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Paul Cohen
For the past six years Paul Cohen, 40, has been living at Tlholego with his wife Stephne and their son David. Cohen said his family upbringing encouraged him to appreciate life as a precious gift, and to develop a deep desire to ensure that life is sustained and built into the roots of the future. Cohen is passionate about his work and expresses a deep concern about his own lifestyle and rootedness. Ecological design is close to the way he chooses to live his life – he strives to balance his life on a daily basis on an emotional and intellectual level. He is a member of the Living Tao Foundation (USA) and is a student of Tia Ji. Cohen says he loves the African land and the songs of its people, which "warm the heart and soul." He realizes that, "in the long term, as a white minority living in South Africa, my survival and that of my children depends on the flourishing of the black majority, and I believe that ecological development is a foundation, or root, to that flourishing."
Cohen became excited about the idea of community-based factories while studying for his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Cape Town. In 1986, two years after graduating, he began to study the ecological design sciences and embarked on a series of educational tours and periods of residence in the United States, Australia and Europe. He studied systems dynamics, focusing on its practical application in restoring whole ecosystems and building sustainable communities Cohen served as an apprentice in earth architecture with world renown architects, including Nader Khalili of the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture, and Brian Woodward, a leader in low-cost, owner-built housing at the Earthways Sustainable Lifestyles Institute in Australia. Cohen and Woodward have conducted training sessions in "experiential learning" by building. In earlier work in Australia, Woodward conceived the design of the building system that Paul is now expanding and adapting to situations that pose different ecological challenges across South Africa.
Cohen is director of Village Development, an international design and development services consultancy that specializes in ecological village settlement and sustainable business development. He works with an international network of professionals in the field of environmental design and sustainable economic development. He is certified in ecosystems design by the International Permaculture Institute and is a member of the Permaculture Academy of Australia.
In 1990, Cohen founded the Rural Educational Development Corporation (Rucore), a non-governmental organization that promotes sustainable development in Southern Africa. The Tlholego Development Project (TDP) has been Rucore's major project thus far, and it serves as a model community and lifelong learning center for training people in ecological land use and village settlement. In 1997 Paul was awarded an Ashoka fellowship for his work as a leading public entrepreneur.
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