Permaculture creates and maintains the agricultural productive ecosystems which have diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. The aim is to achieve harmonic linking of the landscape and people, providing them with food, energy, housing, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. The name is a composition of two words “permanent” and “culture”, where “permanence” represents sustainability and culture as the lifestyle, value or morality of a particular human society or community. It is a kind of philosophy that requires from individual to change his thought in relation to the environment in which he lives. The philosophy of ARTKRUH stands out from the philosophy of pemaculture built on three pillars, care for the Earth, care for people and the limit of consumption.
Care for the Earth involves the care for all living and inanimate that surrounds. It means about water, soil, plants, animals and minerals, because everything is related and interconnected in one inseparable whole. We strive to promote and protect life wherever possible. At constructions we use materials coming from local sources that leave behind minimum or no ecological footprint. But if we are surrounded by non-ecologic or otherwise unnecessary “material” we rather use them again, then throw away.
Since the purpose of permaculture is to build sustainable human settlements, it is natural that intention is to care for people. How do they live in? What social relationships and connections do they have? How are their working conditions and how do they provide their living needs? What is the impact of their actions, not only on the local but also on the global level?
We live in times where we are surrounded by excess rather than a shortage. This surplus constantly grows and, after a very short time, becomes a waste harming the environment. That’s why it is very important to realize your consumption limit (What do I really need?) and do not take from nature or the stores more than we need. If, on the contrary, we realize that we already have more than we need, it is important to know how to use it, and to be willing to share it with others. (whether we talk about things, money, time, experiences)
Permaculture design is a system of conceptual, material and strategic components layout into a pattern that works in favor of life in all its forms.
Traditions, as part of the cultural heritage of our ancestors, teach us where our roots are, what values they grew up and what they mean today.
We admire craftsmanship while at the same time simplicity, sensuality and pragmatism related to knowledge about effective and cultivated life in harmony with nature and the social environment. We are most inspired by the knowledge originated from observing phenomena and events in nature. We are focusing on the revitalization of the original architecture with an emphasis on historical and cultural character and landscape.
By this we want to point out to the wisdom and practicality of the sustainable lifestyle of our ancestors that has progressively and naturally evolved over the millennia, but has changed incredibly and nearly disappeared in the last 100 years. Values and lifestyles of modern times often detest healthy common sense, we use materials and foods that destroy our health and our natural environment and it seems we don´t care what remains after us.
Traditional house with black kitchen carries the message of the “old age” spirit and with those who are not indifferent to our future and are willing to listen can share his message. The original architecture and building materials (stone, clay, oak wood) were managed here to remain almost unchanged until today’s house.
From 2016 this house is registered as a cultural heritage. It’s living documentation of older developmental periods, where there was a marked dependence of folk culture on natural environment. In the area of Hont, this has been reflected in the use of various building materials such as wood, wicker, stone, straw or even rock massifs. To date, in the Honda area, there are many folk houses, which carry a valuable testimony from past times. Due to their technical state, or “Modern” demands of modern owners are too often condemned to extinction.
Traditional house is also a practical demonstration and inspiration for new owners of traditional homes. We want to inspire them to reconstruct such old houses in order not to lose their rural character and have remained healthy for life, while being practical for today’s needs. We want to tangibly point to benefits we can gain from the past and we think that they should have been used nowadays.
It is important for us that the museum – the traditional house is not “Mausoleum” preserved in the past, where things and utility objects have long ceased to serve their own purpose and we should not even touch them. On the contrary, we create a living space where the visitor can try out, experience or taste everything on his own skin. What is for us today archaic was sometimes modern. The originality of our museum lies in the fact that it is alive and we are testifying how archaic past and the modern present can harmonize.
In the yard we built a traditional bread baking oven. Smell of smoke can revive the spirit of old times. The open fire in the kitchen under the pot or kettle can be seen today only in fairy tales. Although we may not know exactly why, drinks and dishes from “living fire “just taste different.
An extraordinary element of the house is a massive stone portal at the entrance to the room with carved ornament in the shape of the Svarga – Slavic symbol of the sun.