Strongly inspired by the holistic SEKEM-Vision, “Economy of Love” (EoL) was initiated by the organic farmer’s association The Egyptian Biodynamic Association (EBDA) as a standard for sustainable, ethical, and transparent economic activities. SEKEM’s companies are the first ones that started to apply the EoL- label for products that fulfill these standards on a multidimensional levelIt is the multidimensional approach that differentiates the EoL-Label from other certifications: Going hand in hand with ecological, societal, and cultural aspects, economic processes affect the human being integrally. As an economic system consists of various involved players, such as farmers, companies, and consumers, whose actions directly or indirectly impact their natural and societal environment, the need for transparency is indispensable.
The central purpose of EoL is thus to achieve transparency throughout the entire value chain of a product to guarantee social and ecological fairness while enabling sustainable economic development. As an alternative economic model, EoL should help in creating a large community of responsible consumers and producers to actively protect nature and human from exploitation.
Internalizing Holistic Sustainability with “Economy of Love Education”
In order to make the realization of EoL-Standards accessible to the producing players, an educational program was developed under the name of “Economy of Love Education” (EoL EDU). The program seeks to engage and empower various stakeholders to be active members of the EoL-Community. EoL EDU accompanies producers and processors, who wish to be EoL certified, by customizing their work to the core values and principles of the EoL-Certification Standards. By creating and connecting EoL certified communities, the program paves the way for more mindful and responsible action on the collective and individual level.
But rather than simply helping in obtaining certification, the “Economy of Love Education”-Program aims to raise awareness on how individual daily actions, choices and lifestyles collectively impact people and the environment. The self-reflection and adaptation-process within the program lays the foundations for the holistic development of an ethical and sustainable life, incorporating the four interconnected dimensions of human life on earth and thus sustainable development.
In other words: To foster the development of individuals built on responsibility, solidarity, fairness, and transparency is the pivotal aspiration of the EoL Education-Program.
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