeks here;10 of them have chosen a topic fromKrishna-valley for their dissertation. In2009 she was the rst to re ceive the Eco-valley Award.

The Advisor Tibor Tth D.Sc .

Tibor Tth is a consulting scientist,research worker of the Hungarian

Academy of Sciences Institute of Pedology. Besides Hungary he has carriedout scientic research projects and hasgiven trainings in numerous countries of the world like India, Cuba, Japan, and Italy.His main areas of research are alkalinesoil and amelioration or land reclamation.He advises us in our res earch projectwhich deals with the effe cts of organicfarming on soil quality and s oil fertility.



Our people

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Operation review

Looking ahead


Our partnersOur audienceOur brand

ActivitiesPerformance summary


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Our people


Our people

Or brand

Activities

Conclusion

The volunteer Lszl Kovcs

We met Lszl, a student of culturalanthropology at Miskolc University, at an

eco-village meeting, where he was lookingfor a topic for his thesis-to-be. His maineld of interest is the relationshipbetween religion and sustainability;therefore, he immediately becameinterested in Krishna-valley. In 2009 hespent a month in the village as avolunteer in the Gardenin g department.Dur ing his stay he not on ly got himself acquainted with the nes se of organicgardening and everyday life of sustainablelifestyle, but just like other volunteers, heacquired a rich experience for life andmad e good contacts wi th a lot of residents. Since then he has returned toKrishna-valley to make interviews withthe in habitants.

In 2009 the Gardening department of Krishna-valley welcomed two dozen volunteers, who spentsome days or a few weeks in the eco-village. After their stay all of them shared their newly gained

experience: they claimed that they had a really exceptional spiritual experience and everybodyappreciated the highly delicious vegetarian dishes.Eco Valley FoundationSustainability Sciences Research Institute


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Our people



The student - Dniel CsabaLnczi M.Sc.

Dniel graduated in 2009 from EtvsLrnt University of Budapest majoring inGeography and Ecology. His dissertationtopic was the ecological footprint of Krishna-valley. His ndings were publishedin several publications, websites, andpanels. During the Second SustainabilityConference he presented his own work.At present, he is working as a teacher in asecondary school; however , we continueour work concerning ecolo gical footprintresearch, for instance writing a chapterabout the ecological footprint of Krishna-valley in a coming new book .Along with him there are 25 studentswriting their theses about various topicsin connection with Krishna-valley, of

whom four have already grad uated.

The educator - Szilvia Rv M.Sc.

Szilvia worked for several years as abiologist and ecologist for variousH u n g a r i a n n o n - g o v e r n m e n t a lenvironmental organizations focusingprimarily on nature reserve projects. Shehas gained experience regardingpopularization, public relations andcommunication of eco-conscious lifestyle.As a botanist, she participates in eld-surveys by gathering data f or the nationalre s erve data base. In Eco-ValleyFoundation her main tasks are organizinguniversity clubs and other various

lectures and the presentation of the Eco-Valley Program for the pu blic at large.Besides this she organizes Open Days of Sustainability as well as edits publicationsand web-pages.

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Gyrgy was majoring in English and Serbianat Szeged University and he got a bachelors

degree at the College for Foreign Trade inBudapest as well. As he has quite goodmanagerial skills, he has a wide range of tasks. His major duties in the Eco-ValleyFoundation are making applications, gatheringsource material, administration, translating aswell as interpreting. He also has an importantrole as contact person in establishing andmaintaining foreign relationships. He is alsores ponsible for develop ing educationalmaterials in English and organizinginternational trainings. Furth ermore, he is theeditor of the English language website of thefoundation.

Our people

Andrs Kun worked for the HungarianAcademy of Sciences in the Institute of Ecology and Botany as an ecologist for tenyears. He majored as a horticulturist and hisscientic work primarily focused onvegetation dynamism and geobotanics. Even

now, he makes topographical maps andbotanical monitoring analyses for nationalparks in relation to environmentalprotection. Since 2008 he has been themember of the Eco-Valley Foundation. Firstof all, he manages the scien tic aspect of thefoundation projects; he i s also a regularcon tributor of variou s articles andcoordinates all research projects. His tasksinclude the establishment and maintenanceof scientic connections, to o. He moved tolive in Somogyvmos in 2009 .Eco Valley FoundationSustainability Sciences Research Institute


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The project manager Gyrgy Kirs M.A., B.Ec.

The scientist - Andrs Kun M.Sc.


Operation review

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Activities



Activities

The activities of the Eco Valley Foundation have been rapidly developing since its establishment.

Development also has its challenges. Thus the professional team of the Board and the advisors

are developing the scope of activities according to the detailed strategy of the Foundation.

Social development

Preventive healthcare

Environment protection

Nature conservation

Agriculture

Areas of work Key activitiesAcademic programs

Outreach programs

Marketing

Finance

Land management

Water management

Waste management

Renewable energies

Ecological engineering

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Our people

Performance summary


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Activities

Every autumn we organize a scienticconference about sustainability, which

includes all-inclusive work-shops. Theparticipants are mainly universitystudents, professors, teachers, expertscommitted to environmental protection,as well as inquiring civilians. Among thelecturers we invite well-known ecologists,specialists in sustainability and studentswriting their theses in this particular eld.In 2009 420 people attended thisconference.

Last year we were invited by 4 universities and institutions and gave presentations 6 timesaccordingly regarding the Eco-Valley Program and introducing methods facilitating sustainability inHungary and abroad as well. We are prepared to respond to such invitations in the future as well.

The all-day long program with a guidedtour is an excellent opportunity for everyguest to get a thorough insight intoKrishna-valleys farm management, dairy-farming, apiary, organic gardening, reed-bed zone sewage system technology andbotanic garden. There is an opportunity toexchange experience concerning practicalsolutions to eco-conscious everyday life.Professional guidance is providedthroughout the day in small groups of 10-15 people.



Eco-logic Club

Conferences Open Days of Sustainability

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Performance summary


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Activities

In our mailing list initiative we inform our corresponding partners about the news concerning the Eco-valley Program and the current events of organic farming. We also have exchange of views in topicslike eco-villages, an environment conscious lifestyle and sustainable social structure in accordance withthe ethos of Eco-valley Program. Our mailing list has 310 members so far.



Eco-logic Mailing List

During the Annual Village Festival of Krishna-valley the Eco-valley Programwelcomes all interested guests in itsbooth. Here all the discussions are opento the public and guests have anopportunity to personally meet leaders of Krishna-valley and renowned researchers,whom they can ask about various topicsof sustainability. The Village Festival of Krishna-valley is held at the last weekendof every July.

Thought-provoking Discourse

If someone wants to master organicgardening in practice as well as take partin everyday life of the inhabitants of Krishna-valley, then he has an opportunityto render voluntary service in our eco-village. Furthermore, he has anotheroutstanding opportunity and that is totake his meals together with the residentsand thus become acquainted with themost diverse, locally produced organiclacto-vegetarian table delicacies.

Volunteers

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Performance summary


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Activities

We set more than 70 subjects for students. We are very pleased to have 26 students so far whohave chosen their thesis from the recommended subjects and 21 of them have already started

writing their work. We also provide an opportunity for eld-work; so far we have an agreementwith 8 universities and colleges regarding this.Some of the subjects are the following: Social Sustainability of Eco-villages, Naturalization of NewPlants According to Circumstances of Climate Change, Change in Water Quality during Reed-bedZone Sewage System Technology, The Eco-village as a Tourist Attraction, Role of the Cow in theLife of a Community, Family Life in Krishna-valley; Education and Sustainability, Community Life andSocial Sustainability.

In 2009 we developed training programs in 3major sustainability areas. The training is a one-week program, including eld work experienceand the basics of economic, environmental andsocial sustainability. We have conducted the rstinternational training for more than 50 people inOctober. The main result was that the audiencehave become inspired to make their own self sufcient farms in the CIS countries. The EVF isprepared and ready to help as a counsellor intheir projects.



Theses and BSc Field-work Training

Training and education

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Performance summary


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Performance summary



Performance summary Activities

All numbers are indicating the number of activities unless indicated otherwise* - accumulated number

Activity 2008 2009Academic Programs

Partner Institutions, Companies and University Afliations* 6 12

Research Programs 2 6

Thesis Tutoring 5 26

BSc research seminar (number/accum. participants) 0/0 2/23

International training (number/accum. participants) 0/0 1/45

Research Publications 4 12

Outreach Programs

Sustainability Conference (number/accum. participants) 2/190 1/420International Tours 0 6

Presentations 24 73

EcoLogic Clubs (number/accum. participants) 0/0 6/125

Magazines and Books (published/acc. number of copies) 1/2.000 3/10.500

Marketing

Website Articles 80 170

Films (eng/hun) 0/1 1/3Media (newspaper / TV / radio / internet) 3/2/0/25 4/7/4/26

Finance

Grants (applied for / won) 1/1 4/3

- activities with international scope 21


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Looking ahead



Our people


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Looking aheadContents

Introduction

Looking ahead

Advisory council

Ability is of little account withoutopportunity.

- Napoleon Bonaparte


Operation review


The international sustainabilityeducation and research center

You and theEco Valley Foundation


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Advisory councilContents

Introduction

Advisory council


Every specialist, teacher and sponsor can be a member of the Advisory Council of Eco ValleyFoundation who would like to promote the aims of the foundation with his ideas and advice.Candidates for council membership: leaders of educational institutions, researchers, teachers,specialists interested in this particular eld, as well as regular sponsors.

During the year 2010 EVF is planning to establish its Advisory Council. The council will provideindependent and credible advice through its experts about the scientic aspects of sustainability issues. Its role will also be to get involved in the planning and evaluation of the

EVFs program and the quality improvement of its execution.

The Advisory Council will mobilize allsectors working with EVF and providefacilities to develop a shared vision. It willensure efcient application of researchresources to meet the challenges of largescale environmental, economic and socialsustainability.

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Operation review

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EVF activities evaluated according to effect and resource - 2009

Activities

E f f e c t

/ R e s o u r c e

Evaluation of work streams according to needed resource and the possible effect of them.The activities below 1.4 effect/resource rate should be modied to meet EVFs requirements.

I i l S i bili Ed i


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International Sustainability Educationand Research Center for Humanity

Our wide-ranging activities, increasing staff, furthermore, frequent and numerous visitors indicate the needfor a building to provide facilities for the purposes of Eco-valley Foundation. Te building, called InternationalSustainability Education and Research Center for Humanity (ISEARCH), will house ofces, conferencerooms, a library, a showroom and a laboratory. The building will be erected on the territory of EVFs modelsustainable community, Krishna-valley.


Contents

Introduction

The international sustainability education and research center

We are looking for sponsors and resources for the implementation of ISEARCH 24


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You and the Eco Valley Foundation


Contents

Introduction


ConferencesScientic work Education

CooperationRepresentation

of interest

The work streams and activities of the EVF are wide and open. There are a lot of opportunities to get involved in making a more sustainable world for everyone. Thus we

request you to participate, join and support our activities. Be a part of the team that

dedicates itself to develop a peaceful and happy future for humanity.

Get involved!

Raising funds

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Contacts and informationContents

Introduction


Eco Valley Foundation annual report:

Questions and feedback:

www.ecovalley.hu/EVF_annual_report_2009

Zoltn HosszChairman

[email protected]

Cooperation and support

Andrs KunScientic advisor

[email protected]

Training, educationand research

Szilvia RvProgram coordinator

[email protected]

Volunteering andpublication

Gyrgy KirsSecretary [email protected]

General information


F u. 38. Somogyvmos, H-8699 HungaryK&H Bank: 10403909-50505556-56541011

www.ecovalley.huwww.okovolgy.hu


Operation review

Looking ahead
http://www.ecovalley.hu/http://www.ecovalley.hu/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ecovalley.hu/http://www.ecovalley.hu/

2009 evf ssri annual review final

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