We’re working towards making Bamboo Creative a legal business in Bali (finalised January 2021) which will enable us to have a greater and more fundamental impact in sharing experiences of sustainability practices and just hanging out together “in community” (Bali is a pretty awesome place for that) – and so I’m excited to share this pre-launch campaign – which is more focused around my daughter’s needs over the coming years and enabling me to continue to support her needs while I’m launching the activities and programs we will be offering “post-corona”…
My daughter Freyr has been my primary inspiration and cause for seeking ways to have time “in community” – to feel included and a share a sense of belonging… being open to learning and through all this time I’ve lived in Indonesia and the Philippines (5+ years), I have learned to be far more “chill” than when I was living as a “westerner”.
I have realized that sustainability isn’t just about practices and techniques – but for me, it’s an attitude and “way of life”. Ok, my attitude is not perfect at all – I get grizzly and kinda obnoxious and opinionated whenever the topic of Disability Care and Carer’s Rights comes up… but in general I have a greater sense of appreciation and much less anxiety now when it comes to my experience of daily life and how I live my life.
I would say that I feel much more “immersed” in my reality – and am able to FEEL it so experientially… Of course, I’m blessed to live in Bali, where I get to feel and sense and absorb the wonder and reverence of the local culture, and all the little things that make up daily life in this culture and place… From the old people shuffling down the street to the cheeky grins of the neighboring kids; a dad playfully rocking a toddler, that dog trying to scratch itself, the people laughing, the men standing in their sarongs… As I drive by on my motorbike it’s like being in a video game adventure through a carousel of smells, smiles and sounds.
I just came across a great passage by Jae Sabol of One Community on Linked In which initially inspired me to write this post – talking about what our work is really about: The lived experience of being in a healthy functioning ecological community and learning the tools to function as a re-imagined Being in a world that is sustainable for Everybody. Thanks Jae…. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jaesabol_experiential-social-change-one-community-activity-6726966660529573888-ja9p
This is a challenging but also opportune time to really reflect on the kind of lives we want to live. Everyone (just about) is in the shit and also there are huge opportunities presenting themselves for open collaboration in so many areas…. for those who have eyes to see perhaps…
The biggest opportunity I see is in our relationship with our food source/farming and and in reimagining ourselves as participants in the production of our (not only) our food, but buildings, schools, entertainment and rekindling the heart of our societies !!!
It’s been too long we’ve just learned to expect “others” to do things for us – whether that is make our clothes and ‘cheap’ products without thinking of those on below-poverty-line salaries or those who ‘rule’ our governance and supply systems (usually on way-inflated salaries with far too many “benefits”)… While we wait for Others to provide for/ entertain Us – when, the Truly enriching experiences (that we have become detached from and which are getting more and more expensive as we become more and more dependent) – actually come when we are able to CONTRIBUTE something… Anything… and be meaningfully INVOLVED in a Down to Earth capacity.
That has been the fundamental objective of this project from the beginning actually : For my daughter Freyr to have Meaningful Involvement in her Life and the lives of those around her… to be able to CONTRIBUTE her gifts and talents and be PART of a community/culture and society – not segregated and “cut-off” like we were in Australia. That’s WHY I’ve hung onto threads… even invisible ones… trusting that this path will lead us to creating something that will enable Freyr to become involved in community activities and have the company of peers while being protected by the natural immunity of Com-munity – as that is how we have survived so long as a species and what we must achieve if we want our species to continue to survive actually. (Plus I don’t want to go back to living in Australia as a “Carer” for my daughter because I have a right too to be able to contribute my own gifts and talents :-P)
You may read from me in places about my theory and belief that it is special needs individuals that have the power to empower us towards living in Community… As, by serving a higher purpose than ourselves is, it has been seen/shown that the communities which survive “individualism” are those dedicated to a religion or cause of some kind, which enables or pushes people to seek beyond themselves to the satisfaction and empowerment of the Greater Good… And who Wouldn’t want to hang out in a garden growing veggies, building bamboo homes/huts and discussing world domination by purple wig-wearing savants while hip-hopping with home-grownie backyard band live on the patch?!
To sense and feel being in community and singing songs ‘in the field’ – sounds romantic doesn’t it? but Song has held and united us humans together for who-knows-how-long…. and, SONG is the baseline inspiration for our first Cultural and Regenerative Agriculture Participatory Tour to Africa (Uganda) for Freyr to experience the real music and culture and village life of Africa (my birth-continent) and to live in the infamously totally resonant and magical sound possessed by African people – and to together participate in building some innovative bamboo and recycled plastic infrastructure and learn some farming coolness with Regenerative techniques.
This announcement is to help kickstart a more community-empowered Regenerative farming and shared natural-building and sustainability skills experience for Freyr and our Outreach-focused team to help more people come together and empower and enliven world communities in practical ways and create lasting friendship and partnerships to help ease ‘third-world’ countries out of their present “post-colonised” state materially, and reestablish/spark kinship systems that bring true equality into our world.
“Kickstart” is emphasised as it is often just basic start-up costs for infrastructure (under 5 thousand dollars) that prevents most farms/communities from becoming sustainable…. That initial ‘investment’ makes all the difference in covering the cost to “convert” and aquire infrastructure for the “rubber to hit the road”. We can become the CHANGE by enabling “westerner’s” money to come together with time (which people in developing countries have plenty of) to create innovative powerful change agencies for moving global sustainability forward through guiding our own experiences in a fun, safe and sustained way.
Sandan Farm is the first local example of this measure in Bali… initiated by Djuka Montenero…
https://instagram.com/sandannatural?igshid=54y6wn5j4o9v
We will be following Djuka’s project here: The first community-supported Regenerative Farming Project in Bali and will be launching pre-stages for some awesome experiential-learning adventures in that project in hand with Astankara Way 🙂
Back to this campaign…. it’s been a over a year I’ve been sharing with Joel Odongo from a small community in Uganda – who is a true Community Activist – with a degree in IT, he chooses to use his skills and knowledge to help empower his local community and has made so much headway already… Please see our Uganda Chapter page to see the full progress and background… and now we are preparing a fundraising to really enable progress to start on building a community centre on the land the group (already incorporated) has been gifted for this project. This community are masters of making clay bricks and have already produced 20,000 bricks for the construction! This community has amazing skills to share in weaving/basketry and we are working on collaborations with global connectors to market these products with Fair Trade standards and transparency to enable people to earn fair/decent income. Please contact us if you are interested in coming on board. Product designs are focused on upcycling plastic for incorporation into modernised designs using traditional techniques harnessed over many generations by this inspiring culture and people.
Pictures speak louder than words:
To join this innovative and inspirational movement… and to get access to exclusive discounts for the Tour Program 2022 and to our inclusive programs in Bali :
Bamboo Creative Bali 