A number of Londoners have appealed to nature for help to avoid modern day stress, and have made ‘eco-villages’ in the hope of experiencing forgotten human tranquility. Just next to Kew Bridge in west London, in a piece of land with no buildings and full of overgrown bushes, there are a number of tents with people walking around. Is this agricultural land, or a place where the poor and homeless live? The notice at the entrance says ‘Things required and times of visit’. Should you take a step inside and talk to the people there, you can find out what kind of place it is.

Some of the stress factors of the urban lifestyle are caused by anxiety about tax, rent, noise pollution, rush, finding or losing a job and instability. Separation from these and being in the heart of nature give one a feeling of joy and calm, as opposed to living in large industrial cities of the modern world. We wake up to the horrible sound of the alarm clock, rushing to catch a bus or train to get to work. On the way home we anxiously await the train announcement, in fear of missing our stop. All this effort, worry, and anxiety is to pay the rent, car installments and other expenses.

It is the urban lifestyle which has made us distant from nature. Instead of mountains, trees, deserts and waters, we have to look at skyscrapers, high-rise apartments and highways. Instead of hearing the sound of rivers and songs of birds, we listen to the sound of loudspeakers, and cars aimlessly racing along highways. Instead of touching a gentle leaf, we touch concrete walls, leading to the distortion of gentle human emotions. Tasteless fast food has replaced the natural and delicious food cooked on the fire. The tranquility and peace for which you struggle, and finally cannot attain, however, are freely available in the heart of nature. You just need to take refuge in nature.

Thus these people have made themselves an eco-village. Twenty people, mostly British, reside in it. Some have even abandoned their own properties and their jobs to experience fulfillment here. Reconciliation of man and nature and getting back to nature are main principles of this group. They have chosen this place, inside the city, in order for the public to visit and ponder why tolerate the rush and the stress of modern life.

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