Sieben Linden is a founding member of
GEN
(Global Ecovillage Network), and currently hosts its headquarters. It
is reputed for the boldness and the richness of its experiments in terms
of sustainable living. It is also supported by the UNESCO as part of
the “decade for sustainable development”. In other words, it is a big
player, perhaps a model of ecological village. To check this out we
enrolled in the “young people experience Sieben Linden” week.
The ecovillage is located in the
middle of nowhere
outskirt of the little village of Poppau, Germany. It is nestled among
wheat fields, wild meadows and (mostly) pine forest. We’re on time for
check-in, – even though, we would learn it later on, it does not really
matter here – the sun is setting, air is warm, wind blowing through the
surrounding leaves…it already feels good to be here.
An archetypal day at Sieben Linden could be described as follows:
yoga at 7AM, which is a delicate way to wake senses up and share
positive energy. After breakfast, people gather in circle at the center
of the village, to execute team building exercises. These included:
going by trio in the center of the group to execute some dance moves,
passing stones to each other by crossing arms and legs, singing,
improving a move that everyone should mimic afterwards etc. It feels a
bit awkward the first time, but it’s a good ice breaker when you don’t
really know the people or are still antisocial/ sleepy. At 9h15, a few
residents come to expose the work to do and gather volunteers.
The work did ranged from shoveling ground and clear bushes in future
building areas, removing (metallic) fences from protected forest areas,
unloading wooden beams, mowing the lawn, collecting wild herbs or
stones, making stony pathways in the village, to improving the
foundations of the amphitheater. Work goes on till 12h30, with a long
break around 10h30, then resumes at 15h and finishes at 18h30, when
dinner is served.
In the evening, the young people would usually gather at 20h for a
round-table aiming at sharing feedbacks from the day and organizing
future works. Furthermore, they would also use this meeting to share
deeper feelings, like sadness and fears, joys and hopes, like in a Forum
(link to toolbox). After the round-table, people can go back to their
activities or to bed, but most of the time they stay together to play
music or circus activities around a fire, party, watch a movie, or
listen to someone telling a story or reading a book.
At Sieben Linden, community life is seen as the nexus of personal and
group well being, as well as the root to connect with nature.
“Life in community is not
just something that we practice here in addition to organic life, but
the core of a sustainability-oriented life. Only when people learn to
get along with each other, they have a future together.” *
The emphasis is put on respecting the diversity of people and
lifestyles, through consensual decision taking and thematic
neighborhoods
**.
Individual needs and community objectives are matched in an ongoing
process supported by working and living together, celebrations and
cultural/artistic activities, but also by innovative communication tools
such as the
forum,
talking sticks rounds, mindfulness and meditation exercises, « Fish Pool
Discussion », (a rotating circle of people talk within a larger circle
of lister that can step in the inner circle when a place is free), A-B
conversations between two people, with each of them speaking for 5
minutes and the other listening,
Nonviolent Communication, mediation, coaching, consulting colleagues, deep ecology etc. Such tools are also taught to non-residents during seminars
***.
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Decisions making is mostly decentralized in small groups where residents
must get involved, topped by a system of councils (residential
community, social, Housing, Education Board, food supply), within total
transparence and limited possibilities of appeal. There are still a few
decisions that are made by the entire community in monthly general
assembly, such as influx of people, expenses over 40,000 €, and
allocation of land to other neighborhoods. In this assembly a clear 2/3
majority is needed to make a decision.
The residents are committed to improve their decisions processes by
focusing more on shared experiences, mutual support and shared personal
celebrations, persuaded that the best decision/solution would naturally
emerge. Basis for the decision model is the consciousness of their
common orientation:
- I serve the living.
- I meet with love and trust.
- I am ready for what I encounter.
- I exercise myself in truth.
- I take responsibility.
- I am committed to a sustainable world.
The residents put it into practice their strong commitment to sustainability and ecology by resorting to
permaculture for
food and urban planning, to renewable energies for heat and
electricity, to advanced waste management and rainfall collection (
Kläranlage),
to simple natural living and political action. The site also features a
forest kindergarten welcoming 15 children, some of which come from
outside the eco-village.
Sieben Linden’s large permaculture garden produces many fruits and
vegetables and manages to fulfill 70% of the village needs. The site is
designed around the creation of many retreats for animals and small
biotopes to foster biological diversity, for example by converting pine
monoculture forests into mixed forest, creating ponds and mixing edible
and non-edible plants in their fields. The garden includes a dozen
beehives, a horse ranch
**** –
residents favor hand and horses work to machines – and herbs
greenhouses. One day we witnessed a very harmonious scene: two women,
one of them carrying a baby African style, horse-plowing. The baby was
quiet, the two ladies were talking like friends in a quiet café and the
horse knew exactly what to do. The cuisine of the common kitchen is
mostly vegan with some vegetarian dishes, and suitable for raw food
diet. The cellar is in free access, and wild herbs are served twice a
week.
The buildings at Sieben Linden are particularly interesting. Much
input has been given to their conception. They have been designed and
naturally built – using local straw, wood and clay –by their residents
for their residents, and are therefore quite diverse, each of them
having its own unique character. In addition, heat and electricity
(which consumption in Sieben Linden is ¼ of the national average) are
mostly provided by wood, solar panels, geothermal activity, and
intelligent design (south oriented houses and large water tanks, air
exchangers etc).
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- “Strohpolis” is one of the largest straw bale building in Europe
(three storey, 530m²) and was built respecting vegan construction norms.c
- “Brunnenwiese” is designed as a spiral, with a wood, sauna-like,
heating system at its core that diffuses heat through the walls. Its
shape was also thought to favor healing, meditation and wellbeing of
children.
- Club99 (a group of radical ecologists) building (120m², two storey)
was built exclusively by hand (no oil, electricity nor animals involved)
with local materials for 5000€.
- Since 2011, the village boasts its first passive house, the
“Libelle”, which rely solely on its solar panels, natural flux and good
isolation to provide for its energy needs (of 300 kWh / year).
A stay at Sieben Linden is a good way to realize how connected we are
– or should be – to the earth, how much we need it, and how destructive
our western social patterns can be. It is also a good place to learn
alternative ways of interacting and working with people. Here putting
ones emotions forward and trusting are not seen as a sign of weakness
but are required to build a healthy community dynamic, and working is
done slowly and sharing, often deeply, with others, in a harmless, fun,
yet effective manner.
Over 15 years, the Sieben Lindeners have implemented a real holistic
sustainable lifestyle, from alternative communication and decision
making tools, to cutting-edge ecological construction, passing by
education, political action and environmental stewardship in a way that
is consistent with the permaculture and deep ecology philosophies.
—
QUICK FACTS
- Initiated in 1989, the first residents moved in in 1997.
- Founding member of GEN, it is currently its headquarters for Europe.
- 150 residents organized in neighborhoods with different approaches to green living
- 82ha of land, which comprises 44 ha of forest, 31 hectares gardens and farmland and almost 7 hectares of built-up areas.
- The community practices a holistic sustainable lifestyle strongly inspired by permaculture and deep ecology
D.L.
—
FOR MORE INFO:
Check out Sieben Linden’s website: http://www.oekodorf7linden.de/
* Read the book from Michael Wurfel, who stayed there for 10
years: “Dorf ohne kirche. Die ganz große Führung durch das ökodorf
Sieben Linden“. Eurotopia press.
** http://www.siebenlinden.de/htmcontent2089.html
*** http://www.siebenlinden.de/english2037.html
****
Resorting to animal use has been heavily discussed among the residents.
They decided to keep the horses, because they would have gone to a
slaughterhouse otherwise.
c
(c) Foto credits: Sieben Linden. More pictures: http://siebenlinden.de/bildarchiv/index.php/
