Every single human on this planet, has a given purpose why he or she came here and is alive right now. Everybody has something he or she wants to do that gives each of us a sense of importance and a mission why we are here, but unfortunately most of us are too busy to remember the true reason why we came here or we have forgotten what the reason was initially (as children we usually still knew).

Reconnecting with nature is the best way to find yourself again and finding the reason for being on this planet and appreciating this life and living this life as these marvelous beings that we are (the mathematical chance of us being here is 1 in 400 Trillion). We all start recovering from any health crisis, a depression or a midlife crises (or whatever you may suffer from) when we merge with nature and follow her rules. We find joy and happiness again, once we remember our life’s dream and follow it.

 

So take off your shoes and walk on mother earth or lie down on her (caution with grounding sheets, they will not have this effect). Observe, listen, hear, taste, smell and feel nature’s wonders (the smallest and the bigger ones): insects like butterflies and bees, the song of any bird or the ‘voice’ of a frog, the smell of a rose or the taste of an original fruit freshly picked from a tree. Feel the warming rays of the sun touching your (cream- and parfume-free) skin, enjoy the refreshing water of the rain or a lake on your body’s surface. Go swimming in a natural water body (a natural pond, lake or the ocean), instant grounding will be your reward and it’s your first step toward endless happiness in this life RE-connected with nature.

Always remember you are a part of nature and as such any disconnection and separation from her will harm and deeply hurt you. But once you reconnect with her (mother earth) and live in harmony with her again and as you eat natural products from her and stay away from chemicals as creation intended for us, you will find your true purpose again. You will find your true passion for life, the one you have forgotten about, you will become child-like again. You will find your life’s purpose again. Everybody has a purpose, rediscover it and thrive!!!

Many people in the former Soviet Union and around the world found their purpose in this life by reading a series of nine books written by a Russian ‘business-man-turned-into-author’, Vladimir Megre. The books main figure is Anastasia, a siberian recluse.
In USA the book series is known as the ‘Ringing Cedars Series’ and sold by www.ringingcedars.com. The first book was published in Russia 1996 and sold out quickly. Since that year all nine books have been published and translated into many languages and sold in the millions. As per Anastasia’s suggestion, people worldwide have moved to the country side and founded Eco-Villages.

Unfortunately when city dwellers move to the country they are no experts of living an old-fashioned farmer’s lifestyle and being able to read nature correctly. This is, where Sepp Holzer was called upon by these new villagers.  And Sepp did see and continues to see the mistakes these people make not knowing the ropes, but following Anastasia’s suggestion to move into Eco-Villages.
One example for a mistake made at a Russian enclave was that Sepp came to such a village and saw grass residues on tree trunks several feet above the ground level. He asked the landowners, whether they knew what this means, and they had no clue. He informed them that this means there was flooding and he advised them to re-design the land and get their houses on higher grounds. Many were not happy to hear this, but they experienced the foreseen flooding and now these people have learned and happily take Sepp’s advice before they start building houses on un-re-designed land.

When it comes to landscaping and permaculture practices many people believe they are experts by just having done a weekend seminar. It’s amazing, nobody would go and play the piano in front of a huge audience after just having taken a few lessons or nobody would go and swim across a lake, just after reading a book on how to swim (they would drown), yet when it comes to “gardening”, many people think they are experts after just reading a book. All these things need hands-on-practice and experience.

Anastasia’s concept calls for 1 hectare (about 2.5 acres) of land or a maximum of 2 hectares per family living in her idea of an Eco-Village. This design is meant to not be a full-time farm business, it’s meant to be a homestead that is off the grid and provides food and shelter in harmony with nature. The family members can pursue other passions, because the garden work can be done at the side (bout 1-3 hours a day maximum), especially when it’s set up Sepp’s way.
Every family builds their own modest house on the hectare, with access to water and a food forest and eatable plants to be self-sufficient. Sepp Holzer’s permaculture principles are ideal for this kind of a design. Sepp has designed many different Anastasia-inspired landscapes with beautiful outlays (Picture here). Sepp continues to advise owners in putting these kind of projects into place. Look closely at the designs (see the section plans) and get inspired to read his books and watch more of his movies here on this page or buy his DVDs and also get the Anastasia books and start planning your very own homestead in an Anastasia inspired Eco-Village using Sepp’s principles.

Besides these villages, Sepp Holzer and his students are in the process of building model farms world-wide. And even though these models are not within an Eco-Village setting, several of these will be close to the Holzerhof in Austria and feature different landscape designs and buildings. The plan is to have these models open for visitors in the near future and even internships will be offered. Keep checking this website as we follow these developing projects.

As per Sepp’s experience, the typical modern day farmer does not remember how to farm in harmony with nature, this farmer is brain-washed and forgot that effective farming can be done without using herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers.
As a solution to this dilemma, Sepp sees the best chance to make his ways of farming known by teaching students, who come from the city and have an open mind. They can see his vision and start applying it, either by acquiring land close to Sepp and learning under his guidance, or by getting help from Sepp’s students (for example PermaVitae based in Austria), who are helping in the cities with smaller designs. It is best to have a person close by, who knows Sepp’s ways and can guide you when it comes to applying the principles of Holzer Permaculture.

These days Sepp’s main focus lies in RE-naturing of larger landscapes, as he is seeing the speed of destruction on this earth and the occurrences of catastrophes increasing daily.
The projects in the Ukraine and other countries of the former USSR are projects that are on a very large scale (500 hectares, about 1240 acres).

Soon we all hopefully can go and visit theses great models of Eco-Villages, as Anastasia predicted in her books. Or at least more of us will come to Austria and see the Krameterhof, the Holzerhof and future model farms around the Holzerhof. Tamera in Portugal is another working model that you may want to consider (it’s the one featured in the DVD “Holzer’s Permaculture Now! – Desert or Paradise?”

For now stay tuned as we are providing more pictures and movies on this website and as we will keep you posted on workshops, where you can attend and experience how it feels to BE in a Sepp Holzer inspired paradise.