A Mongolian yurt in a Christian ecovillage - Visnyezeplak

We are in Hungary

You have soap between your toes and shampoo on your head. 
This is the view from the open air shower. 
You are in Visnyezeplak.

 

Ilona’s family has moved fourteen times in sixteen years. They found Visnyezeplak two years ago and are planning to spend the rest of their lives in this ecovillage.

What makes you happy to live here?

I can draw everywhere and I’m free to go everywhere.

What will you do when you’re older?

I will live in a village like here and I will draw things. I want to live in a yurt all my life.

We ask her mum, Reka: what keeps you busy?

Being a mum. I’m following the typical wife role and stay mostly inside while my husband does things outside.

Do you wish for more money?

That would bring us more comfort but that would not increase our happiness.

We’re invited by Charlie to taste the pear schnapps he made, and have a chat.

What makes you such a positive person?

I’m not that positive, I’m a mix of ups and downs. But it’s true that I’m becoming a little more positive every day. More relaxed every day.

Charlie prepares pear schnapps, palinka in Hungarian.

What’s your favourite time of day?

The night. In the summer like right now, the night is when I cool off.

Would you be happier if you had more money?

I would have said yes some years ago. Today I don’t care about money. One day I gave up wanting. I used to want a lot from life but something happened one day while I was hitch-hiking a mountain, it just occurred to me to stop wanting.

Charlie's partner Melinda is knitting.

Who did you prefer to have as a guest, Melinda [his girlfriend] or Christophe [your humble reporter]?

His face looked serious and he said:   Melinda.   But come visit me anytime.    My house is your house.

Can you tell us something funny that happened to you lately?

No, I tend to see the seriousness of things.

If you were the boss around here, what would you change?

I would change nothing. People don’t change with the help of a boss. I was a gardener in Switzerland for two years. People asked me which tress would be best to plant along a road. What I told them ended up having no impact on the trees they picked.

Where would you like your life to be in ten years?

This question doesn’t make sense to me. But I can say that I aim to be more self-sufficient. This means gathering more wood and starting to raise chicken.

What is the meaning of life?

It is to create. Like the new type of bread that I created. Life is about creating things for yourself and for others, with the help of God.

The bell rings at sunrise, noon and sunset; it is time for prayer.

You didn’t seem to find my questions interesting, what should we ask you to understand who is Charlie?

You should not ask anything, you should come and spend time with me.

Aniko was coming back from her mother’s funeral when we met her. She is married and has a son.

What’s the best about living here?

The nature, untouched by man.

I hardly ever see you sitting down. Do you work too much?

I think I do sometimes. I have high expectations for myself. The life in the ecovillage works in such a way that everybody helps everybody and this is awesome.

Which jobs do you not like doing?

Oh I like all of them. And I like getting help when I do them!

Are the winters supportably cold?

We’re covered in snow but the cold is never a problem.

Where is your favourite place in the village?

These days it is the bell tower. But my favourite place changes over time.

The bell tower

Is the sense of community strong enough here?

The relationships between us ecovillagers are well balanced. Each of us gets more or less the amount of community that they desire. The newcomers need time to feel totally comfortable. They need to be comfortable by themselves first before they can integrate within the wider network.

What are your feelings with the loss of your mother?

The feeling is peace. We had lived far away for a long time but we spent her last months very close.

What is the meaning of life?

I see life as three strings that interlace: my life, my religion and my Hungarian nationality.

The roof of an earth house under construction.