A courtyard full of bicycles. The smell of freshly baked bread wafting from a communal kitchen. Children playing among gardens, woodsheds, and shared rooms. At Kommune Niederkaufungen, everything tells the story of a different way of living.

About 80 people – adults, youth, elders, families – share every day spaces, resources, time, and ideals, turning the old farmstead into a cooperative human ecosystem.

Here, every choice is collective. Every activity is guided by the values of solidarity, justice, and sustainability.

A Story of Ideals Turned Into Reality

The commune was founded in 1986, when a group of young people, coming from activist, ecological, and feminist backgrounds, decided to create a commune where they could live according to their values.

It was a particular historical moment: the Cold War was not yet over, the nuclear threat was real, and many people in Germany were questioning the future of society and the alienation of urban life.

So the group bought an old agricultural estate on the outskirts of Kassel and began the collective renovation of abandoned rural buildings. With limited means but great determination, they set themselves three clear objectives:

To live together in an egalitarian and non-hierarchical way.
To work collectively, going beyond the logic of the market.
To be a place open to society, not isolated, but actively involved in social change.

Over time, the project expanded, welcomed new people, structured itself into work collectives, and connected with other European movements.

Today, after almost 40 years, it is one of the most long-lasting and recognized intentional communities in Germany – still alive, still evolving, still inspired by that same initial vision.

The Economy of “Us”

Here, individual property has been set aside to make room for a real shared economy.
Resources – money, tools, vehicles, spaces – are managed collectively. Every productive activity is part of a fair system where no one receives a personal salary, but everything is redistributed according to the needs of the community.

There are several self-managed work collectives: from carpentry to vegetarian catering, from political education to sustainable construction.
Everyone contributes according to their own skills and desires, in an environment where the value of work is tied to the common good, not to profit.

Sustainability as a Daily Practice

Environmental sustainability is an integral part of the vision.
The buildings have been renovated using ecological materials, the shared spaces are heated with biomass, and solar energy covers part of the electricity needs.
Rainwater is collected and reused, and the collective organic garden provides fruit, vegetables, and fresh herbs.

Consumption is reduced, waste is transformed, and choices are made with care.
But here, sustainability also means relationship, listening, social balance.
It’s not just about clean technologies, but about creating a culture where every resource is sacred, and every relationship is part of the ecosystem.

Projects in Evolution at Niederkaufungen

Over time, Niederkaufungen has become a true social laboratory.
In addition to community life, it develops projects on environmental education, social inclusion, climate justice, intercultural training, urban agriculture, and secular spirituality.

One of the most active collectives is the educational one, which develops courses and materials on alternative economy, self-management, and collective decision-making.
The community hosts themed events, school workshops, youth summer camps, and international workshops.

Every initiative is an opportunity to spread knowledge and create networks of resistance and regeneration.

Transformative Training and Exchanges

The community is part of Kommuja, the German network of intentional communities, and collaborates actively with GEN Europe.
It offers immersive workshops, training programs, international volunteering experiences, and also hosts Erasmus+ projects and European Solidarity Corps (ESC) exchanges.

Those who come here learn by living: from group dynamics to communal cooking, from agriculture to conflict management, from participatory democracy to facilitation.

Here, learning is practical, concrete, and transformative. You learn by putting your hands in the soil, by learning from one another, by opening both mind and heart.

How to Participate

Visiting Niederkaufungen is possible throughout the year, thanks to public events, theme weeks, and open workshops.
You can apply for volunteer experiences or internships, or for a trial period if you are interested in joining the community.

It is also an ideal place for educational groups, universities, and associations that want to immerse themselves in a context of intentional community and real sustainability.

For those who feel the call of a real alternative, Niederkaufungen is a school of life that offers everyone the opportunity to transform and be transformed.

In a Nutshell

Kommune Niederkaufungen is one of the most long-standing and structured intentional communities in Germany and Europe.
In this ecovillage, everything becomes a political act – not by offering perfect models, but by experimenting every day with how to live with more awareness, more justice, more care.

A place that doesn’t escape the world, but inhabits it in a new way – collective, profoundly human, one shared choice at a time. This is how we build the New Earth.