#466 Erkenningsnummer P708816
FEBRuaRy 8, 2017 \ nEwswEEkly - € 0,75 \ rEad morE at www.flandErstoday.org currEnt affairs \ P2
Ducks in a row
Politics \ P4
BusinEss \ P6
Helping HanDs
Flanders is nearly 100% in line with EU regulations, making it one of the highest-rated regions in adapting to European laws
A Brussels organisation raises funds to send young people abroad to build schools, work with street kids or dig a well
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innovation \ P8
Education \ P9
art & living \ P11
Transparency
The new Schiepers Gallery in Hasselt is the first in Flanders wholly dedicated to glass art, which is much more versatile than you think \ 13
In search of the simple life
© Bartosz Brzezinski
meet two men who’ve given up creature comforts and really gone back to basics Bartosz Brzezinski Follow Bartosz on Twitter \ @aperi_oculos
Two Flemings have made some drastic changes to their lifestyles, stripping it back to the minimum to show we can all live a lot more sustainably if we choose to.
T
he first time Tomas De Gregorio had to cut down his own tree, it took him three weeks before he had enough wood to get a fire going. “I’ve got much, much better at it,” says the 32-year-old, who’s been living in a caravan outside Hasselt since July, aiming to live for a year on just €2,500. “Now, I can chop it in three days and heat my stove within minutes.” The rusty trailer, which he obtained for next to nothing, has a small table, a kitchenette and a bedroom, though no toilet; De Gregorio had to build one outside. On the
pine desk behind the stove lie two copies, in English and in Dutch, of the book that became the inspiration for his project. Walden chronicles the experiences of 19th-century American writer Henry David Thoreau, who spent a year living by himself in a small cabin on the east coast of the United States. De Gregorio read it for the first time when he was 24, and the desire to follow in Thoreau’s footsteps has been brewing in his mind ever since. “It changed my whole life,” he says. “For the first time, everything I felt strongly about was right there on paper. I’m not an environmentalist, but it was a revelation. Though I grew up in a city, it just felt right to me.” The book was first published in 1854, but its message, says
De Gregorio, is still relevant today: “A lifestyle that’s as simple as possible.” Once a week, De Gregorio helps a local farmer clean out his stables and goes to a nearby school to take care of a garden. “During the summer, I collected wood and grew vegetables, but now that it’s winter, I’m restless,” he says. “Most of the time, I just read, go for a stroll, or make walking sticks.” Since moving here, he says, he’s begun seeing life in more detail. He’s gained a new perspective on time, and enjoys the calm and silence of the surrounding fields. “When the sun comes up, it’s the best moment of the day,” he adds. “The light is just perfect, shining through the fog as it settles. This morning the grass was white and crisp from the frost.” continued on page 7