My dream is to find a beautiful piece of land and live a self-sufficient life there in harmony with nature. Just being surrounded by nature would already be a dream, but actually producing my own food and wood, at least for a big part, that’s the final destination. If I manage that, I don’t have anything else to aim for. I can die happily. The past two years I have been looking for a suitable piece of land for this in Greece.
To most people, what I'm doing sounds like a dream. Many people have tried, very few have actually managed. And I´m not even sure if I will ever be able to count myself among those who succeed.
Stage 1: Trying to set up an Eco-community
In the six years that I have been working towards this Utopian dream, I have been involved in two different group processes with people trying to set up an eco-community. It has been an amazing ride during which I discovered so many things – not only about creating things together with a group, but also about myself as a person. In total, during those years, I connected with about twenty people with similar dreams. Of all those people, only two are actually living this dream today (I’m not counting myself in, yet!). Even though these were amazing processes to live through and the groups felt like little love bubbles, I have come to believe that for those of us who grew up in modern societies, living together closely with a group and building your own little society from scratch is nearly impossible – and maybe also not desirable. In fact, numbers show that only 10 percent of all eco-communities actually make it. The others fizzle out in the process of setting it all up, before the actual living together even starts. I haven’t come across any figures about people trying to do it on their own, but I think that the results of these groups show that the challenge doesn’t just lie in doing it with a group, but in doing it in the first place.
It doesn’t help that I have OCD. Not only do I check if I locked my door several times whenever I leave the house, I also have to check – again and again – if every single choice I make is the right one. How I do that? I guess by looking for any information that I can find on the matter at hand and by listening closely to my intuition. That way I slowly erase all the “what if’s” from my list.
One of the many workshops we did with the first group I participated in. This one was about the skills that each of us could bring to the project. We worked intensively with this group for three years, but once the talks started to get more serious, we lost member by member when we couldn’t find agreements about issues like veganism and substance (ab)use. Also corona happened, and at the end of the third year the three of us that remained “buried” our dreamchild together.
Stage 2: Continuing solo
Where I am now in this journey? After the second eco-community group failed, I decided to embark on this endeavor alone. I’m hoping that others will follow at some point, but instead of creating a community I’d rather create a village together. This will avoid many of the pitfalls that communities face, and this way we can create things together out of intrinsic motivation instead of a rigid set of hard-fought rules.
So the very first decision I had to make in this new adventure was about WHERE to look for land. What is the location of this paradisiacal dream microclimate I have in mind? What are the geographical facts, and what are other people’s experiences with the best country or region to do this? And then there are the practicalities. For example: if you want to get things done properly, you need to know the language. We looked for land in Portugal and Spain with the first group, but my Spanish and Portuguese weren't good enough to do the land search properly on my own. Because I am half Greek and was relatively fluent when I started this journey, Greece felt like the logical place to start. More importantly, I feel an intensely strong connection with the country. One big hurdle I had to jump was the fact that I had to do the big search without a car or driver’s license. When I didn't pass the exam for my driver´s license due to an inflammation in my hips, I decided to take the time to heal and to travel around Greece with public transportation instead. When I told people about this plan they looked at me with a mixture of pity and skepticism. They all said: “It’s impossible in Greece without a car.” But I don’t believe impossible is possible.
So last year I embarked on a six-month exploration trip to Greece. I´m not gonna lie: it wasn't easy. The public transportation system in Greece is so disorganized, it’s almost admirable. However I persisted and called every single phone number I could find to get the right itineraries for all the buses and trains. And I did it, I travelled across every single part of the land, trying to find “my” region. Of course I had help. I asked everyone I spoke to if they knew anyone in the regions I was interested in. People were very eager to help. Once I got to know a few people locally, the ball started rolling and I developed a sort of spider web of little helpers everywhere around the country. And in the process I met the most beautiful people, some of whom I now call friends.
Creating guidelines
I had a few guidelines while looking for the right region: 1. There had to be an abundance of fresh water; 2. The land should be at least 20 kilometers from the sea; and 3. It should preferably be in a mountainous region. I derived these guidelines from climate change predictions. In Southern Europe, fresh water levels will go down drastically and it will become hotter and drier. Also, it is predicted that storms will increase greatly in intensity, so being near the sea could be unsafe in the far future. Being on a mountain means being close to fresh water, because of the runoff on the mountain, but also being sheltered from winds and potential floods. And most importantly: it’s beautiful and wild there.
Erasing the “what-ifs”
As I embarked on the trip, I also learned a lot about Greece as a country. For example, the amount of corruption is staggering. There is also a lot of racism and sexism. And it’s not exactly the microclimate I see in my dream. I guess that specific microclimate is more likely to be found in a country like Ireland.. But because I didn’t think I would be able to endure the cold and dreary rains there I decided in the second year to pay a visit to Slovenia instead, which seemed like the next best choice. Only with slightly higher temperatures than in Ireland. All of this because I had to erase an important “ what if” off my list: “What if the microclimate I have in mind is more important than any other consideration?” And Slovenia was amazing. It was just the perfect microclimate. But I didn’t feel a thing: no connection to the land or the people. And that made me finally decide to go for Greece. I will have to deal with numerous ridiculous rules from the government about what you can and can’t do on your land, corruption in every single layer of the society, insane taxes, sexism, racism, and so on. On top of all of that I will have to figure out a lot of things by myself, as the support network here is small. There are just not so many people here living this life like in Portugal or Spain for example. So it may be far from perfect, but it feels like it’s the place to be for me. And of course being far from perfect also means that I can have an even bigger impact, if you look at it that way. I definitely won’t be preaching to my own choir, that’s for sure.
During my second half year in Greece I ruled out all the additions to my huge list. “So, everyone says that the island of Ikaria is the place to be for people like me. I said I never wanted to be on an island. But what if they’re right? Let’s just give it a go so I can erase it off my list.” Basically, OCD is the “what if” disease. And it's not all bad. The advantage is that I can be 100% sure of any choice I make. And I hardly ever make mistakes! But also to me, it’s not the destination that matters, but the journey itself. And I had the BEST time visiting all these places! These days I hardly ever come across people that have seen as much of Greece as I have. I became an expert.
Beles!
Eventually, I decided on the beautiful region of Beles. From the first time I was there I already fell a bit in love with it. And every time I came back I felt mesmerized by it again. The name alone: it reminds of the French word ‘belles’, which means ‘beautiful’. It is a south-facing mountain chain situated between two lakes, with a river in between. Needless to say, there is more than enough water here. And therefore it is just beautifully green. The colors are so intense, sometimes when I look around I feel like I am on an LSD trip. There are pelicans and flamingos, and in the village where I am now staying there are more storks than people. There are water buffaloes, wild boars, deer, foxes, jackals and wolves. Every night you can hear the jackals howl, and to me it is the coolest music in the world. It’s also hilarious, because their cries sound slightly hysterical. And sometimes, when you howl back to them, they even respond. Hearing them still brings a smile to my face every single night.
After deciding on Beles, I met Maria. A woman who started her own organic farm here about fourteen years ago. Four hectares. Alone. And that in a patriarchal society like this. She is my Superwoman. So much so, that we fell in love last year. Coincidence? No, I don’t believe in coincidence. But, keeping in mind the difficulties that interpersonal relationships can bring in these types of endeavors, I want to remain independent from her. So that if we would separate at some point in the future, I could still spend the rest of my life here happily. So I spent the past months exploring the approximately 20 villages in the region. Since this is my fifth time here already, I felt quite proud when I realized that even in the Beles area I have now become an expert, because I had already seen pretty much every square meter in the times I was here earlier.
Omaló
Finally, I chose Maria’s village. It’s called Omaló, which means: ‘soft’. So, ´beautiful´ and ´soft´ – two words I would very much like to associate my home with! I chose this place because it has a stream of water coming from the mountain that is there the whole year. The two other places here that have similar streams don’t have water the whole year. And one of those two places is filled with farmers who are choking their trees with pesticides. So no thank you to living next to that! And then of course the fact that Maria is nearby helps. Even if our romantic relationship at some point in the future wouldn’t survive, the connection that we have is so deep and strong that I know we will continue to be there in each other's lives. And I feel good that I chose this place because it is simply the best place for me, and not because my girlfriend lives here. That makes it future proof.
During the next month, before I am off to Holland to work and save some money again, I will explore all the land in the village. Honestly I already did that in the many times I was here before. I’m even pretty sure I already know which specific piece of land I want, but I have to do this my way. It doesn’t feel quite right if I don’t OCD the shit out of this first, before I make the actual choice. And that’s okay; it’s not the destination that matters, and I’m still loving every second of this journey!
Getting started yourself
So, do you have a similar dream and are you wondering where to start? Well, one thing I’ve seen a lot is that people actually didn’t realize what this kind of life entails. So my first tip would be: go and stay in a place like this for at least three months to see if it really makes you happy. And then consider: are you willing to put in the sweat, blood and tears that are needed to make that dream a reality? Because dreams only work if you do. Lastly, but not least: will you be able to make the leap? There is a huge difference between discussing and dreaming and actually going out to do it. I’ve seen too often how people loved dreaming and getting into intricate discussions about their Utopias, but in the end were just too scared to let go of their own reality and actually make the jump. Don’t be scared! Did I mention that I don’t have nearly enough money to build my house with and that I have a chronic condition that leads to tendonitis pretty much twice a year? Never mind the looks people, or even the doctors, give me when I tell them about my plans. I will find a way. So if you feel like you are really up for it, go for it. Just take it step by step. Start with a first step. And then the other steps will naturally follow.
Rosa van Giessen has been a permaculture designer and teacher since 2015. She has participated in many different garden projects in various roles, from teaching, to designing, to managing. She also loves to write, and hopes that someday she may be able to live in her own little homestead and food forest and to make a living there by writing, teaching workshops and making products derived from her own land. She was a Cityplot Amsterdam member for many years but stepped out of the city and the collective since she started the journey to find her dreamland. In the future she hopes to continue working with Cityplot, this time from Greece! For more info on what Rosa is up to you can check out her website www.boerenverstand.info or follow her blog on https://www.polarsteps.com/RosaBoerenverstand
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How inspiring - I wish you all good things for your journey, Rosa! And so great to read of your appreciation that OCD is a superpower, guiding you to the best destination. Looking forward to hearing how things unfold.