Cooperation with Light
In the Solar Test Field we’re researching energy autonomy and ecological life structures for sunlight-rich regions. The energy of the sun is a gift from nature which is freely available and abundant in much of the world, especially in the Global South. We’re learning how to cooperate with it in a living model without depending on large-scale industry.
”Light is such a fine and beautiful energy source. We are slowly coming closer to understanding how to work with such high energy, and seeing which technical, artistic and spiritual possibilities arise.”
Dr Douglas Baillie, Physicist, Testfield Steward
What Is the Solar Test Field?
In 2009 we initiated an ambitious living experiment, setting up our Solar Test Field as a model within the model, with a group of community members in Tamera who aimed to focus on moving away from complicity in food and energy.
We’ve gone a long way in these years: designing, building and living in the Solar Village, showcasing a fully off-grid solar kitchen using open-source solar cookers with a biogas composter, testing some of Jürgen Kleinwächeter’s innovative ideas, and bringing together a very dedicated group of people willing to live in temporary housing and dive into the deepest interpersonal topics in their quest to come together in cooperation.
The Test Field is a playground for our research that continuously evolves, similar to a Montessori open learning space. Here we explore what it means to live with the rhythms of nature and in community.
The Solar Test Field of Tamera (2024)
What We’ve Learned
- The sun gifts us far more energy than we are able to use.
- The experience of living with nature changes one’s perspective. And then one still needs to change habits.
- Building community is the foundation for sustainability. We are not limited by lack of technical or ecological knowledge but rather by the difficulty of collaboration in such depths that new systems can come to life.
- Using permaculture design principles, we can create a model for urban regeneration. We are currently working on how to sustain and keep such models alive.
- Decentralized water, food and energy systems are deeply interconnected.
- Exchange among decentralised autonomous communities helps money and labor stay in the region, which supports local production.
- We need knowledge exchange so we invite people to come, experience and learn with us as we live with the systems and tailor them to community needs.
- The use of the kitchen and the different cookers changes over the seasons and the people who are in charge of it.