,,BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE”

Ecology

 

 

KNEJA is an organization from Cakovec with the goal to stimulate people to good quality and viable coexistence with Nature, to promote the principles of self-viable life communities and the promotion of self-viable and ecologically acceptable development through trainings and practical contents. They started their action in 1996, as an initiative of a few young people who gathered the abandoned dogs in the streets in “fighting” – against hunters, power plants on the rivers, circus with animals, and for days without cars, wakening ecological awareness, responsibility and acting. Though they admit that the best thing for social activism is to be young, spontaneous and with lots of belief rush at windmills, today, enriched with some experience, they seem to be more subtle. They are co-founders of MEB (Mreza Eko-sela Balkana – Balkan Eco-village Net). We talked to Igor Lesar, a permculturist and “Kneja” activist.

 

 

CA: Do eco-villages represent practical realization of ecologically viable way of life?

 

Eco-villages offer to modern society some possibility for applying positive elements acquired at the previous civilization road, in order to found self-viable communities. Although they are simple concept which could be compared with existing rural areas, they differ from them in more natural relation established between energy sources, construction, waste, water, economy and food. Eco-villages are the challenge of happier, fulfilled and healthier life. You can’t imagine eco-village without perm culture, while perm culture doesn’t depend on eco-village. Perm culture is, actually, a collection of tools helping to arrange life in some community in different and more logical way. There are some excellent examples where perm culture tools function perfectly in town, at home, in a yard or in the part of a village. However, perm culture is probably the most powerful at something else, and that is social dimension. It is about the way of comprehension, approach, acceptance and even private and social behaviour. For example, when I was younger everything upset me and I wanted to change the world. Today, I have been changing myself and basic elements around me, and perm culture gives me perfect tools for that. It is actually a life game and that is why it is always exciting.

 

 

CA: How has “Kneja” as “an association for culture and co-existence with nature” influenced its members?

 

When a man turns to himself an tries to get rid of boring and hard life patterns he has been acquiring from the early age, then he can easily change his behaviour. You should abandon some prejudices and expectations. When you don’t assume, but ask-the answer comes by itself. When you don’t expect, but listen and act- then you are not angry nor mad. Something else is to have a wish- it is good and it operates. The third thing good for rejecting is a need to pack everything into some definition, because we cram everything into the familiar drawers.

 

 

CA: What effect has “Kneja” had on the people in your wider surrounding?

 

The greatest effect is probably the wider change of social perception on different ecological solutions. Everything is “green” today, everybody is “green”, “green” literally jumps out of paste. However, the essential changes are still happening in promilles. It is obvious that neoliberal-capitalistic conformity has spoiled most of society, so, we’ll have to wait for real changes some time longer. There is a hard battle going on out there, between viable and unviable and someone will have to ease up.

 

 

CA: What do the terms “the coming era of energetic fall” and “low energetic culture” mean?

 

In the booklet “The cores - (perm)culture of change” we passed over some very interesting and not so optimistic attitudes on the subject, given by David Holmgren, the pioneer of perm culture. He often mentions the era of energetic fall as the key for making “new story”, describing it as the era when we are to reduce energy usage drastically, reject some madden habits and turn to more clearer and sustainable solutions.

 

 

CA: Can the future be viable and what is the way leading to it?

 

Maybe we shouldn’t dramatize so much and see a difficult way of surviving in everything. Future could be viable and we, as civilization, have the best chances to survive and live good life. It’s a matter of choice for everyone of us. In the power game, where manipulation has a final say for those who greedily cry for money, it is hard to do anything because people deaden and politics and industry go into action. How long it will last – I don’t know, but there are a lot of woken and aroused ones working on the idea for something good to happen.

 

 

CA: Can the alternative sources of energy replace fossil fuels?

 

At the moment when we stop looking at them as “alternative” – absolutely yes! Namely, It is not only about replacing fossil fuels by alternative ones, but also about energy usage, ecology construction, social projects and the whole range of connected elements.

 

 

CA: What can citizens undertake in their homes?

 

That is primal question. There are so many answers. There is an excellent concept which informs people what and how they can do. We call it “5R concept”, because it says that first we should think  everything over (rethink), then shorten the usage, bad habits and so on (reduce), use again everything what we can (reuse), fix (repair) and finally (recycle).

 

 

CA: What are the practical methods you use like?

 

The point is that everything we do could be applied, that people we work with could immediately apply acquired experiences, knowledge and skills. When we started the project “Pika and Friends” that was a guiding idea which, being like that, maintained and has been running on for many years. The same thing applies for the herbal natural cosmetics workshop, for making a straw little house and a small lake, as well as for perm culture design. On our web pages, especially on  www.pikaiprijatelji.com site, you can find some advice and I warmly recommend it to those who want to make something of practical use. The most interesting thing is that we will be able to apply the knowledge acquired until now and in this way to round up the twenty-years-long period of “Kneja” activity. Lots of our friends make a whole with us, so come and have a look what “Rustica” (www.rustica.hr) says and does about seeds and agriculture, “Eia” (www.eia.hr) – about perm culture and  spirituality, “Senjar” (www.senjar.hr) – about environment protection, “ZMAG” (www.zmag.hr) – about recycled property, “MEB” (www.ekosela.org) – about eco-villages, “The Perm culture Institute”  (www.permakultura.org) – about placing perm culture on a higher level etc.

 

 

CA: What are Kneja and MEB activities in recent years and otherwise?

 

We have been investing lately lot of energy into children, the young, parents and teachers education. We also started a package of projects “Viability in Practice” where we unite all perm culture elements into one whole. Although “Balkan Eco-village Net” has turned from primary practical into theoretical activity, it has a very significant role – it connects, opens the doors and spreads the ideas out of the borders it started within. MEB started when we had no eco-village or something like that, but today there are some initiatives very close to the realization. A different world is possible, but only if “we alone become the change we want to see”, as Gandhi beautifully said it.

 

 

CA: Could we say that we are not society today, but a community of selfish individuals, which withheld basic life resources to its descendants?

 

Yes, we surely could. When she was thirteen, Severn Suzuki said at the Climate Conference in Rio, in 1992: “Here you may be the envoys of your governments, businessmen, organizers, journalists or politicians, but truly – you are mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers and everyone of you is somebody’s child. I am just a child, but I know that we are all part of the same family counting five billion people and thirty million species! And borders and governments will never change that. I am just a child, but I do know that we are all together in it and that we should act like a unique world with one goal. At my anger, I am not blind and at my fear I am not afraid to tell the world how I feel”. Nothing has changed since then, it got even worse. But today, messages go into consciousness more often and strongly. There is a chance that we, as society turn towards a little different direction. If we don’t, no problem, - our species will die out. The Planet life goes on.  It would be a good thing if we understood that we are actually nothing and nobody. Then we could have it all.

 

 

CA: Apart from chemical pesticides and heavy machinery, a great number of cattle we raise (not mentioning inhuman methods of cattle-raising industry) is one of the main reasons for soil degradation. Does it mean that we could directly contribute to planet protection if  we gave meat up at least once a week?

 

I’ve already said in a radio show – if a man ate as much as he really needs, there wouldn’t be any problems. It is not just for meat production; we destroy forests and virgin forests, and they are literally the only ones which can save us, for mass production of palm oil, bananas – everything we don’t essentially need.

 

 

CA: What does “Pika and Friends” project contain and what things it deals with?

 

It is the most durable Kneja” project promoting a life model where we gain and give, learn and being taught. Through play and practical contents, the project is promoting the viable nature protection methods, but, really, it is only sending the message that we could make this world a better place for life if we rethought, since, now, maybe more than ever, we have a chance for it. We have grown up an a civilization way, we are not in the middle ages any more, we have technologies and knowledge, we have learnt how to produce a needle as well as a locomotive, and we only have to learn now how to lead a simple life with all that around.

 

 

  

„BUDITE PROMENA KOJU ŽELITE DA VIDITE“

Ekologija

 

 

 

KNEJA je organizacija iz Čakovca čija je svrha delovanja podsticanje ljudi na kvalitetan i održiv suživot sa prirodom, promocija načela samoodživih životnih zajednica, te promocija samoodrživog i ekološki prihvatljivog razvoja kroz edukacijske i praktične sadržaje. Započeli su sa svojim radom 1996. godine kao incijativa nekoliko mladih ljudi i to skupljajući odbačene pse po ulicama, „boreći se“ - protiv lovaca, hidroelektrana na rekama, cirkusa sa životinjama, za dane bez automobila, buđenje ekološke svesti, odgovornost i delovanje. Iako priznaju da je za društveni aktivizam nešto najlepše biti mlad, spontan i sa puno vere jurišati na vetrenjače, danas obogaćeni iskustvom deluju nešto suptilnije. Suosnivači su MEB-a (Mreža ekosela Balkana). Razgovarali smo s Igorom Lesarom, permakulturistom i aktivistom u „Kneji”.

 

 

CA: Da li eko-sela predstavljaju praktično ostvarenje ekološki održivog načina života?

 

Eko-sela pružaju suvremenom društvu mogućnost primjene pozitivnih elemenata stečenih na dosadašnjem civilizacijskom putu, radi osnivanja samoodržive životne zajednice. Iako predstavljaju običan koncept koji se može uporediti s postojećim ruralnim sredinama, od njih se razlikuju po znatno prirodnijem odnosu uspostavljenom između izvora energije, graditeljstva, otpada, vode, ekonomije i hrane. Eko-sela su izazov sretnijeg, ispunjenijeg i zdravijeg života. Eko-selo se ne može zamisliti bez permakulture, dok permakultura nije zavisna od eko-sela. Permakultura je, zapravo, skup alata koji pomažu da se u nekoj zajednici život drugačije i logičnije posloži. Imamo prekrasnih primjera gdje permakulturni alati savršeno funkicioniraju u gradu, u kući, u dvorištu ili u delu sela. Međutim, permakultura je možda najsnažnija u nečem sasvim drugom, a to je socijalna dimenzija. Radi se o načinu shvatanja, pristupu, prihvatanju, pa čak i o ponašanju u intimi i društvu. Na primjer, kao mlađeg me je sve nerviralo i htio sam promijeniti svijet. Danas mijenjam sebe i osnovne elemente oko sebe, a permakultura mi daje savršene alate za to. Riječ je zapravo o životnoj igri i zato je uvek uzbudljivo.

 

 

CA: Kako je „Kneja”, kao „društvo za kulturu i suživot s prirodom”, uticala na svoje članove?

 

Kada se čovjek posveti sebi i pokuša da se otarasi dosadnih i napornih životnih obrazaca koje stiče od malena, tada ponašanje lako može promijeniti. Treba odbaciti predrasude i očekivanja. Kada ne pretpostavljaš, već pitaš – odgovor dođe sam po sebi. Kada ne očekuješ, već oslušneš i napraviš – tada nisi razočaran niti ljutit. Drugo je imati želju – ona je dobra i pogonsko je gorivo. Treća stvar koju je dobro odbaciti jeste potreba da se sve spakuje u definiciju, jer mi sve trpamo u poznate nam ladice.

 

 

CA: Kakav uticaj je „Kneja” izvršila na ljude u širem okruženju?

 

Možda je najveći uticaj šira promena društvene percepcije o raznim ekološkim rešenjima. Danas je sve „zeleno”, svi su „zeleni”, „zeleno” doslovno iskače i iz paštete. No, one bitne promjene se još uvek događaju u promilima. Očito da je neoliberalno-kapitalistički komfor dobro razmazio većinu društva, te ćemo na one prave promjene morati još pričekati. Vani se bije teška bitka između održivog i neodrživog i netko će tu morati popustiti.

 

 

CA: Šta znače pojmovi „nadolazeće doba energetskog pada” i „niskoenergetska kultura”?

 

U knjižici „Jezgra – (perma)kultura promjene” prenjeli smo vrlo zanimljive i ne baš optimistične stavove na tu temu ,pionira permakulture Dejvida Holmgrena. On često spominje doba energetskog pada kao ključ stvaranja „nove priče”, opisujući ga kao neizbježno doba u kojem ćemo morati drastično smanjiti potrošnju energije, odbaciti neke pomahnitale navike i okrenuti se puno jasnijim i održivijim rješenjima.

 

 

CA: Da li budućnost može biti održiva i kakav je put ka njoj?

 

Možda ne bi trebalo toliko dramatizovati i gledati u svemu težak put preživljavanja. Budućnost nam može biti održiva i mi u ovom trenutku kao civilizacija imamo najbolje šanse preživjeti i živjeti dobro. Stvar je izbora svakog od nas. U igri moći, gdje za one koji halapljivo bale za novcem manipulacija igra glavnu riječ, ponekad je teško išta napraviti, jer se ljudi umrtve, a industrija i politika „kolo vode”. Dokle će biti tako - ne znam, ali u svijetu je puno budnih i probuđenih koji rade na tome da se nešto dobro dogodi.

 

 

CA: Mogu li alternativni izvori energije zameniti fosilna goriva?

 

U onom trenutku kada ih prestanemo percipirati kao „alternativne” - apsolutno da! Naime, nije stvar samo u zamjeni fosilnog alternativnim, već i u načinu korišćenja energenata, ekološkoj gradnji, socijalnim projektima i čitavoj lepezi povezanih elemenata.

 

 

CA: Šta građani mogu da preduzmu u svom domu?

 

To i jest primarno pitanje. Odgovora je jako puno. Postoji jedan sjajan koncept koji na konkretan način ljudima daje do znanja što mogu uraditi i kako. Mi ga zovemo „5R koncept”, jer govori o tome da najprije o svemu treba dobro promisliti (rethink), zatim smanjiti potrošnju, loše navike i slično (reduce), ponovno iskoristiti sve što je moguće (reuse), popraviti (repair) i tek na kraju reciklirati (recycle).

 

 

CA: Kakve su praktične metode koje primenjujete?

 

Smisao i jeste u tome da sve što radimo bude primjenljivo, da oni s kojima radimo odmah mogu primijeniti stečena iskustva, znanja i vještine. Kad smo počinjali projekat „Pika i prijatelji”, to je bila nit vodilja koja je, kao takva, opstala i traje već dugi niz godina. Ista stvar važi za radionicu biljne prirodne kozmetike, za gradnju kućice od slame i jezerceta, kao i za permakulturno dizajniranje. Na našim veb stranicama, posebno na sajtu www.pikaiprijatelji.com, može se pronaći puno savjeta, te ih, onima koji žele nešto praktično napraviti, toplo preporučujem. Najzanimljivije je da ćemo sva dosad stečena znanja moći praktično primijeniti i tako zaokružiti jedno doba od dvadesetak godina djelovanja „Kneje”. Mnogi naši prijatelji s nama čine jednu celinu, pa skoknite i pogledajte šta o sijemenju i poljoprivredi govori i radi „Rustica” (www.rustica.hr), o permakulturi i duhovnosti – „Eia” (www.eia.hr), o zaštiti prirode – „Senjar” (www.senjar.hr), o recikliranom imanju – „ZMAG” (www.zmag.hr),  o eko-selima – „MEB” (www.ekosela.org), o postavljanju permakulture na višu razinu – „Institut permakulture” (www.permakultura.org) itd...

 

 

CA: Aktivnosti Kneje i MEB-a poslednjih godina i inače?

 

U poslednje vrijeme puno energije ulažemo u edukaciju djece i mladih, roditelja i nastavnika. Pokrenuli smo, takođe, paket projekata „Održivost u praksi” kroz koje objedinjujemo sve permakulturne elemente u jednu cijelinu. Premda je „Mreža eko-sela Balkana” iz primarno praktične prešla u teorijsku djelatnost, ona ima vrlo važnu ulogu – povezuje, otvara vrata i širi ideje izvan granica u kojima su nastale. MEB je pokrenut kada nismo imali nijedno eko-selo ili nešto slično, a danas postoje inicijative koje su jako blizu tome. Drugačiji svijet je ipak moguć, ali samo ako „mi sami postanemo ta promjena koju želimo vidjeti”, kako je to prekrasno rekao Gandi.

 

 

CA: Može li se reći da smo mi danas zajednica sebičnih jedinki, a ne društvo, koja potomcima uskraćuje osnovne životne resurse?

 

Može, slobodno. Kada je imala trinaest godina, Svern Suzuki je na Klimatskoj konferenciji u Riju 1992. rekla: „Ovde ste vi možda izaslanici svojih vlada, poslovni ljudi, organizatori, novinari ili političari, ali uistinu - vi ste majke i očevi, sestre i braća i svako od vas je nečije dijete. Ja sam samo dijete, ali znam da smo svi mi dio iste porodice koja broji pet milijardi ljudi i trideset miliona vrsta! A granice i vlade nikad to neće promjeniti. Ja sam samo dijete, ali znam da smo svi zajedno u tome i da bismo trebali djelovati kao jedan jedinstven svijet s jednim ciljem. U svojoj ljutnji, ja nisam slijepa i u svom strahu se ne bojim reći svetu kako se osjećam”. Od tada se ništa nije promijenilo, još je postalo i gore. Ali danas poruke češće i jače ulaze u podsvjest. Postoji šansa da se kao društvo okrenemo ka malo drugačijem putu. Ako nećemo, nema problema - izumrijećemo kao vrsta. Život planete ide dalje. Bilo bi dobro shvatiti da smo zapravo niko i ništa. Tada bismo mogli imati sve.

 

 

CA: Pored hemijskih pesticida i teške mehanizacije, veliki broj stoke koju gajimo (da ne spominjemo nehumane metode stočarske industrije) jedan je od glavnih uzročnika degradacije tla. Da li to znači da možemo direktno doprineti očuvanju planete ako se odreknemo mesa bar jednom nedeljno?

 

Već sam to rekao u jednoj radio-emisiji – da čovjek jede onoliko koliko mu je zaista potrebno, ne bi uopšte bilo problema. Nije samo proizvodnja mesa problem; mi uništavamo šume i prašume, koje nas doslovno jedine mogu spasiti, da bismo masovno proizvodili palmino ulje, banane – sve što nam, u biti, ne treba.

 

 

CA: Šta sadrži projekat „Pika i prijatelji” i čime se bavi?

 

To je najdugovječnji „Knejin” projekat koji promoviše životni model u kojem primamo i dajemo, učimo i budemo učeni. Kroz igru i praktične sadržaje, projekat promoviše održive metode zaštite prirode a, zapravo, samo šalje poruku da ovaj svijet promišljanjem možemo učiniti malo boljim mjestom za život, jer sada možda više nego ikad imamo šansu za to. Civilizacijski smo izrasli, nismo više u srednjem vijeku, imamo tehnologije i znanja, naučili smo kako proizvesti i iglu i lokomotivu, a sada samo moramo naučiti kako uz sve to jednostavno živjeti.

 

 

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Autor: Tatjana Žarković