The Big Picture

We’re not big fans of planning far in the future, because plans always change anyways, so our 5-year Roadmap is NOT a fixed plan. It’s more like a possible path to get from where we are now to the Vision we committed ourselves to. The path can change, and it probably will, even if the Vision stays the same. If you’re interested in how we’re setting up our projects along the way, make sure to check out the Process we apply.

Projects

September 2024

“Courageous”

That’s what a lot of people called us when, after having worked together in Heidelberg for 3 years, we decided to give following our dream a try and quit our jobs. But is it really that courageous, when it feels like the only right thing to do?

September 2024 – January 2025

Our 1st Shared Home

– it’s on wheels! –

For over 3.5 months getting our van Newton ready for whatever might come was our full-time job, 7 days a week.

January – April 2025

Slow but Steady…

We headed South towards Switzerland, Italy and Corsica. Constantly asking ourselves, whether we could imagine building our life there.

April – July 2025

Azienda Ble

We planned on staying on Paul and Angelica’s farm in Sardinia for one month as our first WWOOFing experience. We ended up staying 3.5, during which we were able to “try out” our dream by having guests on up to 3 camping pitches in a natural environment, offering breakfast everyday and dinner three times a week.

July – September 2025

Breathe…

After the time spent in Sardinia, we returned home via the Provence and the French Alps, visiting other campgrounds close to nature on the way. Afterwards, each of us took some time to digest all of the impressions and experiences of the past 6 months and to get ready for the next chapter.

September – November 2025

WWOOF, WWOOF, WWOOF

In Autumn, we WWOOFed on 3 different farms in Italy and Switzerland, where we learned a lot about vegetable varietes, seed saving, sheep, donkeys, planning a permaculture garden but also about the approach we would like to apply to our own project.

November 2025 – February 2026

Getting serious.

The Circular Outdoor Collective, S.e.n.c. has been founded in Luxembourg on 18th December 2025. Since then logos have been finalised, ceramic cups have been spun, tshirts have been screen-printed and our website has been built.

NOW

Gaining experience

Currently, Birk is working on a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps learning how to accommodate guests at higher altitudes and getting along with natural forces like wind, ice and snow. Meanwhile, Jessy is working on farms in Switzerland and Italy to learn more about winter market gardening and seeding, piquing and planting in spring. On our off days we keep working on the platform for the COC.

Products + Pyrenees

We’ll spend a couple of weeks at home to finalise our first batch of tshirts and ceramics, which we’re excited to put out there soon and hopefully will help us start growing the Collective. Filling knowledge gaps before starting out, we are afterwards planning on helping on two French farms, learning how to hand-milk goats, make cheese and cultivate mushrooms. Because both of us feel drawn to the Pyrenees, we want to find out whether we could imagine ourselves staying there for good. Birk also has a very personal challenge linked to this mountain range coming up …

UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR

Make it our Own

Finding a property is the starting point of the place we would like to create as an example of sustainable living, open to all. However, finding a property that is large enough for a fruit orchard, a vegetable garden and animals, while being able to build lightweight accommodations for ourselves and guests on the same land is not a simple task. That’s why we have decided to reach out to municipalities, hoping to find one that will appreciate our project and become our first, very important collaboration.

2027

Build, Grow, Learn

In the first year, we would like to focus on starting our vegetable garden and fruit orchard, because those will need their time to grow in a way that will be able to feed ourselves and our guests eventually. Additionally, we will start exchanging ideas and experience with whoever might have joined the Collective by then to initiate and implement projects concerning the use of natural construction materials as well as sustainable energy and water consumption. Next to this, we will make a few spaces for self-sufficient campers available. Surely, one or two shelter dogs would be happy to accompany us during this part of our journey.

2028

Welcome

In the second year, our goal is to make the infrastructure available, that is necessary to welcome non-self-sufficient guests. Meaning, a common area with the possibility to cook a meal, eat and relax. A common bath, with showers, which might be reusing water over multiple filtration cycles and dry toilets, which might help to produce biogas for cooking. You can tell we’re not lacking ideas here – still we’re excited to receive your input, develop and implement the corresponding projects together and maybe even see you at the farm! When it comes to animals, we will start small – say chickens, maybe ducks.

2029

Bon Appétit

In the third year, we are hoping to be able to provide seasonal breakfast and dinner from our own garden, complemented by products from local farmers, whom we are going to collaborate with. Furthermore, a small flock of sheep might join us at the time. By then, more and more members of the Collective will hopefully come to visit and see the projects they have helped us realize.

2030

Come and See!

In the fourth year, we will be thinking about accommodating different types of guests. These could be youth groups spending a week in summer with us, sleeping on futons in the yoga room or organizers of advanced trainings and educational leave. Thereby, reaching people we have not reached so far and further increasing the second dimension of sustainable lifestyles: our handprint. If we feel comfortable adding animals at that point, a few goats might come our way.

2031

We don’t aim for permanence.

In the fifth year, our hopes are that everything is running rather smoothly and a certain routine with animals, gardening and hosting guests will have been established. That will be the time for us to re-evaluate our setting in regards to all aspects of a sustainable life and think about what we can develop, change, add or discontinue. Always in collaboration with the Collective, exchanging ideas and continuously improving.

FAR FAR IN THE FUTURE

Growing old together

The idea is to turn the Bed & Breakfast farm into a Growing Old Together farm one day. Where elderly, including us, who appreciate animals, gardening and the outdoors can live together and share tasks which would be too energy-consuming for one person alone. If needed, care will be provided by care-takers who enjoy these natural surroundings just as much and who want to enable people to grow old where they choose to. Sharing the last chapter of our lives in a place where we feel at home together with like-minded others, will certainly provide new sustainability challenges waiting to be tackled …