Paea was founded in 1999 with the aim of providing a practical alternative for people who want to experience a new organizational model in the work, social and economic spheres, and mainly concerns itself with the environment and related topics.
This idea can be summarized with the words “There’s also another way“, which is the motto of the Center for Energy and the Environment in Springe /Eldagsen, Germany.
That there is another way is unquestionable, the problem is how to put into practice the various alternatives available to us. The association wants to be an example of how this can be done.
The association works to promote independent and non-independent organizations and projects, both national and international, and encourages their development and growth as well as the exchange of information based on the principles of mutual support and self-determination, environmental protection, the use of renewable energy sources, energy and water conservation, organic agriculture, and personal and cultural growth. The aim of the association is to support the environment and, as such, its work encompasses a wide range of activities (systems building, public and individual projects development, courses and workshops organization, participation in conventions, conferences and meetings..).
All aspects that put people into relation with their habitat must be considered.
The association rejects the prevailing consumer ethic and encourages the practice of what it terms a culture and economy of wisdom, simplicity and equality.
Furthermore, it works to produce a profound cultural change aimed at overcoming the logic of profit and exploitation of the present day model of development by promoting a social model that favors relations based on social solidarity and equality.
PAEA promotes and supports initiatives that endeavor to make a real improvement in the quality of life through:
- a business style that cares about the personal growth
- the work that reduce the environmental impact
- the protection of the territory and the use of renewable resources
- worker-managed organizations seen as enhancing collective awareness and providing a way to experience participation in work organization and group life
- solidarity among different nations and people for the creation of relations based on respect of the person, seen as a lifestyle as well as a way of organizing social, economic and political life, a greater attention towards consumer choices that respect people and the environment
- direct relations between people, which stimulates friendship and mutual trust.
PAEA achieves these objectives by:
- carrying out training, informational, educational, research and publication activities
- creating a publication and consultation archive related to the environment, renewable energy, energy and water conservation as well as organic agriculture
- encouraging direct relations and the exchange of information, goods and services, which promotes cooperation and collaboration
- promoting the use of renewable energy, water and energy conservation as well as the rational use of energy
- promoting wastewater treatment through natural treatment systems, such as reed bed sewage treatment
- promoting eco-architecture through the study, research and experimentation of energy efficient houses, energy balance, insulation, natural materials, ecologically friendly heating systems and cogeneration systems
- rediscovering traditional craftsmanship and building techniques and making them available to the public
- the experimentation of food self-reliance through the direct exchange of food products as well as organizing consumers into groups for the purchase of food products
- the dissemination of an organic food culture that increases awareness of the curing properties of various foods and integrates vegetarian, Mediterranean and macrobiotic principles, as well as the use of medicinal plants and herbs
- the promotion of a sustainable and simple lifestyle that envisages the planning of permanent crops, based on the laws of synergy where each element, starting from a minimal working of the land, contributes to the goal of self-fertilization of the soil.
