A thought for the future - 2020 vision
An alignment of self with nature to build a liberating legacy for enlightening tomorrow's children. In general agreement with Buckminster Fuller's idea that:
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that
makes the existing model obsolete.”
Exploring practices for synergistic co-operation where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. An acknowledgement that best prospects for a creative collectively enriching future require commitment to a social responsibility that is both above & inclusive of self interest.
The Biophilia Project seeks to host a wide range of activities to open doors onto the wisdom and ingenuity of our species and to relay these creative practices that have benefited our species, our planet and its biodiversity.
Aims for 5 years:
To establish an oasis for social and ecological change nurturing mind, body and soul through a shared journey aligning with nature, of which we part along with fellow animals & our ecosystem - the biosphere of Planet Earth.
To partner in the development of a commercially viable healthy food business - horticulture to grazing livestock.
To research, demonstrate and promote permaculture principles for community scale food production and local supply.
To develop and promote appropriate technologies from energy to eco home building.
To explore effective forms of co-operation to achieve these ends through a common quest for individual emotional, spiritual and intellectual presence of mind.
To offer a serendipitous space for learning, reflection and reassessment for greater wellbeing.
Nurturing of mind, body and soul
Mindfulness:
The gentle effort to be continuously present with experience in a non judgmentally way.
Mindful of the need to nurture the concept of collaborative community, openly acknowledging the behavioural realities, positive and negative, of our species.
Biophilia is in part an odyssey to cultivate an "owners manual" for our minds and the minds of coming generations from the wealth of open source wisdom available so that we might better learn how to think rather than what authority wants us to think.
Wellbeing:
Health & fitness through exercise, meditation, breathing therapy, yoga, Tia Chi, healthy diet, and just being in the outdoors connected to nature.
Activities for young & older - advice for leaving obesity behind, releasing the grip of post traumatic stress and unmanaged effects of life's ups and downs.
Joy:
Facilitating opportunity for creative play, fun, art, theatre, yoga, forest schools, camping, adventure trails, exercise pursuits, puzzles to thrive on. An oasis for picnics, outdoor banquets, feasts, mini fiestas and fun art installations, obstacle and play challenges.
Courses, classes, learning opportunities, seminars, discussion, coaching sessions heuristic activity spaces for individuals and groups with the emphasis on being connected to the biosphere of the woods and meadows of Goffin Land.
In a nut shell - to create an "opportunities space" for community, fellow travellers and those is need of a helping hand.
What's the ownership, legal structure? At present a single owner. I consider myself the custodian. I'll seek charitable or trust status when I have time and collaborators.
Below is what I wrote when my dream came to meet me and I bought Goffin Land.
The links below are to pioneering organisations / communities which generally resonate with me. I trust readers will find some common ground with these ideas which are spreading widely in the 21st Century.
My hope is to follow the lead given by these organisations in a practical but small way, whilst respecting neighbours and the local community.
The overall ambition is to create the foundations for an ongoing project exploring creative and enriching non mainstream ways of "being" with each other and our natural environment.
The journey for me is to explore an analytical conscious application of our cognitive potential in light of our knowledge of the unique individual - the individual that is moulded by the dominant authority, media, education, group culture etc.
John Yates .... July 2013
Camp Kernow, near Truro, Cornwall, is an innovative off-grid environmental adventure centre dedicated to reconnecting and engaging children with the natural environment and inspiring them to live more sustainably.
Tamera in Southern Portugal is an international training and experimental site for the development of peace research villages and healing biotopes worldwide. "Those who don`t want war need a vision for peace".
Embercombe is a charity and social enterprise established to champion a way of living that celebrates the opportunities inherent in this challenging time and that inspires people to contribute energetically towards the emergence of a socially just, environmentally sustainable and spiritually fulfilling human presence on earth.
The Centre for Alternative Technology, CAT, is an education and visitor centre which demonstrates practical solutions for sustainability. It covers all aspects of green living: environmental building, eco-sanitation, woodland management, renewable energy, energy efficiency and organic growing.
