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This project is located 8 kilometres from the town of Mucage in Chapada Diamantina in the state of Bahia, Brazil.
It is situated on 300 hectares of land on a plateau 1200 metres above sea level in an area that has a unique ecosystem and is renowned for its natural beauty. Though it is quite rocky terrain the land is ideal for our vision of a project that will not only embrace a spiritual orientation but an orientation that in general aspires to human development in whatever form it may express itself.
The project will be divided into two essential aspects: the spiritual/psychological focus and the community based socially interactive focus which includes education research, cultural, health, and training programmes in various skills needed for development programmes.
I. Spiritual Module
(a) Main temple/centre for teaching and practice purposes and spiritual events.
(b) Facilities for meditation and yoga. Retreat houses for long and short-term retreats and a hall for the people in closed retreat to come together for group practice.
(c) Kitchens, bathrooms, toilets and storage facilities.
(d) Lamas' houses.
(e) Resident community facilities.
(f) Guest House for Volunteer workers and Guests.
(g) Restaurant
II. Social interactive programme
This will eventually run under the auspices of an OSCIP.
1.HEALTH
(a) Alternative health care for local population and resident community.
(b) Research into various forms of treatment and disease prevention using alternative forms of medicine and local herbal remedies (such as flowers, plants and oils.)
(c) Training courses in alternative medicine including osteopathy, massage, rolfing, Alexander Technique and many more.
(d) Preventative health care education.
(e) Hospice and tanatology - the training of care workers to give support in the dying process to those in need.
(f) Yoga, Tai Chi, Shiatsu and other methods of healing
(g) Meditation using mindfulness practice to deal with chronic pain.
2. ENVIRONMENT
(a) Environmental Research
(b) Environmental education workshops, etc.
(c) Permaculture and its philosophy.
(d) Publications on local plants, herbs and Permaculture.
3. CULTURE
(a) Cultural exchanges through the arts, dance, music, theatre, cinema, and lectures on the cultural ethnic roots of the peoples of Chapada Diamantina.
4. FORMAL EDUCATION
(a) Elementary schools based on the Rudolph Steiner and Waldorf and Buddhist principles of education
(b) Adult Literacy programmes.
5. POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND INCOME GENERATING
(project for the community and local population in Chapada Diamantina.)
6. TRAINING PROGRAMMES
(a) Arts and Crafts - ceramics, dry flower arrangements, painting, rock carving, etc.
(b) Weaving
(c) Sewing and Fashion Design for clothes
(d) Nutrition and Cooking
(e) Bakery
(f) Plumbing
(g) Carpentry
(h) Construction skills using alternative and environmentally friendly methods of building
(i) Eco-tourism
(j) Permaculture (alternative energy, alternative architecture, agriculture......
(k) Skills in rock cutting.
(l) Irrigation
(m) Fire Prevention (as there are so many fires in the area that destroy hundreds if not thousands of acres of land each year in the dry season.)
7. INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES
(a) Alternative agrosiviculture; growing vegetables and local fruits, etc, using permaculture principles and techniques - organic products for local use.
(b) Hydroponic vegetables
(c) Production of natural oils, medicinal herbs and teas Citronella oil, Aloe Vera, Umbu, etc.
(d) Cottage Industries, weaving cloth, quilt making, cheese making. Bread and cakes, etc.
(e) Jewelry
(f) Trekking and Horse riding.
(g) Homeopathic Pharmacy.
III. Management
1. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
(a) Fiscal-financial management.
(b) PR- Public Relations Advertising Marketing and Fund Raising.
2. INFRASTRUCTURE
(a) Water
(b) Electricity.
(c) Communications - telephone, fax, radio, tv, internet.
(d) Access - internal roads, staircases, etc.
3. BUILDINGS
(a) Temple or Centre for Spiritual Events and Practice to house all the texts, paintings, and statues.
(b) Residential buildings for community.
(c) Guest Houses.
(d) Restaurants and Kitchens.
(e) Training Course facilities/complex.
(f) Research Facilities.
(g) Health Care Facilities.
As we continue of course we will add more details to different aspects of the project, but this is the basic outline.
Now we need some architectural plans as to how and where we will construct the various buildings and the priorities we will give them in our time frame. Of course financing is a major factor on the speed of the development of such an extensive project.
First we need water. In order to pump up the water we need the installation of an energy network. For that we need funds. Then comes the construction of a place for those of us to live and work on the planning of the project. Along with that is the need for kitchen facilities and storage facilities for the materials for construction.
Fire breakers need to be in place around the land and an irrigation system set up for any form of cultivation to take place. Research into soil quality and make-up are needed in order to balance the acidity and make it nutritious enough for future planting. A telecommunications system will have to be set up later. Already telemar have an antenna on the land for their signals to be transmitted.
send a message to:
Ani Zamba Chozom
webmaster
Last updated February 2, 2009
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