The lost son returns

It has been two years ago that I did my Erasmus internship in Koper. Back then I helped David (who is, by the way, still the coolest boss I ever had), to develop passive greenhouses.

Well, a lot has changed since. It was at Institute mOBILNO to go that I first encountered dry toilets, and I immediately liked this idea. After the lovely summer of 2016 which I spent in Koper it was time to decide for a research topic for my final thesis. From the first second it was clear to me that it has to be about toilets, one way or the other. I ended up researching and writing about the acceptance of alternative sanitation in Austria. My dream is that one day people will understand that “normal” toilets are not the future!

However last summer I graduated from my course at the University of Applied Sciences in Salzburg. Because I like David’s line of work and strongly agree with his ideas and thoughts I finally decided to once more travel to Koper for work.

Oh boy, a lot has changed here. But that was only to expect, the young company grew two years older. More experienced and organised. Still it was never boring, some of the adventurous air of start-up spirit still remained. New projects every week, new ideas every day, David’s head never rests!

During the first weeks in July I designed a “Bio-Meiler”. If you do not know what that means, that’s fine. I did not either. It is basically a compost heap that is used for heating. Believe it or not, composting organic matter actually produces enough energy to heat water for showering and even keep your house warm in winter. This was the perfect start for my internship! It was a project that was really interesting for me personally and David allowed me to work completely independent, which I appreciate a lot.

July was hot, but nothing compared to August. Luckily I was occupied inside mostly, 3D-modelling a modular Greenhouse structure. The basic draft originated from my developments from two years back, so most of it was quite familiar to me. For the last two months, it was mostly researching various things in different fields (whatever was needed) and finishing reports and small projects.

It was as I expected, in the sense that Koper has been good to me again!
Swimming in the sea every other day and cycling around in the hills or at the coast, to Italy, Croatia or the back country. Walking through the old town of Koper at night. Going to the market in the mornings. And the food, I almost forgot the food, Istrian cuisine is definitely one of my favourites.

I have a feeling that I will come back one day!

Peter