ZEGG (community)
ZEGG (Zentrum für experimentelle Gesellschaftsgestaltung or Center for Experimental Cultural Design) is an ecovillage located on the outskirts of Bad Belzig, Germany, about 80 km (50 mi) south-west of Berlin.
It is an intentional community and an international seminar centre aiming to develop and implement practical models for a socially and ecologically sustainable way of living.
To do this, it integrates personal growth work, the establishment of a cooperative and environment-friendly way of living and participation in political issues.
The facilities on site include: an ecological sewage plant, a CO2-neutral heating system, organic vegetable garden, some clay buildings, a meditation room, artists' studios, workshops, a guesthouse, the "Children’s Building" and a range of other rooms and facilities for events and seminars.
There are also regular discos, seasonal celebrations, internal lectures and discussion rounds and other cultural events.
The Management team takes financial decisions and implements the organisation's goals whilst keeping the higher-level interests of the community in mind.
Inspired by Dieter Duhm's ideas, the community set off on a search for a way to be together that would help to overcome the fears and possessiveness we often experience that hinder our ability to love.
[5] With reference to Duhm's statements, ZEGG was criticised for its sexual orientation and an image of women that was considered sexist.
In 1996, she described ZEGG as an "authoritarian sex cult", criticised its proximity to Otto Muehl, Rudolf Bahro and the Findhorn Foundation and accused the centre of being close to Nazism and of trivialising child abuse, as it had been conveyed at seminars at ZEGG that a "collaboration between organised feminism, the press and the church" and "the hatred of radical feminists gone mad," was behind the trials for sexual violence.
Its playful and ritualized form makes it easier to share thoughts and feelings that usually are hidden, thus strengthening social contacts.
Additional electricity is purchased from Green Planet Energy that ensures the supply comes from renewable sources.
A constructed wetland sewage treatment system was built in 1992, which purifies all the wastewater from the site in a specially planted marshy area, which also provides a new habitat for animals.
Mulch and green fertilisers ensure the sandy soil benefits from long-term improvements in fertility.
In the summer, the food comes from daily harvests in the garden, prepared in the large kitchens and served fresh to the guests.
Additional food required is purchased from organic wholesalers, regional producers and/or fair trade sources.
In 2004 ZEGG was awarded the second prize in the Agenda 21 competition in the local government district where it is located, Potsdam-Mittelmark, because of its woodchip-fired heating system and constructed wetland sewage treatment.
Ownership of the site was then transferred to the SS at the beginning of the 1930s and before the Olympics in 1936, German military cavalry riders used it for their equestrian training.
The community saw its way of living as a political statement and actively sought publicity for this, which led to some controversial reporting in the press.
ZEGG developed from a community with strong leadership figures and a relatively uniform worldview into a democratic and pluralist project.
