Matilda's blog

Some people in the eco-village say it’s a pity that I wasn’t here in the summer, because a lot more happens in the garden then. I get what they mean. Summer is the season when everything grows and thrives. Surely it must be more rewarding to experience that than to harvest cabbage, cabbage, and cabbage,… Lees verder »Why I enjoy being here during this season

In Ecodorp Bergen, there is a cat named Moortje. She doesn’t have a specific owner but is our ecovillage cat! Previously, she used to hang out in the Herberg where there are common spaces, but since the ecovillagers started renovating the kitchen there, she has had to reorient herself a bit. In October, she realized… Lees verder »My feline friend

One grey Tuesday at the end of November, we take a road trip to Ecodorp Boekel, an eco-village located at the other end of the country. It takes 2.5 hours to drive with Petra’s van. Of course, we have pumpkin soup with us again – and a cheerful mood! Ecodorp Boekel turns out to be much… Lees verder »Ecodorp Boekel

Our last meewerkdag was lots of fun! The weather showed no mercy, but in Ecodorp Bergen, that’s no excuse; you work anyway. Always together, fortunately. This time, María and I were involved in planting fruit trees in the area. The idea was for them to be part of a food forest. For that, we needed… Lees verder »Late November and planting trees

I would really like to tell something about the visit to LiberTerra that we made a couple of weeks ago! Until this point, Ecodorp Bergen was the only ecovillage I’d ever visited, and now I got the opportunity to see another one. The eco-community LiberTerra is located in the nature reserve Geestmerambacht in Koedijk, about seven… Lees verder »LiberTerra

Before moving to Ecodorp Bergen, I had a few goals that I had set up for myself. One was that I wanted to learn more about gardening. I grew up in Gothenburg, Sweden, and was lucky to have a forest almost around the corner. Already at an early age I became interested in nature and… Lees verder »Growing food

You know when you have no expectations and things turn out to be much nicer than you could have imagined? For me, the week before last was such a week. From Wednesday to Sunday, I was at an ESC on-arrival training in Arnhem to learn about my rights and duties as a volunteer and to… Lees verder »Arrival Training

So, I’ve apparently started a blog. My goal is to once a week share my experiences of living in an ecovillage in the Netherlands. In my previous post I wrote about how I finally took the step to embark on this little journey, how doing something like this had been a sort of dream hidden… Lees verder »Searching for meaning

It’s already been a bit more than a month since I moved here. I’m sitting in the garden wearing short sleeves, enjoying one of the last few warm days of the year. This is Dutch nazomer at its best. It’s quiet. There is a gentle breeze. I hear a few birds tweet. Before I know… Lees verder »Dutch Nazomer