Sieben Linden: 30 solid years of ecovillage experience

Boaz, our Deliberately Developmental Spaces Researcher, shares his reflections on his time at Sieben Linden, the infamous German Ecovillage.

A car park, completely quiet, some mud on the road, a rainy day. It’s (to say the least) a modest welcome we get when arriving in Sieben Linden, one of Germany’s oldest and most significant ecovillages. I lift my suitcase by hand, because the gravel makes it impossible to roll it, and arrive in the village centre: a café, a large tent with tables, a circle of chairs in the nearby grassy space. I get a little more of a felt-sense of community. As I enter the main building, I start to greet and meet some of the people working, and it’s buzzing. Lots of movement to organize the lunch, the admin officer responding to several of us arriving at the same time, and it’s quite a heart-warming sense I get by now.

I get the instructions to my room and some details for the practicalities and schedule, all in German (they make a point of that as much as possible). Then I walk over to a new building across the field, a 2-storey straw bale and 100% ecological construction – it’s impressive. They have a system of compost toilets everywhere, solar panels and no wifi (but they do have ethernet cables, it’s to prevent the waves). Triple glazed windows and a ventilation system to manage heating and freshness. It’s not only all organic but also entirely local, using the expertise from the villagers, and the local communities.

Why am I here, you might be wondering? I went to Sieben Linden to do 3 courses: “Introduction to Eco-village living,” “Exploring money, power and decision-making in community,” and “The community compass” – which has a learning architecture which is primarily based on relationships, within the group and with a wide range of villagers. I’m used to relatively intense personal development practices, so all this felt quite relaxed for me (although most people in the groups went through powerful experiences), that said I did get a good sense of how the community evolved to be as it is today, with its social practices and ecological principles.

If I were to summarise the 3 things that stood out to me from my experience at Sieben Linden about community living I would say:

(i) There is a lot of social contact, so be ready for that! Living with other people means you’ll find many beautiful connection points and a sense of belonging, yet you’ll also get triggered many times. Being intent on working with emotions, communication and relational dynamics is a non-negotiable must!

(ii) A diversity of views needs to be respected and celebrated for everyone to feel included, and that means many things take time, often a lot of time, to happen. One time, some villagers wanted to have a sauna, and so they brought it up to the monthly council meeting. It took many months for a strategy to be put forward, yet nothing had started really. A small group then decided to make it themselves, and offer it to the village. While that was a pleasant surprise to many, it still took 2 years to decided how to organize it and where to place the sauna!

(iii) The vision you start with shapes the entire trajectory – which is also a complex systems principle – so for example, one villager really cared about building sangha and a community of spiritual/meditation practice. But Sieben Linden started out as an eco-village with a focus on ecology, not spirituality or meditation, and despite many efforts and years of labor, this villager and a few people supporting her never pulled it through to make meditation a significant part of the village life.

Finally, as I left the village, I really felt it was a unique place, shaped through the millions of interactions people have had there, most of which were deeply felt and thought-through and intentional. That felt sacred.

The History of Sieben Linden

Nestled in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, Ecovillage Sieben Linden is a paragon of sustainable living and conscious community. In 1989 a handful of people felt a calling to create a self-sufficient, ecological village. In 1993 a project centre was founded in Groß Chüden, and then four years later, in 1997, the group secured the Sieben Linden site and it was out of this humble beginning that the Ecovillage Sieben Linden began.

At its core, Ecovillage Sieben Linden epitomizes holistic and sustainable living. 

Encompassing over a hundred hectares, including 80 hectares of thriving forests, lush gardens, expansive pastures, and productive arable fields, the village showcases a deep-rooted commitment to ecological preservation.

The once-neglected half-timbered farmhouse is now the epicenter of community life and learning, housing the many seminars and events that take place. Comprising eleven straw-bale houses and nearly forty well-insulated construction trailers, the village works to integrate modern comforts with eco-conscious practices. Demonstrating its dedication to self-reliance, the ecovillage developed all of the essential infrastructures, including pathways, wells, drainage systems, amphitheatres, and community centres. The village cultivates fruits and vegetables in its gardens, uses composting toilets, a sewage treatment plant, and solar panels that all contribute to its localized energy production. 

Ecovillage Sieben Linden applies its sustainability approach across four dimensions within its community: Ecology, Economy, Social, and Culture. This approach could be acknowledged as the base of the village’s success and growth. Through a delicate interweaving of social interactions, ecological practices, economic stability, and cultural enrichment the village creates an environment that embraces diversity and fosters the individual to carve out a distinctive niche in the realm of sustainability and ecovillages. 

Its history, and establishment, well ahead of its time, highlights what can happen through the power of a resolute purpose and a commitment to multidimensional sustainability.

Ecovillage Sieben Linden stands as a reminder and inspiration that a greener, more conscious and harmonious existence is not just a vision but a vital necessity for our shared world.

You can learn more about Sieben Linden here.

Conscious Coliving

If the story of Sieben Linden resonates with you, we would like to invite you to join us on a free 6-day journey into conscious coliving, the basis of any successful community. Delivered via email, the course is completely free and it provides you with the opportunity to dive deeper into understanding what conscious coliving is, how you might already be able to incorporate it, and potentially inspire you to join your own ecovillage! 

Explore Conscious Coliving Further:

If you are curious about conscious coliving and want to implement it into your life, our free email courses are a great place to begin. Find out more here.