Regional Development
People live in a locality and in a region. Sustainable and contended life assumes the knowledge of the locality from the aspect of local heritage as well as current functioning of the community. The Ecological Institute Veronica have been supporting the content as well as process points of the environmental aspects of regional development.
Centre Veronica Hostětín / model projects of sustainable development
In cooperation with the village of Hostětín and other partners we have been realizing model projects of sustainable development, monitoring them and distributing acquired information and experience.
The task of Centre Veronica Hostětín is to demonstrate that attitude to nature, considerate management and informed interpretation of local heritage may economically stabilize the countryside and solve unemployment even in rather remote areas.
In Hostětín you may visit the reed-bed sewage treatment plant, cider house with ecological production, municipal biomass heating plant, solar panels and economical public lighting. Since 2006 you may also visit the educational centre built in the standard of passive buildings. See the website of the Centre Veronica Hostětín (in English) and come to some of our actions.
New study Model Projects of Hostětín - 20 Years of Working Towards Energy Self-Sufficiency (72 pages, in English)
Self-sufficient region
There are areas which launched into the way of reducing their dependence on external resources. Güssing in Austria is an example of a city/region aiming at energetic self-sufficiency. Veronica has been trying to promote such a concept in the Czech republic (biomass heating plant in Hostětín, ...).
Local economy
Short and closed circulation of materials, goods and services reduce negative impacts on the environment. They carefully utilize local resources and considerably eliminate the traffic and produced waste. Local market is more transparent, more safe and not so much dependent on unpredictable global circumstances.
Veronica has been promoting the development of local markets - with biomass, ecological food, etc. We participate in the activities of the civil society Traditions of the White Carpathians which has been certifying and promoting regional products. We co-organize fairs with regional and ecological products - Apple festival in Hostětín and Organic Food Fair in Brno, we attend the Earth Days in the Zlín region and South-Moravian region and other projects.
As for products which cannot be produced locally (tea, coffee, cocoa, etc.) we promote Fair Trade - more fair approach to international trade accentuating its social and ecological dimensions.
Ecological agriculture
Foods from ecological agriculture are less harmful to nature and our health. We are founder member of the Civil Society Traditions of the White Carpathians which has been processing ecologically grown fruit for Hostětín cider, syrups and other products. We try to achieve the retention and return of fruit wood species into the landscape and provide counselling in ecological agriculture, particularly orcharding. We organize educational activities on nature friendly keeping of gardens, fields and forests.
Natural wastewater treatment
An important part of the regional development is water management. Veronica focuses on suitable solutions for rural villages which can choose between standard methods and alternatives of significant utilization of natural ways of wastewater treatment. Reed-bed sewage treatment plants are a functional alternative and their operation is less expensive. They constitute a smaller burden for the environment, an interesting landscape element and milieu for many plants and animals.
Planning and decision-making
The sustainable regional development assumes the participation of many partners and groups in planning and decision-making. We are members of local and regional organizations and participate actively in the processes of regional development. We comment on strategic development documents using our experience mainly from local level.