voc – matthias fersterer – stable intentional communities
Matthias Fersterer – Stable Intentional Communities
valley of the commons – 9.8.26 – matthias fersterer – stable intentional communities
more on matthias bottom of this page
notes/quotes from 96 min video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDKHGfhDqvo]:
2 min – felix: intro – mathias from germany on insights on how stable communities form and endure .. intentional communities in germany.. publisher of magazine oya
3 min – matthias: i’ve live in kline jasedow a commoning community (practices & principles) for the past 18 yrs.. it’s existed for almost 50 yrs.. 30 yrs in same spot.. western pomeranian .. ne of germany.. 250 km n of berlin.. tiny village.. founded in upper bavaria.. close to place you live stefan..
5 min – matthias: once was 1/2 deserted village w derelict buildings in a structurally weak area, 80% unemployment and high votes for right wing extremists.. some things have changed.. others haven’t really..
6 min – matthias: what is there now.. we renovated old barn into concert venue, set up a democratic school (similar to sudbury), publishing, agro foresting and regen agri, gardnes, gong (2-3 places in germany gongs are produced we are one of them) manufactory, kids’ circus camps, traditional sailing boat, regional network, political activism (because we have to.. no other choice of living/staying in an area like ours), etc
democratic education; sudbury schools; education cities – yaacov hecht; documenting – idec & convos; summerhill; peter gray – free to learn; astra taylor; et al..
6 min – matthias: started in 1976-77 by four musicians in s germany.. today germany’s longest standing intentional community whose founders still live together (for 50 yrs now)
9 min – matthias: who lives there now – 60+ people (45 adults 20 children).. aged 1-84, (working out.. takes time).. plus neighbors, plus chicken, cats, sheep, gradens, fields, elderflower bushes, trees, stones..
10 min – matthias: i think much more interesting is how we do the things we do.. how? relationships w/in – we call ourselves a commoning community.. no name.. we didn’t want to the mistake to wake up one morning and find out we used the wrong name.. but the form of org we try to be is called – commony: a commons based w/polycentric structure where people come together, oral tradition, principles mainly passed on by storytelling, no written set of rules/principles as far as community life is concerned.. principles that cover our daily life actually comes down to 2 questions.. all comes down to: 1\ what can i do to make community work? 2\ what can i refrain from doing that upsets you? then we need to talk about how to deal with it
to me.. this is where the takes a lot of work/time ness comes from.. we need deeper than questions.. we need a means for deeper listening.. to what is already on each heart (itch-in-the-soul) to detox us back/to us.. for that we need tech to hasten that lag time.. that takes a lot of work/time.. ie: tech as it could be
findings from on the ground ness deep dive where our only rule was – no one dies.. (because otherwise they would stop us from experimenting) which led us to ..
this is huge and why we need tech w/o judgment..
because the dance won’t dance unless/until it’s 1\ all of us 2\ legit free
and nothing to date (ever since that day) has gotten to that root of problem
legit freedom will only happen if it’s all of us.. and in order to be all of us.. has to be sans any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do
so.. need tech..as a means (nonjudgmental expo labeling) to undo hierarchical listening – so we can hear what’s already on each heart as global detox in order to org around legit needs
ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)
the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]
there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance
ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition
otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness.. of part\ial ness.. perpetuating survival triage.. for (blank)’s sake.
13 min – m: and how? – relationships w/o – we do have written legal forms with written statues, agreements, contracts
dang.. cancerous distractions to the dance.. so you do have rules
m: we did create a foundation.. lot of work to create funds.. because commons that belongs to anyone but others belong to it
there’s a deeper issue – ie: brown belonging law we keep missing
15 min – m: not spiritual but there metaphysical things going on .. and there’s a biblical saying – give to ceasar what is ceasar’s and to god what is god’s.. so not god in our case.. but it’s the inner essence.. that’s what i mean by make the most of legal forms.. because you can’t operate in this society w/o legal forms.. make the most of it.. but don’t mix up the cover with the inner essence.. they’re 2 diff things.. there needs to be a dialogue between inside/outside.. ie: so we set up a school to protect us.. so we talk to ministry of ed to find out everything we need to do so that we are free insdie.. and mostly the let us do whatever we want as long as we have all their checkboxes for them..
warning ness.. to me.. they can’t dance/convo/whatever together.. because ie: maté trump law.. a raised eyebrow.. resign ness.. et al.. we need hari rat park law if we want the dance to dance.. a legit nother way
16 min – m: how? making kin and kind.. donna haraway: ‘making kin and kind (as category of care) stretch the imagination and can change the story’
to me this is huge to graeber violence in care law and 10-day-care-center\ness.. and how any form of m\a\p compromises/kills the means to legit change the story.. rather.. just perpetuates survival triage and so to me.. graeber’s violence in care ness
21 min – m: the essence: two by three.. the specturm w/in all of life takes place.. 3 spheres w/in the spectrum defined by freedom and interdependence i don’t think there is absolute freedom w/o interdependence and vv.. form basis of klein jasedow commony.. commoning, care & subsistence, conviviality.. can’t have one w/o other 2
the dance and the 2 missing pieces.. but only if sans any form of m\a\p
23 min – m: how – the art of prefiguration – david graeber: ‘building the new in the shell of the old: instead of seizing state power first and hoping a fee society magically emerges later, activists must act as if they are already free‘.. one way would be lobbying.. another way to plan a revolution.. those aren’t my way.. can never live up to it 100% because need legal forms and all.. but we can try to live our inner truth here and now.. and this will have some kind of impact.. still a seed is there and might grow later.. we never really know.. worth going for it
david graeber ness.. as if already free ness et al.. to me .. today.. we have means to go deeper.. and so to me (again.. warning ness) we can’t not
ie: findings from on the ground ness deep dive on why we need tech w/o judgment
ie: the dance won’t dance unless/until it’s 1\ all of us 2\ legit free
nothing to date (ever since that day) has gotten to that root of problem
legit freedom will only happen if it’s all of us.. and in order to be all of us.. has to be sans any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do
25 min – m: care and resistence.. caring for each other and land
26 min – m: conviviality penned by ivan illich: ‘i consider conviviality to be individual freedom realises in personal interdependence and as such, an intrinsic ethical value’ mustn’t be restricted to human sphere.. ie: gut bacteria ness et al.. they keep me alive.. w/o them i couldn’t live for 5 min.. interplay between many many actors.. that can only exist w/in freedom and interdendence.. living together well.. applies to the human and more-than-human
ivan illich ness et al..
gut ness et al
thurman interconnectedness law et al
and again.. brown belonging law
the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]
27 min – m: and commoning of course.. the commons expert – peter linebaugh: ‘there is no commons w/o commoning’.. and there is no com,oning w/o commoners and no commoners w/o commoning communities (and no commuity is alike)
common\ing ness et al
findings from on the ground ness.. deep dive on why we need tech w/o judgment:
1\ undisturbed ecosystem (unconditional part of common\ing) can happen
2\ if we create a way to facil the seeming chaos of 8b (aka: all) legit free people (aka: unconditional part)
the dance won’t dance unless/until it’s 1\ all of us 2\ legit free
28 min – m: patterns of commoning – silke helfrich & david bollier: ‘patterns are id’d not invented, identifying them is meant to make something latent visible’.. how do people do this.. and define patterns.. a truth because based on actual practice.. would also be able to talk to ceos about this so they could see.. semi permeable membranes rather than fixed boundaries..
silke helfrich and david bollier.. free fair & alive et al..
yet (warning ness) to me.. if make anything visible/patterned.. you kill/blind it.. jain naming the colour law et al.. identity ness et al as cancerous distraction.. ie: graeber unpredictability/surprise law.. et al.. graeber can’t know law.. et al
to me.. actual practice of whales in sea world.. so already fixed boundary ness.. siddiqi border law et al
32 mni – m: change .. the only thing constant
yeah.. so let’s not mess with that.. since today we have the means to facil that seeming chaos
33 min – starts q&a
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via google:
Matthias Fersterer (often misspelled as Fensterer), a prominent writer, editor, and activist based in Klein Jasedow, Germany.
He is a key member of the long-standing intentional community and eco-village project located in that small Pomeranian village.
Here are the core details of his work and presence in Klein Jasedow:
- Oya Magazine: He is a co-founder and editor of Oya, a well-known German-language magazine dedicated to social transformation, degrowth, community living, and sustainable lifestyles.
- Drachen Verlag: He runs this independent publishing house located in the village, which focuses on books about alternative lifestyles, indigenous cultures, and German translations of works by authors like Ursula K. Le Guin.
- Local Initiatives: He is actively involved in regional projects, serving as a spokesperson and supporter for the Kleine Dorfschule (a local free democratic school) and collaborating with the European Academy of Healing Arts, which is also centered in Klein Jasedow.
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