By bike, from Barcelona to Venice, for partecipating in the 3° International Conference on Degrowth, Ecologic Sustainability and Social Equity located in the lagoon from September, 19- 23
 
Ecotopia – a comunity of ecological ativists which has been organizing for twenty years a bike trip in Europe. The tour in 2012 is dedicated to Degrowth and could not have another final than the international Conference organized by the Associazione per decrescita in Venice with the support of Research&Degrowth.
 
Departure: July, 9 from Barcelona. On this website it is possible to sign up:
www.ecotopiabiketour.net
 
In the 2000 km of the travel, the caravan on two wheels will meet, day after day, communities, groups or movements (eco-factories, social centers, bike activists, committees for the sustain of the territory, eco-villages, permaculture centers, critical masses etc) which in some way search for alternatives to the imperative of growth and lifestyles and sustainable mobility.
 
The group aims to live according to their terms of sustainability: food will be bought in local groceries and on farms and it will be vegetarian. Garbage will be reused or recycled. Everyone will take part in the everyday activities (preparing the meals, organize the tents…). In general, accommodation will be in tents. Group-intern decisions will be taken by common consent.
 
The participants are free to either take part in the whole tour or to join for one stage. Main points are: Girona, Montpellier, Avignon, Marseille, Gap/Briancon (it is still open where the Alps will be crossed), Pinerolo, Turin (meeting with the NO-TAV activists), Bologna, Padua and Venice. Several breaks are also planned.
 
The general travel plan is already made (in detail on http://btwiki.ecobytes.net/Route_2012) and will be updated regularly. It is a work-in-progress, open to all inputs which can be received while traveling.
 
Once the alps are crossed, the caravan will enter in Italy on 26 august and continue following the river Po. One stage will be ca 50 km, in the Alps however and the Pyrenees not more than 20 km in a day.