Original subtitles

-Everyday it's Christmas here! -Everyday it's Christmas here.

- It was a german guy that was living in Idanha and he was enjoying so much the food

that he would say “Oh yeah the food is like Christmas everyday!”

- So nice! Christmas food!

- Daddy I don't want to eat more. - Don't you want more?

- She's so beautiful.

She is the fairy of the fairies. - She is!

- Can you lower the computer sound and come to lunch?

- For who has a vegetarian diet this kitchen is very nice. Everything's organic...

- Yes I can notice the difference.

- Is the pasta good my love?

Do you want some more? With a little bit of tomato sauce?

You ate almost everything!

Uau! You are eating so much!

Is it to grow a lot? To get big like daddy?

- Enjoy your meal! - Thanks!

First of all there was a tv reportage telling: "The last Cabrum's habitant would leave the hamlet."

Mr. Manuel, who was living here with lots of goats, alone for five years.

And a friend of a friend of mine saw it on TV

and told him about it because they were searching for abandoned hamlets to create this project.

It sounded good for them. One more abandoned hamlet.

They came to visit and they fell in love for the place.

Then it came the process of contacting the hamlet owners.

They explained what they wanted to do here and it sounded great to them

Because they already had proposals to make rural tourism.

But for them this would be like to destroy their memories.

So, our idea was to raise again the hamlet.

like we are actually doing. Treating the gardens, restoring the houses...

and living like they used to.

it sounded great to them because it's like bringing back their memories.

And the feedback we're having so far is very good!

And here in Portugal as we are so connected with the earth,

when you start creating a garden and cleaning the forest,

it's a major honor you can do for the people that used to live from the land.

Watching the vegetables growing, the cleaned forest...

And now we are in the process of renewing the contract,

because this is given to us but we are investing here part of our savings,

almost everything we have, So, we'd like to have some safety.

I lived many years in the City

and it was a great experience I don't regret it

and everyone here that came from the City think the same.

If we made this choice, it was completely conscious

most of the people here came for their own choice

not for necessity or for not having an alternative.

It was an option. A lifestyle choice. Changing. because we opted for the change.

And we chose this place to live... and I don't miss the City at all.

All this peace here in Nature. Being so close of it, you know

The communication with Pachamama All this surrounding Nature. It's so different.

Obviously the City is also Nature it was created by Man

and Man is part of Nature!

So, I won't say "No to the City" and "Yes to the Countryside".

No. It's not about fundamentalisms, it's about beliefs.

To want a different life where the material side doesn't mean much.

I can tell since I came here there are so many things I stopped buying.

So, this was an intrinsic reorganization for all of us

In terms of our way to be and our way to live, to get apart from the material side.

And everyone is very happy about it here because that's what we believe in.

The union between people, To create a sustainable life...

The possibility for you to construct your house your nest, your shelter...

The possibility to eat from the garden,

a community garden that gathers so many people's energy...

Everything is done with so much love and respect for Nature

So, it's impossible to miss the City.

And I lived in a big and beautiful city

that I love because it's where I was born

but where I wouldn't ever come back to live.

When I was moving over here... Well, I'm a very spontaneous person,

and where I was living, the entire neighborhood knew me and I used to talk with everyone

and I told everyone about the project that I was creating here.

And of course, they manifested their questions and fears.

For them it was like stop having good conditions and comfort in my life.

And what I used to say was: I'm going to the montain,

to have my freedom, to work for me,

to give health and freedom to my kids...

Connect myself again with Nature.

What I'm living at the city is: The stressing routine

of making money to pay the bills.

And sometimes I had no money left at the last week of the month.

So I used to ask them: "don't you think, that here at the city

with all the stress and routine of making money to pay the house, the car, the fuel...

We live in the city to make money to pay the bills.

Because being at the city is like a living circle of making money, to keep yourself there.

You spend one year expecting those fifteen-day vacation

and those 15 days aren't actually 15 days of vacations.

Because you already know you only got 15 days,

that you realize you won't enjoy of all this in 15 days.

So it's kind of dying slowly.

Working all day, no time for family,

Everybody used to tell me: “We have no time for our children”.

This is the first time that I'm raising a child. I have three kids

And the other two were living at my house

but I was with them just for a short time at breakfast,

I'd take them to school, and I'd only be with them again at night.

On the weekend too, but that's when you have the housekeeping tasks

and you're so tired because of the week's looping

that most of the time you have no energy to play with your kids.

So I realized that who has raised my kids were the institutions, like school,

and other people. My mother, who helped me a lot

and their babysitter.

So, now I have the privilege, the incredible privilege and gratitude

and that's why i decided to have another kid

to raise a child.

And now I know what is like to be a mother in full time.

Being able to breastfeed. He's 10 months old and being able to breastfeed so many time...

It's so good. it's priceless, you know?

This is possible when you believe in life, in the Universe

and you say, "I want to live like this" then, follow that path, you know?

So that's what we did. We all believe that it's possible to live like that.

In general we're all free spirit

We don't want rules but in my opinion rules are needed

so things have an organized line.

So we are learning from our own mistakes.

This is something that we're building on. By a trial and error process

The group is forming itself. As habitants we are 16 adults and 9 kids.

Two of them have already born here.

For more than 20 years that no children was born in Cabrum.

It was a very interesting experience.

So we also want to prove to ourselves and the world

that it is possible to live without the Money God.

We truly believe in this, but of course we can't achieve anything without working,

so we are here for 2 years now, and we have worked a lot.

It's also a hard emotional work.

Because when you live in community you're living with people and Egos.

So for this reason, there's a very powerful and emotional work to do...

Which is a very enriching experience

I'm in the process of being myself.

Free from prejudice, free from blockages, free from fear,

free from insecurities, free from disbeliefs...

So I'm working my self-confidence,

the love for myself, my own truth...

and this is the process of going deep into my roots.

And the deeper you get, the higher you'll go at your expansion.

This is today's message. To love yourself...

It starts from the inside. Like meditation.

Go inside, search for your truth,

put your shadows out. Your fears, insecurities... everything!

Look at them. Love them. Work them. And turn yourself into a free being.

Because we live in a multidimensional world. Everything is possible.

You create your own reality.

So, if you create your own reality,

What is that everyone wants? To be happy!

So, your way, with your own truth, be happy intensely every day.

And...

Be yourself aware of not hurting what is around you.

It's the opposite. Be yourself, so you can amplify the best of each one around you.

And this is my challenge.

Now everything is clear, you know? Now she is like following me every step.

Now she should trot after me. She should do anything that I do.

- Grapes! - Grapes! Grapes!

Is it good? Give me one.

Thank you.

Did you eat ice cream? Your mouth is full of chocolate.

We truly believe that when Man was living this way, was so much happier.

So much accomplished.

Because what we really want is Love! We want to love. Loving is healing.

So, we want to love and to understand the other. Because we are the “other”.

We are all one! We are all connected!

So, if we understand that, we'll know that it's not worth it to compete or to compare.

And that is a big lesson that you learn here.

In my opinion here is when I work more on compassion.

For me, compassion is the respect for time and each one's purpose.

It's acceptance. To accept everyone as they are,

and if something affects me I must do my process inside of me.

Why is that affecting me? Why am I feeling angry?

Why am I frustrated? Why can't I even look at him today?

So this is a great gift. This is my experience here.

For a year, this was a very intense experience.

Emotionally it was....

I thought a lot about "what am I doing here?".

But as I'm someone that dives into challenges and never gives up

even if I'm in suffer or whatever it comes emotionally

I'm still saying, that is the biggest gift.

It's your very own process. If you really want to evolve,

You truly know that the only way is Love. It gets increasingly clear

and the only way is also your inner work. Because you can't change anyone.

Each one has it's own process and you don't know each one's purpose.

You only know that, the person is reflecting what you need to work inside.

So, for me living in community...

is...

it's to know yourself better.

It's to understand what is the inner work you need to do, so you can be at peace.

About my children's choices...

I would like not to enter on conflicts between generations.

I believe that we came here to experience.

For example, my daughter wants to go back to the city

and live with her father.

Ok, I was like...

Now that I'm here at the mountain

I want to share this with her, she wants to move to the city...

But I also want to be able to separate what I want

and what I think that it's better for them.

And to observe what is really important for them.

So... I don't want to be an extremist. I want to be free.

Like I want to be free, I want to give that freedom to my children.

And just like I made some bad choices in the past... And those mistakes are a way of learning

I want to give them that freedom too.

It's like...

It's don't projecting my fears on my children

So they won't need to work those fears afterwards

It's like, "don't climb that tree because you'll fall off"

It should be like "ok, if you want to climb it, I will teach you how to do it with safety".

So, this is what I'm trying to do with my children.

My younger daughter, that is 4 years old now

wants to do homeschooling.

And I think that I'm able to give her that orientation until the 4th grade.

and her father has the same opinion about school.

Now we needed to know if this extraordinary way of life,

could be only be practiced at the countryside isolation

by a small number of individuals, strangers from each other until their relationships.

Or, on the other hand, will the self-sustainable method be sustained

in a completely different environment more typical of XXI century.

And it is precisely for this reason that we are strangely in Barcelona.

Precisely in the center of a large urban center!

Where all the conditions seems now, dear viewers, totally adverse.

Cooperativa Integral Catalana is the result

of many years trying to change the rules.

Rules in what people do not see a possibility for change

That through struggling, people gets harmed. Confrontations generate violence.

So, we thought that maybe, the smartest thing to do is to build.

To build an alternative.

An alternative that is legal.

So, what we do is to search which law

will allow us to be apart of the system, so we can start to work.

Our goal is to create a cooperative public system.

In other words

That the union of people, working on different tasks can cover everyone's basic needs

- Like housing, feeding, health care and education -

that this can be done without economic barriers.

Not because of paying you can have those things

But, in a public way, with everyone's cooperation, we can create a system

in which, no one is exempt by not having money.

Aurea Social is like the heart

where we had the opportunity of placing the different commissions.

The economics management commission, that is responsible for the working partners.

A legal entity that protects the workers,

so they can collaborate with each other, to offer services and products between them

without having to allocate 20 or 25% of their earnings to maintain a State,

that might spend that money on war or religion issues.

with which they disagree.

It's also a place where people interested on an holistic health care can gather.

Not a centralized healthcare, focused in individual organisms.

Where people can come if interested in education. Free education.

Not a dogmatic education, but an education that educates citizens instead of workers.

In the educational department we are doing many tasks.

Currently we got a big challenge. We are working on teen's monitoring group.

We distribute the tasks for the whole week.

For example, if one wants to learn about informatics, we have people to teach about it.

If he wants to learn permaculture he goes to another project...

If he wants do art crafts he comes here...

And this is a project that we are working on for almost 2 years

and now finally we started it so it's a big conquer for the Education Commission

Well, but how much you get paid at the cooperative?

With how many Euros you survive with?

I would say, Euros themselves worth nothing to me.

If I can exchange 5 Euros for food, it has value.

But if I can't they worth nothing

What do we thought?

What do we need? to eat, a house, being alright with each other...

Do we need Euros? No.

Can we exchange things? No

because maybe you don't have something that I need

but you still need my services.

So, as History shows us a coin is very useful.

We don't want a coin that we don't know where it comes from.

With euros people buy and sell guns or other offensive activities.

What have we done? We created our own coin.

The ECO is a social coin. The coin we use at the cooperative.

It works through a virtual platform called CES "Community Exchange System"

which we have improved doing our own version with free software.

And what this coin does, is to spread and link exchanges between people

without using money.

The CES (Community Exchange System) is a page created in South África.

It makes the exchange of goods and services easier

through an account, similar to any traditional bank account

where you have your number, your balance

and it's totally transparent.

Here for example I'm checking this service: Computer repairing.

Let's imagine that we have a closed-source system like Windows.

And we want to swift for an open-source system like Linux

We can chat with this person

and the price would be set according the service.

We have to talk with him, and here is his contact. We can also click the name

and as I said it's totally transparent.

We know this person decided to show that lives in Barcelona.

We are in Barcelona too. So we could meet him to talk about it.

We can see when he created his account

And we can see what he offers, what he's looking for and his purchase and sales history.

We believe this is the best way of interacting with people we don't know yet.

And what we are really looking for is some good or service.

But, it's when you get to know the person that the community bonds are created

It's an non-speculative economy.

Because money is created by people, when they do the exchange.

If you sell me a peace of bread for 3 Ecos

I'll buy it. You would take those 3 Ecos from my account

and I would have - 3 Ecos and you would have + 3 Ecos.

So, this generates a local based economy

because we made an exchange by our proximity.

And with this proximity, the product or service tends to be of a better quality

because there is no company between us or taxes to agravate it.

It will promote an exchange economy and not a capitalist based economy.

Because If I want something you have but I have nothing that you need,

You can use my payment to get something else from other person.

So, it's advantageous to local relations

It's a coin based in trust.

I mean, you can have your account with a negative balance

and this doesn't mean debt.

Because at some time you can offer something

to balance those negative numbers.

This economy is zero-sum.

If you make a sum of everyone's balance

the result will be Zero.

There are some limits for negative numbers.

It depends if you are spending for collective or individual using.

But it's around 50 or 100 Ecos.

Anyway, if you will exchange with a person

that you see that has a huge negative numbers

you are free to trust or not.

This is also... what we call "voluntary simplicity".

I mean, It's to realize what we really need.

And personally, day after day I need less Euros in my life...

And increasingly I feel that I have more.

The cooperative public healthcare system where we are working on

It's a non-capitalist alternative system

And we see that the current public health system fails at many levels.

And it's not an holistic system

because it treats separately the body parts from emotions

And we think that this must be connected in one way or another.

We are aware that there are situations we can't fix.

For example, if an accident happens we can't supply it.

We are 6 people working at this health department.

And each therapist follows the same values as the Cooperative.

We charge with our social currency at least some percentage.

And not being the same external market prices,

but different ones, accepting exchanges and following a coherence as the cooperative.

Maybe our proposal, although it looks wonderful to us

maybe it's not the happiest option for the majority.

Let me explain, everyone could live with the minimum

from a material point of view

and with the maximum from a freedom point of view.

But there are people who aren't satisfied with this.

Their satisfaction is about what they consider luxury.

It would be luxury cars, a great house, vacations...

So... we don't choose to tell someone

this is the best way of living.

But we sure choose to show them.

And to show many people as possible

that maybe luxury is to have your own time.

Maybe luxury is to lie down with a quiet conscience.

Aware that you didn't took advantage of cheap labor somewhere else

to get a benefit here...

A practical way so people can see how real this is

it's for example that the food we eat it's paid with our social coin.

We talk with each farmer and we establish a high percentage of Ecos.

Although there's a percentage of the payment in Euros

because at the moment we can't get diesel or some other tools with Ecos.

So, there's a part we pay with Ecos and how does it work?

The producers bring the products here,

we make a balance, then we pay.

Until now we had no problem with this.

And this is the solution

for what many people asks us: "Living in the city is not very sustainable, right?"

But, at the city is where you can find more people.

So, it's easier to promote this lifestyle.

At the beginning of this year the cooperative decided

that the provision of meals would be 100% on Ecos.

Even though we pay part of it in Euros.

In order to give it value to start a circle of trust.

So, originally this coin was created as an alternative

since we are in a capitalist society.

But we hope it goes further and increasingly used

to achieve the moment when we can drop the euro.

I'd like to say that what we are doing here

can be done anywhere in the world.

Actually it's all about self-management and communication.

We are working on the integral revolution that will come soon

and the more we are at this networks the better we will build this world.

Today and for tomorrow. Thanks!

We are back to Portugal. We had to talk with Rui Vasques.

Not for being a 20 grade student on his master's degree.

Not for it being adaptable globally.

Not for being the best student of Industrial Production Design from his time.

Not for believing in self sustainability as an emergency...

Neither for being only 26 years old and being enterprising at this and that.

But for all of this reasons and a couple more.

I'm Rui Vasques, I'm a 26 years old designer

and I chose the sustainability path.

When I did my master's thesis, “Eco-Village Community” project

I approached topics like the current problems in the world,

also neuroscience issues, to understand how the Man works...

I approached ecologic topics to understand how the world functions like a super organism.

And other subjects like sustainable constructions, life in communities...

I tried to discover many subjects way ahead of the design project range

which was about sustainable buildings.

And my mind started to open so I realized that

I could follow another path at my job

and not only to design products like a regular designer

but instead, create more sustainable and permacultural design.

Thinking about the natural elements, people's relationships...

Well, to enhance all that knowledge.

So, the project came out which was my master's thesis

because during my research, a personal revolt popped up

and I wanted to take the tools I had, the talent and creativity

in order to create a visually appealing solution and functionally perfect

to show people a new vision and a new way to live on Earth.

I tried to apply in that eco-village the solutions I found and which are already used,

like super adobe constructions

which is the construction with earth bags, clay and barbwire.

I tried to apply renewable energies

which are increasingly investigated and more efficient.

I tried to apply composting systems...

I tried to close the most cycles I could inside that space

to show that solutions are there but they are not being used.

And today it's urgent to deepen them.

In that way I created that circular model.

It's circular because I was inspired by other projects.

So I opted for creating a mandala shape to inspire people more

and to show that it's possible to create something optimized from zero

where all points are at the same distance from the center;

all the infrastructures would be easier to build

because it obeys just to one standard;

it would be easier to expand it by adding modules;

So the center would be for the community and growing it in layers for other functions.

So I created a space with this new perspective of future

with everything what people need to be happy and to have good quality of life.

This project has some inspiration from The Venus Project

developed by Jacques Fresco, a thinker and social engineer

a lot of years ago, like 50 or 60 years... He has more than 90 years.

He always supported the idea that humanity should follow a path

where the structures and the appropriation of space would be thought before

respecting the resources from the place in a sustainability long term.

We can create self-sufficient social models based on 3 principles:

Local construction, which is used by the super adobe technique

and which can be built anywhere in the world with local earth

or even with tire adding

Local production of resources...

from the biological agriculture, to the profitable use of water,

energy and local raw materials;

And the third principle is the energy self-sufficiency

to do not depend on other places energy

These 3 principles united I call it a "Smart Village".

It's the concept i've been deepen, because it hasn't been studied much

The goal is to alert and to aware for the mentality change.

To show people that there are other ways and options

that the world is not like it was taught as kids

and it's possible to create our own future, resources, energy...

As not every land and region have all the necessary resources

so all of this can happen,

I leaned for permaculture design.

It is to know how to deeply observe a place at least for one year,

studying the cycles of the sun, winds, water, slopes, raw materials, earth...

Then we try to understand what is missing, what can we do with what we have

and how can we enhance what already exists.

With synergy and permaculture techniques.

The successful permaculturist is that one living relaxed

with his system working without much worries

because he created a cycle that works with synergies and ecosystems

that regulates it self and he just goes there to reap the rewards.

For me, the next step is to explore new economic systems,

new models of making group decision like sociocracy,

And also new group communication alternatives

and there are already tools that have been studied around the world

for alternative systems.

Systems with less money where trust and cooperation are the bases

where people can make exchanges of products and services

or even using new local currencies in order to replace

what traps us everyday which is money.

For me, money is the biggest illusion of all because it was foisted upon us

and now the whole world lives with money bases.

In my opinion it was an excellent tool once

when it appeared it was excellent It was always good for humans.

Until some hundreds of years ago, that it has been manipulated and virtualized

in a way that who has access to it can do anything

and who hasn't, will continue to be a slave.

And that's how the system works.

So that's why I gave myself to this life mission.

I want to teach as much people as possible how to not depend on money

and depending more on themselves, on others and their dreams.

Each place is unique and has its own conditions and materials

It's always necessary a previous study of the resources

and their permaculture interactions

in order to design it and to know what to do

In case resources are missing we have to search nearby

and try to exchange some, between interested people.

This is our miraculous combination: earth, clay, sand and straw

combined in right proportions it's our material construction.

For example, at places where the land is infertile we can always use natural fertilizers

by composting. Like kitchen waste, decomposing organic substances

or even the use of compost toilets. And animal or human compost.

So through this process, after 6 months we can use that land to produce.

And so we will start a new circle of production.

The more we produce the more earth will have to fertilize in a natural way.

For example, if we don't have water we could construct water reservoirs, lakes,

or paths that force water to stay as long as possible on the ground

and even to irrigate the land using gravity to exploit it.

So, there is always a way to obtain the resources as they are abundant

we just have to learn how to collect and make a good use of them.

The solution... I think it is a set of solutions

because there is not only one solution for everything.

About money... The solution... I don't know the exactly solution

we are still looking for it

I think it's about creating models of share, fair exchanges,

harmony and cooperation models and also a good sense and trust between people.

When I talk about exchanges and share models

it doesn't mean that it's always something spontaneous.

These models can be regulated by rules like our system does.

But instead of money we have services that are trade by other services,

Or goods that have a certain value on a place, and a different one somewhere else

because there's not that much of it.

There's a relationship between rarity and abundance that can be calculated.

On our monetary system this isn't calculated.

Money worths more than everything. More than life, values, actions...

People kill, steal and do anything because of a paper they say that has value!

And for me what has a real value is the air we breath,

is the sun we have, the land we can produce, the people that can help us.

We live in a time when our illusory economic growth has to stabilize

so that we can perform these alternatives and solutions,

to apply them and stay in a way that we don't need to grow more

So we can use what we already have created.

to heal somehow what was damaged and what would take lots of years to be as it was.

One of the main concepts of this project is to combine the ancient knowledge

that has been hidden: our techniques, our connection with Earth,

the most efficient production principles...

Connect all this information that has been lost,

with what we achieved nowadays: Technology.

That gives us a good life quality and the comfort we have nowadays.

Because those ancient techniques are what link us with the surrounding

and with what we can do with the space.

And that's what I think that is closer to sustainability

because they had no oil or coal companies,

they didn't have our lifestyle, they lived with what they had.

Nowadays we have the technology that allows us to live differently

with the possibility to communicate, to have internet access,

to have leisure, to create jobs through informatics

and all the comfort and life quality of a home.

So, I think the ideal would be to combine this ancient knowledge,

with technology in order to create efficient solutions as nowadays

but using more simple and sustainable materials and methods.

Dear viewers, I'm resorting the microphone for the last time

to capture your attention.

And I'm speaking from a place that deserves all of your attention.

I'll leave you with extraordinary people, endowed with an extraordinary way of life.

They are not here for two days, they are since 1995

with roots in Germany dating back to 78.

Proving peace, healing love, it goes beyond a community;

it's more than a school, even more than a refuge.

A biotope, as they say.

Then I have some words...

Earth who gave to us this food, Sun who made it ripe and good,

Dear Earth, Dear Sun, by you we live, our loving thanks to you we give.

Hello everybody and welcome to the dinner!

Today we had a very powerful and energizing and loving cook shift.

And... we made a big soup in here with lot of different... things.

And... We got potatoes from the oven!

And... we also got... I don't know the name.

- Swiss Chard!

- Swiss? - Chard.

- Swiss Chard!

And bread from the oven.

Like always we got a big variety of salad

so, enjoy your meal!

Here is where we storage the seeds after worked and processed.

All these boxes have seeds...

Like old seeds that we call green fertilizer.

And even cereals, or vegetables and fruit trees.

And also regular trees.

So, the need or the willing of having this seed's project in Tamera

I think you already understood that one of Tamera's fundamental questions

is also how to reach this self-sustainability.

where we don't depend on a big system

that in a certain way controls the food we eat.

So, the goal is to cultivate and to preserve our own seeds.

And typical seeds from this region and even internationally

because lots of the people that come here bring seeds.

In order to be self-sufficient and to preserve this ancient richness

that has been destroyed in the last decades for multinational companies.

So it's kind of taking back the power of preserving our food.

We use the seeds not only for our gardens

I mean because of the food sovereignty and sustainability topics,

but also, our goal is to have a seeds bank

for the region and internationally.

There are lots of people that come here to pick seeds.

Concluding, we use it for our gardens,

we have a certain distribution and seeds exchange

at a regional level with other local farmers,

and also internationally with the people that come here.