Our story

ZMAG’s main objective is to develop and promote permaculture, ecological knowledge and skills, applicable models and technologies, important for sustainable living and improvement of the overall quality of life.

ZMAG strives towards a world in which people’s living conditions are met, social and human rights respected, without endangering the environment and the sustainability of ecosystems.

• running the Recycled Estate - an open educational centre in the village of Vukomerić, as an exemplary model of environmentally sustainable and socially aware space designed according to the principles of permaculture
• providing knowledge, information and experience in the application of eco-technologies to various groups of users: local government and the community, environmental organizations and the rest of civil society, farmers, entrepreneurs, students and activists, and all interested parties
• dissemination of permaculture ideas, ecological knowledge and skills, applicable models and technologies, important for sustainable development and raising the quality of life of people through networking with similar initiatives and organizations in Croatia, the region and the world

The sustainability we advocate encompasses several levels:

1. Social sustainability lies in nurturing equal relations between members of the organization, striving for consensual decision-making, encouraging taking responsibility, interpersonal relations based on respect for diversity and mutual assistance, accepting social justice as a socially valuable category, and focusing on transferring practical environmental solutions to local communities and the wider social environment.
   
   
2. Ecological sustainability has its most visible foothold in the Recycled Estate itself, where renewable energy sources are used, where we learn about eco-building, create permaculture gardens and preserve biodiversity, manage water responsibly, and turn waste into valuable resources.
   
   
3. Economic sustainability of the organization in the long run strives towards bringing together a cooperative that would encompass possible production / profit activities of the organization (organic food, solar collectors, biodiesel ...). Cooperatives are nurtured in terms of joint asset management on nearly two-thirds of the Recycled Estate. ZMAG sees economic sustainability only in the context of a permanent improvement in the quality of people's lives.