Eco in World: To live along with natural disasters; Pollution is for Processing.

Natural "disasters" are here to stay. They`ve forever been here, but as the world is more connected than ever, all incidents hit us more directly and frustrates us more than ever. To learn how to live alongside them is the new challenge for all parts of the world.

I am in a little peaceful corner here writing, trying to help out with a tiny bit of communication which has all been said before, but I know that I am also responsible as citizen of one of the oil nations, for many of the disasters already been here. So I have to be active, and cannot ignore my nabour. This time around, Japan has a hard time. And before we start to use our seeds in the Svalbard Seed Vault or building a giant Noah's Ark, I am interested in communicating that to build houses or lifestyles to merge with the natural changes of today and tomorrow, is much more important. To build infrastructure and engineering that is more than just technique above nature, that can live alongside nature, is what we have to face.

It is a practical language. To keep up the sustainability, in other words, keep the natural Balance. Bears can express it or "make actions" to keep it, but it is not a "language" in the sence of words.


This frog "knows" that I am about to pinch him,
so he got himself some jumping legs to escape from it.

In the spot where the earth needs to renew. This is logic. This is not "intelligence" in the form of an organism that "thinks". Rather I find this kind of organism, called a "she" or the earth, one hardworking body connected to not only our actions, but our bodies, too.

From farming methods, we all know that urine as an example is very good vitamin to feed plants with, and some Asian coutries even use it for preventing colds and diseases as they dip children in urine bath. It comes from our natural body, and plants again are purifying it by using their "body" and leaf, and the former urine is now thin air. Using the flow of elements: Think about this as a water circulating system with a tap in your sink. A tube system to the local river where everything ends up and in the middle of this system there is some technique to purify and make this water clean. Well, the question how to purify this water from the lake to the tap, and then back again to nature , that is the activity that decides whether the water will leave traces in the tubes to make this pure or not, and whether what comes out of the tap is drinkable. Mother earth works just the same way.

Like pollution from acid rain water comes from us, but a single plant again is trying its best to purify it, and is yet another sign that pollution is for processing, and not for keeping. If humen too are "seen" as pollution, or their techniques are, nature will naturally process it - and trying to force the process into pure elements like clean air again.

I am very much aware of that the earth is neither an animal or a human, but this time we speak of nature as one living condition, and not a fossile.

This drivers' expression on his car (from Freeland ecovillage): "Unbalance" instead of "Ambulance"

Reminding of this post as we speak (Straw Bale Houses Earth Quake Resistant): http://ecoiselin.blogspot.com/2010/09/eco-in-denmark-straw-bale-houses-earth.html

Eco in Germany: The Econsense Forum , Berlin 2010

"Are you on the guest list?" Nope, I said. But my interest in the green management is so great that I am skipping all traditional tourist shopping just to come here, join you, and communicate back to Norway what is being said and discussed. Yep, I got in. :) The Econsense Forum, all men in suits, and me - a "journalist" slash blogger from Norway, previously being an editor of my own printed magazine by Art Council Norway for three years, though. No writer anymore, no editor anymore. Just me, an environmentalist. A CRAZY such one, and therefor - I GOT IN! Fabtastic, the Econsense! But seriously: Even though my ears only catched 50 percent of the german language all through the seminars, my eyes and their expressions and the logo "im dialog" made me understand maybe a hundered percent of this fantastic opportunity; a dialogue forum! Finally. The germans know, how to bring awareness to an upper management level. The dialogues between the leaders of firms and multinational companies, it all made me gaze and listen like never before, like my german knowledge from high school suddenly all came back to me. Because, they were on it. The leaders were on, discussing enthusiastically about serious mistakes in business and serious solutions. What immediately came to my mind, is that the movement called Corporate Social Responsibility no longer belongs to just a minor sector in business. Now big businesses are discussing it, too, and at this forum - ambassadors of many countries from all over the world entering Econsense. And this is giving what kind of signals? Of course: They know that they have to change for surviving in the turbulence of today's market and social changes. And of course to keep up with the green trends. Making strategies further from the functional management education. The creative education is on. The hybrid organizations are on. And, finally the social leader is on. This is just one more SIGNAL, that the world is aware of the upcoming changes on ALL areas in life; business and personal. It is on topic.

To get into their discussions abit, I would not put a resumé of their endless talks, but rather give a few examples of a common discussion here which is probably everyone's concern.  One is money and strategy. To change in business, there is always risk. What the leaders of Econsense were discussing, was not that their will of change is lower or less than any other environmentalist out there. Because quite surprisingly, everyone seemed to agree on the same thing; they all want to "become greener". But the question is always "how", and always "at what risk". Then first of all we must not forget, the financial and cost-benefit risks. Before entering these rooms, several leading companies of Germany had published a long report from 2009 with aspects and reviews of their implemented green-social sustainability and improving technologies in environmental-friendly, internal managing. These reports showed the balance and the income and the benefits of the 2009 changes. They also gave some future predictions and ambitions. So when entering the conference, none of these firms came with fresh pen and blanc papers. They were all adjusted and "educated" in their own company experiences. The debate further on, was whether or not the balances showed them any "likes" of taking more ambitious risks. The speekers were a couple of scientists, firm leaders with great background on resources, foresighters and reps from the European Union. To lead the debate, I noticed that they questioned other company managers more in depth on behalf of the science of resources and financial crisis. The negative responses always came when the scientists proved them how easy things are in the logic of what we have damaged and what we easily need to do, while the positive responses and raising eyebrows always came when the scientists told them how much other green companies have gained by improving their corporate responsibility. So conclusion on this observation is: They/We, all know the irresponsible style has damaged the flow. And they/we all want to get back the flow we used to have, and the better and greener solution there is - the more positive. So from talks to practice : It is not very far to walk from the table to the backyard and find all what we are looking for. Everyone CAN be happy, the problem is just to turn around the view and see WHERE is the solution, because it is just there in front of every non-creative businessleader who's just not able to see where the road split. And he or she is always happy when served.

Final conclusion of this bubbly meeting, except delicious meals and talks with ambassadors where I felt I could even touch their tie and stretch it a bit ..:)..is that there is no one out there with inhuman ambitions! Even the most conservative can turn into the greenest car driver if he'd only be presented of a few brilliant pitstops where his car can be restored and charged.

Lufthansa is at it.

Volkswagen is at it.



Vodafone is at it.



Deutsche Bahnhof (the Train service)



Market, People, World, Company. What It Tells We Must Do.

Eco in Denmark: Back in Copenhagen and leaving Friland

Look closer!.. reused spoons :)

What a big contrast! Coming from the middle-of-nowhere-still-everywhere Friland and to Copenhagen, even makes you able to tell the difference between thick and dusty air and fresh smell of sunflowers. I came to the central station yesterday, leaving my suitcase at my friend's house from previous studies, and noticed I was still wearing the dirty boots from gardening when I passed some of the high heelers at the station, and I wasn't even caring. How could I suddenly stop caring about such details? I guess I came from another world, another priority, another set of mind where things like saving Pakistan and creating sustainable solutions are alot more important than things that can easily break, like heels. But on the same time, I feel freedom walking in a crowded city. Not being anonymous, but being connected. Feeling connected, more to a thousand individuals than to a few isolated ones. And, ironically, those ladies walking in high heels just smiled easily back at me, and I smiled back at them, and we were just one mind - two different pair of shoes, one world. Still walking the same street.

Hmm.. they say that those ugly bricks creating an old street from the 30s were intended to be a woman's enemy, as they all had to dress in high heels and not moving as fast forward as those wearing boots, usually men. So that men could run the cities, and women could just decorate them. That is how city life was created. I believe in it, no feminism thrown in it. It was practical at the time. Practical for creating the industrial revolution and side by side, creating social values to fit into it. We forget, that our common habits in today's fashion is all part of industrial expansion only, but when cities expand in the green direction, one suddenly discovers a mixture of habits like boots, heels, barefoot, crocks, sandals, sneakers, and the back-friendly wellness-shoes with a round step (that everyone tired from working stress seem to wanna buy, ironically). But I love the variation. That one can be a farmer in the city, basically. One can transform this whole city, into a green city. The details only decorating this thought. ;)

"Create your world" - Friland:



Yellow field: Empty, but soon filled with new homes in Phase 3.



Caroline's square straw bale house

Einer's non-square wooden houses

Pop an isolation idea!

Eco in Denmark: Sailboat ride and black dolphins!

On September 2nd, a crew from Friland went on boat ride from Ebeltoft harbor, to move the sailboat from one location to another. It was beautiful weather and with my hidden enthusiasm for boats there was not a chance I would stay on land. On the boat was the two older men who owns it, three inhabitants of Friland (Morten,Cathrine and little Birk), and three wwoofers (from Switzerland,Australia and Spain). The humor was high, the food alittle unprepared and improvised, and we kept talking about everything from philosophy to real practical ecology, world unity, the value of wwoofing and energy from constructions. Well worth the trip, also for the less shallow conversations. To our happy surprise, we spotted two black dolphins swimming and jumping pretty far from the boat! We couldn't capture them on camera, as they seemed to leave, but through spyglasses we could see them clearly. Dolphins are able to swim along the boats as the social creatures they are, but hopefully we can see them again one time.

Birk and his cool viking-costume

To float is to move sustainably

Eco in Denmark: Arriving at ecovillage Friland, Djursland



Boat ride on Sept 2nd in a 4 hour sail with other wwoofers and hosts.

About time for some updates. Arriving at "Friland" (Freeland) in Djursland on August 30th and now it is the 5th of September, and many exciting things are going on here already. Right now, I am at the fantasy house of Einer's, who cannot stand squares -so all his equipment and house is formed un-square (soon to be uploaded!), and my previous host until September 4th, was Caroline and Tahir from Pakistan as posted below in the supportlink. 

Arriving at ecovillage Friland, I first started whitewashing the outside wall of my host with calc and water mixed, to cover the brownish straw bales. The house also hosted a kitchen garden, as Friland stribes to become a hundred percent self-sustained as households. Their goals are pretty ambitious, both self-sustained, but also free from all loans. And most of them, has houses and area built for less than 300.000 DKK, which includes material. There is about 100.000 for material, and 200.000 for VVS,watersupply and common area costs. The host I first arrived to is on phase 2 of Friland, which means they are houses in building after phase 1 is almost finished. Phase 3 is in planning, and right now I am just gazing at the open yellow field there. Even though there are plenty more "fantasy buildings" here than at Fri & Fro in Odsherred where I was at first, I'd say I am still waiting for that badass hippie, and most of those who came here are simply average danish families, mostly with first-born children, often from the city and tired of the noices there, and the big wavy skirts and rasta-hairdos are still nowhere to be seen... hmm. Surprising, even here.

My current host's greenhouse, where I am working