COHABITAT GATHERING 201 1
COHABITAT GATHERING 201 1
Cohabitat Gathering 2011 is implemented under the project „Integrated System for Social Economy Support”. Project co-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund.
COHABITAT GATHERING 1st April 201 1 Forum 76 Business Centre al. Marsz. J. Piłsudskiego 76 Łódź
Inspiring the evolution of spaceship
‘Earth’
COHABITAT GATHERING
Inspiring the evolution of spaceship
‘Earth’
Spaceship Earth was so extraordinarily well invented and designed that to our knowledge humans have been on board it for two million years not even knowing that they were on board of a ship. — Richard Buckminster Fuller
Spaceship ‘Earth’ is home to hundreds of millions of organisms. One of them is man.
The time has come to take care of our current and future living space.
Each of them has an essential role in sustaining the phenomenon of Life. All share a common space (co-habitat), combined in a complex network of relationships and interdependence. The first edition of the cohabitat gathering festival will be held under the title: ‘inspiring the evolution of spaceship Earth’. This is a major step towards creating a platform for a rapidly growing community of conscious networks. It is also an invitation for creative development through the implementation of the ‘new’ technologies and solutions, which will guarantee sustainable development in the future. All you have to do is not disturb. Natural systems and mechanisms operating on Earth govern all life processes. Intelligent use of these patterns makes it possible to create solutions which are fully balanced and in harmony with the local community.
Invited lecturers and special guests will present an extremely wide range of ideas, technology, philosophy and experience in the field of constructing a new generation of human habitats. They will speak about building with straw and earth, the design of autonomous ecosystems, water treatment, food production, design theory, human settlements, open-source machines and creating partnerships for the development of these trends. We will also show places in the world where the construction of the habitats has proved to be a great success.
All heads, one task. The task is multidisciplinary, so at the festival you will find representatives of many professions and interests: researchers, professionals and enthusiasts. We are also expecting representatives of local governmental and nongovernmental organisations.
For the first time in history it is now possible to take care of everybody at a higher standard of living than any have ever known. (...) All humanity now has the option to become enduringly successful. — Richard Buckminster Fuller
04
overview
overview
05
COHABITAT GATHERING
The time has come to take care of our current and future
living space.
06
overview
overview
07
COHABITAT GATHERING
Line-up 09:00
registration
01 structure
14:50 03 reflection
10:00 10:20 10:40 11:00 11:20 11:40 12:00
Bjorn Kierulf Passive houses from natural materials / 12 Gernot Minke Strawbale structures and green roofs / 13 Max Vittrup Jensen Big Bale Building / 15 Zbigniew Bać Habitats — philosophy of space arrangement / 16 Teresa Kelm Earth building techniques — ecology and modern standards / 17 Gernot Minke Architecture and earth structures / 14
15:20 15:40 16:00 16:20 16:40
break 17:00
02 life
12:30 12:50 13:10 13:30 13:50
14:30
Wojciech Majda Permaculture and creation of modern habitats / 20 Andrzej Czech Eco-Frontiers Ranch — polish example of offgrid building / 21 Steve Read Design of permacultural systems / 22 Monika Podsiadła How turn the surrounding of your house into a beautiful garden / 23 Łukasz Nowacki Solar Habitat Project — a step towards living tribes / 24 występ zespołu purga ( www.purga.pl )
17:20
17:50 18:10 18:30 18:50 19:10
19:50 program
Radosław Barek Use of native and regional traditions in a modern habitat’s building process / 26 Jarosław Szewczyk The uniqueness of Podlasie cordwood masonry / 27 Danuta Kupiec-Hyła, Maciej Hyła Modern clay building techniques in Polish conditions / 28 Marcin Mateusz Kołakowski Challenges of low-tech / 29 Andrzej Młynarczyk The Zero Zone — how your perception can change the world you live in / 30 Robert Palusiński Optimal and sustainable ways of decision making in intentional communities and ecovillages / 31 break
04 vision
19:30
08
lunch break
Paweł Sroczyński Cohabitat — Re:evolution in a life space / 34 Mateusz Józefowicz Habitats on Mars / 35 Marcin Jakubowski Global Village Construction Set: Building Civilization from the Ground Up / 36 Agnieszka Orzechowska Natural building techniques development — a model partnership in Łódź / 37 Robert Błaszczyk Barkowo 13 Project — ecovillage and Permaculture Centre / 38 Jakub Kronenberg Social participation in a local development — the Sendzimir Foundation / 39 the end program
09
afterparty — purga
01 structure
1/04/2011 21:00—3:00 Centrum na Gdańskiej Gdańska Street 81, Łódź purga.pl myspace.com/purga.sounds
Formed in 2009, Purga band was inspired by the
traditional instruments: didgeridoo, African and sha-
idea of shamanism, the wisdom of tribal cultures
man drums, flutes, lyre gurdy, as well as contempo-
and their function and evolution in contemporary
rary music: synthesizer, electric violin melody.
western culture. The first concert was accompanied with a lecture about Amzazonian Curanderos and sacred medicinal properties of plants used in Ayahuasca ceremonies. In its work, the band uses
Speakers
COHABITAT GATHERING
Bjorn Kierulf
Gernot Minke
Bjorn (1968) is a Norwegian living in Slovakia for over 20 years. He has a formal education in Industrial Design, and won several National Awards for his designs in the years 1993—2001. Together with his architect wife he has been spearheading the ph development in Slovakia since 2007, when they built the first certified ph . Since then their company createrra has designed and partly built over two dozen ph . The Company is also renowned for its extensive use of natural materials in the building process.
An architect, scientist, experimenter. A professor at the University of Kassel, where he directs the Experimental Building Faculty. An author of over thirty books and over 200 scientific articles on the innovative use of traditional building materials. Gernot Minke began working alongside the famous Frei Otto, the author of light membrane roofs built for the Olympics in Munich. Since the ‘70s main areas of his research and design work are natural and affordable building techniques. createrra
kassel university
architect
architect
Passive houses from natural materials The ideal combination to save energy and build healthy houses is to care not only about passive standard but also about materials which are used for construction and surfaces. I will present two different examples of building systems, which include both aspects. First example consists of solid wooden panels, insulated on the outside with blown in cellulose and woodfiber boards, on the inside reed mat with earth plaster. Panels are prefabricated in Germany and they were developed to serve as loadbearing walls and ceilings with possibility of easy installation of cables and with different finished wooden 12
structure
Strawbale structures and green roofs surfaces. Effective building process lower the costs of house. Wood and earthen surfaces help to keep higher humidity content in the air during the winter time, when it is dropping down due to ventilation. The second example is a building with prefabricated straw bale walls. This is more alternative material, but the way of prefabrication makes it possible to compete with conventional building methods. Panels are produced in Lithuania, the quality is high and the even surface of walls are easy to plaster. We are developing details and technical solutions that could make strawbale houses in passive house standard affordable.
Strawbale construction and green roofs are two of leading topics for anyone following the development of eco-architecture. However, it is less well known, that those two system can be combined in search for the ideal ‘green’ building: not only in one lecture, but also on the construction site. Why should one try? Strawbale, a building technology using baled straw, has been rapidly gaining popularity since the seventies. Key for this success are the proprieties of straw bales as a building material (natural, renewable, highly insulating, with low embodied energy and low cost) that make it a perfect choice for
the challenges of sustainable design. The advantages of green roofs have been known in Scandinavia for centuries: they protect buildings from both winter cold and summer heat and they absorb rainwater.. and they are beautiful. Modern development of thin earth roof systems allowed for easier application and reduced cost of green-roofs. Recent research shows also evidence on green roofs absorbing high-frequency electromagnetic waves, thus reducing the adverse effect of the built environment on human health. continuation on page 14 >>
structure
13
COHABITAT GATHERING
>> continuation of page 13
Architecture and earth structures Building with earth is one of the oldest and most widespread solutions for rising structures ranging from simple shelters to architectural wonders like Chinese Wall. Even today this material has a great importance: ca. one third of human population dwells in earthen buildings. Earth is often available on site and it is possible to build with it using untrained labour. It is also a truly ecological material: excavation, transport and construction consumes relatively little energy. If unfired it is fully an easily recyclable. Moreover, earth helps to maintain stable interior humidity in the building, creating a healthy micro-climate. Many building techniques employing earth exist: adobe, earth blocks, rammed earth, and cob are just some of the more popular. Preserving and developing knowledge about them might have a real impact on solving housing demand on a global scale.
14
structure
Max Vittrup Jensen Originally from Denmark, Max holds a B.Sc. In Human Ecology and a M.Sc. in Environmental Management. He spends most of his time within the field of Natural Building and Permaculture Systems Design, be it as educator, consultant, builder or visionary. In year 2001 he initiated the NGO PermaLot which manages an organic land trust of 17 hectares and an educational centre in Czech Republic. He’s the lead organizer of the bi-annual European Straw Bale Gathering in 2011 permalot
natural builder, networker
Big Bale Building (BBB) Recent new development in straw bale construction includes the approach of using the newer rectangular big bales [BB] about 1 m x 0.7 m x 2.2m. The BB lend themselves towards the original “Load-bearing construction”, where the unsupported bale walls are topped with a bond beam dimensioned to hold an additional story or simply the roof. The Big Bales allow for fast-mechanized construction of the exterior walls, and constitutes a complete wall with inner and outer skin, along with insulation. Labor costs are reduced considerably as the wall raising becomes a couple of days of mechanized process, with a roof that may
be pre-constructed and crane lifted onto the building, and rendering done (predominantly) mechanized. Add to this local availability, eliminating long distance transport, or high energy production. Environmental impact is very limited; In effect it is fully possible to construct a BBB as a biodegradable house, all depending on the overall design and choice of additional material within the building.
structure
15
COHABITAT GATHERING
Zbigniew Bać Professor at the Faculty of Architecture at the Wroclaw University of Technology. A chairman of the Scientific School habitat-y (since 1985) An organiser of international conferences, workshops, seminars and summer schools. An editor of a yearbook habitat-y. A chairman of the Committee of Architecture and Urban Planning Sciences (since 2003), a member of the Serbian Academy of Architecture (since 2006). An owner of an architectural office habitat (since 1989) A winner of numerous Polish and international architectural competitions (38 prizes).
Teresa Kelm
wrocław university of technology
architect
A professor at the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Warsaw. She conducts seminars and classes, inter alia green architecture design. During her several years’ residence and teaching in Africa (in Algeria) she became interested in earth building techniques. After that period she conducted research work in the United States. With her team she held a trial production of adobe bricks and compressed earth blocks. In 2006—2009 the team made an experimental building, designed in a modern rammed earth technology.
warsaw university of technology
architect, researcher
Habitats — philosophy of space arrangement Earth building techniques — ecology and modern standards Habitat developed as a revival movement at the turning point of 1985 at the Faculty of Architecture of Wroclaw University of Technology, in the Department of House Design. The author of this paper is the initiator and the founder of academic school of Habitat. There was presented an initial definition as well: “habitat as art and ability to organize the human living space. Thereby habitat is more a kind of philosophy than a set of design principles, it’s incessant discussion on shaping a living environment for a man and it’s also an attempt to create some philosophical basis, the aim of which is showing problems that we should deal with.” 16
structure
Having this definition as a basis, there were characterized essential features of human habitat, being perceived not only as a part of natural environment, but also as a part of the cultural one. Shared work with representatives from other scientific fields has been one of vital assumptions since the research on habitat started. It’s been perceived as a prerequisite for keeping balance when examining various phenomena that appear in time of genuine creating the living environment for a man.
An experimental building made in raw earth technologies was built in Pasłęk. Project preparations and implementation of the building were possible thanks to the money grant of Ministry of Science and Higher Education in the years 2005 to 2008, gained by the authors of the project. The object was designed to demonstrate methods of constructing a raw earth building and then to allow the research and observations on the behavior of the structure during its existence. Through the addition of a greenhouse, the building was designed as a passive (energy-efficient)
building, based on solar energy. Structural and external walls were built in the rammed earth technology, internal layer was made of hay-clay bricks, and al other internal normal walls were made of adobe blocks.
structure
17
All humanity has now the option to become
enduringly succesful.
Speakers 02 life
COHABITAT GATHERING
Wojciech Majda
Andrzej Czech A huge fan of renewable energy, water recycling and biomimicry. An owner of a consulting firm Natural Systems dealing with innovative ways to reduce human impact on the environment. A doctor of biology at the Jagiellonian University, naturalist. He lives and works in the Bieszczady Mountains, at the Eco-Frontiers Ranch, a unique project that combines the production of renewable energy, organic farming, ecotourism and nature conservation.
Wojciech Majda is a blogger. For over two years he constantly writes a blog of the Polish Institute of Permaculture. He was also the first person in Poland to establish the Permacultural Workspace — to be able to merge his passion and knowledge (maybe even a slight madness) with professional experience in the field of permacultural design. On his blog http://permakultura.net/ he shares with his readers ideas on permaculture, agroforestry, animal husbandry and ecology. polish institute of permaculture
natural systems
permaculture pionieer
natural scientist
Permaculture and creation of modern habitats
Eco-Frontiers Ranch — polish example of offgrid building
The author will talk about issues related to a wider implementation of permacultural projects. He will also share his experiences of translating often exotic and foreign in our culture, theory into practice. He will bring a process of setting up a very interesting project on a borderline of ecology, agroforestry, and permaculture, and explain using the permacultural design process in a garden or an enterprise or farm. In his view, by using knowledge of mainstream science, we can create self-sufficient and sustainable human settlements.
The idea of independence from standard utilities usually doesn’t cross our minds until we are unexpectedly cut off. In the face of climate change and expensive commodities we are in danger of experiencing lack of electricity or water much more often. Water recycling and providing housing units with their own sources of renewable energy can significantly reduce the negative impact architecture has on the environment. The Eco-Frontiers Ranch with its own energy supply system works completely independently of the grid. All electricity is produced on site by two wind turbines and photovoltaic panels while hot water is heated in solar panels. Thanks to a well-designed
20
life
internal network,including a wide selection of energy efficient electrical appliances, transmission losses are reduced to a minimum . The ranch also implements a system of rainwater collection and water recycling technology known as Wastewater Gardens. Six years of uninterrupted operation of the Eco-Frontiers proves that the independence of the network in Polish conditions is possible. Applied solutions can be replicated and processed according to individual needs.
life
21
COHABITAT GATHERING
Steve Read
Monika Podsiadła
The Permaculture teacher, he runs courses on designing, both in French and English. He works as a consultant advising on building and managing permaculture systems. He conducts research in offshoot systems of food production and their functioning in the temperate climate zone. He’s envolved in three projects at present: Kerzello in France, the ecovillage Dutlar in Turkey and 5 Acres in England. He’s been a director in Université Populaire de Permaculture for many years. He’s one of co-founders of the French Association of Permaculture.
Monika Podsiadla is a teacher by education and she’s interested in alternative education. Being a keen permaculture gardener she loves to share her practical expertize and experience. She’s a precursor of permaculture in Poland. She’s been running her own garden in which she’s been cultivating plants and experimenting for a dozen of years or so. She’s a member of G.E.N., too. She’s taken part a few times in conference meetings of Ecovillages in Europe. As a fieldworker working for Ekologiczne Stowarzyszenie ‘’Dla Ziemi’’ she’s carried out ecological programs for natural gardening and ways to keep the environment clean.
l’université populaire de permaculture permaculture teacher
Design of permacultural systems Permaculture is a science and art that we can use to re-design our human world to create one that that functions better , in everyway , and when we put our designs into place our human world will be more and more in harmony with the natural world . I don’t intend to speak a lot about the socio-ecological difficulties that face us except to say that we have the solutions but we seem to lack the motivation to put them into place. Permaculture is about solutions, about observation of natural systems and ourselves, it is about intelligent design and it is about installing these designs . It is about deigning 22
life
G.E.N. teacher
How turn the surrounding of your house into a beautiful garden and building a better human world and it starts at home.
Gardening among others generates so much joy, peace and involvement of one’s whole body and senses in it. Food ‘’production’’ shouldn’t be a matter of overriding importance in our relations to the Earth and its fruits. Everything we gather in summer and autumn becomes a gift we get for our involvement, feelings, fulfillment in nature. By observing natural enclaves of plants and animals we support their creativity and diversity. Masanobu Fukuoka proved that there’s no need to apply invasive methods of farming or to use chemical substances. A natural garden and natural cultivation can yield, with our slight effort put in it, at least
as much crops as industrial farming, and the quality of natural food is in every respect much better that the food produced by using any other methods. If we take care of our garden by using our hands and simple tools, we’ll get the synergetic connection with plants ant their fruits will sustain the health of ours and oour friends and family in some special and mysterious way.
life
23
COHABITAT GATHERING
Łukasz Nowacki
The pioneer of Permaculture, the futurist and the ecological designer. He specializes in ecohydrology and biotechnology of ecosystems. He’s been fascinated by an idea of autonomous settlements and biohabitats since childhood. The promoter and researcher on “ living machines”, alternative energy sources, archilogy and permaculture. He’s also interested in the concept of biomimicry and the theory of systems. He draws the inspiration from achievements of following masters and sources: Buckminster Fuller, John Todd, works from New Alchemy Institute. Ideologically he’s connected with the Cohabitat Group.
Speakers 03 reflection
(cohabitat group) atelier of permaculture systems
permaculture pionieer
Solar Habitat Project — a step towards living tribes What are characteristic features of living systems? We have to determine three of them when discerning features of ‘living creature’. First feature is growth and development. Second one is obtaining the energy from the Sun. Third one is functioning in an open system of biogeochemical cycles that benefit a living organism and the system. We all are a part of a bigger system. Each of us is a cell in some organ’s tissue and organs compose the living organism. The organisms compose an ecosystem by occupying a living space. The ecosystems compose a larger whole! The Earth, a spaceship, on the board of which we’re travelling across the universe. 24
life
The Earth is a shelter for billions of living tribes. The tribes of plants, animals and fungi, the tribes of spirits and inanimate matter. We’re witnessing the birth of new tribe that issues new challenges to itself. Such an answer that meets one of challenges mentioned above is SolarHAB, a prototype of fully autonomous shelter. It came into existence as a result of research within a range of Archilogy, i.e. a synergy of architecture and ecology. The design is based on how natural ecosystems work and SolarHAB converts wastes into food, purifies sewage so that it gets back the quality of drinking water, produces its own fuels, food and energy.
COHABITAT GATHERING
Radosław Barek
Jarosław Szewczyk
An architect, artist, lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture at Poznan University of Technology, co-initiator of The Traveling Architects Association. Barek also develops clay based building techniques, in particular traditional ways of bulding used in contemporary residential housing.
MSc. at the Faculty of Architecture, Białystok Technical University (1996); PhD. at the Faculty of Architecture, Warsaw Technical University (2006). The author of 17 papers about building with earth and cordwood masonry techniques, including a book “Budownictwo z polan opałowych — cordwood masonry” (Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Białostockiej, Białystok 2010). He loves old vernacular hut stoves in the Podlasie region, which are analysed in his next book “Piec w tradycyjnym budownictwie ludowym Podlasia” (Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Białostockiej, Białystok 2011).
poznan university of technology
architect
Use of native and regional traditions in a modern habitat’s building process. Modern architects increasingly search for inspiration in regional traditions. This happens mainly in terms of design, less of materials and construction techniques. Understanding traditional techniques for specific solutions, details or analysis of plans and sections may be an inexhaustible source of inspiration for contemporary architects. How to recognise the characteristics of regional architecture, its advantages adapting to local climatic conditions? - this research area slowly becomes the main knowledge needed for creation of new objects with the use of local materials.
26
reflection
bialystok university of technology
researcher, architect
The uniqueness of Podlasie cordwood masonry Since the end of the 20th century, one of the most unique of the low-tech building constructions focused the public interest. The technique was cordwood masonry, or stackwall, in which a wall is built with small pieces of wood instead of bricks, and with earthen (clay) mortar instead of cement or lime. Stackwall buildings are still in existence in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA; and in Southern Quebec and Ontario, Canada. In Europe, cordwood walls used to be a rarity; nevertheless, they have been mentioned to be occasionally found in a few countries, such as Czechia, Russia, Sweden and Norway. But surprisingly, cordwood walls can be occasionally found in the Podlasie region,
N-E Poland. The investigations performed between 2003 and 2010 have revealed 250 stackwall buildings. Paradoxically and unexpectedly, they seem to form the largest concentration of old stackwall buildings in the world. The author is going to present examples of Podlasie stackwall buildings, reveal the uniqueness of the construction and to assess the technique not only as the source of vernacular heritage, but also as working and practical technology for the contemporary low-tech architecture.
reflection
27
COHABITAT GATHERING
Danuta Kupiec-Hyła, Maciej Hyła
Marcin Mateusz Kołakowski
D. Hyla — a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of Technology (1968), PhD (1987) of the University of Krakow. M. Hyla — a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of Technology (1961). Interested in clay building techniques since college. In the 70’s, studied the prewar and postwar clay buildings in Malopolska region, and along with his wife began to design and implement a new generation of clay building techniques.Together they are authors of many works and projects, and dozens of articles in both professional journals and scientific publications. They also published a guide book “Light clay houses”.
Doctor of technical sciences in architecture and urban planning, engineer, journalist, lecturer at the University of Lincoln, UK. Studied at the Silesian Technical University, Universität Hannover and Bartlett School of Architecture UCL. He has worked as an architect in the UK, Germany and Poland. In his PhD thesis “Cultural and psychological context of low-tech architecture”, he analyses the latest movement in eco architecture advocating joined research methods linking architecture with psychoanalysis and critical theory. He runs http://archilove.pl
krakow university of technology,
“domy z tej ziemi” association architects
lincoln university
architect
Challenges of low-tech Modern clay building techniques in Polish conditions In the post-war Poland, clay was a fully supported by the state answer for a building materials shortage. Some of the buildings, still in a perfect shape remind us of that period. After a long time of lack of interest, clay building techniques seem to be coming back, but for another reason — as an exemplary ecofriendly way of building. It is a pity that in the Polish reality, only investors with a high level of environmental consciousness agree to design clay projects, more as a hobby than a serious investition Our projects, buildings and workshops effectively popularise this method of building. 28
reflection
The low-tech movement proved to be able to be an avant-garde of new technological and formal solutions. For the past 30 years, this movement played the role of a bridge between green ideologies and the scientific and industrial world. Perhaps a more important role of the movement lies within the realm of culture. In what Christopher Lasch labelled ‘narcissistic culture’ of today, some aspects of the low-tech movement might be seen as attempts at breaking the narcissistic-technocratic system of values and creating a positive alternative. Low-tech relates to a different perception of architecture — not as objects, but as a process; alternative approach to the building process — not specialization, but
co-operation; and an innovative way of using architecture — cohousing. The low-tech movement, however, is subject to many threats, both external (institutional and legal) and, unfortunately, also internal. The tendency of low-tech architects to create small enclosed circles of people sceptical about the scientific and industrial worlds is one of the threats. The narcissism of hi-tech might coexist with the narcissism of low-tech. Such a situation could hamper the popularisation of valuable solutions that promote sustainability in architecture.
reflection
29
COHABITAT GATHERING
Andrzej Młynarczyk
Robert Palusiński
He studied agriculture, sociology and design at Fine Arts Academy in Gdansk. He completed Alternative Design in Folkecenter Thy in Denmark in permaculture, in biological sewege treatment, biobuilding and acquiring renewable energy. He’s a member of G.E.N. — the Global Ecovillage Network and he’s taken part in forming a few eco-communities in Europe. He’s supporting a few such projects in Poland. He settled in the alternative artistic enclave “Dąbrówka” in the Village near Lublin. He’s been running a permaculture garden for a dozen of years, in which place he holds workshops once a year.
Robert Palusiński, a president of Deep Democracy Foundation, facilitator, trainer, coach and psychotherapist trained in the process-oriented psychology. A team member of the Academy of Process-oriented Psychology. In the years 1998 - 2002 he studied at the Research Society for Process Oriented Psychology in Zurich. A translator and author. Conducts training, facility groups, meetings, decision-making processes, meetings; social activities with groups or individuals of social exclusion. g .e.n. eco designer
The Zero Zone - how your perception can change the world you live in. There’s no place for part to whole relation in a holistic perception of the world. Through exceeding rational cognition we start acting from wholeness, from one’s heart — without dividing and assessing and categorizing. The world becomes our friendly shared domain where nothing and no one is excluded. We support life, development, shared activity, we free ourselves of fear as there’s nothing to oppose, nothing to fear in the awareness of wholeness. The sphere of thought and intellect, when it’s subjected by the dictates of heart, finds positive ways and harmonious creative solutions for joy and shared good. Greed and 30
reflection
cupidity disappear. If our ego is an illusion, then all aims we think up are the illusion as well. We become calmer and more humble when realizing it. We allow nature, the Great Mother, to meet all our existential needs. We don’t exploit the earth, just the opposite — we can make it flourish, we can live in gardens rather than concrete cages of urban estates that keep sickly and frustrated people being the slaves of rational and logical system of hierarchy and violence.
deep democracy foundation
coach
Optimal and sustainable ways of decision making in intentional communities and ecovillages. In a traditional democracy, by voting “remains” minority which “loses” the vote. This creates a minority of overt or covert opposition. Alternative communities created in the 60s and 70s of the twentieth century have sought to develop a way to agree a decision, which would eliminate the marginalisation of minority votes. Usually it was a painful and often ineffective way of trial and error. However, these experiments were not in vain. Several methods, which are in use by hundreds of members of intentional communities and eco-villages around the world were developed. These are for example: sociocracy,
decision making by consensus and deep democracy. Deep democracy is an approach successfully used in Findhorn Ecovillage- one of the oldest existing communities and eco-villages around the world. The deep democracy creates a space in which every vote, opinion, attitude or value are equally important. Opposite views are included (inclusion) and treated as favorably influencing innovation with a potential (as a hidden knowledge), on the overall implementation of the decision.
reflection
31
Speakers 04 vision
All heads,
one task.
COHABITAT GATHERING
Paweł Sroczyński
Mateusz Józefowicz
An architect utterly devoted to the enterprise of constructing autonomous human settlements of new generation — Cohabitats. The founder of cohabitat group. The originator and the co-organizer of ch gathering 2011. The author of pioneering projects on natural buildings technologies. He’s supported constantly the development of Polish movement for this new paradigm since 2008. The organizer of workshops and lectures.
Trained to be an archaeologist; an organiser of robotics projects and solutions for extreme environments, conducted in cooperation with Nicolaus Copernicus University, Technical University of Warsaw, Wroclaw and Bialystok, Industrial Research ...Institute for Automation and Measurements, Polish Academy of Sciences. A participant of projects for astronautic nongovernmental organisations in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and Ministry of Economy. An activist of international structures of the Mars Society and a supporter of the Polish Space Agency establishment.
(cohabitat group) natural architecture atelier
architect
Cohabitat — Re:evolution in a life space We entered the age of information. The old methods of activities based on industrial models are going to fail in the present. We need the re-evolution! The new awareness, the idea on how to re-unite with systems that support life on the Earth. We need the solution that would enable us to continue to follow the path of evolution and to use the potential resulting from a synergy between human beings and nature. By the end of decade the Cohabitat Group wants to offer people an opportunity to live in habitats — natural settlements based on rules of how ecosystems work. The methods they want to accomplish their aims are 34
vision
mars society polska
researcher
Habitats on Mars education and open-source technologies. The settlements would be able to generate basic resources essential for living (water, food, energy). During the presentation, there’ll be referred the history of Cohabitat Group, their achievements and unusual plans for the nearest future.
The main theme of his lecture will be Mars. Besides the Earth, Mars is the only planet in our solar system, which allows maintenance of technical civilization and the existence of our species. It has an atmosphere, seasons, diurnal cycle similar to Earth, and a sufficiently large mass. First of all, Mars has resources that make a potential colony self-sufficient. Technologically, this planet is within human reach, but the main obstacles seem to have mental and political background. Among the various benefits of the Columbian expedition to Mars, we should mention the change of reference scale. Such a broadening of horizons will allow us to look
from a different perspective on our home planet, its environment and our role. The solutions developed for the Mars may well be applicable to the Earth. On the other hand, to reach the Red Planet we need to practise and test some solutions on the planet Earth. And we will — in Torun, in a test Martian habitat Mars Society Poland.
vision
35
COHABITAT GATHERING
Marcin Jakubowski
Agnieszka Orzechowska
Marcin came to the U.S. from Poland as a child. He graduated with honors from Princeton and earned his PhD in fusion physics from the University of Wisconsin. In 2003 he founded Open Source Ecology in order to make closed-loop manufacturing a reality. He began development on the Global Village Construction Set (GVCS), an open source DIY tool set of 50 different industrial machines necessary to create modern civilization. Marcin’s recent accomplishment is his selection as a TED Fellow for 2011.
undp coordinator of local partnerships, responsible for creating a coalition for social economy and stimulating groups at risk of exclusion to create social economy entities. A graduate in Sociology and Russian Philology at the University of Lodz, a specialist in the field of sustainable development and global education; a coach, specialising in creating and managing projects, building local partnerships and diagnosing social problems.
undp — project office poland coach
open source ecology
researcher, inventor
Global Village Construction Set: Building Civilization from the Ground Up The presentation summarizes our work on the Global Village Construction Set (GVCS). The GVCS is an open source, low-cost, high performance technological platform that allows for the easy, small-scale, DIY fabrication of the 50 different technologies that it takes to build a sustainable civilization with modern comforts. The GVCS lowers the barriers to entry into farming, building, and manufacturing and can be seen as a life-size Lego-like set of modular tools that can create entire economies, whether in rural Missouri, where the project was founded, the mountains of Oregon, or in the heart of Africa. We are 36
vision
pushing the limits of thinking and practice of how the GVCS can break the feasibility and cost barriers of building truly sustainable and resilient communities from the ground up, including complete economies based on local resources.
Natural building techniques development — a model partnership in Łódź In 2010 we established the local partnership for the development of natural building construction in our country, as a result of cooperation between the Cohabitat Group and United Nations Development Programme Design Office in Poland. The aim of the cooperation is to strengthen this sector of construction industry and to support the groups that work in this field. As activities here are feasible through the integration of various institutions and groups so we decided to invite research-scientific centres, firms, non-governmental organizations, unoficial groups and public institutions to join the cooperation. As a part of the partnership we motivate
scientists to conduct research and to set up projects supporting the development of natural building construction, we encourage companies to invest in this branch of economy, we cooperate with government offices in order to approve natural building materials. There’s a variety of tools and methods used to accomplish our goals: workshops, conferences, the Internet websites, research, exemplary building sites, etc. We’re going to show the initial results and plans for the nearest months to be accomplished by the partnership and the chances to use the natural building for marginalised and vulnerable groups during the presentation. vision
37
COHABITAT GATHERING
Robert Błaszczyk
Jakub Kronenberg
Robert Blaszczyk is fascinated by the topic of permaculture, mainly natural crops, natural construction and alternative energy sources. He has gained experience in India and Thailand under the leadership of Christian Shearer (Pany Project), and received a Diploma of Permacultural Design from Steve Read (L’Université Populaire de Permaculture) in Albania. He visited many self-sustaining habitats, permacultural farms and eco-settlements in the world; now returned to Poland to spread permaculture in his ancestors’ country.
A board member of Sendzimir Foundation, assistant in the Department of International Exchange at University of Lodz. His area of interest is the connections between economy and environment. His book, “Ecological economics and industrial ecology” was issued by a prestigious publishing house Routledge. He is an editor of the first Polish guidebook for sustainable development. He has undertaken numerous science internships in France, Switzerland, UK and Kyrgyzstan. In 2001—2003 he worked as a consultant on environmental management in the undp Umbrella Project. In his spare time he likes watching birds and traveling.
barkowo 13 project permaculture pionieer
Barkowo 13 Project — ecovillage and Permaculture Centre A project for creating a settlement on the basis of ethical principles of permaculture, from which the main three are: • taking care of the Earth. Permaculture as a design system based on natural systems. This involves respect for all flora and fauna, responsible management of natural resources, not wearing them unnecessarily or quicker than they would manage to renew • taking care of people. Taking care of their health, self development, their own needs, but also thinking about everyone else: empathy, tolerance and respect for other people’s needs. This also applies to care for future generations and providing them with 38
vision
conditions for normal growth. • fair distribution — we have only one Earth which we share with other people, other species and future generations. This requires a re-evaluation of approaches to unlimited consumption, especially when it comes to the natural resources. We should work together to provide everyone with equeal access to resources, to satisfy the basic necessities of life.
university of lodz
researcher, traveller
Social participation in a local development — the Sendzimir Foundation Development strategies are often associated with extensive documentation, full of high-sounding phrases — “platitudes”— which could equally well apply to any city, any municipality, or even any company. Are these documents going to contribute to development? Although it is hard to disagree with most of their legitimate demands, they are rarely related to local characteristics, particularly to local needs. To talk about local development, you need to ask the opinions of people who will be affected by thes developments. There are many ways of allowing the local comunity to become activity involved in researching devlopment strategies.
Documents developed this way are not only more likely to get support of local communities, but their implementation is also likely to be monitored with greater interest by the residents. The projects for sustainable local development run by the Sendzimir Foundation use many of these tools such as simulation of participatory public debate,and strategic workshops isis.
vision
39
COHABITAT GATHERING 2011 creative manager: Paweł Sroczyński p.sroczynski@cohabitat.net
media contact: Wojciech Owczarzak wowczarzak@gmail.com
partnerships: Agnieszka Orzechowska agnieszka.orzechowska@undp.org
graphic design and typesetting: Martyna Bargiel martynabargiel@gmail.com
translations: Martyna Płokarz pl.martyna@gmail.com Mariusz Sarnicki sarnicki.lux1974@gmail.com
many thanks to: Maciej Jagielak, Monika Sierakowska, Maciej Reimann, Łukasz Nowacki, Bartek Spławski
organizers:
partners:
patronage:
GRUPA COHABITAT
undp
Project Office Poland