on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXvbrv50uCE

2.              What was the necessity behind the creation of your community?
We considered it necessary to develop an area where a self-sustainable, as well as an ecologically sustainable lifestyle can be maintained. In order to accomplish this concept the formation of an eco-village community based upon own property seemed to be the most expedient way.

3.              How was your community created? (The story of your community.)
The founder of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada asked his followers in the 1960’s and ‘70’s to develop farming communities in accordance with the knowledge described in Vedic scriptures. Members of the aforementioned society were also present in Hungary from the mid-70’s and after the collapse of socialist regime they had an opportunity to officially register the society and establish its own property. The land was purchased in 1993 from the donations of Hungarian donors and society resources. The then 130 hectare land has been gradually growing to its present size due to continuous land purchasing. One of the first aims was the building of the community centre and temple, as well as the developing of organic farming.

4.              What are the present needs or problems of your community?
One of the main necessities, taking into consideration our efforts to become completely self-sustainable, is the agricultural production and the organizing of storing these products throughout winter time. Important tasks are the reduction of importing goods from light industry as well as achieving self-sufficiency regarding clothes, detergents and materials used for maintaining cleanliness. We also have to address fields of energy, water and irrigation supplying in order to accomplish full self-sufficiency.

5.              What is the present situation of your community?
Today our community is practically self-sufficient regarding agricultural products; in our gardens we grow exclusively organic foodstuffs.
Not long ago the reed-bed zone sewage system was put in operation, which was designed to solve the cleaning of waste water in an environmental-friendly way. There is no electricity in the eco-village. Electricity needs are covered by renewable energy resources. To achieve more sustainable agriculture we use ox-power as well. (There are 4 different breeds; 37 cattle altogether).
Water supply is provided by public utility; however, all houses have their own well. Moreover, we have our 330 metre deep tube-well, which is nearing completion.
Our elementary school hosted in a separate building is accredited by state. The botanic garden is 12 hectare large, where we have planted a diverse variety of more than 900 plants and trees.
The community is advancing dynamically. We have attained economic and ecologic sustainability of the community. (According to an independent ecological footprint analysis it is 1.47 hectare/capita.)

6.              Which areas of your community need improvement?
It is a great task to provide housing facilities for our growing population as well as to establish secondary education for our pupils. However, the education of our adult residents is steady.
The question of firewood self-sufficiency is quite essential. Eventually, we would like to increase our firewood supply from 20% to 100%.

7.              How can technology help to solve problems in your community?
We have already established our own sewage system with reed-bed zone sewage system technology. At present, we are making efforts to develop our technology regarding sun and wind energy as well as utilizing biogas processing.
It is a general principle that instead of using high-tech technology we are trying to utilize sustainable technologies in order to avoid bondage to industry.

8.              What are the communication tools you use internally and externally?
- Internal communication tools are the regular communal meetings. Furthermore, sometimes we give presentations or have informal conversations between each other concerning main events.
- There are various tools regarding external communications. We have different websites (e.g. www.krisnavölgy.hu, www.ecovalley.hu, www. okovolgy.hu); we publish magazines periodically (Vissza Istenhez Magazin, Öko-völgy Magazin). Moreover, we organize conferences and we give presentations and lectures in sustainability and eco-conscious lifestyle in numerous places. During our ecological conference in 2008 we had 170 participants, whereas in 2009 there were more than 420 people attending the conference. In 2009 we gave nearly 40 presentations in absolutely various venues, for instance in Hungary, USA, Finland, India, Denmark, Italy.
- Annually there are around 30,000 tourists coming to visit our village, who receive a fully guided tour regarding our lifestyle and customs and get answers to their questions on sustainability.

9.              What main activities produce a monetary income for your community?
As we are striving for self-sufficiency, the proportion of external and internal economy is crucial from the economic development aspect. External monetary income is coming from tourism (entry fee, program fees, restaurant, gift shop), and in addition from the sale of surplus agricultural and other products, donations from patrons, as well as resources from various applications. The key element of our internal economy is the circulation of money among the 40 departments in the community, but this does not involve circulation in reality.

The village level of real solution

According to international researches it is obvious that the problem of emission of green house gases and other pollutant is only umpteenth link in a further stretching causal chain. Global climate crisis and the following ecological, economical and social crisis are rooted in previous crisis in the way of general thinking and approach. Only such a persons or communities allow themselves to pollute their environment which temporary neglect their connection to theirs essential conditions ensuring nature. Therefore even experts of highest political levels advise to simultaneous change of structures of economy and attitude as well.
According to UNESCO expert Guilhem Calvo, maintain the current situation is not a solution anymore. He proposes to create such an agriculture which is less dependent on fuels and support to utilize local sources on local level. Another UNESCO study proposes to introduce more effective lobby systems and ecologically sustainable agriculture methods. In a report for UNESCO made by scientific group of 400 experts (IAASTD) the followings can be find:
1. Benefits of agricultural development are extremely uneven, but it has a tremendous social and environmental cost for the whole humankind.
2. Groceries makers have to learn applying “natural processes” like for example crop rotation and usage of manure.
3. Distance between producers and consumers have to be reduced.

The Eco-valley Program

15 years ago we recognised the significant importance of taking responsibility personally and in small community and we founded Krishna-valley to solve the problems above. Residents realise Vedic principals in economy with collective work. Spiritual community of Krishna-valley became an exemplary ecovillage for today. This community aim to be exemplary on the field of ecological production technologies, organic farming and craftsmanship for those who seeking a real sustainable lifestyle.
The Eco-valley Program, started in Krishna-valley is a village size experiment which has 150 volunteers and involves almost 50 research institutes already. They contribute in the program with their own work, research, experience. They show the attainable results if enviro-consciousness present in everyday practice of a community. This project provides a model to deal with social, ecological and economical problems via the everyday life of the village community.

All of us can feel the effect of climate change: we see extreme wheather phenomenons, we hear about natural disasters and we also see the rapidly increasing price of food. We get the news of riots because of hunger from a number of countries.

Leader sustainability scientists got to the conclusion that the only proper answer to the crisis could come from self-sufficient farm communities. Their common stand is that all human beings should reduce its need, reduce the consumption, but the best solution would be he himself would start cultivating the land. If we produce our food, then we will not be defenceless to global food provision system. Further more we know exactly what we eat: we can use ecological methods, we can pick fresh vegetables and prana-enriched foodstuffs. Beside all this we do not contribute to the maintanance of nature devastating intensive agriculuture and to the unnecessary transportation of foodstuffs. Everyone should make effort to have at least a little vegetable garden.

But the complex and long term solution is more than this. It is when village communities are joining and working together. The strength is there in the cooperative communities. In Hungary 15 years ago Krishna-valley was established as part of the ISKCON farm communities. This project presents us with an alternative as to how we can tackle not only environmental problems but also pressing social and economical problems. The village-size experiment involving 150 volunteers, the community have built up a full range agricultural system. As part of the extensive organic gardening the farm has vegetable and fruit gardens, grainfiled, a cow protection center and apiary. It is astonishing how small field is enough to provide food for 150 people: 8-8 acre vegetable and fruit garden, 6 acre of grain fields, 125 acre of forest can provide enough firewood.

The farm has wide range of experience how cow manure can be used to increase the soil’s productivity and the vitality of the plants. The experiences are also diversified in the fields of associating different plants so that they give shelter to each other from different insects and to be more productive and how one can use herbal extracts to enhance the resistivity of the plants. Also there are experiences how oxen can be used on grain fields to cancel the oil and other industrial need for maintaining tractors, and how is it possible to get milk from heifers (cows what never had calf) and to have fat-rich milk from pleased and happy cows. Further more there are experiences in research of those plants what can adopt to dryer, warmer weather due to climate change, and what can be grown productively in smaller plots.

The wells at all the houses are providing safe, sufficient and pure drinking water, the planned reed-bed zone wastewater system is environment friendly and gives independence from public utilities. The simple life close to mother earth does not need endless amount of electricity. Solar panels and small size windmills are sufficient to provide the basic needs of the families. Candles and other oil-based lamps could be made at home. For the heating, wood is the renewable energy. The foundation of the healthcare of the community is based on Ayurveda. The main stream is prevention. Proper nutrition, lifestyle and the natural healthcare.

The Eco-village has become a well known experiment internationally. It’s aim is to emphasize sustainability on every level of life. The goal is to reach full range self-sufficiency and to share the experiences to a broad audiencies. For this purpose the community established a Foundation called Applied Ecological Sustainability Research Institute (formerely the Sustainability Sciences Research Institute) in 2007. Through the Eco-valley programme (EVP) – the main programme of the foundation – the community is in collaboration with research institutes, universities, colleges, intellectual workshops, NGOs and leader scientists. The EVP is developing dinamically. The number of the participants, the number of the running and the planned project are rapidly increasing. The incomparable international collaboration programmes are giving opportunity to answer complex ecological-economic-social questions.

The residents of the eco-village realize the practice of sef-sufficiency in everyday life through their social- and private life considering ecological-, economic-, social-sustainability. The participant researchers, NGOs contribute to the project with their own research and experience on different fields like education, eco-tourism, gardening etc. Their aim is to execute the different research programmes to be able to synthetize the results and to propagate it to a wide range of audencies including the leader scientific world. The EVP includes scientific conferences, establishing a network of educational centers, educational paths, courses, versatile communication so that other communities could start developing their own self-sufficient farms. Beside this EVP gathers information and experiences through organizing study tours, members of the EVP are participants of conferences and are maintaining international relationships also.

Members of the EVP are ready to receive volunteers and to share the experiences of applied ecological sustainability.

• it provides a relevant local action plan to face the global challenges of climate change.
• it provides well organized education for both young and adult audiences to promote the diffusion of the ideas of organic farming and organic living.
• it creates new jobs and enhances social integration.
• besides all the above points, this project is a model project, and a unique eco-touristic target on a European scale.

Our developments in this field:

• an open yard, where everyone can take part in the activities of a natural life (various programs for different target-groups)
• practical training sessions, the first steps of a paradigm-change
• organic farming and self-sustainability
• practicing and teaching traditional craftsmanship
• accessory facilities

We would like to present Eco-valley’s activities to the people effectively, targeting as wide an audience as possible. The Environmentally conscious life-style – training and research center is a building with an area of almost 1000 square meters, which represents environmental consciousness both in its appearance and in its maintenance. This training center, which provides theoretical as well as practical training, along with its natural environment, its botanic garden and the various facilities all aim to demonstrate and propagate a sustainable life-style.

Or main developments:

• an ecological and life-style training center, attracting 50 000 visitors annually (in the heart of an 11 hectare botanic garden)
• a center for using renewable energies (self-sufficient buildings)
• a local waste-management model project
• research possibilities, conferences and training seminars
• themed walks around presentations
• local answers for the effects of global climate change, experimental solutions