The group Spithari – Waking life, has started for two years the effort to restore a burnt area of pine forest in Marathon and transform it into a suburban eco-community. The goals of the group, in their own words, are “the liberation of the basic pillars of life (water, food, energy, shelter, love)” through “Solidarity, Cooperativity, Communalism and Freedom of Conscience”. Most participants in the project spend a large part of their week there, and some stay permanently in caravans. A container workshop area (carpenter’s workshop etc.), a composting toilet, natural gardens, animals are kept and fruit trees have been planted. Recently, the operation of a model aquarium culture has started, while experiments are being carried out in the construction of domes and various structures that could be used in the daily life of a household. The area is far from the electricity grid and the basic daily electricity needs such as lighting, small fridge, laptops etc. are partly covered by a small 500W photovoltaic system, which has been provided to the group.

In order to boost the energy produced by the system, in an area that has quite a good wind potential, New Guinea undertook the installation of a small 600W wind turbine that had been previously built by the European Village. The small wind turbine was erected on a nearby hill, at a mast height of 12 metres and at a distance of 140 metres from the laboratory site. Following the successful enhancement of the system in electricity and due to the increasing needs of the project, a second 900W wind turbine, built in New Guinea, will be installed in the autumn of 2013.