Their tomatoes are from another world - Nagyszekely

  

 We are in Hungary

Forty types of tomatoes in the garden. 
Your challenge is to taste them and find your favourite.
Soon, you are staring into the sky, oblivious to the challenge, blissed out.

Are the tomatoes from this Earth? Welcome to Nagyszekely.

Nagyszekely is a traditional Hungarian village of 400 people, where a dozen families have moved to start an ecovillage initiative alongside the villagers.

Virag and her mum Etelka

Virag, 'flower' in Hungarian, is an eleven year old ecovillager. She chose the swing to meet and answer our questions.

Are you happy when you are here?

Yes I like it a lot more than Budapest. Here I can go anywhere anytime, in Budapest I can't.

I heard your mum say that sodas are not good for you. Is she too strict, too 'ecological'?

No my mum is doing a great job, I have pocket money and I can buy what I like with it.

What's the best thing about your mum?

Her knowledge of nature. I can ask her anything, she will have the answer.

Will you have children?

Yes maybe. Or I will live in the forest on my own. Actually I want to live in an ecovillage.

And will you have a job?

I don't want a job. But if I choose a job it will be about creating houses or making clothes.

If your mum was your daughter, what advice would you give her?

I would give her no advice, she is just great.

How do you like the compost toilet compared to a regular toilet?

I like the compost one better. Adele [her sister] sometimes forgets to flush the regular toilets.

The mayor has agreed to see us.

A mayor and the villagers, is it like a dad and his children?

Yes this picture is quite true, although the number one thing I do is simply administrative.

How is Nagyszekely doing?

The unemployment rate in the village would be around 50% if we didn't have a municipal programme that helps the unemployed. Many people would leave the village if they could.

How would you describe the 'new kids in town', the ecovillagers?

The arrival of the ecovillagers took place in a difficult climate. It was hard for some long-time residents to accept the newcomers and to recognize all the good things that they do.

Would you consider becoming an ecovillagers yourself?

I wish the ecovillagers contacted me more often, that's for sure!

What do you hope for this village in ten years time?

Our village must remain a rural place. It needs more animals, more vegetable gardens. I'm hoping for a self-sufficient place along the lines of what the ecovillagers try to achieve.

 

Judit is spending four days here with the wish to join an ecovillage in Hungary.   

What brings you to an ecovillage?

This is how people should live, I realized perhaps through my job as a biologist. There is nothing special about the ecovillage life, it should be the norm and not the exception.

Are you ready to move?

Not quite yet. I will spend a month in an ecovillage that I like, then six months, and I will see what happens next.

You are not scared of the compost toilets?

I find them romantic, and they don't smell like the regular ones.

What is an ecovillage for you?

An ecovillage is made of people who choose to live in logic with nature, in harmony.

Will you still be a biologist when you join an ecovillage?

No I will switch to being a teacher, perhaps create an open-air school in the forest. And I will do something creative with my hands.