Who we are

The organization

Change the World (CTW) is a non-profit organization which was founded in Oslo, Norway, in 1997. The founders are originally from Latin America and have been working together on sustainability issues since 1987. CTW’s multidisciplinary team is now composed of professionals from a diversity of backgrounds and countries, including Chile, Colombia, Norway and USA.

CTW’s goal is to create and support alternative sustainable livelihoods. We support and work with local grassroots organizations with similar goals in Scandinavia, Latin America and Africa. We are part of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), Ecovillage Network of the Americas (ENA) and the global permaculture movement. 

The founders of Change the World have more than 20 years of experience developing examples of sustainability and implementing them at the grassroots level throughout the world.

Philosophical background

Change the World’s principles are based on the concepts of social ecology, as well as on the principles and practices of permaculture. We support eco-villages as we consider them to be leading examples in how to use these principles in practice.

Social ecology studies and analyzes the relationships between society and nature. It advocates the rebuilding of society from a political perspective, based on decentralization and bioregionalism, which allows local communities to develop functionality and autonomicity.

Ecovillages are urban or rural communities which by necessity or choice establish stronger community ties, political autonomy, permaculture practices aimed at self-sufficiency, development in harmony with the localenvironment, conflict resolution mechanisms and independent economies.

Permaculture as a discipline of ecological design allows the rescue, recovery and development of wisdom and practices of our ancestral villages. Its ethical and practical foundations act as an important tool for generating concrete alternatives for local sustainable development.

Our work demonstrates that by combining the right knowledge with the appropriate actions one can create meaningful changes which will serve as leading examples and inspire the implementation of sustainability projects in any location on Earth.