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Connected Communards
Mount Telaithrion, Euboea, Greece
(Photo: Michael Pappas)
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In 2008 four twentysomething friends in Athens started discussing setting-up a self-sustaining eco-community as a model for a better way of living together. By 2010, fed up by the rising economic crisis, they packed in their jobs as web designers and programmers and moved to the Greek island of Euboea, about three hours from Athens. There, they constructed yurts (because these don’t need costly building permits) and compost toilets, and planted vegetables and medicinal herbs. They named their commune after the mountain where it’s sited: the “Telaithrion Project”.
From its vantage point overlooking the Aegean Sea, the new commune’s choice of site seems almost mythical, but it was chosen primarily because one of the founders’ families originates from the nearby village of Aghios. So while the young “communards” (a few indeed long-haired and guitar-playing) are still viewed suspiciously by some locals, others have lent them tools and provided advice, as none had any experience as farmers.
Photos: Tania Stergiannakou, courtesy FreeandReal
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Five years on the community has grown to more than 20 residents. A geodesic dome serves as a central congregation (and yoga) space, a forest has been planted and a lake begun to be dug to increase the diversity of nature, and they now grow 80 percent of their food, bartering for the rest.
So far so communal, but the interesting aspect is how the communards combine self-sufficiency with connectivity. Telaithrion is globally connected via its website and Facebook, which enables them to crowd fundraise for further resources and create a worldwide network of supporters. Around 12,000 of these have visited, contributing labour and knowledge to the community, with the idea that they go away inspired to found their own.
(fh)Photo: Eleni Frantzi
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