In many cases, the environmental crisis is a design crisis. This is a consequence of how things are made, how buildings are built and how the landscape is used... (Sim Van der Ryn, Stuart Cowan: Ecological Design)

Short history SOSNA association has been established in 1992 and its main activities are focused from the very beginning on environmental education, counselling and promotion of sustainable solutions in practice. Long-term vision of our organization was to build an educational and demonstration Eco Centre with bio garden, as the place for promoting sustainable life in practice. In late 2008 we started the ecological reconstruction of deprived school workshops, which we, together with adjacent land obtained from local self government to long-term lease. For clarifying our ideas on “green” house, was very helpful an internationally recognized architect, professor Peter Pásztor, who is the author of the construction project, as well as our colleagues from other Eco centres, and some environmental businesses.

In autumn 2010 we has finished base reconstructing works and opened the Eco Centre for public. One of our first visitors has been the Ambassador of USA.

Alternatives for good life The building required a comprehensive and coherent reconstruction, realized in accordance with environmental principles and principles of Permaculture. Almost all materials that we used in the reconstruction were organic, from local sources: wood, straw, hemp, clay, stone, sand, used lumber, old bricks, tiles and war. Most ecological material was local horse manure that was used to smooth a special plaster to cover the insulation panels from technical hemp ?. Only materials, that we could not replace with an ecological ones, were the hydro insulation foil on the green roof and cement used for some part of construction works, but its use was minimized, as far as it was possible.

Concerning the energy management of Eco Centre, our effort has been focused on minimizing of energy losses and maximizing heating efficiency. Our integrated heating system consists of high-efficient, processor controlled stove, interconnected with 4 solar panels which we got as sponsorship from THERMOSOLAR company– one of leading solar panels constructing companies in the world. This system is providing heated water, stored in insulated tank, used for heating for whole complex of Eco Centre. Data from integrated heating system are stored and processed by computer, so that they can be used as a demonstration and education material, presenting amount of used energies and other useful information for visitors. Executed energy audit has approved our expectations, since Eco Centre is satisfying conditions for low-energy house.

As further examples of ecological solutions, there are two separation / composting toilettes for public with bio filter for grey water, as well as storage system for rain water used for garden, so that our water consumption is reduced by important rate.

Great help at work - and particularly those of alternatives, which classic builders are not able to practice - were realized by volunteers. Insulation with straw, clay plasters, Cordwood technique, green roof and many other works was done by volunteers within our shares to the public.

What SOSNA can offer SOSNA Eco Centre is serving as a functional demonstration of clean, healthy, aesthetic, low-cost and low-energy buildings with natural bio-garden. The whole complex of Eco Centre and its bio-garden is serving for the visitors as an inspiring example of "how to do it this way", as well as the training and education facility for our activities (lectures, courses, exhibitions, etc.) on all sorts of topics relating to eco houses, bio gardens, climate change issues, and sustainable living.

SOSNA as one of the co-ordinator of international Green Schools Network has excellent contacts with schools and we have a number of training and demonstration activities for various target groups. We also regularly organize weekend workshops and courses focused on getting of practical skills on eco housing and sustainability.

What you see if you visit Eco Centre

• walls and ceilings insulated straw balled with clay plaster,
• plasters from horse dung ?
• insulation panels from pressed hemp,
• green roofs,
• integrated, processor-controlled heating system
• rainwater storage,
• use of recycled construction materials,
• cordwood walls (wall of wooden logs and glass bottles)
• composting toilets with bio-filter
• roof insulated by paper pulp and sheep wool
• and more, in Slovakia little-known alternatives.

Natural garden A half hectare plot, as a part of Eco Centre, is gradually transformed to demonstration of natural garden, where herbs, flowers and plants are grown without any chemistry. Site design was defined during two permaculture courses, carried out on this land. Our bio garden provide space for old, traditional and unknown varieties of cultural plants, but including also land art, small fishpond, solar fruit dryer, and other important components of bio-gardens.

Bio-garden have the following features:

•training - teaching (our garden provide space for informal environmental education on various topics), • community (we have close co-operation with local elementary school, local children and adults as well as with various groups - unemployed, Roma people, women, etc.), • demonstration (our garden and Eco Centre presents living sample of organic garden and eco house), • ecology (building the organic garden is motivating children and citizens to environmentally friendly way of life).

Eco Centre can be found in Družstevná pri Hornáde village, 12 km from Košice town in eastern part of Slovakia.

Eco Centre has been created with the support of the Financial Mechanism of the European Union, the Norwegian Financial Mechanism and the state budget of the Slovak Republic. Financial support has been provided also by : Carpathian Foundation and The GEF Small Grants Programme