Village in the morning light
Walking through the village, a variety of houses come into view: small wooden houses, small earth houses, small stone houses ..... Unlike other villages, the buildings here are only one or two stories high, but they have roofs made of a mixture of straw and bark, and houses made of environmentally friendly and energy-saving materials such as old tires, ceramic tiles, and simple wooden structures can be found everywhere. The building materials are varied, but the lawn plants blend in with them, and the buildings exude a primitive and rustic atmosphere, as if they grew out of nature.
Lovely stone houses
Cabins
Exquisite corners
Each house is surrounded by flowers and trees, and I can't help but go over to smell the flowers and caress these houses, which are completely different from the brick and concrete structures. "Hey~ How are these walls uneven?" I accidentally spit out the words in my heart. "Of course, this house breathes!" An oldest brother who was smoking in front of the door said, "This house of mine, with walls made of straw instead of reinforced concrete, absorbs heat during the day and dissipates it at night. The heating bill in winter saves more than 60% than an ordinary brick house." "Oh, I see, that's great!" I couldn't help but be shocked by the villagers' knowledge of environmentally friendly construction, knowing that using straw instead of reinforced concrete for walls is an ecological building material with superior energy-saving properties, simple production processes and construction methods, low cost and health benefits.
Breathing house
Solar panels
The houses in the village have a lot of open windows and a wide range of architectural styles and designs! Since I learned that the villagers possess a wealth of knowledge about environmentally friendly architecture, I've been observing more closely. "More open windows, should be to ensure that there is enough sunlight and air, so although privacy is not strong, but I guess it can save a lot of electricity", I guessed in my heart. On the roof of the house or around it, there were solar panels, geothermal power generation, recycled building materials and other environmentally friendly equipment everywhere, using natural building materials such as stone, wood and straw. "Could this be creating a building ecological recycling system?" I secretly pondered.
In front of my eyes, this lighted window, this flower and green plant in front of the house, the mindfulness between one breath and the other, it is so familiar and so strange, it is as if I am in a dream, and it is as if I am back home.
Walking around, I was attracted by a peculiarly shaped "Hobbit" hut.
The Cask Cottage
This little cylinder-shaped detached house was very interesting and cute! I couldn't help but talk to the owner: "Hello, I've never seen a house like this before! I've never seen a house like this before, how did you build such an exquisite house?" The owner laughed and said, "It wasn't a house, it was converted from our local whiskey barrels! Come in and have some whiskey, my dear?" He said, warmly inviting me into the house.
Originally, Scotland is rich in malt whisky, and the local people mostly make a living by brewing, and the villagers use it to build houses in order not to waste the discarded casks. In addition to the giant "Hobbit" hut, single-room cask hut, can also be carefully designed out of the two-story detached it.
Leap VS Flat
I secretly wondered: "Building materials is the largest cost of human habitation consumables, and the villagers even the abandoned barrels utilized in the building, not to mention the environmental creativity, even if the local government may not have this initiative, this is a village?"
At this point, I have walked to the beach, a row of trailer houses into the eyes, "FINHORN VILLEGE (FINHORN VILLAGE)." Oh! So this is the eco-village, Finhorn Village, which won the Best Practice Award from UN Habitat in 1998!
When it comes to "eco-village", you may not be familiar with it, but it is the integration of human activities into the natural environment without damaging the characteristics of the habitat, to support the healthy development of natural resources to achieve sustainable development.
Scotland Fenghong Village, an all-ecological village, happy and harmonious community for 59 years now. Eco-homes, green energy systems, water conservation systems, sewage reuse systems, regular eco-education, ***use of communal **** space, and gathering space, all of these ecological thinking and techniques about ecology have been introduced one by one into the creation of the community.
The villagers told me that the trailer house by the sea is the birthplace of Fen Hong Village. 59 years ago, Peter, Eileen and Dorothy, who were unemployed and disillusioned, came to live in the trailer house, and decided to grow their own vegetables to be self-sufficient. Through meditation, sitting still, listening and following nature's guidance, they kept talking to the plants to help them thrive, and eventually magically grew huge cabbages, herbs and flowers!
But the sandy land due to poor water retention, weak water storage, soil temperature changes faster, and organic matter decomposition, accumulation of less, resulting in poor soil fertility, nutrient-poor, so the villagers will be plants and food waste after a long period of decay and fermentation to form humus, to cultivate crops, and gradually, barren sandy land are changed into rich humus, was originally unable to cultivate the saline sandy land of the sea was made into a The saline sands of the seashore, which were originally uncultivable, were transformed into a vibrant oasis! It has become one of the world's most prestigious "eco-villages", a famous spiritual community, and the headquarters of the Global Ecovillage Alliance, an advisory body to the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
From left to right: Eileen Caddy, Dorothy Maclean, Peter Caddy
After years of hard work, Fenghong Village has attracted more and more villagers who love nature, respect it, and learn to live in harmony with it, and who have turned this wasteland into a beautiful home. The Fenghong Village has also become a spiritual station for countless people who are haunted by their souls.
Cultivating the land
"This is truly a legend!" I not only marveled to the Here a brick, a tile, a grass, a tree, are the villagers with sweat and love watering out, melting into nature, back to nature ...... I closed my eyes and tried to listen to them.
Villagers eat their own organic fruits and vegetables
Fenghong Village has built more than 60 eco-buildings and formulated a sustainable construction program that respects the ecological environment, and has developed a unique building system that is environmentally friendly and energy efficient.
In 2010, a biomass heating system was installed, which is able to guarantee the heating needs of most of the buildings and achieve an average annual reduction of 80 tons of carbon emissions.
Four wind turbines were built to supply 100% of the village's use, and when there is surplus electricity, it can be sold to the state.
Wind turbines
The "wastewater recycling system" here can be seen as a model for the rest of the world; in 1995, Fenghong built its own wastewater treatment facility, which it named the "Eco-Machine". After treatment, clean water can be discharged to water flowers and irrigation, and the ultimate goal is to flow to the fish pond, forming another small "pond ecosystem". Residents use plants to purify the foul-smelling wastewater and turn it into clean water that can be used for flushing toilets or watering flowers. The eco-village also invites teams from all over the world to visit, *** to discuss how to optimize the water purification project, and has set up a comprehensive "waste recycling program".
All of these energy-saving and reusing hardware facilities come from a group of tender-hearted people who want to reduce their impact on the environment.
The community has established an art center, a craft sales center, a pottery workshop, a bakery, a publishing company and a printing press.
In 1972, the Eco-Village was formally registered as a foundation and began actively organizing a large number of activities (workshops, experiential weekly classes, sharing sessions, demonstration classes, etc.) in an effort to promote sustainable living encompassing the "Four Great Meanings". These four meanings include: personal practice/spiritual enhancement, social life, ecological conservation, and economic stability. In order to pursue a balance between the individual and the group, as well as a balance between ecology and economy.
The fast pace of urban life, the indifference of human relationships, and a brain on alert at all times, allow people to not have a moment's leisure, but they are also like empty shells that have lost their souls and are unable to listen to their own inner voices. yvonne says, "We find that most people are not happy in their lives."
That's why the foundation's mission is: to teach and help people live happier lives.
Links to small rituals
Community life is an important part of the sustainability of the Fen Hong Eco-village, but there are conditions for becoming a member of the community. You must agree with the Eco-village's philosophy and abide by the "*** Code of Concepts" in order to qualify for community membership. The code includes: practicing the inner spirituality, willingness to serve others, the community and the planet, respecting the differences between others and oneself, if you are dissatisfied with someone or something, you should communicate directly with the person concerned, do not talk behind their backs and so on, *** 14 points.
Finhong currently has about 360 residents, each with a different motivation for coming to live here, but by observing the community **** knowledge, it helps people to think and realize that the ultimate goal of each other's pursuit is the same. The same goal of treating oneself, others and the environment **** all comes back to the practice of getting along with oneself, people and people, and people and nature. One of the hallmarks of the Eco-Village is: "Seeing Consistency in Diversity," practicing the unchanging promise of the entire community, "Let Love Act!"
At Fen Hong, people learn how to live in peace*** with themselves and with nature. Every day begins with the people around them, holding hands in a circle, building a link with those around them through the circle, and then listening to the inner self and sharing it with others through silence, meditation, feeling themselves, feeling nature, feeling the present moment. This is a small ritual that precedes any group activity.
The transformative action that Finnhong Eco-Village is doing is to make the world a better place and to lead humanity towards a future where nature and all beings exist in harmony***.
I feel the beauty of everything and anything, my heart is filled with respect and yearning for them, O dream home, I finally meet you ......