Support of personal growth
Sieben Linden ecovillagers define their community as a place based on personal growth where a fair and respectable communication with oneself and the others is necessary. No limiting guidelines are defined in the community: it gives the opportunity for all members to evolve and build themselves freely.
Several cultural and spiritual methods are put into practice in the community so that ecovillagers can connect to themselves and nature: a meditation building has for example been built in the ecovillage.
Respect of cultural traditions
The Sieben Linden community has implemented several cultural traditions throughout the year: it enables to create close connections between all ecovillagers.
Several seasonal parties are celebrated in the community:
- the harvest festival (Erntedankfest in German) gathers the community every year in October around a meal taken in the community garden, to mark the end of the harvest period.
- Easter is an important celebration in Sieben Linden: an egg hunt is first organized for all children and a meal with the whole community is then shared.
The summer camp is also a key moment in Sieben Linden: for one week, 300 guests are welcomed in the community and participate to many different workshops and group activities like dancing and mantra singing.
The community also celebrates initiation for new-borns where all the community gathers and welcomes the new community member, the community members singing all together in circle around the family. It creates very strong community affiliations between all members.
When admitting new members, a party is organized for them, during which they have the opportunity to introduce themselves and share what they want with the community.
On a daily basis, several rituals are also put in place: as the community takes meals collectively every day, a quick blessing is pronounced before meals to thank the people and elements who have enabled the preparation of meals.
Weekly events have also now become a tradition: every Wednesday, for example, the sauna is turned on and the community members community are now used to spend a collective moment of relaxation.
Involvement to protect communities and nature
The community pays a close attention to protection of all human beings and nature.
Cattle farming is, for example, the topic which raises the most dissents in the community. Some members are vegan and refuse to kill or exploit any animal. On the other hand, several ecovillagers consider that eating animals places human beings in natural circles.
It has then been decided that only animals which can enjoy good living conditions until the end of their natural life can be hosted in the community.
This decision does not prevent members to eat meat if they want to: in this case they can provide their meat through ethical distribution networks, so that they can know the origin of their meat.
Celebration of life and diversity through art
The ecovillage is situated in a rural area where few cultural events are offered. The community aims at creating an inspiring place where many different artistic offers are proposed to ecovillagers and the surrounding inhabitants. Many art activities are performed in the community: dancing, music, theatre, cinema, painting…
On many occasions, the community sing all together. During seasonal fests, birthday parties or even spontaneously, a few community members often start singing, then joined by many others.
Reconnection with nature
The ecovillage is surrounded by big forests where it is always possible to walk and spend time to reconnect with nature.
This is the perfect environment for the Sieben Linden’s kids who have now their forest kindergarten: this kindergarten does not only serve the community children but attracts children from the surroundings. The kindergarten building only consists of a trailer: the children then spend the majority of their time to explore the forest with their educators.