ZEGG, with about 85 adults and 15 children, emphasizes the socio-cultural dimension of sustainability. (All photos: http://www.zegg.de/en/ unless otherwise credited.)

ZEGG invented a highly successful method of group process work called the Forum that is now used in communities around the world.

Contact improvisational dance, a freeform mixture of partner yoga and dance, is a common means of artistic expression at ZEGG. Photo: Roland Ficht

The ZEGG Choir includes singers from the local area.

Performing arts at ZEGG often include explorations of human sexuality. Photo: Roland Ficht

The Love Hut is a secluded, private retreat space.

All members participate in communal work. Here they are raising “The Big Tent” for ZEGG’s annual summer camp.

Several hundred guests attend the summer camp. Behind is ZEGG’s heating system, which the community converted from coal to waste wood pellets from the timber industry.

ZEGG’s summer camp offers a wide range of performances and workshops on every aspect of sustainability.

ZEGG’s pub offers an ideal venue for dance and celebration.

Theatre and creative expression are also a vital part of childhood at ZEGG.

Young children attend ZEGG’s Nature Kindergarten and participate in communal projects such as building this earthen oven.

ZEGG is highly adept at hosting events. Here Philip Munyasia, a Kenyan agro-ecologist, addresses a GEN gathering at ZEGG.

Paintings by community members brighten up the otherwise drab Nazi-era buildings.

Some ZEGG members find the inner life increasingly compelling. For one member, this meditation yurt offers an intimate space for “making love to God.”