Living Utopia

"Living Utopia" is an ongoing project about people who decided to live outside the system and/or society. At the first glimpse the idea of a self-sufficient life sounds quite romantic - but what's behind this idea? Is it a new way of living or just a repetition of the existing social structures with its problems but only in a smaller extent?What difficulties do the people face and what are their living conditions like?

Kadi and Korbi are living a self-sufficient live in Romania since three years. For them, the birth of their son Lean was the decisive impulse to realize their dream of dropping out of the system. For both of them, it quickly became clear, that a self - determined life with a child in Germany is not possible. "Many rules in Germany contradict the self-sufficiency idea - the insurance-obligation for example commits someone to have a high income."

Lisa Hermes

Lisa Hermes is a freelance documentary photographer based in Berlin (Germany). She studied photography at the University of applied Sciences in Bielefeld. Her work is mostly telling intimate and personal stories which carry political subtexts. At the moment she is working on various free projects.