This is the last day in Mega. I feel a bit sad. Mega has turned out to be my hide-away: place for thoughts, clear air, trees, sky – dreaming. I'm probably not ready to leave, but I know I will be back. Maybe I set up Mega travel agency to organise bicycle trips!
I also noticed that field of Mega is as big as Friedrichshain.
Clay is very old building material. It is amazing how it is not used as much nowadays. It is cheap, can be found in many places and used implementing many techniques. Clay is healthy, because dry clay doesn't absorb humidity and it protects the wooden frame from rot. Clay buildings are very long-lasting: i.e. there is a clay stable that was build in 1801 in Kaarina, Finland. The stable is still in use.
Architect, writer and humanist Nader Khalili researched and build plenty of clay houses during his long carrier. The clay houses are specifically for the poor areas, where people don't have money to build houses, but there is clay available on location. They indeed made some beautiful ones, but in the end it turned out to be too costly, because the fuel for firing the clay was too expensive. Khalili then worked for NASA in research for building houses in the moon and turned this study also to designing emergency shelters. I don't know why they fired the clay in the first place. To my understanding it is possible to use clay without doing so and just let it dry on its' own (slipform method).
The best clay source in Mega is probably the dried little lake just few ten meters away. The houses can be erased and taken down relatively quickly which is a good way to go with Mega.
Economist and adviser for impoverished countries Jeffrey Sach says he's been surprised how only recently the economists have started to take in consideration the actual location of the country in trouble. Is the country landlocked? Are there mountains that are hard to cross? Are there rivers and ports for transport? I.e. malaria is the amongst the biggest problems in Africa. Unlike some other malaria areas like India where the economical development has been quite good, in Africa this is not happening. The answer is simple: malaria carrying mosquitoes in India prefer to bite cattle instead of humans. Mosquito species in Africa on the other hand prefer to bite human over cattle. Again it comes down to an individual location as each country is somewhat individual.
We are probably accustomed in the era of Internet to hear sentences like: “ It doesn't matter where you are - with telecommunications you can be anywhere.” I.e. remote work probably works in many cases. But still we can't really forget our physical location. When the computer is switched off, what's left? A location affects not only our daily life, but most certainly also the way we experience the virtual world.
Economically Mega is in perfect location. Transportation is relatively good and there seems to be no hostile neighbours. The settlement has to be very mobile to move out of the way of farming work. Mega is indeed different than concept of many micronations, because it doesn't claim territory. It is also not temporary, because it is always in the minds of people who know about it and have visited it. Mega is a state of mind.
Hönow is an idyllic countryside village. You can get there in half an hour by U-bahn and little bit of bicycling from Alexandr Platz. After the pulsing city, it is refreshing to be in this quiet village where you can pass by some horses grazing and picturesque little houses. Hellersdorf is as close to Mega as Hönow, but when coming from that direction the experience is totally different. It is like a little town with shopping centres and busy streets.
Nearby old water cleaning plant hasn't been in use for years. Now, it seems that there is something going on. Old concrete blocks are moved and there are bucket loaders and trucks coming and going. I don't know what is going to happen: maybe there are new houses build or even some factory? How this is going to affect the peace of Mega which is disturbed only occasionally by dog walkers, sowing and harvesting? Should temporary inhabitant of Mega look deeper into this issue? Or could it just be that the new building will bring prosperity also to Mega?
View from Hönow and from Hellersdorf, approaching Mega.
Close to Mega there are couple of small lakes. It seems that they are places for local youth to go for a smoke. They park their cars and leave the doors open so that loud euro-disco-music pours out from the car. They are funny Mega kids – like kids everywhere in the world.
No-one seems to mind about the first building ever raised in Mega. So few people know this place has a name. Joggers and dog walkers pass by like it was the any other moment. Air planes fly low, though. Maybe there are some passengers who witness this historical moment.
Clay house transport to Mega.
