Thao Kin

The energy of year-end seems to be calling us back to the root of our beings – why are we here? what matters to us most? are we living up to our values and potential? Echoing this calling, 60 of us – the seekers, the learners, the caretakers of Mother Earth – have gathered for a two-day gathering called Gaia Calling at Gaia Ashram in the Northeast of Thailand.

The majority of us are from Thailand – with others pouring in from many different countries such as Laos, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, India, Maldives, and all the way from the US and Colombia. What connects us are the love for nature, the yearning to contribute to healing the wounds of the Earth, the longing to connect with like-minded folks; and of course the affection for the host – Gaia Ashram – to which many people have kept returning.

Within this gathering, Luvian and Kin from the GENOA Operations Team, together with two ecovillage founders (Om from Gaia Ashram, Thailand, and Arjun from Atlantida Ecovillage, Colombia), hosted a sharing session on ecovillages as the incubators for a new radical way of living addressing the multifaceted crisis we are facing in the world. The story of how Gaia Ashram and Atlantida came into existence brought rich insights into why the founders chose communities as their way of dealing with planetary collapse, the ups and downs they have gone through, and the powerful impact ecovillages are creating. The GENOA team then shared about the ecovillage network and how anyone either as individuals or part of a community project can join the ecovillage movement through connection, contribution and practice.

In celebration of the journey in life that led us to where we are, we enjoyed connecting the dots of the major events through The Flow of Life – this is also an opportunity for deep listening and mutual understanding as we had moments of pair-sharing and circle sensing. The whole circle was deeply moved by a 15-year-old Steiner student sharing one of his precious milestones in life via a window through the present moment – a great reminder for us all to live mindfully and wholeheartedly.

In deepening our connection to nature, we spent quality time with nature, listened to the sound of the land in Gaia Ashram, and write messages from our hearts to other beings. Everyone, later on, can roam around the garden and meet with these lovely messages reminding us of the magic of life on this land and anywhere else on Earth.

The Gaia Calling gathering offered spaces for everyone to share their gifts with the community by holding a clubhouse (a form of open-space). People went to the space of their choice among Kundalini Mantra, Massage as a bodily connection, Council of all beings, Eco-school construction, and Sound bath during the whole afternoon – enjoying a new experiences, new learning, and new connection.

Below are some photos from the Council of all beings hosted by GENOA – in which participants spent some time in nature listening to the call of a being, and then made a mask to embody this being in the council of sharing. We help space for what wanted to be spoken, for the whispering of the land and other more-than-human beings. It is also a space for humility and understanding to take place, as we deeply realize that humans are not the only inhabitant of the Earth and that we can learn so much from other brothers and sisters of different species.

How else have we listened and replied to the calling of Gaia? Rituals are a sacred way of honoring our interdependence and paying our respect to the land, nature, and our ancestors. The Gaia Calling gathering closed with the traditional blessing ceremony of Isan people of Thailand, and a Latin American land blessing ritual led by Arjun & Jessie (Colombia). With music and love filling the air, we bowed to the wisdom of Earth – Fire – Water – Air and the 6 directions (North, South, East, West, Above, Below) and asked for their blessings.

Through circle activities, heart-to-heart connections, story-telling, rituals, and ceremonies, we have come together to honor Mother Gaia, to celebrate the work dedicated to her healing, and emphasize our commitment to the regeneration of the Earth.

Cheers to the beautiful work that is being done by all members of ecovillages and eco-communities around Asia & Oceania! May our work benefit all beings, human and more-than-human!

We know that a strong community project needs to work on its social, cultural, ecological and economical design. But how do we weave all these aspects together flawlessly in a project? This is what we will look at in Whole Systems Design module of the REGEN-Nations programme.

Some principles apply to all Areas of Regeneration, and help bring them together in holistic designs for resilient communities and systems. The integral design approach to design and regeneration is paired with a strong focus on collaboration and participation. This means that the principles of integral design are put into practice in ways that actively include everyone concerned and encourage transparency at every level.

Below are the line-up of wonderful speakers that you will meet in this module

In a session called “Introduction to Transition Town“, we learn about the transition town model and movement which aims to establish an ecologically regenerative and socially just future on the backdrop of the climate crisis and economic challenges through community-led initiatives that find local solutions to global problems. This lesson explores Transition Culture, the challenges that we currently face and explores tools to address the climate, consumption, waste and community emergencies that we face in Asia-Pacific and across the world. 

We will meet 3 speakers from the Transition Network:

• • Paul Shelton gives us a backdrop of the Transition Movement – why the movement exists, what it is for and how everyone of us is a part of this. 
• • Shunro Yoshida shares the beautiful process of how their community in Japan has been nurturing relationships, changing the narratives of value based on trust with a rather simple method for transactions and resources exchange. Last but not least, 
• • Mary Stringer brings us to “hyper-localization” – what we can do within our streets, our neighborhoods – shifting from the problems to imagining solutions.

Next, we’ll explore “Applying Whole Systems Design For Regenerative Communities“

In this lesson, we hear from those who have designed and are living the regenerative life by transforming rural villages, customizing intentional communities, and urban and suburbia living around Asia and Oceania. 

Our speakers are:

• • David Holmgren, co-originator of the permaculture concept; recently published RetroSuburbia and Our Street
• • Karen Xintong Wang, Former Director-General of Sunshine Ecovillage (China), Secretary of China Ecovillage Network
• • Verena Maclean, Chair of Narara Ecovillage (Australia); Founder and Director of The Working Journey

Most importantly, this module of the programme will feature Robina McCurdy – the founder of TUI Community (New Zealand) in a live webinar on “Whole Systems Design Tools to Empower your Project“

Robina, a wisdom keeper in the ecovillage movement, shares her experience of how the Whole Systems Design principles have been activated in many community food systems and environmental restoration projects she has been involved with. These inspirational stories will lead us from how these projects came into being and what they do, to who they serve, their main challenges and why they are successful today.

Join us to hear what motivates Robina, as well as her life-work relationship to Whole Systems Design and how to embody these principles in our own project designs. 

You are invited to the one-month Economy Dimension of REGEN-Nation online learning journey, starting from August 11th 2022.

The fact that our economic system is unsustainable urges us to search for alternative systems that are more circular and regenerative. The good news is that many people and organizations are already moving towards the new economy which thrives within the planetary boundaries and prioritizes people and the planet.

REGEN-Nations will take you on a journey through different alternative economic models to meet with people who are actively involved in creating a new economic system.

In this programme, you will learn topics detailed and step-by-step introduction of Social Enterprise with Amanda Kiessel – the founder of the Good Market. You will hear from the Maori wisdom of New Zealand as a circular, “donut” economic model with Teina Boasa-Dean; the impact of Community Supported Agriculture or CSAs with Shi Yan from China; and on designing mindful enterprise ecosystems for food sovereignty with Jon Jandai from Thailand.

Registration is open until August 11th 2022 – Read more and sign up here: https://learn.ecovillage.org/course/regen-nations/ 

LIVE WEBINAR

Burnout is real and all too common – but does it have to be part of our project cycle? Join us to learn how we can design our project economy to be transparent and realistic, helping us stay within our human and resource capacity to deliver.

Natalie Limwatana – a regenerative designer from Thailand – invites us into the world of project management and guides us through tools which help us create organisational systems that work for our unique projects.

• Topic: Resources and Capacity planning for regenerative projects
• Time: Saturday, 13 August 2022, 1-3PM UTC+7 (check your local time)

You are invited to the one-month Ecology Dimension of REGEN-Nation online learning journey, starting from July 4th 2022.

Together we will dive deep into our relationship with the natural world and the solutions for regeneration based on design principles found in nature. 

The live speaker session of Ecology Dimension will welcome Siwakorn Odochao (Pi Swae) – a Karen indigenous activist and entrepreneur from Thailand. In this two-hour sharing session, Pi Swae will share with us his personal & collective journey, which is intertwined with the journey of reinvigorating the relationship between Karen people and the land. You will see it in not only his way of living, but also his business – The Lazy-man Coffee, his agricultural practices and his work in community development.

In this programme, you will learn topics like Landscape Leadership; Introduction to Permaculture; Rethinking Ecological Practices & Designs through Regenerative Agriculture, Appropriate Technology & Restoration Ecology from practitioners around Asia & Oceania.

Registration is open until July 7th 2022 – Read more and sign up here: https://learn.ecovillage.org/course/regen-nations/ 

“Cultural shifts happen on a different level; they come into view only when we step back enough to see a bigger picture changing over time.”

Joanna Macy

Join us to explore the role of culture in any given context, how it influences our society and behaviour, and the subtle yet impactful way that culture forms the foundation of our day-to-day realities. With this deep understanding, we will be the stronger catalyst for change toward “the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible”.

The Cultural Dimension of the REGEN-Nations learning programme is starting on May 30th, 2022. Registration is open until June 2nd, 2022!

Meet our live speaker for the Cultural Dimension, Kai Sawyer. Kai joins us from Japan and we are looking forward to his webinar on Breaking the cycles – Transforming violence and oppression into love-in-action. You can find out more about Kai and you can also join us for just his webinar here.