Sieben Linden Ecovillage

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Sieben Linden Ecovillage

The Ecovillage Sieben Linden, situated in the community Beetzendorf in the Altmark – District Salzwedel, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, was established in 1997. It has the aim to realise collaborative and holistic sustainable lifestyles, that connect a small ecological footprint with a high quality of life. Currently one hundred adults and forty children and adolescents are living in ten straw-bale houses and about fifty well insulated construction trailers.

The cooperatively organised village covers over a hundred acres of land; thereof 84 acres of woods, which is managed sustainably. The core of the village is a half timbered ecologicaly restored farmhouse, who accommodates the community and seminar rooms. In the garden fruits and vegetables are culitvated for self-sufficiency. Composting toilets, a sewage treatmant plant and solar panel provide local energy and material cycles.

The slim structures of the village offer the possiblity, to shape social, ecological, economical and cultural aspects. In the interaction of all those areas may develop a sustainable whole, that offers space for the diversity, creativity and the different needs of there residents.

The Ecovillage Sieben Linden is liberal-minded and hospitable village. We wellcome people from diverse cultural and social backgrounds, age groups, with and without disabilities.

History

The idea of ​​a “self-sustained, ecological village” was established in 1989. When the core group emerged from many interested parties, we bought the Groß Chüden project center in Altmark (25 km north of Sieben Linden) in 1993 for joint planning and direct community experience.

In March 1997, we bought the property for the eco-village, in June 1997 the first of us moved with a van to Siebenlinden. First, we converted the existing old farm to the community building and the regional center according to ecological criteria. It became the focal point of community life and seminar centre. Since 1999 additional infrastructure has been established: paths, wells, electricity and telephone lines, plant drainage system, pond, amphitheater, planting of windbreaks, u.v.m. A five-hectare piece of agricultural impoverished land is gradually transformed into a valuable garden land.

On eight hectares of building land, we are continuously building houses, other guest rooms and commercial buildings. At the present time (2017) are eleven multi-family dwelling houses, the regional and seminar center, the meditation house and other smaller buildings (woodworks, horse stables, summer kitchens, etc.) in Siebenlinden.

The farm in Poppau, which was rented in 1998, initially served as a transitional area; now it belongs to the community which is closely linked to us and is gradually being renovated.

We have grown from initially 15 pioneers to now about 140 people (2017). The target size is twice as high, but most important to us is the organic growth of the community. The question is: How many people can we integrate at the moment? Also externally our village has enlarged covering a total of about 100 ha (of which 64 ha are forest).

Contact with the region has also intensified over the years. The visits and continuous reporting in local newspapers regularly invite the neighbors to Sieben Linden. Sieben Linden is a well integrated part of the municipality of Beetzendorf. A project member is there in the town council through the “Energiewendeliste”, which we co-founded.

Culture and Social Life



In times of shifts in society and ecological questions above all we dedicate ourselves to humaneness and to the responsibility for the world. Through our life and activities we express our connection with the Earth and its earthlings. Therefor many different paths are treaded, because the different pressing questions of today need different answers that are adjusted to people and conditions. In addition to a stewardship of available resources we align ourselves to a forward-looking mutual caretaking in life and economy. In this diversity the community reflects like a societal microcosm the basic issues of the world.

Social Life



The Community

At present 100 adults and 40 children of all ages live together in different households: shared flats, apartments and converted construction trailers. Most households have their own infrastructure. For communal life and activities the communal buildings offer space: for shared meals, celebrations, meetings, dancing, movie screenings, talking rounds, mediations and just face-to-faces.

Allowing Diversity

We don’t just live one lifestyle or philosophy: Sieben Linden is a community built of different communities. The residents carry out their common philosophy of life in so called Neighborhoods and shared living units. This philosophy is revealed in such as building methods, economic or dietary values, family situation or in the need for quietness. The neighborhoods and/or shared living units with their own shared philosophy will be given some area on which they can build their house.

Integration of different walks of life

Living together in Sieben Linden means to learn from each other, regardless of age, social background and walks of life.

Children here enjoy an environment full of opportunities for development and with many playfellows. They visit the forest kindergarten and the local free and state schools.

For teens and other young persons, trainees and alumni of voluntary services Sieben Linden is an eclectic place of experiences and learning opportunities. People with special needs are cared for in great appreciation of their life experiences.

Attentive communication

Early we realized: for the community to be a success we need a high degree of transparency. Only when we know of each other, of what is on our minds, we can assess and appreciate what the others are doing. For showing the others who we are and to get to know each other and solve conflicts we use beside the direct face-to-face approach manifold communication techniques: Forum, Nonviolent Communication, mediation, just to name a few. Thus we can grow together in living together.

Deciding together

We make decisions with the desire to hear as many needs as possible and to bring them together and on the same time to stay capable of acting. Five elected counsels and many working groups are trusted by the community to decide in the spirit of the whole about issues like building, social affairs, finances, administration, educational work or food. At our monthly General Assembly questions are discussed, that concern everyone. Decisions are made with 2/3 majority with possibility for veto.

Source: https://siebenlinden.org/en/ecovillage-2/culture-and-social-life/