Dear friends, family, fellow kindred spirits of the Mount of Oaks
journey,
I, Barbara, am
typing this letter after a lovely time me and Emma just shared, singing,
contemplating and seeking the Divine Spirit for guidance and discernment about
the next steps that are being offered…
In a sure way, the
responses we will have to this letter, will serve us as part of that
discernment. For again, we find ourselves in that place of waiting for the
unknown to be revealed... a place of thrill about it all, and at the same time
some caution... for whatever comes, could lead us to a situation of even more duty
of care for even more precious land…
Background story...
I went on a personal
quest this winter to Brazil. Emma stayed at the land, holding and bridging the
process of Marcia, Eric and Samuel moving out of Mount of Oaks and into the new
chapter of their family/personal lives.
When I came back,
literally the same day, Emma was holding another possibility. Our dear
neighbour, and member of “White Stone” Association, Sr. Aquiles, was almost about
to sell a piece of land that borders the entrance of MOO, that connects with our
sacred forest below, to a couple who live locally who had plans to buy it as an
investment.
It was all a big
misunderstanding – but thank God, Emma got to speak with Aquiles before the
papers were signed. Emma was able to show the couple another piece of land from
Aquiles, more towards Povoa de Atalaia that might suit their needs better –
they have done that and are happy with their investment.
And we are in this
current situation – based on a strong experience she had in the field, Emma
agreed to purchase the land at the entrance to MoO. She has 3,000E left from money her Dad gave her as a seed –
and the rest…… well, we seek to raise this…and more, hopefully. And so the
story of the ‘enlarging of the tent’ began in early Feburary.
We are asking for another
miracle...
I, Barbara, was in
that same position 12 years ago...
Crying my heart
out knowing that this land where we are now, was to be separated, nurtured,
cared for, to be a place of rest, a place of healing, a place of retreat, a
place of grief, a place of vision, a place of encouragement, a place of birth
and a place of death, a place of prayer and contemplation, a place for connection
with nature, with our tribal primitive self, with our natural instinct, a place
so many already benefitted from, a place of peace... also a place beyond this
place... a place that creates bridges between the local existing communities,
and local authorities, and the new locals who are coming from all over the
world to live in this area... a place that helps to build bridges between
dreams and reality...a place also that wants to generate local employment and
create meaningful work... a place that wants to help improve the local economy,
to be one that is above all sustainable for present and future generations...
So the same way 12
years ago we gathered 30,000E in donations to buy this land and moved from
private property into the name of the Association - we are again putting out
the call to gather money to add more land around us, that could open further possibilities.
What kind of possibilities ?
- planting more fruit trees, leaving more land to
grow native species, avoid the spraying of nasty chemicals, and creating
further secluded spaces for people to come on retreats, or build some low
impact dwellings.
What are we confronted
with ?
What we got
ourselves confronted with, as soon as I was arriving, was the opportunity, and
I dare to say, need, of “stretching our tent”, of securing the intimacy, and
secludedness of this place , by buying “Vale do medo” (this is the land we are
committed to buy, and it means “valley of fear”), and having it under “White
Stone Association” too...
Aquiles came here
some weeks later and showed us other pieces he wants to sell on the part above
our pond, the opposite direction... He told us of another lady who wants to
sell her part next to us, also on top... and recently our neighbour Sr.
Fernando, Sr. Joaquim´s son, mentioned selling his part as well... which is,for
those who remember, where we used to get our drinking water in the really early
days!
It all got a bit overwhelming for us... In one hand, if we would have the money, we would love to buy it all, put it under "White Stone Association" and extend the blessing that Mount of Oaks already is to the surrounding lands...On the other hand, we know it´s already a lot of work for 2 people alone with unexperienced volunteers... So, it all needs to be a collective effort... to buy more land, and to commit to nurture it and take care of it !!!
We need discernment and
wisdom...
Right now, we feel
the need to share all this with our wider community as it feels too much to
hold and discern alone! … Another thing is that other people, friends and
people we are getting to know, also want to buy land around us... and we feel
we need to discern very well from now on, what might be good models of
alternative ‘ownership’ : - To
have other small private properties around, or buy it all and have it under
“White Stone” Association, as is the Mount of Oaks currently – and acts like a
sort of land trust. Me and Emma are very clear, we do not ‘own’ this land – we
are still sure of our position of stewarding and nuturing this place on behalf
of a bigger vision. When our time has come to pass this to others, we will.
For now, we are
asking for prayers and if anyone has a word of discernment, please be free to
get in touch with us and share... We need all the wisdom and advise at this
moment.
Crowd funding 70.000E ...
We just got in
touch with our friends Claudian Doubos and Filipa Simões, who invited us some
years ago to be part of the NGO they created called “Terra Livre” – “FreeLand”
(www.terra-livre.org), and asked for
advise on how to share about this situation and crowd fund at least 70.000e to
buy more land around the Mount of Oaks...
We wouldn´t
necessarily think about adding more land into the association, if we wouldn´t
find ourselves in this situation... we definitely don´t need more work to
maintain land, but we are open to this reality we are being confronted with at
this very moment, and we feel that we needed to involve those who have been
part of the history of this place , to seek wisdom, and participation...
Mapping the valley ...
One of our next
steps, sooner rather than later, is to have a chat with Sr.Antonio, who knows
possibly all the owners of every little plot of land in this valley... We want
to share with him, and all those who own land around here, that we would love
to unify this land and nurture it, as best as we can, and maybe one day
dedicate it to become a public park... And even now, to become a place for
older people of Póvoa de Atalaia to come and simply enjoy it, seat under a
tree, chat, tell us the many stories they have about this place, etc... Anyway,
I don´t want to romanticize too much the idea, but I hope I was able to
transmit the picture that came to our hearts J
How to get involved ...
If you are
receiving this letter, it means that some way or another, you are already
involved J
What we need now,
as I shared before, is for wisdom and discernment, so, any prayer or words or
advise are more than welcome. (this includes the best model / web site /
network / platform to share it in the social media )
Also, if you
already feel you want to help purchasing the first piece of land, of 10.000e,
for “White Stone”, please get in touch, for we have clear ideas on how each
donor could benefit from their contribution, from the gift of products for
donations under 50E, to paying forward a trip to stay here in a tent, or if you
give more, the guest room.... we can, after all finally, offer a really great
experience with great accommodation here at the Mount of Oaks now J donations can be from
10e to 500e... or more for those who can J, in
Exchange for our camping facilities, or our comfortable strawbale guest room,
or self-catering strawbale house.
People with
Permaculture experience, of tending land, animals and even building with
natural materials are welcome to consider also coming for longer periods of
time to share some of the work load.
As a local poet,
Nunes Pereira, puts it “ the little that God gave me/ fits in a closed hand/ a
little with God is everything/ a
lot without God is nothing”... It was so funny to read this line just these
days as I was in our “library-toilet” reading the tourist booklet “wild guide -Portugal”... very humorous
I would say J
- If you read this
and thought about someone who might want to help/ participate in this
crazyness, please feel free to share J
As I mentioned at
the start of this letter, we need a clear sign ,if we should go ahead with this
crazy idea or not... So we are putting it out there and by the 30th of April,
our next yearly “White Stone” AGM, we would like to have a confirmation, so we
can also start the legal procedures, and have the ideas formally noted in the
association documents.
For now…
We are utterly
grateful that you have taken the time to read this letter.
Thank you for
supporting this journey so far.
We are feeling for
now, that it might well be possible to raise the 10,000E needed to buy "Vale de
Medo" from folks like you who support the crazyness. Like before, whatever you
can give will be a blessing! …we had donations of 1,5E which I was very
grateful for J
We did it before
and we are seeking to do it again in a different climate, where the need to
have spaces set aside for spiritual and ecological activities is as important
as ever.
We see the ‘now
and not yet’ of the desire to raise 60,000E to put more land into the
association – the long term goals of uniting the valley into one piece set
aside for gentle farming practises, a possible olive oil co-op, retreat huts,
benches for the older people to come and sit under the olives they once tended…
there is no shortage of vision – but now it is cash we need! J
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