What is Durga’s Tiger Land?
“Here I am human, here I may be....”
The Calling
We, David and I, come from the land on the Rio Verde, the "Green River". Durga's Tiger Land. Every time it is like this: we are full of ideas. Joy. A thirst for action. The land has its own pull. It wants us to come. The vision of a small village with a village square, a small store for books, art and everything from soap to rubber boots. And chocolate. And a village pub. A children's house and a small school. We see our community space, wide and open, where we meet. Talking, laughing, planning, dancing. An art place. The workshop. We see the houses that fit into the nature where we will live. In the middle of a hilly landscape, a big green park where a lot of edibles grow and I can snack when I walk through it. Here, a small lake that we have dammed in the heart of the country. A place to linger. A temple to retreat, to meditate, to sing, to paint. By the small stream in the jungle is our sweat lodge. A place of healing. There, the horses. The sheep. A jetty by the river where we bathe and sunbathe. See people creatively creating with each other in good humor. An ancient new way of living. Each one with so much personal power and self-confidence that it is simply exciting to engage in a community experiment. I hear children's laughter in the distance.
Then we are in Chonta Duro, feeling transported to Africa. The small village of African Americans. Waiting for the Encocada with river lobsters. The fat old mama gets up with difficulty, hobbles off, and in the open kitchen she becomes the commander and her grown daughters and granddaughters help grate the coconut, roast ripe bananas, squeeze our lemons for lemonade, and whatever else there is to do until our food is on the table. When we say thank you for the great food, the matron sits under the tree again and is happy.
We see ourselves in the village with children painting a wall. Or having a band set up... or... again bubbling with ideas.In the evening we drive to the sea, cloud spectacle, see the sun sinking red shining on the horizon.In the evening we g drive to the sea, cloud spectacle, see the sun sinking red on the horizon. ...and the fear, which always attacks me when I sit comfortably at home in my Pumahouse, all the doubts, dissolve, washed away by the joy of being able to create life together. What a privilege! The land is calling, opening up to our vision. Life is beautiful. Durga's tiger dances.
Later we sit together, think about what is needed for the infrastructure, write it down, send you the ideas, look forward to your suggestions. Inspirations. We miss you. And yet you are there, the first ones who have decided to be there: Megan, Chris, Lili, Daniel...and then some who are still circling, others who want to join later, in September, when the Durga's Tiger Festival will take place.... We feel the vision taking shape and colors and individuality with your forces.
But first:
How? Where? What? Why? What knowledge do we need? Very tangible, very down to earth. Water, energy, permaculture. Survival knowledge. Community building skills? How do we get the financial means to create?
Yes. Bueno bonito. Let’s get started.
Who:
The initiators are Iris and David together with Megan, Chris, Lilli and Daniel. More are in the orbit, who want to step in. There is a founding group of 9 - 13 people.
We welcome co-initiators and fellow residents from all ages and social backgrounds, families with children, artists, craftspeople and academics from all backgrounds. We agree to participate in a community course based on the training at Durga's Tiger School: https://durgas-tiger-school.com
What:
An independent, self-organised community on a spiritual and collective basis. People from different countries and continents, in an Afro-Ecuadorian farming environment, join together to grow creatively in their self-imposed tasks, solve problems and build a future. The land is provided by the non-profit foundation "Durga's Tiger Land" and is thus community property. We want to live and explore the Sumak Kawsay, the "Buen Vivir" together.
Where:
In the northwestern Ecuadorian province of Esmeraldas, Pacific coast, 130 kilometres from the Colombian border. 15 kilometres inland, on the Rio Verde next to the small village of Chontaduro (approx. 70 families).
The climate is tropical, the cultural environment Afro-Ecuadorian. There are small and medium-sized farms in the neighbourhood. Durga's Tiger Land can be reached via a well-built road. Further northeast is the Chachi National Park, a rainforest area named after the indigenous people who traditionally live there, the Chachi Indians.
Our property covers 42 hectares and borders directly on the Rio Verde. Of this, about 10 hectares are forest, the rest is divided into pasture land, established forests for logging (timber), cacao, bananas, citrus fruits, maize, etc..There are only cattle trails on the property. To get to the land you have to cross the Rio Verde. By canoe. We have built a first house which is available to the peer group (9-13 people) for the beginning. Water supply from the river, electricity comes from the public grid.
Why:
The positive self-determined development of individuals and the shaping of their environment together with others is a strategy to face our increasingly opaque world. This requires an evolutionary commitment. Durga's Tiger Land is one way to create such an "own" place of living together. The aim is to act largely independently, to create the vital solidarity internally and externally. Community cohesion extends to cooperation with neighbours, surrounding afro and indigenous villages, the landscape and a global movement. The social experiment remains constantly in flux, adapting, going its own way, creating the model of the sociocratically, non-hierarchically organised group.
How:
Starting in January 2022, the peer group begins the various works on site. They define the statutes of the community. This includes spiritual and communicative processes that have a community-building function. In concrete terms, a permaculture concept is being developed which will enable a self-sufficient supply of food from their own production in the future. Organic cultivation and animal-friendly husbandry of farm animals such as chickens, sheep, horses, etc. as well as energy and water supply are being considered as alternatives, and the first residential buildings are being built. Cultural and spiritual events, contact with the people in the neighbourhood, artistic spaces for the members of the project and for guests are planned. In addition, various alternative economic and financial models are being researched and implemented. In the course of the first years, a living space for 50 to 80 people is to be created that can function unbureaucratically and self-managed.
In September 2022, a Durga's Tiger Festival is to take place on the land and people are invited to participate in the project.
Iris & David
Links to the topics addressed:
https://durgas-tiger-school.com
https://ecovillage.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZEGG_(community)
https://www.goraymi.com/es-ec/esmeraldas/rio-verde/rurales/chontaduro-a65f7dcbd
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociocracy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_sovereignty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Eisenstein
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer-to-peer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_crowdfunding