In 2021, Cargonomia acquired a small plot of land and a house in the village of Zsámbok, Hungary. We consider this new space as a physical extension of our partnership and activities coordinated with the Zsámboki Biokert Team, a collaboration which spans more than a decade.
During the summer of 2022 and 2023, we successfully organized educational construction camps in collaboration with the Nagyapámháza Mester-Inas Training Program, during which a large part of the structure’s interior walls were renovated.
Both camps were a great opportunity to learn and exchange in a convivial environment with friends and participating volunteers. We plan to continue work in the following summers with the objective to complete the majority of work on the house by 2025.
Since acquiring the plot we have worked to develop a study garden with the aim of introducing the basic principles of agroecology and permaculture to visitors and student-trainees.
The garden has already been quite productive and we’ve been able to harvest a significant amount of delicious organic and seasonal vegetables and herbs which have found their way into the cooking cauldron during camps and to some local events in Budapest.
In the future we plan to concentrate on establishing the house as a demonstration site for low-tech systems (energy, irrigation, water filtration, composting, etc.) and we have already constructed a solar air heater and plan to explore other solutions for natural food preservation.
We are currently seeking support for completing one of the largest steps in making the house livable and protecting its structure for the long term, renovating the roof.
For this particular task, we will be seeking the assistance of a professional carpenter team for replacing the major wooden elements of the roof’s structure and improving its insulation properties.
This phase in the project will require significantly higher investments in construction materials than the rest of the renovation which could be accomplished using readily available tools and the adobe mixture already located on site.
In order to help make our dream of establishing a “Cargonomia” community house and educational garden in Zsámbok a reality, we need to collect 10000 euros to be able to complete the roof renovation.
Since 2015 we have funded activities with our own resources, volunteer time investments, and the generous support of community members and friends.
We are now launching a crowdfunding campaign with the same sentiments in mind, and encourage you to consider supporting us to be able to take the next steps in our project.
You can directly make a donation through bank transfer:
- In Euros to our non-profit association:
Association Recherche et Expérimentation sur la Décroissance et la Transition (REDT)
22 Rue Haie de Langres, 52500 Rougeux, FRANCE
Bank details: BP LORRAINE CHAMPAGNE
IBAN (International Bank Account Number): FR76 1470 7010 0931 3215 7759 064
BIC (Bank Identification Code): CCBPFRPPMTZ
Thank you for the continuing support!
Cargonomia is a non-profit degrowth research and experimentation cooperative dealing with sustainability and well-being. Through Cargobike mobility services, it helps to connect local organic food producers and Budapest citizens. It also works to maintain an open space which hosts community events and workshops dealing with Degrowth, sustainability, social justice, low-tech and conviviality. If you're wondering what our events, activities and projects look like in real life, view our photo gallery of past events here.
Cargonomia coordinates and participates in several projects like a cargobike sharing system in Budapest, urban gardens, educational projects or traineeship programmes.