Sustainability and Ecology at the ZEGG Community Content
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Achim Ecker 5,00 Sustainability and Ecology at the ZEGG Community Content: 3 Introduction: Life within a Living Organism “Peace and survi- 5 Energy Use and Sustainability val of life on earth as we 6 A short History of Fossil Fuel know it are threatened by Consumption human activities that lack a commitment to human 7 The Protection, Conservation and values. Destruction of Restoration of Soil nature and natural resources is the result of ignorance, greed, 9 The Forest as the Matrix of Life and lack of respect for the 12 Permaculture earth’s living things. This lack of re- spect extends even to the earth’s hu- 13 Spiritual Ecology and Geomancy man descendants, the future generations who will in- 14 Cooperation with Animals herit a vastly degraded 15 The ZEGG Vegetable Garden plane if world peace does not become a reality and if destructi- 17 Awareness in the Kitchen and while on of the natural environ- Shopping ment continues at the 18 The Greening of Roofs and Façades present rate”. (Dalai Lama) 19 Water – a Living Substance 21 Waste Water Cleaning and Composter 23 Natural Pond Clarification 24 Compost Toilets 25 Energy Generation from Renewable Resources Imprint: 26 Cars run on Vegetable Oil Publisher and V.i.S.D.P.: Achim Ecker 27 Building and Insulating with Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 89 Plant Fibres D-14806 Belzig E-mail: [email protected] 28 Building with Earth Texts: Achim Ecker (Geomancy: Hermann Haring), 29 Living Buildings with Willows and Photographs: Achim Ecker, Georg Loh- Other Trees mann, ZEGG-Archive; Cover Photo- graph: A. Ecker 30 Mandala Pavilions Layout and typesetting: Hermann 32 Triangular Huts Haring, Burkhard Alexander Pranke English translation: Stefani Ross, Niall 33 Epilogue: There is no Time Glynn to Waste Print: Joost, D-Kronshagen 1. Edition 2004 35 What is ZEGG? Reprint of excerpts with indication of source is permitted and welcomed. Please 36 Literature send specimen copy. 2 Sustainability and Ecology at the ZEGG Community Life within a Living Organism or millions of years, life on new markets. Terrorism would best Earth, offers the opportunity for a FEarth has existed in biological be fought by the implementation of unique and diverse community of balance: all species co-exist, and global justice and by fighting po- beings, (…) all substances are returned in a cy- verty and illiteracy. cle back to nature. There is no was- The prevailing patterns of produc- te. The energy of the sun is the only Sustainable development and tion and consumption cause deva- source of energy which is available worldwide justice require, first of station of the environment, exploi- nearly without limitations. The sun all, a new orientation of our lifesty- tation of natural resources and constantly feeds this cycle on the les in the industrialized countries massive extinction of species. The Earth, thereby making it possible as we already consume much more proceeds of the economic develop- for life to exist. than our share. If the entire world’s ment are not spread equally, and population wanted to achieve our the chasm between rich and poor is The ever more obvious climatic standards of living, we would need getting deeper and deeper. Injusti- changes with all of their accompa- several planets just like the Earth in ce, poverty, ignorance and violent nying “natural” catastrophes show order to supply us with the necessa- conflicts are spreading and are us that this balance is now serious- ry raw materials, such as energy, causing incredible suffering. (…) ly threatened by us humans: if we food and natural resources. Politics want to survive, we have to change needs to provide a supportive fra- We now have a choice: we either our ways of thinking, and we have mework for this change of attitude form a global partnership, in order to re-learn to live in harmony with and thinking; but most of all it is to care for the Earth and for each nature. This does not mean a simp- necessary for each and every one of other, or we run the risk of destroy- le movement `back to nature´, but a us to fundamentally change his or ing ourselves and the entire diver- balanced approach both to oursel- her attitude towards the way we use sity of life. Some very decisive ves, and to whatever surrounds us. our shared resources and the pro- changes in our value system, our ducts of this one world. institutions and our way of life are Our planet Earth is a living organ- necessary. We have the knowledge ism. Animals, plants and humans Let me quote from the preamble of and the technology to provide for and the so-called “a-biotic” matter, the Earth-Charta of the B.U.N.D. ourselves, and to reduce negative such as water, winds and rocks, are (a big German environmental or- impacts on the environment. We interconnected. This connected- ganization), dated March 24th, need to focus on the fact that if ba- ness between us humans and the bi- 2000: “We now stand at a critical sic human needs are provided for, osphere, which was seen as a mat- point in the history of the Earth, at human development is centred ter of fact in early cultures, has to- which humanity needs to choose around “being” instead of “ha- day been neglected and disrupted. the way to take into the future. As ving”. Humankind has lost touch with na- the world more and more interla- ture, and can therefore bear to ex- ced and ecologically fragile, the fu- ZEGG (see page 35) has made a ploit her by violently disrupting na- ture holds immense dangers and in- commitment to develop a way of tural cycles and relationships. Pro- credible opportunities. If we want life which does not cause any furt- fit-oriented globalisation, subject to advance, we need to acknowled- her damage to this planet and every life-process to the laws of the ge that, despite or even due to our which contributes to its healing. A market, signifies a new apex in hu- many differences in culture and li- communal way of life and joint use manity’s insanity. The so-called festyles, we are one big family, a of consumer goods are steps in this wars against terrorism are one ex- global community tied together by direction. Within the past years, pression of this disease. They un- a shared fate (…) the ecological work done at ZEGG mask the underlying mechanisms has undergone some changes: star- of capitalism, always on the move Humanity is part of a constantly ting out with a more classical ap- to secure natural resources and evolving Universe. Our home, the proach towards ecology, it has mo- Sustainability and Ecology at the ZEGG Community 3 ved towards a holistic social ecolo- for the entire region, and much was acknowledged as one of Euro- gy. Social ecology connects the ou- more. As more people decide to pe’s foremost experts on hydraulic ter, visible nature of the biosphere settle here and to contribute their engineering. His inventions on the with the inner nature of human energy, the more attractive the re- improvement of water quality re- beings. Ecology in this sense of the gion seems to become. ceived international recognition. word encompasses the healing of humans as well as healing the pla- This booklet intends to provide an Viktor Schauberger was one of the net. And healing processes take overview of the most important first natural scientists who warned place whenever human activities ecological projects at ZEGG. The- of the possible results of an intensi- begin to harmonize again with the re is still much to do, but we are on ve exploitation of water and fo- `ways´ of life. Any person incapa- our way. My wish is that, with this rests. Together with his son, Walter ble of loving himself, will likewise booklet and its practical examples, Schauberger, he founded the first be incapable of loving his human, ZEGG may serve as a model for ot- Austrian ecology-movement, the plant or animal environment. Whe- her developments, far beyond this “Grüne Front”. From the very be- rever the natural functions of life, region. ginning he was an outspoken oppo- such as vibration, flow, pulsation nent of energy generation from nu- and rhythm are inhibited by either The following contributions provi- clear fission. River restoration, for technological or ideological force, de substantial background infor- which he was at the time the only disruptions or diseases will arise. mation on the topic of sustainabili- proponent, is now being done all As years went by, more and more people were attracted to the region of Hoher Fläming, the area sur- rounding ZEGG. Meanwhile, the realization of a “Hoher Fläming Sustainable Region”, with local re- cycling of materials has turned into the connecting vision for many people who live here. Many of the things we need in order to live should come from this region; and this region is beginning to change. Since 1991, more than 300 people have settled here, in addition to the 70 odd ZEGG inhabitants, all of them searching for more commu- nal lifestyles and a more sustaina- ble economy. They form a loosely woven network. Knowledge, cul- ture and goods are exchanged, and in their wake friendship and many loving relationships have been ge- nerated. ty. Many thoughts are inspired over the world. His maxim of ob- Community members, newcomers from the work of the Austrian rese- serving and emulating nature now and original residents work toget- archer Viktor Schauberger, whose seems to express a wide range of her in a variety of projects, projects work during the first half of the what is currently done in the realms which in hindsight may turn out to 20th century was far ahead of time.