As long as I can remember climate change mitigation has been an issue for me. When I was younger it was about switching the light off when leaving the room or not using the car but riding the bike instead. Then I got older, life became more complicated and as the climate continued to heat up I understood that bigger actions are needed to save our planet. So I became active in NGO youth groups, went to more and more demonstrations and took part in actions of civil disobedience.
Finally I understood that it is impossible to stop climate change in our current system of growth and exploitation. And this realisation was primarily depressing for me. Because changing a system takes time but we cannot wait any longer since tipping points are already crossed or not far from being crossed.
But still, as there is no such thing as a planet b it is no option to give up. So I decided to focus my energy in this life on working towards a world that is future-compliant and worth living for.
So after I finished school it seemed to be the logical next step for me to volunteer in project with the same aim. Even though it was pure coincidence that brought me to Vaike Jalajälg I can now say that an ecovillage was the perfect choice for me. Here I have the possibility to experience an alternative way of living. I am given the chance to be a part of a community that tries to be truly sustainable, both with the environment and within their community.
I came here in September and in the first months I more or less did the things I expected to be doing here, like gardening in the permaculture inspired vegetable garden, or preserving apples and tomatoes. And this was quite special to me because I had lived all my life in a city and therefore gardening on a big scale was new to me. And I had the feeling to do something so meaningful and therefore fulfilling. It is such a basic and primal pleasure to grow and eat your own food.
What I also enjoyed right from my first day here was this sense of community. I was rarely working alone and if I was alone I was doing something for others. Also, there is always someone in the kitchen to chat with. In general I felt so inspired by all the people I got to know.
By the time winter came I already felt at home in Moisamaa. Now I spend my time helping in school, cooking, sewing pillows, some Computer work, and doing some other stuff here and there.
It is quiet in Moisamaa in this time of the year and one can seldom see the sun but I learn to enjoy the sauna instead. Also, I am grateful for this temporary slow down of my life that allows me to focus and become more aware of myself.
In the past months I understood how precious it is to live in a community. It is a way of living the change. And of course Moisamaa is still far from being the perfect ecovillage and we are not living the most sustainable life here. But it is an attempt, it is a start. And this is from where we can go on.
In May my EVS ends and I will go back home to Germany. But not for long; there are more ecovillages to explore, more people to meet!
