CommuniTEA Design Charrette!

Welcome friends! The Treekaya team invites you and your friends to join us for some tea and a community design charrette. We will be meeting at 6:30 on Thursday (Oct. 28th) at the ECOlogic Studio in Solana Beach.

We invite you and anyone in North County who is interested to participate & collaborate in the design process of a community project in Baja. We have access to 3.5 acres upon which to create an Educational Retreat Center & Eco-village. The current programming thoughts include a community kitchen, community art & yoga space, shared temporary lodging for students and guests, and private lodging for residents and teachers.

We ask everyone to bring a writing device and pad of paper to sketch on. We will provide several large pieces of paper that we can all collectively sketch on. The design charrette will consist of variations of potential schematic site plans, a sustainability analysis and outline, and open brainstorming discussion about different opportunities that can be manifested on this property.

You can find more details about the property details and vision on our website. ( http://treekayabaja.wordpress.com/introduction/ ) The website for Treekaya is www.treekaya.com.

We look forward to sharing tea, sketching & brainstorming with you!

~ Namaste from the TreeKaya Team

Location:
ECOlogic Studio
649 Valley Avenue, Suite B
Solana Beach, CA
92075

Date / Time:
Thursday, October 28th
6:30 – 8:30 PM

Details:
Please feel free to bring some snacks or beverages to keep the creative juices flowing. We will provide some communi-TEA for sipping… but please bring your own mug. All Treekaya events are Leave-no-trace – meaning we want to create no unnecessary waste. Please be mindful of helping us clean the space afterwards. This can be our way of showing the ECOlogic Studio our appreciation for sharing their space with us!

A Magical Journey Begins – The Dreaming Coyote

 

Click image to see Facebook Page

 

Invitation for Community Collaboration & Creation

Welcome amigos to the Dreaming Coyote & Treekaya Baja!  We warmly invite anyone in the San Diego and North County community to join us in the co-creation of a community education and retreat project located in Baja California.  We have 3.5 beautiful acres of ocean view property located 3 hours south of the San Diego border near the village of Erendira.

We invite anyone who is interested in this project to our community brainstorm sessions that we will be hosting regularly both in San Diego and North County.  These are casual, fun and creative gatherings focused on the planning of this sustainable community design and education project.  We ask everyone to bring either a pencil, pen, marker or paintbrush and an open creative mind.  We provide large sheets of paper, an inspirational environment and a canvas to let our imaginations run wild!  The founders of this project have opened up the creative process, schematic design and planning phases to individuals who are interested in becoming further involved with the creation and development of the land.

 

Seeds of Change

 

Property & Project Details

It is currently an open slate for new ideas and collaboration.  Currently on the property there is a 1,500 sq/ft foundation, a deep water well, 2 water storage basins, a gravity fed water pump, a septic system, solar powered trailer (with bedroom, bathroom and kitchen), bath house (with running water, sink and toilet) and a garage structure (with bedroom and workspace).

The project will include full-time housing for partners, teachers and interns.  There will be camping sites available to those who want to come and check out the property.  Shortly we will have a community kitchen and residence built for interested guests and students.  There is also space for potential community members and interested guests to set up yurts, tents, tipis, trailers and other semi-permanent dwellings.

View from the community kitchen!

 

Education

As soon as our community spaces are complete we will be hosting classes, workshops and retreats on the property.  The educational component of the community will be guided by TreeKaya North County (a local nonprofit organization in process of formation – www.Treekaya.com – http://treekayanorthcounty.wordpress.com/).  The education is focused on basic health, sustainable living and cultural arts.

Location

The land is located 3 hours south of the San Diego border nearby to the village of Erendria.  It is far enough to feel like you have really reached a sanctuary of nature and open space… yet not too far that your bum will get sore from an overly long drive.  The journey takes you along the scenic coast of Baja and through the valleys of the Santo Tomas Vineyards.  With every kilometer the hustle and bustle of chaotic city life melts away… until you find yourself nestled into a grove of trees… perched on the top of a hill… overlooking a pristine beach.  It is about a 5 minute walk down the driveway to the sandy shores of Punta Cabras.  The air is clean and you can not help but feel the creative and expansive energy of the land.  Relaxation, inspiration and rejuvenation are common side effects from this experience!

Action!

Thank you for taking the time to read this… if we have peaked your interest?! Please join us at one of the community brainstorm sessions… or come visit us on the property!  Everyone is welcome! ~Namaste

Friday – Be Inspired!

Friday Challenge – {Be} Inspired

• Be Grateful & Inspired Day / Personal Day of Reflection & Joy / Create a Vision of Happiness Day (a day to be grateful for the beautiful gifts in our lives… a moment to say thank you and be happy with ourselves. a precious moment to offer gratitude for all our blessings. a moment to dream of the vision we wish to create in our lives… now is the time to get specific and focus on what is important to us in life. we now have the opportunity to give these ideas power and reality by writing them down in our journal (if we don’t have a journal, let’s go get one!)… through the process of actually illustrating the vision we want to create, we are one step closer to manifesting our new reality!)
  • journal 5 things I am grateful for in my life
  • sketch an image of what my dreams look like
    • illustrate what I want in my life and in my community
    • what does my vision of an ideal world look like?!
    • what does the vision of my ideal life look like?!
  • we begin to experience the significance and power of actually writing ideas down on paper… it is now offered freely to the world… it is now communicating with the universe… the ideas are no longer just ideas floating around in our heads… they are beginning to take shape in our physical world… we are now one step closer to creating our dreams. dreams can come true when we WAKE UP!

Tuesday

Tuesday Challenge – {Be} Healthy

• Health of Body & Nature Day – Local/Personal awareness - Juice cleanse &/or no meat &/or no processed foods (a day to appreciate ourselves, our bodies and our health… a moment to remember our body is our temple… to remember that basic nutrition is one of our most fundamental factors in a healthy and well-balanced life. also a day to give gratitude for the beautiful planet we are blessed to call home, a moment to remember what a precious gift this planet is! a day to begin understanding how much energy & resources are necessary to provide our society with meat and processed foods – the energy and resources used to feed the animals – the energy consumed to process, package, market and distribute non-local foods. let us all reflect upon the health of the whole organism – ourselves & the planet together as ONE )
  • make sure our food for the day is organic and coming from a local source (an organic farm within 200 miles)
  • if buying groceries, take our own reusable bags and shop from the local bulk bins so no unnecessary marketing and packaging materials accompany the food
  • a full day nutritional juice cleanse (no solid foods – juice only)
  • no eating or buying meat &/or processed foods – (statistics exhibit amazingly high global energy consumption to provide us with these items )

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“It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community – a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the earth’s survival.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

The Good Vibes Summer Tour

The Good Vibes Summer Tour 2010

The Good Vibes Summer Tour is rolling your way soon! The TreeKaya Peace Tri{be} is on the road this summer in search of new friends, open minds, adventure & hidden treasure. Our tour is taking us all through the Western USA to sustainable communities, festivals, conferences and fairs. We are following our noses and instincts in pursuit of anything and anyone dealing with sustainable society, healthy living, permaculture, natural building, renewable energy technology, environmental preservation, conscious development, music, peace and celebration.

Our primary objective is to learn everything we can about sustainable and healthy living… and then share this information with YOU! We are immersing ourselves in the lives of sustainable communities and building relationships with new friends of the Tri{be}. This summer is about learning, spreading the LOVE and inviting people all over the country to participate in our daily ‘{Be} the Change Challenges‘.

We are meeting with many different schools, intentional communities, individuals and organizations who are working together to create a healthy and sustainable planet. Our team is interviewing and filming permaculture teachers, workshops, agriculture specialists, farmers, environmental architects, builders, urban planners, renewable energy technologists and community leaders just to name a few. We then share all of this information and knowledge with you on our video blogs (subcategory of BLOG).

We have a Peace Tri{be} display booth for festivals and conferences. Our team provides materials and information about simple sustainable living. We aim to share our ‘{Be} the Change‘ vision with as many people as possible; and to inform them of simple daily activities they can participate in to create a more sustainable society. The Good Vibes Tour is a combination of learning from others, and sharing what we learn!

We will be rolling through your community soon in an eco-friendly, solar-powered Peace Tribe Bus! Our team is traveling with open hearts, expansive thoughts and video camera in hand; in hopes of sharing smiles, stories and wisdom from all across the country (world)!

~ LOVE from the Tribe!

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Good Vibes Video Blog/Documentary Primary Questions:

• What does the word ‘sustainable‘ mean to you? (your personal definition of the word itself)
• What does the term ‘sustainable living‘ mean to you?
  • … and how do you practice this in your life?
• What does the term ‘healthy living‘ mean to you?
  • … and how do you practice this in your life?
• Do you feel there is a relationship between living sustainably and an overall environment of peace and health on Earth?
  • If YES… how do explain this connection?
• What does the word ‘community‘ mean to you?
• What are several examples of small and practical actions you would feel comfortable participating in within the next month, to step towards a more sustainable lifestyle?

Possible Secondary Questions:

• What do you most highly value in your life?
• What do you currently think are the world’s most pressing concerns? … from a local, national and global perspective?
• What is your personal most pressing current living concern?
• On a scale from 1-10… where is your current happiness? (10 being 100% Happy!)
• On a scale from 1-10… where is your current health? (10 being 100% Healthy!)
• Do you feel your current lifestyle is sustainable?
• Do you feel the current global lifestyle/life-cycle/society is sustainable?
  • If answering NO to above question… what changes do you feel you and your local community can do to begin living more sustainably?
• What are several examples of what you personally do to serve your local community?
• What do you enjoy doing that makes the world a better place?
• What does Harmony mean to you?
• What does the word/words God/Divine/Source/Spirit/Religion/Collective Consciousness/Oneness/Infinite/Space (whatever word you want to choose) mean to you?
• What does Spirituality mean to you?
• What does the word Love mean to you?
• What does the word Peace mean to you?

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Organizations, Educational Centers & Communities

• Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (Occidental, CA) ( http://www.oaec.org/ )
• Regenerative Design Institute (Bolinas, CA) ( http://www.regenerativedesign.org/ )
• Solar Living Institute ( http://www.solarliving.org/ )
• ECOLIFE Foundation (Escondido, CA) (http://www.ecolifefoundation.org/ )
• Solana Center (San Diego, CA) ( http://www.solanacenter.org/ )
• Deer Park Monestary – Thich Nhat Hanh (Escondido, CA) (http://www.deerparkmonastery.org/)
• Twelve Tribes (San Diego, CA) (http://www.twelvetribes.com/)
• SweetWater Zen Center (San Diego, CA) (http://www.swzc.org/)
• California Center for Sustainable Energy (San Diego, CA) (http://energycenter.org/)
• Red Lotus Society (San Diego, CA) (http://www.redlotussociety.org/)
• San Diego Roots (San Diego, CA) (http://www.sandiegoroots.org/)
• Esalen (Big Sur, CA) (http://www.esalen.org/)
• Big Sur Spirit Garden (Big Sur, CA) (http://bigsurspiritgarden.com)
• Sivananda Yoga Farm Ashram (Grass Valley, CA) (http://www.sivanandayogafarm.org/)
• A.P.P.L.E. Center for Sustainable Living (Grass Valley, CA) (http://www.applecenter.org/)
• The Cohousing Company McCamant & Durrett Architects (Grass Valley, CA) (http://www.mccamant-durrett.com/)
• Shambhala Community (Rocky Mountains, Colorado)
• Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Association (Rocky Mountains, Colorado) (http://www.sustainablelivingassociation.org/)
• Lost Valley Educational Center (Eugene, Oregon) ( http://www.lostvalley.org/ )
• Earth Activist Training Organization ( http://www.earthactivisttraining.org/ )
• WWOOF Organization ( http://www.wwoof.org/ )
• Power to the People (Berkeley, CA ) ( http://www.powertothepeople.org/ )
• Gaia University ( http://www.gaiauniversity.org/english/ )
• The Transition Network ( http://www.transitionnetwork.org/ )
• Fellowship of Intentional Communities ( http://fic.ic.org/ )
• The Shift Network ( http://www.theshiftnetwork.com/ )

Conferences

• 9/12 – 9/18 California Center for Sustainable Energy (San Diego, CA)
• 9/18 -9/19 Sustainable Living Fair (Ft. Collins, Colorado) (http://www.sustainablelivingassociation.org/thefair/)
• 9/19 – 9/25 Yoga Journal Conference Colorado (www.yjevents.com/ep/)
• 10/12 – 10/14 Solar Power International (Los Angeles, CA) (http://www.solarpowerinternational.com)
• 10/15-10/17 Bioneers Conference (San Rafael, CA) (http://www.bioneers.org/)

Festivals

• 7/29 – 8/1 Wanderlust Yoga & Music Festival (Lake Tahoe, CA) (www.wanderlustfestival.com)
• 8/12-8/16 Beloved – Sacred Art & Music Festival (Oregon Coast) (www.belovedfestival.com )
• 8/30 – 9/5 Burning Man Festival – Metropolis (Black Rock City, NV)
• 9/9 – 9/12 Bakti Festival (Joshua Tree, CA)
• 9/11 – 9/12 Power to the Peaceful (San Francisco, CA) ( http://www.powertothepeaceful.org/ )
• 9/18 Earth Dance Festival ( http://www.earthdance.org/2010event/ )