We are online!

We did not set off yet but we are in full preparation for our cycling trip through Europe. During our trip we plan to visit inspiring initiatives, projects, persons and communities. In this blog we will outline why we started this project and what we will do.

Want to know who we are? Check out this page.

Why this project?

First of all, we are ready for an adventure. During this adventure, we would like to make a meaningful contribution to addressing the problems we see in the world.

We live in a country and time in which we don’t have to worry about a lack of food, shelter, and all kinds of luxuries. At the same time, we believe that the way we interact with the world is not sustainable.The world is facing numerous big challenges. Think of global greenhouse gas emissions that are still increasing, and the resulting climate change that is showing its first drastic consequences. Think of the increasing pressure humans put on the world’s natural resources and ecosystems. Think of political polarisation, manifested in strongly opposed world-views of voters in several parts of the world. Think of the growing gap between the wealth of the richest and the struggles of the poorest, within countries, but also among countries. Think of the large streams of refugees, forced to flee at least partly because of the problems mentioned above.

Many of these problems ask for national or international interventions. Nationally and internationally, boundaries can be drawn regarding ecological limits and minimum humanitarian standards. Yet, envisioning what it looks like to live within these boundaries may not be a task that we should just leave to politicians. We believe that we need examples that show what is possible, that show alternative ways of how we can live on this planet and with each other.  

These examples are out there.

There are many people that share our concerns and who have started to act. We set off to visit these inspiring initiatives, projects, persons and communities and we will share our findings with you on this website.

Check out the initiatives pages to see what kind of visits we have in mind.

What does ocyclo mean?

Ocyclo refers to a cycle, made visible as a circle with the letter O. Being aware of natural cycles, such as the carbon cycle, nutrient cycle, and water cycle helps to see how human actions interfere with natural processes, and may teach us what actions are sustainable. Moreover, ocyclo refers to the word bicycle (or French: bicyclette) and thereby to our cycling trip through Europe.