Alternative living: a tale of two homes

Utolsó frissítés hétfő, 05/02/2024

The place we call home is a place where we choose to grow and a place that will shape us over time. Daria and Maro follow two young people in Europe: Peer and Ezster who chose to live in and be shaped by alternative communities - let’s discover their journey!

The story of Krakenburg

If you take a train to the South of Amsterdam, followed by a short tram ride, you can get to Krakenburg, a green piece of land in the middle of the city.

One of the people living there is Peer, who is 26 and currently studying chemistry. His motivation to live here is simple, “I have always had the urge to live outside, live in nature, to experience communal living and to contribute to solving issues like climate change”, he tells us.

“We are at Krakenburg: I am part of the group that lives here and started this project. It is a squatted piece of land very close to Amsterdam, it is 2.3 hectares big and the story goes that after demolishing the previous building, there were plans to construct extra student housing. Nevertheless, the plans did not go through. Since it is below one of the plane routes to Schiphol airport, a lot of airplanes fly low over this area. According to new regulations around aviation, it is too noisy”. Also, there is a rule about how densely populated these (airport surrounding) areas can be. “We squatted it partly as a protest because there is a big housing crisis in the Netherlands, and we wanted to ask attention to that. But also partly because it looks like there is no other (short-term) purpose for the land, hence why we want to live here and show that we can do so in alternative ways.”

It is very clear how green and lively the area is. When mentioning this to Peer, he tells us how it had been empty for 10 years and there was plenty of time for the land to regrow and thrive. “The biodiversity here is very nice. Living here goes very well together with the plants and animals”. Peer has been here since the beginning (May, 2023) of “Krakenburg” as they call it and shares the space with a community of 6 to 20 people.

“So, what exactly brought you here?”, we ask. “I think I was looking to start a project in some way or another”, he answers. Due to his activism, he became familiar with squatting and later came across the opportunity to squat on a piece of land. “We heard about this place because it was really famous and exemplary for how the Netherlands is crossing its ecological boundaries. I immediately imagined how this could eventually become a very nice place where we could build community, and do things for ‘the movement’...”. With ‘the movement’ Peer refers to general left-wing groups, like climate protests and any kind of justice-related activism.

There are many ideals behind Krakenburg and the community that sustains it. “I think we want to create a place where we care about nature. Also, as a group we wanted to create a culture that is not patriarchal but ‘queer feminist’, you can have a lot of discussions about what those words actually mean (and there are also a lot of discussions we still need to have) but I feel that everyone who is really in the core group wants to work on this. Finally, a word I would use is ‘open’. We have a lock on the front gate. Ideally, we would not have it (but for legal reasons this is necessary). We also have a bell, which is really uncommon for squats to have.”

Peer describes a day in his life for us: “I would start by going to our collective kitchen to have breakfast together. Then, maybe do some work in the garden or on the land. Perhaps study for a couple of hours or go to work. Do some organising for the kitchen or anywhere else where organising could be necessary? And at the end of the afternoon, when everyone is coming home, we cook and have dinner together, perhaps we end by doing something nice like watching a movie. I feel it’s similar to many types of community lives, but perhaps a bit more open than other communities.”

He also mentions how Krakenburg offers possibilities to help people, but this comes with a lot of responsibility: "We had a big discussion about someone who wanted to live here. This person didn't really have a place, there are a lot of people who don't have a house, and if they have a roof above their heads, they don't really have a home. So there are quite a lot of people who come and mention they'd like to live here. We have to say no to a lot of them because we are also looking for people who can really contribute to the community (at least for now). Meaning that they can invest a lot of time in the land, have the capacity to go to meetings, and especially to take care of themselves. The person who wanted to live here would have had to live in a tent, and I just don't want people to live here under very shitty conditions that I believe are inhumane. Others had a very different opinion, though, so... that was definitely a struggle.”

“In general, this place makes you very aware of your privileges too. I mean, it is really hard to say no to people, and it is emotionally very heavy. In the end, it is an advantage and a disadvantage: you can help people (to some extent) but it takes time and feels like a big responsibility."

“What work goes into building and contributing to this community?”

"Here, we are kind of obliged to do things in a certain way because we don't have the resources to do otherwise. By default, we have limited water, a compost toilet, and we only use big gas canisters. The fact that our only electricity is solar-powered means we have to use electricity when the sun is shining, and sometimes we just run out. All in all, it makes us very aware of the resources we use. Which is nice and not so nice. Additionally, the communal aspect is something that I enjoy a lot. We eat together a lot. I really like that."

Certain ways of living (especially squatting) go along with many misconceptions, especially in certain groups or in the way it is portrayed in media. I mentioned this to Peer, “Do you recognise this?”

"Not so much. Actually, a lot of people appreciate this project for some reason. I think it is because people really like it when you build everything yourself. A lot of very liberal people also like the project. I do think there are generally very negative responses to squatters, for example, the building next to us had been squatted a couple of years ago and this time the municipality was really racist. They got kicked out really quickly. Sometimes it is related to racism, perhaps it was also that these people had squatted a building and not a piece of land." 
 

© Peer, Krakenburg. Amstelveen, The Netherlands.

I asked my final question: “What advice would you give to those who are interested in different ways of living?”

"Do it. Of course, it depends a lot on what your situation is. If you've found a piece of land, talk to your locals, find other people who want to do this project with you, a group that will support you (especially in the first weeks), [if you consider squatting] talk to people who have done this before, find a lawyer. In short, I would say: try to pursue it because it is not impossible, but don't be naive about it either."

The story of Hopeland

Eszter Horváth is another youth who chose to live in an alternative community. She grew up in Budapest (Hungary), studied psychology, volunteered for a year in Poland, and then studied applied theatre both in Budapest and Salzburg. For the last 15 months, she has lived in Hopeland, an educational eco-community in Argos, Greece. As she said, “The land itself was bought more than ten years ago, however, it became more lively in the last four years when a couple of people started to bring Erasmus+ projects there. Since then, the venue started to develop rapidly, and now it's full of people all year round. All of them come to stay and put their hands together to further improve Hopeland. For the past two or three years, there has been a handful of people who have chosen to live there long-term, with the aim of investing their care and love into both the environment and the community itself.”

Her choice to go to Hopeland came from her love of nature. In the last couple of years, she has been talking a lot with her friends about the possibility of collectively creating a more sustainable place where people connect through nature, hands-on activities, and sharing many aspects of life. It was during this time that someone suggested she learn more about Hopeland. “I applied for a month of volunteering just to gather experience and see how it is in reality to live in a community for a while. It worked for me, so I stayed.”

We asked Eszter to guide us through a typical day at Hopeland:

“I wake up, and depending on the season we either have free-flow breakfast or there's a team providing food. Then at a given time, we have a morning check-in to gather, shortly connect, and see what each person is doing on that day. It can be cooking, gardening, supporting practical tasks, keeping in contact with volunteers, etc. It's difficult to say what a normal day looks like because each day is a bit different and adapted to the circumstances and to what is needed. After the morning shift, we have lunch together (cooked by either a team or one of us depending on the number of people). Then we have a siesta, afternoon shift, and dinner.”

She shares with us that, because of these different and changing needs of each day, the core values of the community are based on clear communication, care, and accountability. She expressed to us that she feels much less stressed in Hopeland, more fit, more connected, motivated and reactive to my surroundings. Furthermore, she also feels much more accepted and appreciated than before.

However, the community has its disadvantages as well. Hopeland it's quite isolated, so it is harder to make friends outside the community. Doing different 'everyday leisure activities' is also quite difficult. Also, there are always stereotypes around people choosing to live in alternative communities like Hopeland. Eszter has met people who believe that everybody in these kinds of communities is considered hippies or spirituals. As she mentions every time this happens “I challenge them by simply showing them another approach”.

We close our discussion by asking her what she takes from Hopeland as valuable knowledge: “That taking just as much as I need and also giving back is crucial if we want to sustain our planet” she simply answers. Lastly, we could not leave without asking her to share with us and with you all her favourite spot in Hopeland as you can see below:
 

© Eszter Horváth. HopeLand Greece, Argos

There's much to learn from the people in Hopeland and Krakenburg. By observing their lives and their chosen locales for homebuilding, we can broaden our perspectives. Such examples present varying possibilities of how we can elect to live our lives: alternatively, sustainably, or within a community. Hence, if you've ever contemplated living differently or attempting something new, we leave you with Peer's words: "Do it."

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Meet the authors

Daria Yune Elizarrarás Veenstra

My name is Daria Yune and I grew up in a world of contrast. Quite literally. I was born in Mexico City and in 2019 I moved to the Netherlands to study LAS. Raised between two opposite cultures I always felt different per default, no matter the context. Though with time I have also come to appreciate living in the 'inbetween'. The experiences and people in my life have taught me how to constantly find different perspectives in what I do. I have developed a passion for languages and for finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. On my spare days you can find me writing slam poetry or organising a climate protest. 

Maro Samara

I am Maro from Greece. I am an incubating physicist and parallelly work in the digital education domain for vulnerable groups and migration. I gained journalistic experience from writing in online student newspapers and pop-culture magazines. I love channelling ideas in several ways and cooperating in multicultural environments to make a sustainable global impact. Reading, debating, arts, languages, volunteering, and sports are places I find comfort and growth at the same time.
 
 

This article reflects the views of the authors only. The European Commission cannot be held responsible for it.