Culture

Blubb

Little-Prince-Academy helps people with disabilities in Turkey

Turkey

Placed in the middle of Turkey, Cappadocia is known from all around the world for its unique geology, caves and famous balloon flights. Thousands of years ago, ancient people came to central Turkey to build their small villages in caves. This tradition lasts until this day: Most of the buildings in
the city were carved into caves and are filled with restaurants and shopping facilities for tourists.

But besides these attractiive tourism lies a special place for very big reasons. It is called Little Prince Academy, which is a place for disabled people. Educated volunteers help to improve their abilities. Because the son of the former owner and initiator of the academy, Hassan, got Trisomy 21, also known as Down’s Syndrome, the Little Prince Academy came into being. Hassan decided to spend his money to develop a project, which provides equality and freedom to its visitors. Surrounded by a beautiful vulcanic landscape, the academy which was build into the rocks, has their own horse ranch, an open air cinema and a garden that is designed like a small permaculture, where they produce their own food.

First impression when you are entering the cave. Dinner room and small office in the back.

But not only on the outside everything looks well planned and designed. Inside, the academy is designed perfectly to accommodate the different disabilities of the special visitors. After entering the cave there is a kitchen, where the volunteers can cook fresh vegetables from their own garden. Moreover, there are several rooms for music therapy, meditation and dance workshops. Everything fits to the needs of the special visitors, there are no barriers for those who have a wheelchair and, ropes on the walls to support safe walking. Toys and music instruments are selected, in order to improve lack of different abilities. To support and take care of those visitors, volunteers from all around the world come to the academy. They are hosted in their own several apartments which look like a converted truck.

The focus at Little Prince Academy lies on multiple disabilities. Therefore, every morning the volunteers meet up to discuss in detail, what kind of workshops and therapies they will provide. The Little Prince Academy chooses volunteers with specific specializations, like, for example, dance performers or people with psychological or educational background in social sciences. The next step is to prepare everything, like building a course for horse-therapy. After those activities the kids usually eat something freshly cooked before the next round of activities will start. Everything at Little Prince is well organized, they have someone who is cooking for the disabled and the volunteers, they have coordinators who plans the visits of the people and volunteers.

Insight the cave are several rooms for doing workshops and different programs.

There even is a gardener who is responsible for fixing everything inside and outside the cave. And of course, all the volunteers help everyday to maintain this place, to keep it like an oasis. We had a talk with Ezra from Turkey who is working at Little Prince Academy for one year. Ezra is the coordinator for the volunteers and prepares several workshops for the visiting people. Educated in the social sciences, Ezra writes reports for the doctors after every workshop, to give them detailed knowledge about their development. She explained that many of the people who come to the Little Prince Academy have been really shy and isolated, but after a while they got used to the workers and the place, so they started to develop positively a lot.

Office area, with a beautiful view to the big kitchen, where the fresh food will be made.

Especially the horse therapy is showing big effects, like increasing confidence, she explained. In fact, the kids are getting a better connection to the horse and are able to lose their fears as well as learn to coordinate multiple tasks, like catching a ball while sitting on the horse. From a certain viewpoint, those activities might seem to be very easy and small, but they are big steps for the people and are helping in their development.

Hassan while he is doing a ball exercise to improve multiple tasks and coordination.

We asked Ezra what disabilities the people who came to Little Prince Academy have. She explained that they are working with people that have several different disabilities like Down’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Schizophrenia, and other mental and physical disabilities. The workshops and programs also address the lack of confidence or hyperactivity. To prepare them the most, the volunteers are preparing different workshops. Furthermore, the people who are coming to Little Prince Academy have a huge variety in age, which also provides different workshops and tasks. We have been curious of how the project is financed and whether they get support by the government. Ezra explained that the owner Hassan, is financing all by himself.

We also talked to David from Romania, who iorganizes the horse therapy. He told us that before he came here, no one was able to do the horse therapy. At first, he didn’t know how he could start this project, but after a while and lots of hours riding the horses, he started to develop the course. What David has learned at Little Prince Academy, he will pass on to the gardener, for him to continue his hard work with the horses in order to improve the development of the therapy. We asked him what is special about this place. David just added, “ everything” – the internationally of the volunteers, the fact that you are the designer of whatever, you can make up your own workshops and you have that freedom to do what you want or like and additionally helping people with that – is what he likes most.

The Little Prince Academy Crew f.l. to r.: David (Romania), Ezra (Project Coordinator, Turkey), Mai (France), Fatma (Turkey), Ipek(Turkey), Eda (Turkey), Alex (GB), Eilin (Columbia).

Little Prince Academy showed us how important it is to create places like that. Safe Spaces, where people can come and feel like it doesn’t matter which disabilities they’ve got, while getting supported by people from all around the world. The experience at Little Prince Academy also showed us, how things can change, like for example for Hassan, who used to build hotels, but because of his songs disabilities, he decided to support people with similar problems. In the light of the fact that there are not many organizations in Turkey, Little Prince Academy can be seen as a prime example for the general societal topic of inclusion in Turkey. Especially since the disabled are usually more or less hidden from society, it is important to work with them in such a positively connotated environment. In the end, this helps both the disabled people, but also those, who learn to accept disabilities as something normal in their day to day lives. Thus, Little Prince Academy paves the way for more inclusion and acceptance.

Human, Culture

Little Prince Academy in Cappadocia

The Little Prince Academy is a unique non governmental project in Turkey and very important for its special visitors, made for local disabled people it is a prime example for the general societal topic of inclusion in Turkey…

German English

E-mobility solution made in Freiburg

Ju27872 Culture 0

crowded streets, traffic jams, noise and pollution – today it’s part of our everyday urban life.

Factors that certainly not only reduce the quality of life in a city, but also contribute to global warming. According to the UN, more than 75% of all people are expected to live in metropolitan areas by 2050. Some ways of facing these social, economic and environmental challenges and to cope with this development is using more public transport, an increasing range of sharing concepts, as well as the expansion of the bicycle infrastructure. Some cities are reacting to this change with so-called „green zones“. Other’s try to ban traffic from the City centers.

Nevertheless, the growing issue remains, traffic is a huge challenge.
It is difficult to deliver products punctually in urban areas, and residents and workers equally stand in daily tough competition for the few available parking spaces.

New traffic solutions and concepts are needed in conjunction with city structures and planning, especially in urban traffic zones in order to be able to react better.

In Denzlingen, just a few minutes from Freiburg, mobility will be tackled by a new concept for the future. ‘Carla Cargo’ – a start-up which produces bike trailers and handcarts designed for larger loads, the idea has already began to grow.

Normally, such weights of goods are only transported with vans that unlike the Carlas cannot enter the pedestrian areas. The aim of Carla Cargo is, making a climate friendly solution for the urban life and gradually replace cars from the inner city area.

From a hobby project, which at the request of one of the largest SoLaWi `s of Germany, the Gartencoop, was born, and developed in recent years as a small start-up, with their new innovations in Transportation for daily urban problems. The Gartencoop, with its fields is located far outside the city center of Freiburg therefore it is dependent on a suitable transport method of their goods. The idea to bring the vegetables in an environmentally friendly way into the city and thus to support the garden scooter, was ultimately the first Carla. „I saw that the vegetables are transported by bicycles and then we looked at it with an engineering perspective, what could be optimized on the existing system?
The realization came quickly that we definitely need an new brake system,“explains Markus Bergmann, founder of Carla Cargo and sympathiser of Gartencoop.

„The beginning was difficult. Many prototypes were made, a lot of trials, testing and we welded into the nights .“Markus and his small team soon realised that without financial support the reality of the project would not have been possible. He came up with the idea of Crowdfunding, i.e. the support of a community, to advance and make the project a reality. Using crowdfunding they collected about 7000 € which in the implementation and further elaboration of the idea helped decisively.
In 2015, a first functional prototype was created, representing a completely new concept. The feedback of this novel product was great, but with the collected funds it was only the beginning.
„From a >>“ Hippie idea „<< we have become business people.“ More Carlas’ should see the light of the world.

Markus and his team followed the ideology, using open source blueprints of the Carlas for everyone accesable. Due to the swarm intelligence of the masses, the Carlas should be further developed and optimized. ”Unfortunately, the open source concept brought not the desired impact, we just received little input from the swarm intelligence.“ For Markus, Open Source is not as easy to implement with hardware or products than software. „It was difficult, added with the economic pressure. There were about 20 Carlas’ worldwide according to the manual built. As a result, ideas have come in, but they can not be directly implemented or economically exploited.“

Nevertheless, Carla Cargo should remain as a concept open source, despite the lack of a patent and with added Competitors in this field. Another thought of the free availability was to simply see more Carlas in the world. „Every Carla replaces a car in urban surrounding. This creates less CO² – that was our biggest motivation. “

Therefore, in order to found the company and to be able to produce more Carlas, a loan had to be taken. With the credit the economic pressure grew on Markus and his team. Carla Cargo is currently instructed to have its parts developed in Denzlingen manufactured in Europe and Asia. 2016, 60 frames have been ordered from Poland. Brake-system parts come from Hungary. The exchangeable batteries, which are installed in a Carla come from China. The lithium probably won in Africa. „That the lithium is won in Africa, probably under severe conditions for the workers, of course, we do not find well. We are aware and we are looking for better solutions. “To found the company and to be able to produce more Carlas, a loan had to be taken.

At Carla Cargo`s production in Denzlingen.

In the future, the Carlas are no longer dependent to suppliers from Europe and Asia. A Carla „Made in Germany“, directly in the Black Forest is Markus wish. To make more sustainable Carlas However, higher volumes are needed. “Due to the low number of pieces, it is not currently possible to lower prices. Recently a SoLaWi called us and their concept was similar to the garten coop. Of course we were excited and see such projects as a dream client, but they wanted the Carla without financial compensation, which caused of the economic pressure was not possible for us.“

„The Carla is simply worth its price,“ explains Markus. There are currently about 100 Carlas in the Circulation. 100 more will be added this year. The use of the carla is diverse and creative. After only three years, the Carla has other uses as its means for companies, mobile beehives and used as a dining and music cars for example.

We asked where he sees the future of his project, Markus replied: „We have a top motivated Team, we will go ahead step by step. We do not want to get stuck on innovation, but continue to improve it. We do not know yet, where the journey with Carla Cargo goes. I would like, to see more movement towards e-mobility in Germany in general. Rental stations for Carlas would be for example, a topic of the future.“

We are sure that Carlas will shape urban traffic in the future. With Carlas the mobility behavior of suppliers could significantly changes and thus large amounts of CO² could be saved. With the help of their flexibility, it can be appropriate to the characteristics of the urban surroundings. We hope that many Carlas will see the light of day and thus the future plans of Carla Cargo will be realized. We thank Markus and his team sincerely for the Insights at Carla Cargo.

Links

www.carlacargo.com

Culture

Carla Cargo in Denzlingen

Carla Cargo is a young start-up which produces electric supported cargo-trailors to tackle the nowadays chaos in urban surroundings. The idea is to change the transportation to realise it almost emission free. Read more in the article and get inspired!

German English

Permakultur Dreisamtal

Ju27872 Nature 0

Permaculture-Info

Permaculture means cultivating a lasting culture of various vegetables, herbs and fruits throughout the year. The cultivated varieties should naturally grow in harmony with nature and in interaction with each other. It should be created by various cultivation options and design principles, to get the best conditions for the plants. The permaculture promotes diversity, all proceeds that you throw off are shared fairly and no economic intentions are pursued.

Those who deals more intensively with topics like sustainable
landscape use and horticulture will stumble upon the term „permaculture“
sooner or later.
What exactly permaculture is, what it can do and what rised beds
have to do with ethics, we will describe in more detail below.
We got to know single elements of permaculture for the first time
when we visited the association zusammen leben e.V. They were
integrated into the community garden. Inspired by this approach,
we searched for larger, already established permaculture projects.
Our search led us to Ronny “Regenwurm”, the initiator and project
manager of Permakultur Dreisamtal e.V., with his wonderful
project at the „Häuslemaierhof “.

Originated from a permaculture design course held in 2013 the association Permakultur Dreisamtal e.V. was founded. Part of the course was a workshop initiated by Ronny, in which as an exercise a permaculture regional center on the Häuslemaierhof was planned.
What was conceived in the small groups, in which the farmers also participated, was so convincing that they decided to put the results into practice. The basic idea of permaculture regional centers is to create a place in every region of Germany where permaculture can be viewed, experienced and made accessible to everyone. However, in the case of the Häuslemaierhof, the rapidly growing interest in the project collided with the privacy of the owners so the regional center, was followed up. This so-called „forest garden“ encompasses a wide variety of fruits and vegetables as well as game and crops, which are growing throughout the year.

The Häuslemaierhof is a farm located in the municipality of Buchenbach not far from Freiburg.

How does permaculture work and what does it do?

An example of this simplification is the raised bed, Ronny explains. Here, a bed is created
on an artificially created hill which can bring some advantages. On compact, infertile soils with a high clay content, an artificial hill can be used appropriately.
The soil is enriched by the accumulation of dead material, usually mulch or wood, in addition to nutrients. But if these deficiencies are not there, a raised bed would not make sense and would not necessarily be in a permaculture. If no dead wood is present on the site, additional wood procurement would also not be in the
sense of permaculture. „Many people get in contact with permaculture about the idea of the raised bed, as it is something tangible and visible. This often gives the impression that there is such a recipe, that is now permaculture „explains
Ronny. Permaculture is not about individual aspects, but rather about natural cycles, i.e. the linking of individual qualities.

Ronny explains what to look for when building a raised bed.

This question is not so easy to answer. Ronny explains us that permaculture is a „design approach to a lasting, living system“.
Like any living system, from the ground up it also has a certain complexity. This makes it difficult to give definitions or „recipes“, what permaculture is and how it works.

It often comes to misunderstandings about what makes a permaculture.
In order to find an introduction to the topic, certain aspects of permaculture are selected and then reduced to these.

In the case of a raised bed, it is the loose soil that makes a better conversion and decomposition of organic
matter, or the high position of the bed, which ensures more sunlight.
Apart from that, the ethical focus is extremely relevant to dealing with these complex systems, Ronny adds.

A raised bed without meaningful human benefits or fair sharing of resources would therefore not be in the sense of permaculture „. For Ronny, permaculture is an interesting way to move away from product thinking and focuses more on design principles that emphasize quality. However, the theoretical knowledge with which possibilities and methods these qualities are implemented in practice is indispensable.
Bill Mollison, co-founder of modern permaculture, believes that all the world‘s problems could be solved in the garden. We asked Ronny if this would not be a solution to our global problems, such as famine or environmental degradation, if all people had small permacultures.

„We all need small but many of these projects, but we also need to be aware of what is happening on a global scale and what‘s going wrong.“ For Ronny, the approach to self-sufficiency, even with permaculture, is not the right one. Apart from the fact that a pure self-sufficiency is not possible, there is a great danger to separate oneself from the society and to close oneself against the global problems.

„earth care, people care, fair share“

is one of the guiding principles in permaculture. Take care of your environment, take care of your fellow human beings and share with them what you have. This guiding principle, which is also to be understood as an invitation, shows that permaculture pursues equally social and ecological goals. Ronny would add a „yeah“ to „earth care“, „people care“, „fair share“ because „Permaculture should also be fun and understood as a way of life,“ says Ronny.

The Book „The living earth – Conservation Society of New South Wales“, published at Cornell University in 1980, describes the basic principle of a permaculture as, an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable economy with all resources. However, Ronny believes that sustainability alone is no longer enough. „It is important to differentiate between sustainability and future perspectives. The idea of sustainability is basically not to get out of resources in a system, as can regenerate naturally again. Today, but beyond the borders resources are being mined. It should not only be the task to preserve it, but also to build it up so that future generations can continue to cultivate culture.“

A permaculture does not provide any material solutions or recipes to solve the problems of our world. Rather, ethical and philosophical answers are sought, which are intended to significantly change the consciousness of man.

Werkel-Tage

This spring wonderful people gathered for a week at the Häuslemaierhof to awaken the permaculture from their hibernation together. In the process, the infrastructure was repaired again, overgrown paths were newly created, together they cooked organically / ecologically and laughed a lot at the campfire. Beds were rebuilt for planting and crops were freed from weeds. A film tunnel for tomatoes and a rised bed was created, built apiaries and the cutted material was used as mulch, for evaporation protection and erosion protection, and nutrient dispensers for rised beds and Co. reused. At various points where phosphate deficiency exists, urine from the two humus toilets was put on the culture as an important nutrient support. All this happened in just a week. We did not know what to expect when we went to Häuslemaierhof with „Grisu“. It was just a beautiful week in which we all made a lot together and could collect a lot of inspiration. We thank all of you who have been there, and especially Ronny, for all the beautiful insights and knowledge enrichment you have given us.

Planting of strawberries and protection by mulching during the Werkeltagen.

Attachment of the supports for the film tunnel.

Links

https://permakultur-dreisamtal.com/
https://www.permakultur.com/home/

Nature, Culture

Permakultur Dreisamtal e.V. in Freiburg

Permakultur Dreisamtal e.V. is working on a permaculture project at the Häuslemaierhof nearby Freiburg. Their goal is to give people a look how a permaculture works and want them to take action…

German English

Zusammenleben e.V.

Ju27872 Culture, Humans, Nature 0

Freiburg

In the south of Germany lies Freiburg im Breisgau, a city that hosts many different sustainable projects for humans, culture and the environment. It is an inspiring place, filled with great spirit and therefore what we as Funkenwerkstatt call our home: From here we want to establish our sustainable network and connect people.
No matter if exploring the partly car-free district of Vauban or communities such as the Grether area, Freiburg`s people are just like the city, open and inviting and fully committed to actively shaping the place. Thus, it was not a surprise that when we were in search of a repair cafe in the Grether area, we encountered a special place called Strandcafe. There we came in touch with the team of zusammen leben e.V., and immediately, we realized that this is an ideal starting point for our magazine. Zusammen leben e.V. is an initiative that aims at connecting people of different ethical backgrounds, cultures and lives by offering a welcoming space to them. Through diverse projects and a wide range of programs, visitors are introduced to a culture of sharing and living together. The association’s basic principles are the three aspects of social, cultural and a more sustainable understanding of each other.

This concept is realized through the threefold projects: zusammen Kaffee, zusammen kultur and zusammen garten.
Everyone is welcome in the „zusammen Kaffee“, which opens its doors at the Strandcafe in the Grether area from Tuesday to Thursday. It is a cafe that is entirely based on donations, an idea that originated by the „Caffè sospeso“. In addition, it invests its profits in free food for those in need. But not only is it truly collective and social because of its financial approach, also the integrative concept is extraordinary: The cafe involves people from all over the world in the cooking process, and thus obtains various meals from different parts of the world, leading to an outstanding culinary delight. Additionally, group tables in the interior invite visitors to start chatting. Hence, a space is created in which people can communicate regardless of their background and get connected. „It builds equality and allows us all to sit around a table, share meals together.

It is an integrative approach that I find very beautiful. I am already excited whom I will get to know and talk to in the upcoming weeks“, explains Hannah, a young student from Freiburg we addressed at the café.
What someone pays for the meal is at his or her own discretion. A donation of just 5€ for example covers the entire costs for the dish. Everything that is paid in addition, is spent on a free meal. Dishes vary moreover on a daily basis. Tuesdays for instance, Syrian food is served and Wednesdays are aligned to the Vietnamese cuisine. People from the respective countries then prepare the traditional meals. These are often refugees who then receive the possibility to share some of the culture and heritage they had to leave behind.The ingredients

used in the dishes are all organic and locally sourced, with exceptions for exotic ingredients due to a lack of availability. In addition to the culinary offer, the cafe also invites to a series of cultural events in order to further expand and promote the exchange of culture and people.
„This place should be like a journey without movement, where people can come in contact with each other over different tastes, music and ideas.“ shares Leo, co-founder of zusammen leben e.V. and bartender in the cafe her vision.

How can someone actively participate in the lives and access the stories of people from other countries? According to zusammen leben e.V., a big step is the cultural understanding of the countries of origins of everyone in the community. Therefore, collaborative mediums like „singing together“ and „together onstage“ are offered. Folk instruments and songs that provide a sense of cultural origins of the musicians are then being played, giving an idea of the diversity of the world. Hence, people can share their stories and establish an exchange over ideas and life events at zusammen Kafee.

The open stage invites everyone to get in contact with new culture and people, bring their own instruments and express their stories. These stories are additionally translated in the respective languages, so that not only contents are transmitted, but also as authentic as possible the feelings and emotions from the countries.

At the village brook in the Vauban district, the zusammen garten is located. Since July 2016, many small ideas have come together on a plot with an area of approx. 3500 square meters. The garden is mainly divided into two large sections: The first section consists of small garden plots, which are arranged crescent-shaped. This part of the garden is used privately. Anyone who would like to participate in the project can plant and design his/her own plot here. Whatever the plot in the end throws off can then be kept for personal use. The second large section of the garden consists of a communal garden, which is also groomed and peeled collectively. Unlike the individual parcels, the harvested vegetables are also used for joint cooking events or for „zusammen Kaffee‘s“ joint table.

If one follows the gravel paths that surround the beds, he/she comes across an herb snail: A twisted herb bed that spirals upwards just like snail shell. Due to the different heights and positions of the herbs, an optimal light supply of the different plants is taken into account. Herbs that require a lot of light are at the top of the spiral, for example thyme. Another advantage of the herbal snail is that different plant species, which actually prefer different locations due to differences in soil, can thus be grown on the same area. Along the way you pass a fireplace that invites you to join in the cooking. The fireplace is the central point in the garden and is connected to the „Geodome“.
The term „geodome“ refers to a geodesic dome fully covered with transparent foil. Through the translucent foil, the „geodome“ warms up inside, so that the construct works just like a greenhouse.

Its spherical and triangular struts design is very stable against weather and earthquakes. The construction also ensures better air circulation and sound distribution compared to conventional greenhouses. In addition, the „Geodome“ is used for events in the evening as it heats up quickly and stores the heat.

The herb snail in the garden, planted with thyme and co.

Insights in the garden: Some common areas are displayed in the foreground, the „Geodome“ can be seen in the background.

Schematic representation from the utilization of excremental products up to its reuse as nutrient for plants.

In zusammen garten, a humus toilet is currently under construction, which is jointly designed and built by the society. The „humus toilet“ is barrier-free so that even wheelchair users have access to the toilet via a ramp. Excrements are then separated: The urine migrates into an external container and can be tapped off there with a pouring can as an extra phosphate dispenser for peas. In turn, the feces are composted and used as a nutrient basis for plants. This actively creates a cycle between man and nature.

Another project in the garden is a separate mushroom breed. Nutrient and suitable for mushroom breed are mainly hardwood species such as beech and oak. However, mushroom growing is also possible with fruit and natural woods. Mainly oyster mushrooms and herb saplings as well as chestnut mushrooms are harvested. The cultivation is carried out by means of biological injections, which are used in a suitable tree trunk. Depending on the type of fungus, the first fungi develop in early or late autumn depending on the external conditions.

Together with its three aspects, „zusammen Kaffee“, „zusammen kultur“ and „zusammen garten“, zusammen leben e.V. combines all the topics that we as Funkenwerkstatt tried to highlight in our categories “Humans“, „Culture“ and „Nature“. Hence, zusammen leben e.V. shows that in an association, the combination of these three topics is possible! We thank the whole association for the interesting exchange, the joint work and the opportunity to present our first article of Funkenwerkstatt about them.

The heads behind zusammen leben e.V. from left to right: Leonora Lorena, Johanna Dangel, Stefanie Koch, Jan F. Kurth and Sophia Maier.

Nature, Humans, Culture

Zusammen leben e.V. in Freiburg

Zusammen leben e.V. is an initiative that aims at connecting people by its three projects zusammen garten, zusammen kaffee and zusammen kultur…

German English

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