Мы строим деревню / we are building ecovillage: зима в поселении

Winter in settlement

ivanovishe 22.11.13 в 20:07

In our paradise life is happy, life is happy

Yanne 08.01.14 в 11:56

life is happy… but nobody lives there.

Yanne 08.01.14 в 11:56

spiritual verse

Yanne 08.01.14 в 11:51

It is the February now, it’s already my second February here. Last year we just experimented with winter life, made attempts. Natasha came only for two weeks. I had several flying visits. Last year only the entrance room to the banya was ready for winter life, which was slightly cold-proof, the banya itself was all in chinks. In short, the banya - our single building for this moment - was absolutely not ready for wintering. But I managed to live there about 2 month. I slept in warm down-filled sleeping bag, fired a furnace actively, drank hot tea. Warmed myself as I managed to do. It was not comfortable. It was interesting.

Yanne 09.01.14 в 15:38

Now it’s the February, it`s about -4 °F (-20°C) outside, but I am sitting reclining on the pillow, bare-chested, writing this text, Natalja with daughter are sleeping near me, covered with light sheetonly. It means that life takes a great turn for the better. It becomes more comfortable. It’s interesting too. We have many improvements in this year: we got electricity from solar batteries, we need to sleep in sleeping bag no more - we have normal trestle-bed with mattress and bedclothing. We brought lots of books, various stuff for the creative work…Also the daughter was born and she gives us no time to be bored.

Yanne 09.01.14 в 16:08

But the essence remains the same: winter outside - the big issue for all the settlers. And also it is the main local life indicator. If the settlement has perennial life it means that this settlement is viable, it is not only the holiday village. Notice, that it is also great when there live more than 2-3 families, then it is not the reclusive khutor and hunters lodge anymore.

Yanne 09.01.14 в 16:26

The winter exams everything: buildings, humans, clothing, relationships, skills and moral readiness. Everything. This is an examination of the settlement as the locality.

Yanne 21.01.14 в 14:03

It is simpler in summer, as in proverb: “where fell down, there fell asleep”, it is easier to admire beauty of the nature, observe birds and bugs, rejoice at mice and rain. It is really good mark, if the feelings of admiration and happiness remain at winter: it means that the conditions are comfortable, there are warmth, store of food and firewood, the house is build well. If there is a lack of something most likely that it would be more difficult to observe on birds and feel happy about them.

Yanne 21.01.14 в 15:35

What`s more, the winter is a time, when you can meet yourself. In reality and without embellishments. Because there is no one except you in winter. There are no lots of labor, no people, no special entertainments and the winterer must face with the situation that he simply does nothing. Simply does nothing and around him nothing happens. This often becomes complex testing. Everything around comes to a standstill, the nature has a rest, sleeps and really happens nothing. And when nothing happens around the head then many things begin to happen inside it… All fear, paranoias and debts come to light, all inner dialogues and parts of the personality, which start to recall everything which was in life and especially what is in reality still alarm, begin be anxious about what will happen. They start to plan and meditate. Lots of things commence to happen inside the wintering head around witch are the rest of the nature and calming of everything.

Yanne 21.01.14 в 16:29

That` s why there are as usual two contrast ways: the first - to grasp all your dealings, debts, expectations and fears in the city already and then go wintering (but it can be long and difficult). The second way is to go to the forest and there “dish out” all professional revisions, self-analyses and self-psychologism. And emerge victorious or die (in other words, to give up ecological life if not for good, then for a long time). But this way is for “tough guys”.

Yanne 21.01.14 в 16:54

Of course in reality you get something between these - it seems like you have gained an understanding of everything, and then you come for a wintering very enlightened, relax and after that during long winter evenings “smash the rats” which run out your attic, those that still are not worked over. And you will have lots of work. It`s good that in winter there is enough time for this.

Yanne 31.01.14 в 10:42

Interested people ask two main questions about wintering.

Yanne 21.01.14 в 16:32

The first: “Describe, please, your day?”, more specifically: “So what to do there?”

Yanne 21.01.14 в 16:35

And the second: “Is it cold there?”

Yanne 21.01.14 в 16:37

That is all.

Yanne 21.01.14 в 16:37

There is exactly that fear frozen in the first question that you will due to meet with oneself, I have written about this already, and the second question, I think, is asked mechanically, it is the stereotyped one.

Yanne 31.01.14 в 10:52

As for the first question, if the self cultivation and the maintenance getting (firewood, water etc.) don’t occupy the whole short winter day (if someone forgets, there is much less light in winter), then for sure you will have the time for creative self-expression. That’s why it’s good idea to stock up with stuff for this. Many things there depend on the person, each makes it in his own way: these are instruments, paints, threads and many other things with the help of which you can create. A good thing is that we have great choice. Especially in winter, in the period when nothing draws us away, there are no TV-set and summer labor, and exactly at these moments were discovered many talents. This is a plus of wintering. For someone it is also a source of income - people make creative hand-made stuff in winter and then sell them in summer on festivals.

Yanne 31.01.14 в 11:20

The second question is about the cold. This is a stereotyped question and also the absence of knowledge that: firstly, the life in winter in the countryside is more spent in the house, then it happens in the city - you shouldn’t go somewhere or go to work, everything takes place in the house or around it. Secondly, in the countryside you control the house heating yourself - stoke the furnace. If the house is good (this is without any doubts the most important thing for the wintering), it is more comfortable to live there than in many urban flats.

Yanne 31.01.14 в 11:35

If the wintering takes place in temporary, unready conditions - in a banya, in a shack or yurt, then the main trouble will be the huge temperature drop: you stoke the furnace - it becomes hot, the furnace cools - cold. Of course it exhausts you. But the decision is simple: at night you should sleep under the blanket, and in the morning the man gets up, stokes the furnace and makes the heating. In this case there are two constituents that turn the life quality to better one: to fall asleep and to wake up in the warmth.

Yanne 31.01.14 в 13:31

One more important question “about the warmth” is the question about a lavatory. In summer it’s OK, but in winter? This is also one of the base factors which has great significance in a city. One day the book about the experience of one Ukrainian family which independently lives in the village near Kiev strikes my eye and the author writes there about a lavatory in a funny manner. He says: that “can’t understand why there are so many questions about a lavatory”. And then he writes the explanation which I now tell in my own words and add, because I absolutely agree with him. Maybe the matter is that in the city a lavatory is a cult construction which exists in order to the person can at least some time be oneself. It is a place where you can legally retire from everyone, relax your muscles, smoke, read your favorite book, ponder about important things, make a pause at least. In the village there is no necessity to do all the things mentioned above and the lavatory is used only for its intended purpose. It is normal to “do number two” once and to “do number one” several times in 24 hours. It is not dangerous for the health, but even good despite the weather conditions. For the situations when you are too lazy to go out in freezing temperature villagers many generations ago developed amazing in its simplicity and efficacy device - the bucket (chamber-pot, night-vase…), which is poured out in the morning. Today on sale is modernized variant of the bucket with sitting and lid, very useful thing in the household, which fulfils its function on 100%.

Yanne 31.01.14 в 15:20

There is one more nuance, particulary about winter alternative energy. In winter all kinds of it essentially loose its efficacy in comparison with summer (probably only the thermoelectric power generator can be more productive). There is less water in the brook…The sun light is not enough, and also the solar panels are dumped on with snow. There is less wind (at least in our area). This is sad, because especially in winter there is not enough daylight but there is the greatest desire for creative work. It is like in old joke about the Sun: “What is more useful: the sun- or the moonlight? Without doubts - the moonlight, because the Sun shines when it is light already”.

Yanne 09.02.14 в 06:20

Well a person has to get out of a difficulty somehow. To burn candles, to economize.

Yanne 31.01.14 в 13:33

I have such thoughts concerning the winter.

Yanne 31.01.14 в 11:36

Probably if the settlement is already active and there are wintering at least several families, the wintering goes simpler: there is the possibility to communicate more, to toboggan from some hill, to play music…To do something together. But now I can’t write about this. I’d better share with you my thoughts about the comfort.

Yanne 31.01.14 в 15:34

But before it I`ll tell you the next thing: despite we are wintering in the valley alone we can live there because of the help of the great amount of people, of all our settlers, friends and sympathizers. Our wintering will be not so comfortable without their physical and moral help. All together we stored up the firewood, prepared the wintering and organized the living, after the childbirth our friends came to us to help to look after the house…

Yanne 09.02.14 в 06:37

There I again want to note that ecological settlement is the community first of all, and only after that - the life alone with nature.

Yanne 31.01.14 в 10:28