Fwd: Tamera Newsletter for New Year 2012

Objet : Tamera Newsletter for New Year 2012

Tamera Newsletter for New Year 2012         Photos.: Tamera Community 2011, the Symbol for Global Compassion is erected, Tamera Choir singing at Christmas Eve in the Church of Relíquias. (Photographers: Simon du Vinage, Elias Barrasch, Ludwig Schramm) "2012: The Mayan date represents a planetary shift in consciousness. We are facing a cosmic opportunity;  a huge door is opening." Dear friends worldwide, "We greet the peoples of the Earth. We greet the groups on all continents preparing the new age. We greet the newly developing planetary community. We are in a huge cosmic transformation. The great peace of which we have dreamt so long without avail can now be fulfilled if humanity remembers its sources and builds its culture on new foundations. This process is already taking place." These sentences mark the beginning of the text "Beyond 2012" written by Dieter Duhm some years ago. Now, the time has come.  We are approaching the year that has become a symbol for the necessity of global change - and also for the growing possibility that the worldwide peace initiatives will join forces to connect to a planetary community for the cooperative co-existence of all beings. It is clear that such a year has to be well prepared.  This winter serves as a time for us in Tamera to set the course for really becoming a global model and a school for the future. The community of coworkers, guests and students, as well as the whole network, shall be able to take part in peace training which will enable us to develop an overall worldwide alternative, consisting of many decentralized models in the different regions of the world.

Tamera in Review 2011:     Looking back on Tamera and its network in 2011, we see both great success and great challenges which we take with us into the winter. We would like to make special mention of two highlights of the year: the Global Campus and the breakthrough in building the water retention landscape.     Global Campus: We say thank you to all those who helped to hold a six-week seminar in Tamera within the framework of the Global Campus. Members of the peace community San José de Apartadó, as well as participants from India, Brazil, Kenya, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Spain, Portugal and more countries, studied in theory and practise, the basic peace building models - including the building of a mini biogas plant (with Thomas Culhane), helping to build water retention spaces and edible landscapes, seminars in ecology (with Sepp Holzer) and in decentralized energy solutions (with Uli Stempel).  At the core of the studies was the theory of community building and conflict resolution, including the art of daring to be more truthful, even in the area of love.  Colloquia with Tamera´s founders Sabine Lichtenfels and Dieter Duhm imparted deep healing knowledge.  More about the Global Campus: http://www.tamera.org/index.php?id=698     Water Retention Landscape: During the summer months, Bernd Müller and his team constructed what is, to date, the largest water retention feature in the south valley of Tamera. With this fourth "lake" we can truly begin to speak of a water retention landscape: Now, the full winter rainfall in this valley will be stored in the ground and released slowly during the summer months.  At the new site, many hectares of new cultivable ground have emerged: terraces with the best topsoil on which an edible landscape and mixed fruit forest will now grow.  A paradise of abundance which will eventually feed the whole Tamera community will soon emerge. The Water Retention Landscape, inspired and built under the supervision of Sepp Holzer, is a large-scale model for the healing of the landscape and for regional food autonomy.  To make this knowledge globally accessable, the IGP conducted the first Water Symposium in August 2011, which brought experts and decision makers together.  More about the Water Landscape: http://www.tamera.org/index.php?id=835     By doing all this important ecological work, we saw time and again how important it is to work with inner ecology as well.  Regarding water as a living being and studying its characteristics brought us closer to the characteristics of love: Love also has to flow and to be able to move in order to stay fresh and vital.     More Highlights of the year were the international conference of the Global Ecovillage Networks (GEN Europe) in June, the installation of a new Photovoltaic Plant, the solar processed harvest kitchen, the Summer University which has become a meeting place for representatives of the international youth movements, a music week in November which brought together forty world musicians, Introductory Weeks which were also conducted in the Russian and French languages, eight very well attended Open Days for Portugal, the ongoing school for feminine peace knowledge, and the responsible participation in the "Green Phoenix Conference" in Switzerland.     At the same time, we see that - regarding the world situation - we have to act even more effectively and compulsorily.  Tamera, as a model, needs new structures for community and decision making in order to live up to its full potential.  And regarding the many tasks that we have, we are asked even more to let the spirit of calmness act through us.  The growing decentralization of Tamera needs, at the same time, a growing coherence among the coworkers and the working fields - as well as the ability to act quickly and correctly as a group, even in unusual situations.  Knowing all this, we are going into an intensive internal study time in January.  In these weeks, we will formulate more precisely how the program for the new year will look. Preparing for 2012:     In 2012, the two core themes will again be "Water" and "Global Peace Education".     Water: Water topics are deciding factors, in many regions, for whether there will be war or peace, whether people have enough to eat, and whether or not the consequences of climate change lead to disasters.  To such regions belong not only Israel-Palestine, Bolivia, Brazil, and Kenya, but also Portugal and the Mediterranean.  From all these countries, we have received calls from people and initiatives who want to create models for landscape healing and need our help and the help of Sepp Holzer. We want to respond to these calls, just as Sepp Holzer and his advice on building water retention features gave us the knowledge to fix the hydrological balance of a whole landscape.      A second Water Symposium will take place in Tamera from 27 - 29 of April. Some very interesting sources of knowledge have confirmed their participation.  Together, we will look at water issues from different angles and work on ecological and economical strategies to create Water Retention Landscapes worldwide.  This time, the Water Symposium is also open to the public.  Please download the information here: http://www.tamera.org/index.php?id=808         Global Campus:  The Global Campus 2012 will look mainly at Portugal and Latin America.      Latin America is a continent in transformation.  The movements and initiatives for peace and justice now need  social and ecological knowledge for developing sustainable solutions and comprehensive models for an autonomous life.  The Global Campus team is planning to spend some weeks in South America.  Among their ideas is to participate in the people´s summit Rio+20 in June in Rio de Janeiro, to conduct a conference in Brazil for all interested people from our South American network and a seminar in Mulatos, which is a part of the peace community San José de Apartadó in Colombia, during which very practical knowledge for autonomy in food and energy shall be shared.     Tamera, as a central training site for the Global Campus, is based in Portugal – which is also a country in transformation.  Confronting the Bailout and Austerity measures, the social system and the economy of the state is threatening to complete erode. This perspective is, for many Portuguese, very depressing.  But it also calls for creative people and initiatives to come together and say: "Now, more than ever, we have to build alternatives.  Portugal, with its abundance of sunshine, rain and nature, could be the richest country in Europe.  Let us make it a model case for autonomy and cooperation with nature."  Even the president has called young people to go back to the countryside and make the state autonomous.  But facing ecological destruction, most people lack the knowledge of how to heal the landscape and grow food.  In cooperation with initiatives and friends in Portugal, Tamera and the Global Campus team are working on a strategy.  An alliance of landowners, companies, youth movements, economists plus the ecological and social knowledge from Tamera could start an initiative to demonstrate in the Alentejo how to make this land green and fertile again and how Portugal could become a land of abundance.   Initial talks have already taken place.  We want to empower a group of Portuguese youth to attain the necessary knowledge in an intensive educational session in Tamera by helping in the different working fields.     Grace Foundation: For the economic manifestation of those big plans, Sabine Lichtenfels and Charly Rainer Ehrenpreis created the Swiss "Grace - Foundation for the Humanisation of Money" in 2007.  It has collected more than 800.000 SF for its aims, and the founders want to express their deep gratitude.  They have been able to finance worldwide peace and education projects within the framework of the "Plan of the Healing Biotopes".   The website for the foundation has been updated to fit to the two main goals of the coming year: "Water" and "Global Peace education".   Those of you who want to help ensure that money comes to the places where it serves the most for humane objectives and has a clear effect for building a peace culture: please contact us.  We also need information about similar foundations which we can contact. More: www.the-grace-foundation.org, E-Mail: info@the-grace-foundation.org To be a Guest or Student in Tamera in 2012:     In January, we will fix the dates for the coming year.  There are some things that we can already say now:     - From March on, Tamera will be open for guests again.  The state of trainees will change, but there will still be opportunities to visit Tamera, not only for seminars, but also to work with us in different fields. Please ask for details in our office.     - Every month, beginning in March, we will have an introduction week. The information for this will soon be available on our website. There is also a possibility of booking introduction weeks for whole groups in a certain language.  For this, please contact our office as soon as possible.     - The basic semester for the peace education will be different in the coming year.  It will be more comprehensive and emcompass more semesters.  It will also incorporate more practical areas which are needed to build models for autonomy in food and energy.  The education will mainly be for young people and representatives of the worldwide youth movements for social justice, and it will be directed by young teachers from Tamera who will be fully supported by the founders' generation.  Laura Czajkowski, one of the young facilitators: "In school, I always dreamt that on the walls there would be statements like: School of life, school of love.  I want to make this dream come true now."  The dates for the new semester will be published very soon.  All interested people, please contact the office for information.     - The Summer University will take place from August 1 - 10, 2012.     For more information: office@tamera.org and soon on our website. More news from Tamera and the network:     Meiga Publishing is presently publishing several issues of exciting books in different languages:     - In December 2011, a new version of Dieter Duhm's "Aufbruch zur Neuen Kultur".     - Sabine Lichtenfels´ book, "Dream Stones" was published in Portuguese, and "Tempel der Liebe" was published in English.     - In January 2012, Dieter Duhm´s "Towards a New Culture" will be published in English     - and from the same author, "La Matriz Sagrada. Tomo I" - (part 1 of the "Sacred Matrix) in Spanish.     Beyond that, there is plenty of study material in many languages for free download at: www.verlag-meiga.org     The new "Big South Lake" is coming alive (and is still looking for financial supporters).  The ecologists write: "With every walk to the South Valley of Tamera, we are moved by the vastness and beauty of this new space, fresh and blossoming with life.  In gentle curves, the dam and the large new terraces and slopes  nestle into the land. They form and surround the new retention space, which is now gradually filling with water. We deeply thank all the forces that helped and supported these successes!  Now, we are looking for people who love our work, and will donate money to help cover the building costs." More: http://www.tamera.org/index.php?id=843     Peace Massages and Peace Messages:  For Christmas, the cosmetic company Lush (Fresh Handmade Cosmetics) introduced a new product: "Peace Massage Bars" made with cocoa butter from the Colombian Peace Village of San José de Apartadó, a close partner project of Tamera. Lush: "We decided to use our trade to help support their difficult position in the region.  Caught in the crossfire of a brutal 40 year civil war, the community is striving to break the cycle of violence and refusing to bear arms or take part in the prolific drug trade in the area." On their website, Lush also offers a very easy and safe form for writing e-mails directly to the fax machine of the Colombian president, asking him to stop the violence and to protect the peace community.  For peace in Colombia, you can do two easy things: Give peace massages and send peace messages.. https://www.lush.co.uk/content/view/3091     Alternative World Water Forum: Representatives of Tamera will take part in the Alternative World Water Forum (FAME) from 14-17 of March in Marseille and present the methodology for Water Retention Landscapes.  The Forum is a meeting of civil movements and groups worldwide who want to manifest the human right for water, which was a resolution of the UN in 2010:  Every being must have free access to drinking water. Ecological and sustainable alternatives in water management that could help to overcome the global water crisis will be presented.  More: http://www.fame2012.org/en/

With best wishes! The Tamera Community

P.S.1: Don´t forget: 1000 supporters by end of the year 2012! With a monthly contribution in the amount of your choice you become part of the realisation and part of the increasing planetary community, which will bring peace models into being worldwide. More: http://www.tamera.org/index.php?id=716 P.S. 2: Don´t forget: The School of the Future: You can take part at the peace study 2012, by receiving and studying the texts: Please write to: igp@tamera.org P.S. 3: Please send us a mail should you no longer wish to receive our newsletter. If you do not receive the newsletter in a proper version, please open it here: http://newsletter.tamera.org/