How far would you go to reach a sustainable way of life?
Every journey looks different.
We want to share ours.
And learn from yours.
So what’s this
Circular Outdoor Collective
all about?
Purpose – WHY
Inspire to an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable life close to nature.
Vision – WHAT
Create a place, where alternative & holistic solutions for the challenges of sustainable living are developed, tested and shared.
Mission – HOW
Work in a consistent and transparent way. Enable collaborative and agile growth with the support of the collective.
And what does that actually mean?
We are building the Circular Outdoor Collective on consistency, collaboration and transparency. These are woven into both the digital platform enabling the exchange of ideas and experience among the Collective as well as into the physical place that we want to create as an example of a sustainable way of life. The HAFH – Home away from home – will combine a small farm, a few pitches for campers and a bed & breakfast. Not such a groundbreaking concept, right? The difference: closing the loop. Together. The goal is to inspire and be inspired by members of the Collective in order to initiate and implement sustainable projects for meaningful change.
Sustainable Lifestyles
We started out trying to reduce our personal environmental footprint as much as possible. Only to find out that there’s only a certain degree to which you can do this alone. For the remainder of the road towards the 1.5ยฐC goal you need others, get out there, have conversations, start doing. The Circular Outdoor Collective is our way of doing this – increasing our handprint in addition to reducing our footprint. Because you cannot reach a sustainable lifestyle when one of the two is missing.
Our Approach
In response to both dimensions of sustainable lifestyles our Approach is built on consistent and holistic decision-making to keep reducing our personal footprint. While collaboration and transparency are allowing us to increase our handprint and that of the Collective. By developing, sharing and continuously improving projects with the help of our members, the Collective turns into one of our most valuable resources along the way. There are 3 simple steps to every project: Observe. Collaborate. Inspire.
Where we are now
So far we have founded the Circular Outdoor Collective, built this website as our platform and started some projects to grow the Collective as well as our knowledge base. Check out our 5-year Roadmap to learn more about where we’re headed.
Recent Projects
Tshirts
We want people to talk about our vision. And there’s no better way to start a conversation than with a compliment, especially if it’s for your shirt:) We decided to use secondhand tshirts and screen printing with water-based colors and biodegradeable cleaners in order to keep the use of resources and environmental impact to a minimum. We’re excited to share our first designs with you soon. The shirts will be available here and you can support our work by purchasing one for you or someone who loves colourful prints.
Ceramics
Both of us enjoy our shared coffee in the morning, especially from a beautiful cup. Clay is a natural resource and forgives mistakes easily. Even if a piece breaks on the wheel, the clay can be reused after processing – that’s close to no waste! And because one day we’ll need cups and bowls for our guests anyway, we decided to sweeten up cold and dark winter days with some pottery sessions. Good news: Jessy crafted some extra, so as soon as they are fired you can get one of those unique beauties here.
Gaining Knowledge
The rest of the summer we will use to gain experience with milking goats and making cheese as well as working on a remote mountain hut in the Swiss Alps. Additionally, we are looking to find a property or a collaboration that will allow us to get the HAFH started next year. Meanwhile, we are working on the platform for the COC to be able to share experiences and enable collaboration. Birk is also challenging himself in a very personal project: the Pyrenean Haute Route – short HRP – in 44 stages from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.
