Since 2020, I have been living with my family in ecocommunity LiberTerra in Koedijk, a small village just north of Alkmaar. There, we built our own double Tiny House of 56 m². I’m happy to share what it’s like for me to live and thrive in a community. How do you deal with privacy? How do you maintain your freedom while still living communally? What do you do together, and which things do you share? Read on to discover how we live at LiberTerra.
A sustainable community
In 2019, after travelling from Amsterdam to Tokyo with our family in a camper van, we started looking for a place to live differently. That’s when we met our initiator, Mieke Elzenga. She told us about LiberTerra and its core values: sustainability, inspiration and cooperation. That immediately resonated with us, and within a few months we were building our home – without any prior building experience!
Our goal wasn’t to build as small as possible, but as sustainably as possible. That’s why we used biobased materials and designed our house around a batch of second-hand triple-glazed window frames. I work as a sustainable interior designer and designed our entire interior using second-hand and circular materials. Being awarded Most Sustainable House of the Netherlands in 2024 was therefore a great honour.
Tiny House or not?
LiberTerra is not a Tiny House community, although we are often referred to as one. That’s understandable, as there are five Tiny Houses and five slightly larger homes. The smallest homes are 27 m² and the largest are 65 m². All homes are movable and can be transported by low-loader.
We also have a shared space: our Knowledge Centre. We meet here once a month, share meals and organise events such as Climate Week and film evenings. We also welcome schools, companies, organisations and (local) governments for a wide range of activities.
We live with sixteen adults and seven children on the edge of the Geestmerambacht nature and recreation area. We are all in different stages of life: the youngest adult is 33, the oldest 65. This diversity allows us to support one another, for example with childcare or groceries, and by sharing belongings and knowledge. We have a shared shed with (garden) tools, we share washing machines and a dryer, and above all we share a strong desire to take the best possible care of the Earth and all its inhabitants.
Circles at LiberTerra
We are organised as a cooperative, and everyone is a member. In addition, LiberTerra has several circles, such as the construction circle, the knowledge centre circle, the organisational circle and the social circle. It’s incredibly enjoyable and educational to learn from your neighbours in this way or to pass on your own knowledge.
When I first moved here, I didn’t know much about gardening, but thanks to my neighbours I’ve learned a great deal. We try to grow many of our own vegetables, but in practice that takes a lot of time and energy. That’s why we are now working on a perennial, wild and edible garden. It’s wonderful to work on it together while chatting with neighbours. My expertise as a sustainable interior designer also came in handy when everyone started furnishing their homes.
I’m now also part of the communication circle, where I help promote our open days and other activities. My main goal is to inspire as many people as possible with this way of living together – to show that it is possible and that it can contribute to many of the challenges we face today. You never feel lonely here; it feels safe to live together this way, and some costs can be shared. For example, we share a single energy connection, and thanks to our neighbourhood battery we can exchange energy and reduce costs. I inspire people not only through the community, but also in my work as a speaker at various events.
Visits from schools, companies and organisations
What I enjoy most is welcoming visitors and telling them about how we live here together.
- Giving tours of the site and showing how it has grown from a bare clay plain into a green oasis full of biodiversity.
- Talking in my home about my kitchen made from seaweed, or about my fully sustainable and circular sofa cushions, produced in the Netherlands.
- Showing how our family saves 60,000 litres of drinking water per year.
- Sharing examples of sociocratic decision-making and the nonviolent communication we practise here.
It’s wonderful to hear that everyone leaves inspired. People who were initially sceptical about this way of small-scale living begin to see how beautiful it can be and discover how much is possible with a different mindset. We often receive compliments on how impressive and hopeful it is what we’ve built together in such a short time.
Privacy and freedom
Two core values shared by everyone living at LiberTerra are privacy and freedom. Even with these values, living in a community works very well. We have agreements about the design of the homes and the site, and during community days and the preparatory phase there is a lot of attention for individual wishes. What I’ve learned here is that it helps to speak openly about your perspective, because there’s often someone who feels the same way. And “no is okay” is a phrase you hear often at LiberTerra.
We are allowed to live here thanks to our Knowledge Centre and the open nature of the community. Opening our homes during open days was something we knew from the start. Community days are also important to attend, and I personally find them very meaningful and connecting. Sometimes someone doesn’t feel like attending a meeting or is simply tired. Almost always, during the check-out round, people share that they feel re-energised afterwards or that they actually enjoyed it a lot. That’s a good sign!
Conflict, costs and uncertainty
Of course, there are also downsides to this way of living, and it’s not for everyone. First of all, this is a temporary project, and while we could handle that uncertainty, it’s not suitable for everyone. We trust in the future, and it looks promising that we’ll be able to stay beyond 2030. Because the project is temporary, we couldn’t get a mortgage and had to finance everything ourselves. Everyone found their own way to make this work. We wanted to show that projects like this are possible and hope that in the future there will be room for many more people from all walks of life.
Conflicts and irritations also arise outside communities, of course, but here it’s extra important to talk things through because we live more closely together. We’re still living with the same group of people as five years ago, which is quite unique. A key factor is that everyone respects each other’s values. Some people here eat plant-based, others vegetarian or meat. Some people still fly, others don’t. During the pandemic, half the group was vaccinated and the other half wasn’t. These are just a few examples that show how important it is to live and let live.
We are deeply grateful that we are able to live this way. That we can pass this on to our children – it takes a village to raise a child. That we can inspire others and, hopefully, help open the door to more places like this. Because living more sustainably, more compactly and more connected to yourself, others and nature – that’s what we all want, isn’t it?
Experience it yourself?
Would you like to see how we live? Feel what the houses are like inside or ask questions to the residents of LiberTerra? Sign up for our newsletter and visit us during one of our open days or events. Our Knowledge Centre can also be rented for various activities, including guided tours. More information can be found at www.liberterra.eu.
Want to know more about our lifestyle?
Last year I wrote the book Puur natuurlijk wonen, in which I take you along on our journey towards a Tiny House living community. I also explain how we built our home and which conscious choices we made for our lives and interior. Would you like to hear this story live instead of just reading it? I’d be happy to come and speak on location about our experiences with this way of living. More information can be found at www.studioduurzaamwonen.nl.
Hope to see you in 2026!
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