Made By MADRE

MADRE

MADE BY

HANNA MARIE SHORTHOUSE

Madre

Creative

Hanna

Hanna

Photography

Hanna

Hanna

Contributors

Jane

Daan

Anne

Karen

Gobinder

“Each of us has a unique part to play in the healing of the world.”

–MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

PREFACE

WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU THINK OF ‘MOTHER’? For me, it seems to be an all encompassing word for the mission of this personal project. Mother can imply wisdom, protection, creation, compassion, resilience, and unconditional love. Remarkably, the first thing we encountered upon birth, was our mother. The being who nurtured and raised us to be who we are today. The connotation of ‘mother’ holds significant familial and societal connotations, and may take different forms or definitions for you. However, most significantly, the mother is all around us whether we acknowledge her or not. The ‘Mother’ is the spiritual force of our ecosystem and earth from which we live and breathe.

You may be thinking, why Madre? ‘Madre’ as the Spanish word meaning ‘Mother’ signifies nourishing our earth, ourselves and the people we love. Madre encompasses both the need for community and chosen family as we are all interconnected. It’s a calling to regain deeper consciousness of the earth we live in and the need to nurture and protect it. Madre is a home where stories are told, homecooked meals are shared, and lifelong relationships are made. Madre is a place you return to, and take with you wherever you go thereafter.

Here within this book lives the beginnings of this life project we call ‘Madre’– an evolving sustainability project in which we aim to transcend the boundaries of traditional tourism. A year ago, my partner Andres and I decided we were going to open a retreat on the coast of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Andres was 2 years into corporate life and I was destined to join him on that path post-graduation. We concluded that this life trajectory we were on simply would not be enough for us. We had so many ideas between us, but these dreams didn’t suit the confines of a city environment. So, we played into the idea of doing something completely different. We were swimming in unknown waters but would rather

embark on this unknown journey than keep on the cyclical course of 9-5’s, subway stations, and bustling city life within the cold and stark concrete jungle. We were seeking a different ecosystem. A destination where the earth feels virgin and your footsteps in the sand feel like the first.

Planned to open on the coast of the Sierra Nevada region of Colombia, Madre envisions itself as a sanctuary for creatives and seekers alike. A home to ultimately cultivate, collaborate and create. Through farm-to-table cooking and dining, creative workshops, artist residency programs, and restorative practices and rituals; Madre introduces a transformative destination that aims to ignite introspection into sustainable living and creative development. It is a space that connects to the necessity of living more intimately within our values and embracing the abundance of our earth.

Under the same name, this printed publication is a literary companion to the business, delving into the foundational principles and formative ideas behind the brand. This book serves as a tangible medium for the pillars of Madre to live; discussing climate, ecology, spirituality, alternative living, sustainability, and creativity. Made by Madre aims to encourage readers to reflect and engage with the core tenets of the Madre project.

Within this book, Madre explores cross-disciplinary narratives from artists, business owners, educators, thought leaders and more. These pages can serve as your guiding atlas toward all things Madre, as we turn to the integral voices who have inspired the very beginnings of our humble journey.

In “Every Building is a Mountain Top” permaculture designer and climate activist Jane Hayes tells me about her work through Toronto-based businesses Garden Jane and Hoffman Hayes, which implement sustainable healthy food and garden programs in our local communities. Jane illuminates how we can begin to tackle complex social and ecological problems through community engagement, resilient urban agriculture systems, and sustainability. We discuss how attention to the inner workings and needs of smaller components of a system is necessary for a holistic ecology. A whole is greater than the sum of its parts, or in her words “we must leverage relationships to increase the functionality of the system and the long-term benefits.”

In “Sowing Seeds of Change” I talk to Anne Baumann who outlines her journey from the fashion industry to hostel and vegan restaurant owner in the jungle of Colombia, to now, running a permaculture farm called Plan B, where they focus on spiritual healing and farm-to-table, eco-conscious food. The journey to deeper inner consciousness often takes shifting our perspective. In “To Cherish the Pale Blue Dot”, Daan Wolthius tells me how the Pale Blue Dot image of our earth from 8 billion kilometres away, pictured in 1994 by Carl Sagan, was the ideological inspiration behind his eco-lodge, soon to fully open this spring. We discuss the transition from an office job to building a completely energy self-sufficient, regenerative eco-hostel in the middle of the jungle of Colombia. He explains, “As we transition into a greener world, tourism has to be a part of that transition.”

In “Art Imitates Nature” I have a conversation with none other than my Mom. As a multi-disciplinary artist, thoughtful thinker, and creative force in my life, we discuss her process as an artist whose work is entirely inspired by nature’s patterns. She illuminates how we can overcome creative blocks

by always turning to the natural world for answers. Much like how we say, “Life imitates art”, art imitates nature. In her words, “The cocoon is a constant reminder that for life to change, we must look within and change ourselves completely.”

I also delve into stories that come from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in “Stories from the Motherland”, featuring 3 key articles highlighting how climate change is directly affecting the livelihoods of the Indigenous peoples and the delicate ecosystems of this sacred land.

A big, warm thank you to all the names mentioned for participating in this passion project, and the friends, family, and mentors who supported the process of this project. Thank you for providing invaluable knowledge and for being a part of this personal journey.

For many of us, we may find ourselves navigating the trials and tribulations of our evolving world. An ever-changing and difficult ecosystem to understand. Madre addresses a fundamental question: How can we challenge the pervasive ideas of capitalism in our modern world? How can we not only live but thrive alternatively? How can we cultivate abundant communities that empower one another? How can we be more empathetic to our earth? Madre explores the avenues through which we can cultivate genuine care for our natural ecosystem, nurture our found communities and kindle the creative spirit within.

Enjoy,

Hanna

CHAPTER 1

EVERY BUILDING IS A MOUNTAIN TOP

In Conversation with Jane Hayes

In Conversation with Karen Bagayawa ROOTS OF CHANGE: A SERIES OF CASE STUDIES

SOWING SEEDS OF CHANGE

In Conversation with Anne Baumann

TO CHERISH THE PALE BLUE DOT

In Conversation with Daan Wolthius

ART IMITATES NATURE

Luke Ottenhof

Molly Lipson

CHAPTER 3

THE PROPOSAL TO THE EMERGING BRAND

Hanna Shorthouse

CHAPTER 1

ROOTS OF CHANGE: A SERIES OF CASE STUDIES

To restore our connection with Earth, we need more than a systems change. We need a societal awakening, a reevaluation of our awareness and values. These stories explore the wisdom of people undertaking purpose-led projects, exemplifying how we must reconnect to what matters. From conservation, sustainability, and lifepaths that transcend the mundane, these cross-disciplinary narratives represent the core tenets of Madre.

MOUNTAINS OF BRITISH COLOMBIA

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

EVERY BUILDING IS A MOUNTAIN TOP

A CONVERSATION with JANE HAYES

CULTIVATING

resilient URBAN FOOD

SYSTEMS in our CITIES, nurturing COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, and INTEGRATING holistic PRINCIPLES of PERMACULTURE.

HANNA Can you tell me a bit about the background in your work with urban and ecological food systems and how it evolved into Garden Jane?

JANE Essentially, I went to UofT, then got into graduate school. However, I was always more of an activist. That ended up turning into an academic award and was my ticket to grad school at York University. Along the way, I bumped into Anthropology and Environmental Studies.

Anthropology was my love of community, process, people, and ultimately humans questioning how to organize themselves. It was also looking at

food and agriculture: growing, hunting, gathering. That was a very cerebral interest, but a core interest. Within Environmental Studies, my heart got involved, and they are really devastating degrees to do. You go through the whole laundry list of issues from toxic waste, water, food, community and the politics of everything.

Anthropology and Environmental Studies were the nexus where my heart was. I really felt something about Environmental Studies and going through that list, food was a really great organizing principle for people. I also spent time in my teens in Europe for about a year and a half and spent time in countries where English wasn’t the language.

“I THINK it's VERY subtle WORK. IT’S LIKE surgery. IT’S GETTING IN deep AND understanding. ”

– JANE HAYES

I GOT TO UNDERSTAND THAT HAVING A WAY TO CONNECT to various people, food was a great common language. And that’s what I went into grad school to explore – how to change the food system through community engagement. And to be honest, 30 years later, I’m still doing it. That’s what I do. And I’m thinking about it all the time. It was the right question for me.

HANNA And I mean, that’s one significant area that we need to systematically, completely reconstruct. But even when you started Garden Jane, it must have been more unclear as to, the resources in what we can do to make different systems. It seems maybe now, there’s movement, there’s traction, there’s common knowledge, we’re doing things towards more sustainable systems.

What was that like at the time in comparison to the context today?

JANE It’s a different time. I think about, most of my grandparents, and parents, none of them grew things. They were, you know, more Americans, agnostic scientists, middle-class, church people. My dad became a religious scholar and then went deeply into Buddhism, and so all of those things influenced me in a way. As I said, it’s a scientific kind of background and an agnostic kind of approach. But people-oriented, in a sense. It’s interesting now. Why I’m saying that is because in earlier times, things were happening, and people were growing more and a diversity of things for example. Now we’ve regressed from a lot of that. And so in a sense, we’re more organized, more aware, and we have more data, but we also have less embodied experience. That’s the loss.

Another turning point for me was when I explored going out to the West Coast for research and getting into the Clayoquot Sound issues, which hap-

pened in 1993. It was my first attempt at a research project for my undergraduate. And I discovered that it was really hard, in my heart. I went in underground really, as an environmental activist, but I went in as an anthropologist as well, and just documented what was happening there. It was a disaster. We had the global world looking in on this tiny little fishing town. It is small communities with just a few 1000 people, the Indigenous people and immense logging was just a disaster. Cameras were on everything. But it wasn’t that, that changed everything. It was people flying to the headquarters of the toilet paper-making factories and saying, “Did you know you’re chopping down 1000-year-old trees to make toilet paper?” It was those actions that changed things. Of course, it helped to have images of people protesting but that only does so much.

The meetings were what made an impact, and I find that interesting. That idea, of how do we initiate change, what genuinely is the thing? Let’s never mind all the fluff and the pompous and all that, like, broadcasting. But what is the thing that shifts the situation? And I think it’s very subtle work. It’s like surgery. It’s getting in deep and understanding. Intuitively, I have always felt that we needed to reach everybody. We needed to have conversations across languages. And it needed to be led by the heart and brain. We need a whole integrated shift. A cultural shift. It’s a psychosocial cultural shift. And that’s long work.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

HANNA And it seems we don't function as a society like that right now at all when it comes to complex issues.

JANE No, and very few people are operating in that frame. I often don't center that or present that as the top thing that I do. It's often behind the scenes. Permaculture is useful for me that way because I can bring in the vocabulary of permaculture to express certain things. But it also helps me anchor that bigger picture of cultural work that my anthropologist self wants to do, and to ask, how do we react to this? Because social change is one thing but cultural change is bigger and longer and harder for us. And I think we need cultural change the most.

HANNA Can you explain Garden Jane and Hoffman Hayes, and the different work they do for the community?

JANE Garden Jane started picking up pieces. I really wanted to help build up a number of nonprofits. I felt like we needed a new business model, not because I’m super interested in business, frankly, but because I felt that the not-for-profit model wasn’t working. We were always chasing after money, and there wasn’t enough of it for this work. I was looking to shift that frame and bring in more money to the situation through business, from other businesses to business and so on. I work alongside not-for-profits often and a lot of mentoring – a combination of those things. But Hoffman Hayes got developed because, as I was researching Garden Jane years ago, Wayne Roberts, who ran the Food Policy Council, and was a big food activist said to me in all his wisdom, “You have to work with developers to grow food.” And I was like, “You’re nuts, I’m not doing that. I’m not interested.” And then 10 years later, I wrote an email to him, “You were right. I’m sorry.” Because in fact, it’s exactly so. Daniel Hoffman is a former social worker, and the two of us have combined. We always are holding open the opportunity for farm-related work and for the work that connects us. But certainly, the urban work is more what I’ve been focusing on. I really felt a calling after the Clayoquot Sound days, it really taught me that I needed to be in my own neighbourhood, in my own culture and subcultures, to be able to bridge from where I was and who I was with other people to help all of us all move together. I needed to be honest and authentic. It’s impossible if it’s not coming from lived experience, it’s the brain talking. And so that in a sense is why I ended up in the Garden Jane research with a team and that evolved into this.

HANNA Can you share some examples of past or present projects you’ve worked on?

JANE We do community services consulting, which has included things like urban agriculture strategy. We are now working with the Peel Food Action Council. We have a group that is working with the York Region as we are working to connect the regions. In other words, there’s a cluster of people trying to work as food councils to attempt to understand policy, advocacy, networking, mapping, and food systems. The urban agriculture strategy was attempting to network the communities around the issues to name what they were and to be visible to each other– to ultimately have a strategy that was based on community understanding, knowledge and interest as well as municipal willingness to collaborate. We also do master plan consulting for neighbourhoods. We’re not a consulting shop that does hundreds of these processes. We are very specific to these processes, specifically around food. So I think it makes us a bit unconventional in terms of what we do and how we behave. We do things differently.

HANNA How do principles of permaculture guide your projects in urban environments and how are they integrated?

JANE I’m a social designer as much as a landscape designer. One of the things I always come back to in the process is that we have to design and interconnect all the different offerings that connect back into what happens on the land, otherwise, it doesn’t match with permaculture design. Also, we are inherently working with invisible systems. If we don’t work with the invisible systems, we don’t have a land-based expression that’s going to work.

For example, when we looked at the water of the campus farm, it’s looking at contaminated soil. We were able to say, let’s look at the whole watershed. We looked at probably 15 to 20 maps of a whole watershed – which way the rivers flow, how the water’s going underground, what’s happening with the pond on the site, what’s happening with the pond off the site? All of that affects how we treat the water on the site. That’s the permaculture process.

You have to address the fact that water and soil interact with each other. It’s a very significant, important piece of the picture.

In a good permaculture process, you’re going to have other yields, you’re going to have extra yields, that’s part of the point, you’re going to get things that you didn’t expect to happen. The thing is, we must be honest about people’s bodies, minds, and hearts – they all need to be properly met and respected. Everyone has to have a voice. But we need to understand how to do that socially. Without the social work, the physical work isn’t going to happen.

"WE MUST BE honest ABOUT people’s BODIES, MINDS, and HEARTS–they all NEED TO BE PROPERLY MET and RESPECTED." – JANE HAYES

ONE PARK PLACE PLANTING PHOTO COURTESY OF NICOLA BETTS

REGENT PARK REVITALIZATION DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY GARDENS

PHOTO COURTESY OF HOFFMAN HAYES

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

EACH BUILDING to ME is LIKE a MOUNTAINTOP. it's AN ARID ECOLOGY.

– JANE HAYES

JANE We also do garden coaching and community development. We are connecting multiple projects across Regent Park, so they can connect across each site within general garden projects, urban agriculture projects, farmers markets, gardeners, ecology people, pollinating people, a world of people. It’s incremental, step by step. First, you consider, where you are, then your neighbours, then the whole system–what’s happening everywhere else? Then what can we really do?

We want to do the things that are going to help build the infrastructure of the city. This is really permaculture. Using and leveraging relationships to increase the functionality of the system and the long-term opportunities and benefits. The aim is to

help people grow food while engaging and building community, inspiring investment money into these projects.

HANNA How do the projects initiated by Garden Jane and Hoffmann Hayes contribute to addressing social and ecological problems, and what long-term impacts do you envision?

JANE Each building to me is like a mountaintop. It’s an arid ecology. Once you put people and a bit of water and some plant material on it, it starts to revive a little bit. Buildings are like a rocky face, right? It’s all of these towers, and some of them are higher up, much like little mountain tops.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

PHOTO COURTESY

JANE And so, I’ve been thinking about it like mountain ranges. How do we make a mountain range? How do we reskin the city? There are upper levels and lower levels. It is working with patterns. How do we work with this, like a mountain ecology? And like a mountain range ecology? What does that look like?

The standing question for me, and one of the things I’ve been calling in is relationships with other mountain ecology people. In mountain ecologies, you have diversification of species, you have special niches, and you have cultural niches as well. And so a particular garden ecology is different than another one. But if you connect them or invite them to see each other and interact, then it opens up both opportunities for cross-pollination of ideas, but also the protection of or development of specializations. And I think that’s interesting culturally.

We want to look at the current ecology of urban buildings. They typically are not communities. When we drop a garden into one of these places and have 75 people show up, we’re developing a community, a vertical community.

HANNA Absolutely. In the design of most condos and city buildings, there rarely is a space for gathering and building community among the people living there. People who live in condos generally don’t collect and interact. It’s very isolated.

JANE There’s not a space and there’s no programs. I never design just a site, I design the social interaction on the site. We sort of create the template of what the whole system looks like when it’s functioning. So it’s all systems designed, very complex to get it to the point where it’s not that complex, ultimately, it’s just never been done before. So that piece, where this is all going for me is about economic development and community development. From a systems perspective, it’s part of what’s kept me engaged and interested as I think there’s a lot we can do from a bigger picture perspective.

WE WANT to that are GOING BUILD THE of THE CITY . really PERMA USING and relationships TO the functionality AND the opportunities

do the THINGS to HELP infrastructure THIS is CULTURE. leveraging INCREASE of

the SYSTEM

LONG-TERM AND benefits.

– JANE HAYES

HANNA What does the design process look like when designing with the principles of permaculture?

JANE We first start with Indigenous engagement, which is like the nest. This is required to feed into everything because the Indigenous work comes first. It has to anchor and solidify. Then there are standard design processes.

What I do, underneath all of that, I put the permaculture pieces to try to support that process. You broaden out the context, then add in pieces. You integrate Indigenous and Western permaculture worldviews as well as their nested contexts such as political, social, geographical, meteorological, and historical. We add in feedback loops. Grounding language around the ethics of permaculture, people care, earth care, and fair share. So one of the things I often do is center one and remember that the others are there. Then there’s the scale of permanence. Climate is the hardest thing to change. When we make choices about what to start, we have to think about climate first.

A typical permaculture conversation considers: what are the needs, yields, behaviours and characteristics of an element in a system. It’s pretty personal work, evaluating all of these things, and how they all have relationships with each other. The elements in the system have to be deeply functional before you’re going to call in a third element for it to be stable. It’s like an image of a painting with strings laid across the paint, and then you pull the string, and everything moves into a puddle of beautiful distortion.

The point is that when we’re working in any sort of design methodologies, we’re trying to create crystalline stable structures. You have to remember these structures, two, three three-dimensional, are spiralling through time and space together. They are very, basically unstable, especially when one thread gets pulled, one relationship gets pulled, or one element gets pulled. That creates massive distortion. And that’s what we’re in. We’re in distortion a lot of the time. For us to create resilient structures as designers, permaculture designers, we need to create the conditions for stability. And of course, we can’t do it all. But the point is to address all those relationships, creating feedback loops everywhere we can.

GARDEN COACHING PHOTO COURTESY OF NICOLA BETTS

HANNA It all seems so complex, because it’s also considering all the different moving parts, and not one person can tackle it all, so it’s organizing people and their capabilities, how to physically organize people to make those yields possible.

JANE Ideally, each person is doing as little as possible, but working with their natural patterns as they are, within their individual needs, yields, behaviours and characteristics. And I think that piece, each person that’s in the work, in whatever place they’re in, needs to be encouraged and supported to find their right stable relationships, their place, their niches, and the way they’re going to make a livelihood, showing them that they can keep going. Because we need all of us to do this work, together.

SOWING SEEDS OF CHANGE

A CONVERSATION with ANNE BAUMANN

ANNE BAUMANN explores CONCIOUS FOOD, INDIGENOUS WISDOM, and SPIRITUAL HEALING at PLAN B FARM TO TABLE permaculture farm.

HANNA Can you tell me a bit about yourself and your journey to establishing your life in Minca, Colombia?

ANNE I grew up in Germany, and worked for seven years in the fashion industry in Europe. I was aligned with it at the time. But then I realized that there was so much more. Also looking back, I was discovering details of the industry. I was realizing it is such a destructive and abusive business where a lot of money is involved, made on the backs of people who get paid and treated poorly. Additionally fashion is simply not sustainable for nature whatsoever.

HANNA I’ve come to learn that just through these past years of studying fashion, and just realizing, wow, the more I learn about this, the more I don’t want to be a part of it.

As you mentioned you were working in fashion for years and enjoyed it at the time, and went through a shift in perspective. What initially inspired you to go through that change and embrace this new sustainable lifestyle from where you were before? Where exactly was that shift?

ANNE The initial point was when I was still in my old job and had so many miles from flying.

I could keep the air miles for myself which was a nice thing to have from the company. I went on a trip to South America and I met a girl who had been on a boat trip and had been traveling for two years. This was already 16 years ago. At the time it was not as common to take a year off after studying to travel or a take a sabbatical year. After I spoke to her and asked her how much money she saved up to do this trip, she told me she had saved $10,000. I realized my job was quite easy and I could save up this amount of money. I promised myself when I have enough to travel for two years, I will quit my job. I saved the money much quicker than expected and I still remember the day in front of this ATM and thinking “oh shit.” I had exactly the amount saved in my account that I had promised I would quit my job. In tears, I wrote my resignation letter and sent it off. In the back of my mind I was still thinking if I regretted it, I could come back. After travelling for two months, and meeting so many people that chose this path and this way of life, I realized I couldn’t go back to that world anymore. I’ve worked in so many big shopping malls, every day in an environment that is very artificial, from bright lights to never seeing the outdoors. I was so disconnected from nature. I arrived in Southeast Asia and spent a lot of time in the jungle and I just realized, that’s what real life is. From there, I decided to not go back to my old life and the rest happened in a very organic way.

HANNA What was your career in fashion?

ANNE I mainly worked as the visual merchandiser for an Italian fashion brand. I would work on the main visual merchandising concept. My job was mainly to open new shops and flagship stores. I opened in total over 70 shops and trained their people to open more shops. I had to change country nearly every week, cities every couple days. It was a very demanding job.

ANNE BAUMANN

ANNE It was the complete opposite of how I live my life now.

HANNA I mean, eventually anyone would burn out from that kind of lifestyle at one point or another. That’s what I kind of evaluated for the direction I saw myself going, whether this is what I want for my life. I know myself and I know I would burn out quite quickly.

ANNE For me, it was the right thing for that moment. It was a privilege because I also got to know so many place. I made the best out of it and I had a lot of fun doing it as well. But when I started to question everything and saw there was a completely different way of life possible it was hard to go back to that industry and life. My fire burned for something completely different. And I think that everything that followed, unfolded in such a natural way because I was following my heart without forcing it, just exploring what was out there; other lifestyles, other countries, other possibilities. Volunteer opportunities were a great way to explore those things.

HANNA It’s profound to have that moment when you realize you truly want to make a big change. But also, that realization that the act of turning your life in a different direction is completely possible and not as difficult as maybe, we are taught to view it. We always have the sense that the direction we are going is permanent, that we’ll be locked into one job or lifestyle when really, you can change at any point in time if you’re following your heart and if it rings true for you. Despite friends, family, and anything external, you would be your biggest barrier.

ANNE I am originally from Germany where the culture is so structured and strict. If you study fashion design or visual merchandising, you are meant to be and do this for your whole life. I don’t have any traditional training for being a chef yet I managed to open a restaurant. When I was initially learning, I visited so many different cooking schools and did things online. I was exploring what my passion was and taking it day by day. When I opened this restaurant I was receiving volunteers and people from all over the world for 10 years. I was looking for people who were passionate about food. I had the best apprenticeship from just being in my place. It’s not the traditional training.

"WE often CLOSE OURSELVES OFF to being OPEN to receiving EVERYTHING that LIFE might BRING YOU."

– ANNE BAUMANN

IT’S SIMILAR TO MY PARTNERS’ EXPERIENCE WITH PERMACULTURE, coming from a background in fashion. He also at first didn’t have a clue how anything in a garden worked. He learned a lot from making mistakes. Now with Google and YouTube at your fingertips, you can do so much personal research. Just try it, have your own experience, and most importantly ask other people questions. Be curious. Our most valuable resource here is Indigenous Community, they have the most knowledge about how to work with the Earth.

We have to get away from this thought that once when you study something in that traditional sense, that’s your path. We often close ourselves off to being open to receiving everything that life might bring you. If you have solely attached yourself to one thing, and try and define yourself through something you studied maybe 10 years ago, you change. That may not be aligned anymore and that is normal. Now, it feels more like bringing together all my different interests from conscious cooking, yoga, and holistic healing - we can explore multiple things at the same time too.

HANNA And we will constantly experience those cycles of change. It’s just being open to change and moving with those cycles.

Can you tell me a bit more about when you arrived in Minca and what drew you to the region out of all the places you travelled that made you feel like this was home?

ANNE I think it was more like an energetic thing. I remember driving up to Minka, it instantly felt like home. That has never happened to me in the two years of travelling and even in Germany as a kid. I remember I never really felt at home there. When we went somewhere on holiday I hoped and prayed that we would stay there and that we don’t go back to Germany. Then arriving here it instantly felt like home. When I first came I volunteered in Casa Loma Hostel as it had just opened four months when I arrived. I volunteered there for nearly six months and every day it felt more like home.

It was interesting because at this time I was writing down and journaling nearly every day so now I can still look back on the notes. I remember sitting and seeing the view of the sea and to your back are the huge mountains. I’ve always loved both. And there are not many places you have your feet in the tropical ocean and you can look at the snow on the mountain peaks. I just cried, and I wrote my first day in Minca and my first impression: “Can this get any better?” You are living in paradise.

Everything fell else into place. I was asked to become a partner of the hostel. I never expected to have a hostel but everything happened so organically and suddenly I was a hostel owner for the next 10 years. During this work at Casa Loma, I began doing a little bit of everything and then diving deep into cooking in the kitchen. The cooking went from a vegetarian kitchen to a very strictly vegan kitchen. Then it was a longer trip to India and Sri Lanka bringing back a lot of knowledge about yoga and breathwork and taking these practices back with me.

So as I look back on my past, it is always being reflected directly back into the business. Minca specifically, since you’re living in such a paradise, you have a responsibility to preserve the land here. You want to make people more aware of nature conservation and protect the home you have.

HANNA Can you tell me about Plan B Farm-toTable?

ANNE Plan B has existed now for eight years. It was founded by my partner Pim. He was travelling when he was still working in fashion and wanted to go on a five-month trip to South America. In the end, he arrived in Colombia. He first arrived to Taganga and then at the Tayrona Park area. Then he came here to Minka and heard about a project called Mundo Nuevo. He helped the owner of Mundo Nuevo to open the hostel, and it has now turned into an Ecolodge. After a few months, he was managing and running the whole place. He started to dive into permaculture and learn a lot about beekeeping. That’s how he started the gardens of Mundo Nuevo, and from this project came Plan B. Previously, the farm was completely deforested because it was a cattle farm. All the native forest had been cut down to grow one invasive plant, a certain grass to feed the cows, but no other animals could eat it. We still face challenges with this invasive grass, taking it out from the roots and always needing to grow some cover crops on top. Slowly bringing the natural ecosystem back into the land. Our life’s mission is to reforest the whole mountain here and bring the balance back into the ecosystem. That was the start of the project that evolved into Plan B.

ANNE I have lived in Minca for 13 years and joined him in the project three years ago. Over the years I have done many different things. From being a Yoga Teacher, Holistic Therapist, Holistic Chef, and coming from the conscious kitchen side, I joined Pim here on the project which has brought both our forces together. He–the permaculture and gardening and me–conscious cooking. And that’s how we created the farm-to-table experience.

HANNA Can you tell me about the name Plan B and your mission as a permaculture farm?

ANNE The idea is to make people more aware of how important it is to live together with nature. We want to show people how possible it is to do everything in your life holistically, lead by example within our space, and give everything we can back to the Earth. In return, we get everything we need from Mother Earth, from food to medicine. We educate about the cycle of life, and how it is to live consciously with our natural environment.

HANNA I wanted to talk more about conscious cooking with you and why we should be more aware of eating high-frequency, vegan food as a responsibility to earth and living sustainably within it.

ANNE This part for me has evolved so much from being on this farm, but started long before that too. I had a moment where I realized that so much of the food that we get in the supermarket is not good for us. Everything that has such a long shelf life has endless preservatives, and it should not be normal. Apples from the market won’t fully decay for up to two years. One time I used an apple to hold incense to cleanse a room and after four months, the apple still looked remarkable. I started doing more research. On the farm, we get to experience real, organic vegetables and fruits and they are nothing like what you find in the supermarket.

Here, we are very aware of the origin of our seeds. First, our seeds are local and organic. Seeds can be genetically modified as well. If you look at the bigger picture, if you believe that you are what you eat, we shouldn’t be just consuming humanely modified food. Additionally, we have monoculture everywhere. This is the opposite of permaculture, as it’s when you grow just one crop. Growing one type of fruit or vegetable on a big area of space on such a big scale is modern agriculture. They work with

artificial and chemical fertilizers, and pesticides and fungicides to grow because there is no balance in the system anymore. So if you don’t put chemical fertilizers on your crops, they won’t grow, and then you have a lot of plaques and diseases coming in, but there are no insects or birds that can eat at what is destroying the harvest because of the fertilizers. It becomes a vicious cycle of a very artificial process that in time also harms the soil. After two years, you cannot grow the same crops anymore, because all the nutrients are depleted from the soil. Then you need to put again, chemical fertilizers in the soil again to have more crops growing. Not to mention how this largely affects the entire ecosystem in the process.

We need permaculture to grow the biggest variety, in a small amount of space that has the natural ability to be regenerative. What grows feeds different animals such as birds, insects eat other insects that would harm your crops. We beekeep, as bee’s help with deforestation. In many, many parts of the world, there is not even natural pollination anymore because chemicals are killing all the bees.

From the planting of the seed to harvesting, we put the intention into every seed. We program the seeds with our intention. Also a part of conscious planting, I even take the seeds in my mouth as I plant, with your saliva you give the DNA and the information to the seed. Then the seed grows to your physical and spiritual needs. Generally, our food is only made at scale and with no intention with this very unhealthy system of monoculture – it is not good for our health and is not friendly to the earth. It should be a cycle of life where nothing goes to waste. For me, it’s about conscious food, where you are aware of every step, and that every part of the cycle is aligned.

HANNA You said earlier how you have gained knowledge from the local Indigenous communities as well. What kind of knowledge have they shared with you and how you’ve been able to integrate this into the Plan B farm?

ANNE The biggest teaching I learned from them is how they view everything as a whole that must work together. And I’ve reflected on this within our home in the Sierra Nevada, but also, in general in my way of life.

“ It’s about CONSCIOUS FOOD, where you are AWARE of EVERY STEP, and that EVERY PART of the CYCLE is ALIGNED.”

– ANNE BAUMANN

IN THE INDIGENOUS CULTURE AND THEIR COSMO VISION , it’s really important to do “pagamentos”– spiritual offerings. It’s almost like paying your spiritual taxes. For whatever they do and ask of the earth and universe, they always make an offering. For example, before we started making our house, we consulted one of the most spiritual leaders of the community to come with us and ask and communicate to this part of the earth if it was okay we put our home there. Maybe this land here was a sacred place that needed to be untouched. He permitted us that it was a good place to build, and we made offerings.

I’ve also taken other, simple practices. For example, an Indigenous practice is using a ball of cotton to cleanse the physical body from toxic thoughts. You give this cotton with your limiting beliefs and energy from your system back to the earth so Mother Earth can help transform negative thoughts into neutral ones. Things like this, we follow from the Indigenous. There is such an imbalance because we just take from Mother Earth and never give anything back or ask for permission in the first place. It is a mutual respect.

HANNA It is treating Mother Earth as a relationship, as not just a resource to extract from,

ANNE What Mother Earth has taught me is what unconditional love means. We take so much from her, we abuse her, mistreat her, and she is still there giving. So, it feels like a responsibility in my daily life to give back to her as much as I can and continue to spread awareness to other people, travellers, and my children. I want to spread awareness to people who come to this beautiful region and are open to learning. It is a big concept to take in, but it is so important.

You don’t have to open a permaculture farm or make a huge change but it starts with the little things. Even when you live in a city, you can change small things to have a more conscious life. That comes from the decisions of what you consume, and where you buy. Making every choice be an intentional and conscious decision.

HANNA Lastly, I wanted to ask you about the upcoming retreat called Knowledge of the Ancient Future. If you could share a sneak peek into the female healers, and holistic facilitators who are going to be participating and the holistic tools which will be a part of the retreat you are currently planning.

ANNE The concept is truly reflected in the name – Knowledge of the Ancient Future . The intention is to bring the knowledge from our Elder Brothers, and the Indigenous communities we live with, to spread their message, but trying to find ways to implement this in our daily lives. This concept of spreading their knowledge and how to integrate it will be in combination with the concept of human design. I discovered human design in 2020 for the first time and it was just like such a revelation seeing that there is something in existence that describes how every individual person works and what they have to offer the world. To give you a general idea, human design is a combination of different sciences such as astrology and the connection to our chakras. It is complex, but when you break it down, it explains exactly who you are, your gifts, your shadows, and what drives you. With this knowledge you can understand so much about your energy, how you receive that energy, and how to protect it. You can also start to understand others around you better. Human design helps you to live more in alignment with who you are.

THE IDEA OF THIS RETREAT is to get to know more about the true essence of yourself. Through human design we can analyze – what is your sole purpose? What are your gifts? What are your shadows? The beginning of retreat starts with shadow work and also at an ancestral level, as we sometimes carry shadows with us from our ancestors. We integrate this shadow work, we don’t work against it. From there we tap into your gifts and powers and this will lead to getting to know your divine purpose.

This will all take place in December, 2024. I am thrilled to share all the different tools and knowledge I learned over the last few years and that I get to work with a handful of other facilitators that I met on my path. Many of the facilitators and healers involved, our paths crossed here in Colombia. At the moment, these women are spread out all over the world again, but we’ll be joining all together in December and I think it will be very special.

TO CHERISH THE PALE BLUE DOT

A CONVERSATION with DAAN WOLTHIUS

BLUE DOT ECO HOSTEL leads the way in ECO-TOURISM, SUSTAINABILITY, and CONSERVATION in the SIERRA NEVADA DE COLOMBIA.

HANNA Could you take me back to the initial ideas of the business and the motivations behind creating Blue Dot

DAAN The initial idea of the business came up out of two things, being in the right place and time when both my partner (Garlyn) and I were looking for a way to change our lives. We were both feeling that our lives weren’t as really fulfilling as they could be. I was in a standard office job, like many people, and I was feeling out of place. Through a lot of soul searching, I knew I wanted to do something within sustainability, something to make the world a better place.

But I didn’t know what that would be exactly. Colombia had been high on my list of places to visit since I was 20 when I backpacked through Central America for 10 months. The idea at that time was that I would end up in South America. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to Columbia on that trip. I started in Guatemala, I did all of Central America but by the time I got to Panama, my time and money had run out. I was doing North to South, and interestingly, I was running into a lot of people who were doing it the other way around, South America to Central America. There was one universal thing I learnt through my travels.

PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE I RAN INTO ON THAT PATH would not stop talking about Colombia. They all made it pretty clear I had to return to see it myself. Years later, we came to Colombia and fell in love with the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region.

I started reading all about the area and found out that the ecosystem here is incredibly unique. I stumbled upon a macro study that was aiming to see how we can maximize yield for sustainable conservation projects; basically which places are the most important to protect. They mention key places to protect such as the coral reefs, and the Amazon rainforest. They examined many other studies together. The number one spot in the world that came out of this study, if we could only conserve one area in the world, it should be the Sierra Nevada. Where we are right now. Because it is the most ecologically diverse place on the planet. Within 50 or so kilometres, you can snorkel coral reefs and look up and see snow. Between those two points is such a diverse array of ecosystems. As I know from the Indigenous neighbours, if you hike further into the mountains you will go through rainforest, and dry forest, and end up in a tundra. My thinking was if I wanted to make a sustainable contribution and create awareness about preserving nature, then this is the best part of the world to do that.

I have always loved travelling. However, I’ve always had to grapple with the fact that travelling, in essence, is not sustainable. Mostly everything we take part in as humans is inherently unsustainable for the earth. So that was a big part of the mission.

"If we could ONLY CONSERVE ONE AREA in the WORLD, it SHOULD BE the SIERRA NEVADA de SANTA MARTA."

–

DAAN WOLTHIUS

I’ve also been pretty decent at making things and I would always find myself wanting to work with my hands. That is one of the biggest things I missed working in an office job. Simply, and physically, making things. Why not combine all these things–travelling, nature conservation, sustainability, and building something special?

MOUNTAINS FROM LOST CITY TREK, SANTA MARTA PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

HANNA I’m curious, as you mentioned, you had an interest in both travel and sustainability and they’ve intersected for you. As you said, they are two separate entities, where did they cross over for you?

DAAN In my personality I would say. Travelling and exploring was always a big thing for me. But I was also passionate about sustainability, which are two things that are hard to manage together. But I think, as we transition into a greener world, such as ways to generate green energy or waste, tourism has to be a part of that transition. I don’t want to be the person to say we should all stop travelling tomorrow, but I want to figure out a way to make travel a force for good.

“As we TRANSITION into a GREENER WORLD, such as ways to of that TRANSITION.”

GENERATE GREEN ENERGY or WASTE, TOURISM

has to be a PART

HANNA I'd love for you to go into what the meaning behind Blue Dot is and why you chose that name.

DAAN Well, the plan was to make the hostel, and of course, we needed a name. A lot of things crossed our mind. We went through many ideas, lots of corny ones, like allegations of our names put together and so on. We wanted something that was us. At some point, I remembered the Pale Blue Dot image that NASA took. I remembered the quote from Carl Sagan. I remember thinking, that encompasses everything for me. It was a call for preservation, a statement that all our human procedures are folly. What it comes down to is, don't destroy your own home. This is the only home we have. If I were to put it into a cartoon of how we treat our earth, it'd be a guy sitting in a tree and sawing off the branch he's sitting on.

So, I thought Blue Dot perfectly captured the essence of the space we wanted to make. Garlyn and I also happen to be big science and space nerds. Garlyn studied astronomy. It was us. And it was a powerful message behind the simplicity of it.

– DAAN WOLTHIUS

HANNA I want to know, what were the main things you fell in love with in this region of Colombia that stood apart from the rest of the places you had traveled to?

DAAN It is such a powerful place. But also, there is still so much to protect and save here unlike many places. We still see deforestation, even in the five years we have been here. I could run away from it, I could ignore it, or I could create something here that is more valuable than deforestation. It’s a fight. And to fight this fight, we need to be on the front lines. It is integral to preserve this kind of ecosystem that is rapidly disappearing everywhere on the planet. I believe the only way to fight it is with money and awareness, by showing people that sustainable tourism is more valuable than cutting down the rainforests. It is heart-wrenching. Just yesterday, behind this hill, there was a forest fire set to clear the forest for cows. It has been a dry five years since we have been here and people are simply setting the forest on fire for cattle. We see this time and time again here. We want to promote the value of sustainable tourism and preserving the land here.

HANNA What does sustainable development mean to you?

DAAN First, it means building our hostel with a minimum negative impact on the environment by using local materials and being the least invasive as we can. For example, minimizing the use of cement as it is a huge source of CO2 output in the production of the material.

It is about being intentional about each material and its impact on the environment in every way. We are 100% renewable energy here at Blue Dot with a solar panel system and a water turbine for our energy. The second is in the way we run the business. We aim to produce as much food here on our land. We have about two hectares of land where we can grow produce. We already have limes and are currently planting more bananas, pineapples, and mango trees. The idea is that we offer locally sourced food. For example, offering plenty of nice drinks we make here instead of offering drinks from the Coca-Cola company. These big companies produce so much trash that are polluting our oceans with plastic bottles and cans. We can make our lemonade, fruit juices, and iced tea. We want to generate the least amount of waste and grow our food right on the hostel grounds, as well as offering only vegan food. We want to be an example for the people who come here. We also want to get creative with waste streams and run sustainability projects at the hostel. We can get creative about the way we reuse waste that cannot be recycled.

“ It is INTEGRAL to PRESERVE this kind of ECOSYSTEM that is RAPIDLY DISAPPEARING EVERYWHERE on the PLANET.”

DAAN WORKING ON A COANDA

SCREEN FOR WATER TURBINE

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLUE DOT

HANNA In looking toward the future, now that you’ve established Blue Dot, what other aspirations do you have for the hostel?

DAAN Once we are a fully running hostel, I want to continue to keep growing the concept and try to bring the sustainable methods we do here to other businesses. I would love to grow a collective of sustainable businesses here that all fall under certain sustainability ethics and guidelines, ultimately inspire the rest of the industry to go in the same direction of being conscious of their impact, to not cut any corners in the process. I want Blue Dot to be a name for travellers, backpackers, and adventurers. But I want to show that in the long run, sustainability is always the best choice.

HANNA For those inspired to open a business, or simply embark on a new and unknown venture, what advice would you give them?

DAAN Figure out what your core values are. And if you stick to something that rhymes with those, then you're at least being true to yourself. If you start from there, it will be easier to deal with any setbacks in the process. Whatever you do in life, you will always have setbacks. If you know that you're doing what you really love, I think you’ll have more reserves to deal with those challenges that will come along the way. Stay true to your values. Secondly, learn from others. Seek advice and knowledge from others and learn from their mistakes. I wish I could have done that a bit more. You will always make your own new mistakes, but learn from the mistakes others have made before you.

"There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

— CARL SAGAN, 1994

PALE BLUE DOT is a PHOTOGRAPH of PLANET

EARTH taken on FEBRUARY 14, 1990, by the VOYAGER 1 SPACE PROBE from a RECORD DISTANCE of about 6 BILLION KILOMETERS.

In the PHOTOGRAPH, EARTH'S APPARENT SIZE is LESS THAN A PIXEL; THE PLANET APPEARS as a TINY DOT against the VASTNESS OF SPACE.

“LOOK AGAIN AT THAT DOT. THAT'S HERE. THAT'S HOME. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”

— CARL SAGAN, PALE BLUE DOT, 1994

PHOTOS by KAREN BAGAYAWA

ART IMITATES NATURE

AN INTERVIEW with MY MOM –

FROM cultivating the CREATIVE FORCE from NATURE, chanelling AWE, AND THE NUANCES of TRANSFORMATION.

HANNA Could you give us an introduction as well as share your creative process ?

KAREN My name is Karen Bagayawa. I am a mixed media artist. I am also Hanna’s mom. Painting has always served as an expressive medium for me. Within painting, I am interested in colour, tactile surfaces and patterns inspired by nature and how paint behaves on a given surface.

I have always been fascinated by tactile surfaces. I experimented with cheesecloth, woven linen and tile grout to create tactile surfaces and soon discovered the ‘cracked’ surface. Cracking tile grout on woven fabric, I build a sensual surface texture. If the viewer cannot physically touch the work, they can imaginatively feel the surface. I have a sensitivity to colour, layering colour washes over and over again.

HANNA What is your relationship to your art practice as a unique and expressive medium?

KAREN My process has evolved over the last 25 years. It all began in Fine Art School layering surfaces of plaster, saturated paint and cheesecloth to create textured surfaces. After graduation, I traveled to Japan and soon discovered the ‘cracked surface’. Japan was key in shaping the work that I produce now. I believe that simply diving into our genuine passions keep the work personalized and creative discipline allow the work to evolve on a regular basis. Mentors or other artists who share the same sensibilities are also key. I have been fortunate enough to have many mentors in my life that have always passed on their words of wisdom. In Japan I was fortunate to have three mentors who taught me the importance of finding who I am as an artist.

In Japan, techniques are taught and passed down from generation to generation. Working in Japan taught me the importance of repetition and honing my technique. Through experimentation and constant ‘trial and error’, I crack tile grout on woven fabric that I weave on a loom. After Japan, I entered the Capilano University’s Professional Textile Arts Program to learn how to weave my own patterns of cloth. I also discovered that tile grout is more durable than plaster especially in humid temperatures. Layering colour washes over and over again in ratios has become a meditative process for me reminding me of the repetitive techniques of Hagi-yaki ware in Japan.

HANNA Can you walk me through your practice? What rituals or routines do you have that help kinder your creativity?

KAREN Some mornings begin early with a raging spin class. The loud music, lights, sweat and the instructor yelling gives my mind clarity. I always believed in finding a balance between the physical and mental states. Listening to our bodies not just physically but mentally is so important. I arrive at studio, make a green tea and turn to my desk. I always ask myself, “how are you feeling today?” and try to answer this question in colour swatches. I also look at my nature collections housed in small suitcases and my photographs. Most of the morning is listening to classical music, mixing colour, writing and discovering colour combinations based on my emotions at that moment. I see this time as “playing”. I then begin weaving or painting.

HANNA Can you talk about your new knowledge in the psychology of colour?

KAREN In April of 2023, I entered the Advanced Colour Group Mentoring Programme through Karen Haller: Behavioural Design Consultancy. Based in the UK, this fantastic program specializes in Applied Colour and Design Psychology.

I received a Certificate in Advanced Colour and Design Methods for Industry Professionals, Stage 1 - Foundation Course. I really learned the importance of creating harmonious colour palettes for our overall well being and the psychological effects colour has on our behaviours. I also learned the importance of positive colour choices in creating supportive environments and to always be thoughtful of the behavioural outcomes within a given space.

KAREN I also learned Colour Harmony and the importance of tonal groups and how they align with the energies of particular seasons. In the past I believed colour was “subjective”. Colour Harmony offers the knowledge that there is a mathematical correlation of patterns of colours to human personality and the seasons. It has opened my eyes to being aware of the energies of the seasons as I keep practicing classifying the colours in their specific tonal groups. Colour Harmony has also taught me the importance of reconnecting to nature thus discovering more of ourselves.

I began evaluating the products I use to create a painting and making an “audit” of products used in the process to lessen my environmental footprint on the natural world. Trying to answer the question for myself, “What does Sustainability mean to you?”

Applying this knowledge of colour psychology to my work, it really made me realize the importance as a creative working with colour that I have a responsibility - not just to the wellbeing of individuals interested in my work but to nature itself. I think if all of us understand the importance of looking to nature holding the key to understanding more of ourselves, we would be in a better place - placing climate change as the top priority for our future. I think if all of us think of ways to become better human beings, knowing that certain colours will help us live in a more positive way, perhaps we would be new and improved versions of ourselves - full of empathy and compassion for others and our earth.

“WEAVING

HANNA What emotions or thoughts drive your inspiration when you approach a blank canvas?

KAREN In approaching a blank canvas, I find there is so much truth in just simply creating for the sake of creating. If one thinks too much of the outcome the piece not only lacks truth but feels forced. The whole process of weaving and painting is a very emotional and spiritual experience for me. The flow experience where time does not exist and the mind reaches a meditative state is something I always seek when working.

HANNA How does your art contribute to your understanding of your divine purpose?

KAREN I wanted to be an artist since I was eight. I always had an easel set up in my room and I painted all the time - it was just something I did and I understood early that it was something that I needed.

As a young girl I was raised in a culture, shaped by what Emily and Amelia Nagoski defines “as Human Giver Syndrome – conditioned to prioritize being happy, pretty, calm, generous and always attentive to the needs of others, above anything else”. As a woman, there was an expectation of always being attentive to parents, family, house, home –that this was always above a woman’s “sense of self”.

Growing up, there were memorable times of large family gatherings with food and laughter and trips for fast food and ice cream but there were also dark times of disfunction within the home.

They can tell you, you are never good enough, laugh at you, ridicule you, question how you are going to make a living, that the arts is not a money making profession. They can throw away your paintings so you and your younger sister have to scour the neighborhood dumpsters to only discover they are gone forever. They can do all these things but that voice will always be there no matter how small, to tell yourself, “no, I have the power to create my own path, I am worthy, I have value”.

During my teenage years, the very act of painting was something I desperately needed as anger, resentment and chaos seemed to triumph. In the past few years after therapy from past trauma I am beginning to understand that this very act of painting, this act of self expression has contributed to a purpose – to encourage others to overcome obstacles with creativity and the importance of expressing one’s inner voice. Rick Ruben author of “A Creative Act: A Way of Being” states that, “Art creates a profound connection between the artist and the audience, through that connection both can heal”.

HANNA How do you navigate finding that divine purpose?

KAREN 1. To dispel of any expectations that society and family place on you.

2. To never compare yourself to others.

3. To look within, follow your heart.

HANNA How do you nurture and kinder your creative spirit, especially in moments of self-doubt or creative blocks?

KAREN Self compassion and setting boundaries. In moments of self doubt or creative blocks, I remind myself to treat oneself as you would a friend. Our inner voice can be quite dreadful and nasty. We can express limiting things to ourselves. I remind myself to ask “What do you need right now – a visit to the coffee shop with a good book and your sketch book?”, “You have been here before, it will be okay” as these are encouraging words you would express to a friend in need. Expressing vulnerability and support with those who have your best interests at heart has also helped me. If we do not express vulnerability to others we trust and also offer our support, how can we experience deep human connection? I do believe that human connection is key in understanding more of ourselves and society as a whole. If we treated others without judgement and always possessed an open mind to one another’s stories, I think our world simply would be a better place.

I have experienced so many creative blocks and self doubt over the years where I know now to acknowledge what it is and express to myself in a self loving way, “what do you need, this time will pass - just keep showing up”. It always finds a way to pass and I begin again.

HANNA How does the natural world inspire and influence your creations and why have you always turned to nature?

KAREN I gain my inspiration from surface patterns found in nature. I love to collect small and large shells, cracking driftwood, striped and spotted rocks, pinecones, coloured leaves, lichen and mossy infested twigs - anything that I find fascinating. Playing with these natural, collected items have always given me inspiration. I think that it is vital for everyone (regardless if you are an artist) to have an inspiration board - a board where you collect photographs, swatches of fabric, magazine articles or objects that you find fascinating. It can be changing constantly - new pieces can be added on a regular basis and old pieces tucked away. Not only does this inspire creativity but this act of displaying allows one to look continuously at something in a totally different way. I am also drawn to colour and the movement of light and shadow within colour, especially during the autumn season as leaves are changing colour on a daily basis. I enjoy ‘snail-pace’ hikes and absolutely love kayaking and camping. These activities have always given me ideas for new work and I know that I am my true self when I engage within our natural environment.

HANNA Are there specific elements of nature that consistently appear in your work as a reference, and what do they represent to you?

KAREN The cracked surface and stripes found in rocks and minerals. I am fascinated by stripes in nature especially in rocks. “Striped patterns in stones are caused by layers of sediment that have accumulated over time...much of Earth’s history is recorded in the many layers of sediment.” This layering of sediment is one of the fundamental concepts of geology.

The cracking process evolved from years of experimenting between the ratio of water and tile grout layered on commercial fabric. If the ratio is measured incorrectly, the cracked surface can either be difficult to crack or simply fall apart. Choosing the right kind of fabric is also important. If the tile grout does not adhere properly to the fabric it simply has no stability. Also, after experiencing the humid weather in Japan, I learned that climate is extremely important to the drying process and that tile grout (the same tile grout we use in our bathrooms) is stronger in comparison to plaster. Linen is also a stable fabric as the hairy fibers allow the tile grout to adhere properly. In experimenting with linen, I eventually decided to weave my own cloth for more control instead of purchasing or depending on commercially made fabric.

Within my new body of work entitled “Inward”, the cracked surface is a metaphor for our past scars. Embracing Kintsugi - the art of ‘golden joinery’ I rub the cracks with iridescent gold and mica pigment. Creating these golden veins chronicles my imperfect past and is a reminder of the beauty of human fragility.

HANNA What does the concept of transformation signify for you?

KAREN Lisa Kleypas once said, “A butterfly symbolizes acceptance of each new phase in life. To keep faith as everything around you changed.”

As an artist I always believe that the pieces I create are stories from a personal diary. Personal moments of a personal journey where there is always room for improvement as I move on to the next piece.

In the past few years, in dealing with past childhood trauma, I take this same idea for my inner self. Everyone has a choice to be better versions of themselves–there is always room for improvement and evaluation. I love the transformative rhythm and pattern of the cocoon. I love the metaphor of a caterpillar within a cocoon, not only does the cocoon experience physical transformations but also deep inner transformations.

A cocoon rests peacefully in my studio as a reminder of transformation. There was once a dark time where yellow butterflies followed me everywhere. The cocoon is a constant reminder that in order for life to change we must look within and change ourselves completely.

HANNA How can we turn to nature at times of instability to ground ourselves?

KAREN Within nature, I have always experienced feelings of “awe”. Awe is defined as “a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear and wonder”. Reflective dewdrops on leaves after a rainfall, a path of lichen and moss on the forest floor, a rushing waterfall and the magnificent towering trees here in British Columbia have always given me that sense of awe. Researcher Paul Piff of the University of California states that :

“Experience of awe attune people to things larger than themselves…they cause individuals to feel less entitled, less selfish, and to behave in more generous and helping ways”.

HANNA As a conclusion, is there a message you’d like to share with others who might be on their own creative or transformative journeys?

KAREN I wish you strength, love and fortitude - that when life throws challenges out there, sometimes when we least expect it, over and over again, you will listen to that inner voice. Sometimes small but courageous, self loving and self compassionate - that you are here in this world for a reason and your voice needs to be heard.

“The act of creating beautiful things is the way of bringing good into this world. Infused with optimism, it says simply: life is worthwhile. The effort to create enduring beauty is not dependent on style but truth”.

- Alan Moore, “Do Design: Why Beauty is Key to Everything”

CHAPTER 2

STORIES FROM THE MOTHERLAND

These pages delve into stories coming from the Indigenous communities of the Sierra Nevada, or as they refer to it – the heart of the world. The Arhuaco, Kogi, Wiwa, and Kankuamo people have called the emerald mountains of this region their home for centuries, and their rich culture and traditions still stand. They are guardians of our natural world. It is woven into their rituals to restore balance between humanity and Mother Earth.

This chapter features 3 key articles highlighting how climate change is directly affecting both the livelihoods of these Indigenous communities and the delicate ecosystem of this sacred land; and how we must listen to their warning calls.

LUKE OTTENHOF by

a colombian coffee farmer shares his fears of losing his family's business to climate change and a market that doesn’t reward sustainability.

PUBLISHED IN ATMOS

IN COLOMBIA, A STORY OF COFFEE,

FAMILY,

& CLIMATE CHANGE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GIACOMO BRUNO

COFFEE FARMER JULIÁN ARROYAVE does the same thing every morning when he wakes up at 5 a.m.: he takes a shot of aguardiente. It’s a sweet sugar cane liquor, Colombia’s favorite spirit. It’s fortifying and warming in the cool morning darkness. Outside, parakeets and roosters chirp and coo.

After the sip, Arroyave grinds coffee beans and sets a pot of water to boil. He mixes the grinds in, and within a few minutes, coffee is ready. Arroyave said this is how most Colombians prepare their coffee. It’ll simmer on the stove for most of the day. He and his farmhands will come back to dunk small ceramic cups when they need a pick-me-up. Arroyave will have 19 more cups throughout the long day.

Arroyave’s coffee farm, Finca La Palma, is spread along the steep slopes of a long, narrow spur of land just north of the town of Filandia in Colombia’s green, mountainous Cordillera Central. This is the heart of Colombia’s famed Eje Cafetero: the Coffee Axis. It sits between a split in the Andes Mountains over 6,000 feet above sea level, the ideal conditions for growing arabica coffee. For now, at least.

Finca La Palma has been in Arroyave’s family for four generations, starting with his great-grandfather. But Arroyave is at risk of losing his way of life as predatory global market dynamics and climate change complicate farming arabica coffee at a small scale. The future of coffee may shift away from family farmers like Arroyave and toward the industrialized mono-cropping of the giant coffee farms in neighboring Brazil.

Across 7 acres of Andean hillside, Arroyave raises around 30,000 coffee trees from seed to fruit. On the sunny January morning I visit him, he walks me through the dense, claustrophobic tangle of stiff, strong branches and green leaves.

The trees sit on an incline of about 70 degrees, and the dark, rich soil doesn’t do any favors with keeping your footing. But Arroyave, in jeans and a blue polo, steps confidently and swiftly through the foliage, swatting limbs aside—one fingernail is painted with the Colombian flag—and looking back to ensure I make it through.

Spread among the thicket of coffee trees are banana, mandarin, lime, and avocado trees. These provide fresh produce for Arroyave’s family and

workers, but they do much more than that. The scents from the fruits waft through the farm, making their way into the coffee tree flowers. The process gives the beans slightly different flavor notes.When we reach a clearing on the edge of the hill, Arroyave gestures to a stump to stand on. The view is spellbinding: rolling, magic-green ripples of earth trailing down beneath a bright blue, cloud-spotted sky.

“COFFEE GROWERS, not JUST ME, WITH a lot OF CARE, OF LOVE.” WE DO THIS WITH a lot

“the coffee paradox is thriving coffee industries, reporting billions in profits every year, and poor farmers struggling to make a decent living every year,”

HE CHERISHES THE LAND AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH IT; you can see it in how he steps around the trees like old friends and how his hands grasp a piece of fruit from a branch. Cultivating and enjoying coffee is part of his life, and the tradition is now an integral part of the region’s culture and identity. The Eje Cafetero is one of the country’s top tourist destinations, and the region has won national awards for its coffee.

Looking out over the land, Arroyave’s sharp blue eyes and perpetual grin wane for a moment. He thinks these might be the last years of Finca La Palma. His children aren’t interested in continuing the family’s coffee farming tradition, so when Arroyave is too old to work, he might have to sell the farm. Arroyave doesn’t blame them; he smiles when he talks about his eldest son’s desire to go to university and find a job in the city.

When he was just 16, he left Finca La Palma to work as a police officer in Bogotá for 25 years. “When I was young, I also left town and the farm to go dominate the world,” he said. “All young people want to do that. We just hope they come back.” But it’s increasingly likely that if Arroyave’s children chose to continue Finca La Palma, they would be returning to a different farm than the one they grew up on as the planet grows hotter.

Coffee has grown to become a cornerstone of Colombia in the nearly 300 years since the French stole the crop from Africa and spread it across the Caribbean for cultivation and export. In 2021, the country exported $3.2 billion worth of coffee beans, making it the third-largest exporter in the world. Coffee was Colombia’s third-largest export after crude oil and coal, and the coffee production industry accounts for some 700,000 jobs in the country, on which half a million families depend. Some 95% of the country’s coffee farmers are smallholders like Arroyave.

Andrés Montenegro, sustainability director of the Specialty Coffee Association, puts these numbers in different terms. “That’s not only a lot of coffee,” he said. “That’s a lot of people whose livelihoods rely on coffee. That’s a 50% impact on their income. If they’re already poor, they will be poorer.”

Montenegro, who is from Colombia’s southern Nariño Department, calls this “the coffee paradox.”

“The coffee paradox is thriving coffee industries, reporting billions in profits every year, and poor farmers struggling to make a decent living every year,” he said.

Coffee farmers in the Filandia region have two harvests in the year. The first comes in April and May, and the second, larger harvest arrives between September and December. In these periods, Arroyave and his workers—local laborers from nearby Filandia—navigate through the dense web of tree branches, hand-picking tens of thousands of bright, deep-red coffee cherries. They drop them into sturdy woven baskets that are strapped around their waist, which hold up to 50 pounds of beans. But not all the beans will be usable. Arroyave plucks a coffee cherry from a nearby tree, pulls a pocket knife from his pocket, and digs it into the tip of the cherry, prying it open and wiping away the gelatinous pulp surrounding the bean. He pulls the bean apart into two halves and points to the tiny black dots on them. These are the tiny coffee borer beetle, la broca in Spanish. Along with coffee rust, an aggressive fungus that infects and destroys the tree’s leaves and can decimate up to 80% of a coffee crop, la broca is Arroyave’s arch enemy.

Arroyave fights both threats, but he refuses to use pesticides, which compromise the coffee beans’ flavor and health. This type of coffee is “basura,” he grimaced. Garbage. Whenever Arroyave

But coffee producers are trapped between two worsening crises: climate change and poor pay. While the price of a cup of coffee rose overall between 1980 and 2018 alongside record profits for the roasting industry in 2021, the average price of unroasted beans from producers like Arroyave has stagnated and even dropped. And the climate crisis promises to devastate the industry in the coming decades. A United Nations study estimated that, by 2050, regions like the Eje Cafetero that are suited for coffee growing could decline by 50% with increased rainfall and higher temperatures making coffee farming more difficult. Some experts predict a global coffee crisis.

“CLIMATE

CHANGE

hasn’t just

AFFECTED COFFEE FARMERS,”

he said,

BUT ALL PEOPLE WHO d epend ON the LAND.”

89 sees plants and spiders on his trees, he smiles. These are his natural pesticides: they eat and help temper broca populations. Studies of Ethiopian and Colombian coffee territories indicate that rising temperatures and rainfalls increase the likelihood of broca infestations and other diseases like coffee rust.

Farmers in the Eje Cafetero are bracing for climate chaos. Coffee needs a fine balance of rain and sun, which the area offers. But weather patterns have been changing quickly. “Last year, we didn’t have the summer we normally expect,” Arroyave said.

“It was really short with only a few days of sun and a lot more rain. When the coffee flower captures too much water, it falls off and doesn’t produce cherries. That leads to a significant loss of production.” Luckily, Arroyave hasn’t yet had a landslide, or derrumbe in Spanish, on his farm. But last year’s heavy rainfalls brought flooding and derrumbes across central Colombia that killed 204 people and displaced more than 400,000.

Farmers like Arroyave in the Cordillera Central will be dealing with more and more weather extremes in the coming decades, particularly droughts and floods, which are intensified by La Niña and El Niño, climate patterns that originate in the Pacific Ocean and affect temperature extremes around the world.

“Some years, we have tons of water, which turn into floods, and then we have droughts sometimes even in the same year,” said Ana María Loboguerrero, the director for climate action at the Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture at the agricultural organization CGIAR. “There have been instances where farmers lose [all the crops] that they have. That’s like losing all their income for that year.”

This unpredictability makes it difficult for farmers to decide when to harvest, which varieties to grow, or when to water—decisions that will maximize their yields. Arabica beans are particularly susceptible to a changing climate. Robusta beans, which are popular and industrialized in Vietnam and Brazil, are expected to fare better in the climate crisis’ higher heat, but the majority of Colombian coffee farmers grow arabica. Arroyave’s worries extend beyond his industry.

In a brick room built on the back of the bungalow at Finca La Palma where the workers take their breaks, an old, hulking machine separates the harvested beans from their pods and pours them into a deep concrete tub filled with water. The good beans sink; the bad ones that the broca has burrowed into float and are skimmed off the top. After the wash, the water is emptied through a pipe that drains into the coffee trees.

The empty bean pods are added to an enormous compost pile in various stages of decomposition. That compost is used to help cultivate the new trees. Arroyave grins and makes a circle motion with his hand. “It’s all cyclical,” he said.

He dries his beans on the rooftop of the bungalow, which he keeps covered like a greenhouse by a section of translucent plastic roofing. It’s only about 70 degrees Fahrenheit out, but the drying area feels like a sauna. Arroyave uses a wooden rake to move the beans around every two hours for 20 days. After drying, Arroyave roasts them at his roastery in Filandia, where they’re bagged and branded for sale. Arroyave sells Finca La Palma beans domestically. The permits for export are too expensive. A new initiative to institute a living income for coffee farmers shows promise, but Arroyave said his farm is too small to benefit from it.

“KIDS don’t want to be ON the COFFEE FARM not because THEY don’t WANT TO WORK IN COFFEE, but because THEY don’t want TO BE POOR.”

– ANDRÉS MONTENEGRO SPECIALTY COFFEE ASSOCIATION

This exclusion leaves smallholder farmers like Arroyave—who make up a lion’s share of Colombia’s coffee production industry—in the lurch. Both Montenegro and Loboguerrero’s research confirms that the situation at Finca La Palma is becoming eerily familiar. “Kids don’t want to be on the coffee farm not because they don’t want to work in coffee, but because they don’t want to be poor,” Montenegro said. “They don’t want to endure the same struggles they see their parents face today.”

Between the harvests, Arroyave, his father-inlaw, and a few hired hands face an endless list of maintenance tasks. They germinate and cultivate new coffee plants in a wooden planter box for eight months before transferring them to the ground. The Castilla varietals take between nine months to a year to begin producing berries, and if Arroyave is lucky, they’ll reliably bear fruit for 15 years before they begin to slow down, weaken, and rot. Arroyave must hack them out and load them atop the compost pile. Nothing is wasted at Finca La Palma.

When the work in the coffee trees is finished for the day, Arroyave turns his attention to the other tasks on the farm. He feeds and tends to the pigs, chickens, and other fowl before he drives back into Filandia where he lives. He meets with his wife and two children in the town’s central square, sipping coffee and chatting with friends. As he drives into town, his left hand is constantly flying out the window to wave and holler a greeting at vendors and community members on streetside patios.

Arroyave has a new job, too. Nowadays, Finca La Palma isn’t just a working coffee farm. Like a lot of fincas in the region struggling with insufficient profits, it’s also a tourist destination. Arroyave books tours through WhatsApp and picks up travelers in town to drive them the bumpy 20 minutes north of Filandia to La Palma. Arroyave is a natural guide: he’s warm and energetic, palpably passionate about the land and his work. The day my partner and I visit Finca La Palma, we’re the only guests.

Near the tour’s end, he sits me down at a table on the bungalow’s patio and prepares coffee three different ways. He sets a hot plate with a tin bowl on it, then pours in some unroasted beans. He cranks the heat up and stirs the beans every few seconds. A thick, sharp fragrance fills the patio. When the beans are ready, he transfers them into a grinder, then uses the grounds to prepare fresh coffee with a pour-over, a French press, and an Italian moka pot. He even prepares a tart, fiery shot: a hit of coffee with aguardiente and juice from a lime-orange hybrid that grows in his yard.

As I sip my coffee, Arroyave reminds me how much time and work went into each sip. By his count, it’s around two years of labor. He would know. He’s raised this coffee from seed to cup. It’s a pride that only farmers can understand. “Coffee growers, not just me, we do this with a lot of care, with a lot of love,” Arroyave said. “This is our culture, our tradition. It’s what we know how to do.”

PUBLISHED IN ATMOS

BRIDGING WORLDS THROUGH ART & INDIGENOUS WISDOM

WORDS MOLLY LIPSON

The Kogi people have been stewarding the land of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia for millennia. Molly Lipson speaks with one Kogi family about how a forthcoming art auction can help them build a necessary piece of infrastructure. by

THE LAND OF THE SIERRA NEVADA DE SANTA MARTA in northern Colombia is stewarded by four Indigenous tribes: the Arhuaco, Wiwa, Kankuamo and Kogi. Earlier this month, three Kogis—Mamo Juan Conchacala Dingula, his wife Java Teresa, and their son Marco—left their territory for the first time to travel to Europe. It was a significant moment for them, but also for those they met along the way. Steeped in traditional wisdom about the natural world, they had come here with a warning.

The Kogis began to notice that the land and water around them in the Colombian mountains was changing many decades ago as a result of mining, construction, deforestation, and other harmful practices. They knew that this was disrupting the Earth’s careful balance, and that doing so would lead to catastrophe after catastrophe. Over time, in the West, we have gained knowledge about climate change through scientific study, through data about the Earth’s temperature, the sea’s acidity, the air’s pollution levels, but the Kogis intuit these changes through their active relationship with the world around them. They have long been telling us what a dangerous path we are pursuing—and yet we continually ignore them.

On a sunny afternoon in mid-August, Mamo Juan Conchacala Dingula, Java Teresa, and Marco sat on low chairs in a bright, airy room of the Hayward Gallery on London’s Southbank in front of one of the displays of Dear Earth, an exhibition about the interdependence of ecologies and ecosystems. Though these particular works were not for sale, some artist friends of the Kogis have collected a number of art pieces that are available to buy as part of the Jàka Project, an auction that will raise funds to build a crucial piece of infrastructure for the Kogis: a bridge over the Rio Ancho.

Artists Gene Closuit and Pascal Rousson first met the Kogis during a trip to Colombia after they were introduced to fellow artist and longtime friend of the Kogis, Jaime Correa. They came to learn about the perils the Kogis faced when trying to cross the river, which cuts through their territory. They need this bridge to travel between the 11 villages that make up the Kogi community, and to transport their animals and produce. Some twenty years ago, the construction of a bridge began, but fighting between the paramilitary and the guerrilla group FARC put an end to the works.

“ the KOGI PEOPLE have LONG BEEN telling US what a DANGEROUS path

we are PURSUING— and YET we continually IGNORE THEM.”

Now, Closuit and Rousson, along with many of the Kogis’ friends and fellow artists like Correa and Maria Elvira Dieppa, hope to raise enough money to build the bridge that will allow the Kogis to continue their way of life safely. The auction includes art donated by the likes of Ackroyd & Harvey, Cornelia Parker, and Nicole Frobusch among many others, and is set to take place online between September 21 and October 1.

The raging waters of the Rio Ancho are by no means the only threat the Kogi face. Much of their ancestral land has been bought up by private owners and capitalized on. The Kogi have been buying back some of this land, and it’s clear that when they are once more its stewards, it recovers from the destruction wreaked upon it by us: the “little” or “younger brothers” as they refer to us (they are the “elder brothers”). They attune the land and water to the needs of nature as they see it, making spiritual offerings and creating harmony once more.

At the Hayward Gallery, friends and admirers gathered together to hear from the Kogis with Correa predominantly speaking on their behalf. He gave a rundown of some of the core beliefs of the Kogi people, imparting wisdom that transcends our own so significantly it’s almost impossible to reconcile it with our way of thinking and existing. Correa explained how the Kogis conceptualize the world as having been built on a sacred web, meaning that everything is connected through threads de vida—of life.

This interconnectedness exists within ourselves, too. The Kogi concept of aluna refers to the intangible life force of thoughtfulness, a kind of cosmic consciousness that underpins their world view.

Their beliefs are often manifested through physical practices. The men, for instance, carry with them a squash-shaped item with a hole at the top from which they pull a long stick covered in a white powder, which they proceed to rub onto the outside.

Correa explained that this object is called a poporo. It’s given to a boy when he reaches thirteen to signify becoming a man. Made from a gourd, the powder inside comes from heated and crushed up shells that make lime. The shells are significant because they connect the sea to esuamas—points of natural authority in the mountain. Kogi men chew on coca leaves, which they say creates a heightened connection to nature and to their thoughts.

100

TRADITIONAL MOCHILA BAGS.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH

“EVERYTHING is LINKED to the COSMOS. Like THOUGHT, ART is not a SEPARATE ENTITY: it’s BOUND by NATURE.”

– JAIME CORREA

As these thoughts come to them, they eternalise them by rubbing the lime powder onto the outside of the gourd with the stick. In a similar practice, women begin weaving bags at a young age, and they weave constantly—while they walk up and down the mountain; as they sit watching their children; during any moment when they don’t need to otherwise engage their hands. This, too, represents a solidification of thought, an ongoing and never-ending process of connection. Connection to nature, the interconnectedness of thought and the natural world, and the interconnectedness of all living beings with one another and the Earth underpin Kogi traditional wisdom. It’s this wisdom that they have been trying to get us to understand.

Clearly, we are failing. The Kogi offer us profound knowledge and we continue to ignore them. They’ve

opened up their land to Western media, they’ve given talks, done interviews, shared their wisdom with those who ask, and now, in 2023, they still feel called to try and encourage us to do better; to be better.

The small Kogi family had not come to London to promote the art auction or even to discuss art, but when they spoke at the gallery it was clear that their understanding of art holds further wisdom. “Artistic expression of the Kogi includes traditional art like weaving, but we can also consider art in the way they build their homes,” said Correa. “Everything is linked to the cosmos.” Like thought, art is not a separate entity: “It’s bound by nature.” The Kogi believe that everything has meaning, colors in particular.

“ART is a PATHWAY to CONNECTING with the PRINCIPAL CREATOR. the GREATEST ARTIST is the SUN, the CREATOR of all FORM.”

Black represents the power of the unconscious, of “nocturnal thinking,” whilst red is the color of the heart and of blood. It’s also emblematic of a time before our current existence. “The union between red and black is the union between this primitive animal idea and the construction of thought, of communal order, of [the] rituals and responsibilities of each person,” said Correa. To this, Marco added that “white signifies the weaving of the skin.”

In Kogi culture, and in Indigenous culture more widely, Correa described how art is threaded through every aspect of life. From the Kogis’ homes and their weaving to the offerings they make to Mother Earth, there is no distinction between art, people, and nature. “Art is a pathway to connecting with the principal creator. The greatest artist is the sun, the creator of all form. If you want to achieve divinity, you also have to be an artist, a creator,” said Correa. For this reason, art is not something that needs to be exchanged, but Correa and Marco acknowledge that this can come into play as well. When it does, as with the auction, what’s most important is holding onto spiritual connection with the creative forces.

This trip to Europe won’t be the Kogis’ last—the transcendence of their wisdom and the gravity of their warnings remain urgent. Speaking of the many waters they traversed and oversaw with spiritual practice, Marco’s commitment to returning is simple. “It calls us, it sends for us, so we’ll come back.”

PHOTOGRAPHY

by

GOBINDER JHITTA

WORDS

by

Photographer Gobinder Jhitta spends time with the Arhuaco and Kogi communities— who refer to themselves as the Elder Brothers— in northern Colombia to document their rituals of environmental conservation.

DANIEL MILROY MAHER

PUBLISHED IN ATMOS

THE ELDER WARNING CALL BROTHERS’

10.01.2023

“BROTHERS and SISTERS who live on THE EARTH, let’s

ALL WORK TOGETHER and DO SOMETHING NOW, as TOMORROW

– CALIXTO SUAREZ VILLAFANIA AND THE ARHUACO PEOPLE

will be TOO LATE.”

IN THE FAR NORTH OF COLOMBIA, nestled in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range, is “the heart of the world.” The term refers to a belief held by the Arhuaco people, an Indigenous group that have lived here for thousands of years. According to their history and cosmology, they, along with their neighbors the Kogi, Wiwa, and Kankuamo peoples, sprung from this site during the creation of the Earth. As such, they refer to themselves as the Elder Brothers, and to the rest of the world as the Younger Brothers. This distinction arose not just from a difference in age, but from a difference in responsibility. These groups view themselves as the Earth’s caretakers, and woven deeply into their belief system is an obligation to ensure balance between humanity and nature. Fittingly and unfortunately, as the years have passed, we—the Younger Brothers—have shown our immaturity by causing untold damage to the world around us, and now, more than ever before, the Elder Brothers are pressed to carry out their sacred duty. Once an isolated and largely uncontacted group of communities, driven high up the sloping land by war and outside interference, they are now a beacon of hope to those of us seeking answers to the treacherous situation we find ourselves in. Having watched the snow on the peak of their most sacred mountain (the form of which inspired the conical white hats they wear and the name of which is known only to them) slowly retreat due to global warming.

The Arhuaco, Kogi, Wiwa, and Kankuamo peoples recognize the need for spreading their message. Since the early 90s, they have begun to allow periodic documentation of their rituals of conservation, in the hope that they will inspire their Younger Brothers to adopt a similar mindset.

“IT’S TIME that WE CHANGE, not the EARTH, so please LISTEN to our

WORDS.”

– CALIXTO SUAREZ VILLAFANIA AND THE ARHUACO PEOPLE

AFTER LEARNING ABOUT THE HISTORY AND WISDOM OF THESE GROUPS, photographer Gobinder Jhitta was moved to pursue such an opportunity, and was given permission to visit the Arhuaco and Kogi communities to document their way of life. The resulting body of work is titled Zaku (which translates to “spirit of the mother”). Jhitta photographed the special bond that the Arhuaco and Kogi share with nature, and the earnestness with which they perform their age-old task of protecting it.

"Brothers and sisters who live on the Earth, let’s all work together and do something now, as tomorrow will be too late,” said Calixto Suarez Villafania of the Arhuaco.

The world is altered by the many things that happen within it. All of its people have different philosophical understandings, and see the why and the how differently, but what matters is that we do something. Even something small, like not eating as much meat.

The responsibility lies with us all—women, men, girls, boys, and every culture. We must prevent this change of the Earth, because if we continue as we are, its reaction will become stronger and stronger. We must not be frightened by what is happening, we must act and take care of ourselves and be mindful of our habits. It’s time that we change, not the Earth, so please listen to our words.”

CHAPTER 3

THE PROPOSAL TO THE EMERGING BRAND

This final chapter introduces Madre. These pages will uncover Our Story, What We Stand For, The Experience of Madre, How We Feel, and how to Join Our Community. Let this be our first embrace and introduction to the evolving project of Madre.

We are looking forward to what is soon to come.

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY by HANNA SHORTHOUSE

R RGING

PR AL THE BRAND MADRE THE OPOS TO EME

Sustainability project and creative incubator MADRE invites you to their soon to open location in the Sierra Nevada to rediscover the beauty in simplicity , the joy in creation and the richness in community. Here is a first look into the brand and initiative

PROLOGUE

IN TIMES OF ACCELERATION, overstimulation, and the relentless chase, dare to live differently. Welcome to Madre – a sanctuary nestled along the Sierra Nevada, Colombia. Here, amidst nature’s embrace, we transcend traditional tourism’s boundaries to foster a haven for creatives and seekers alike.

Madre is not just a destination; it’s a journey of renewal. A welcoming home inviting creation, collaboration, connection, and cultivation. Through local farm-to-table cooking and dining, creative workshops, and holistic practices, we aim to ignite introspection into sustainable and regenerative living. Our retreat, enveloped by the mystic surroundings of the Sierra Nevada, serves as a canvas for creative development and the expansion of consciousness. At the heart of Madre lies a commitment to a collective endeavour to embrace community, sustainability, and the creative spirit within.

OUR STORY

MADRE BEGAN WITH A YEARNING FOR AN ALTERNATIVE NARRATIVE — a yearning for a space devoted to care, connection, and conscious living. Created by Hanna Shorthouse and partner Andres Henriques Cuervo, the pair were inherently fueled by profound experiences, immersive travel, creative inspiration and remote environments in nature. Madre was born of a mere idea. An intention to not only live but thrive alternatively than what we know.

The coast of Colombia had been a destination for Andres since childhood and a dream ever since to establish a home there one day. Upon Hanna’s first visit, the region’s magic was ever so clear. The Sierra Nevada of Colombia is one of the most biodiverse and complex natural areas of the world. Unlike many coastal destinations, the Sierra Nevada is a region where snow-capped mountains, primordial rainforests, and fresh rivers converge, ultimately rushing into the blue Caribbean Ocean. It is a landscape that will leave you breathless.

Due to intensive tourism, resource extraction, and urban settlements, this area and its vulnerable biodiversity continue to be threatened. This creates an increasingly complex set of challenges for the natural ecosystems and cultural heritage of local indigenous communities who protect this sacred land. We believe that, with intention, tourism can be a positive force and that sustainable, regenerative development is not only possible but necessary if tourism continues in these remote areas.

We also reflected on the transformative potential of travel experiences, but how rare it is to find an accessible accommodation that aligns with these values. We want to change this narrative.

Sustainable tourism does not need to be luxury tourism. The desire for adventure and travel is yet to slow down, therefore – why not approach tourism as a force to ignite dialogue of more sustainable, alternative ways of living? We aim to answer this question. Started by two individuals with multifaceted interests and artistic backgrounds, we view creativity not merely as an individual pursuit but as a collective catalyst for transformative change. We recognize the power creativity holds to shape a more positive world and create more imaginative futures. Creativity is the key to unlocking innovative solutions to the challenges that echo through our global community. At the core of our mission lies the commitment to provide both the physical space and the essential tools necessary for individuals to fully realize and unleash their inner creative spirit.

Madre extends an open invitation not only to creatives but to all who harbour a spirit of exploration. Our objective is to offer a welcoming space where individuals from diverse corners of the globe, spanning varied professions, and encompassing unique worldviews can converge and engage in the act of creation. This space is crafted to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue, serving as an incubator for emergent ideas and collaboration. Madre is more than just a place, it’s a call to question. It is a collective intention to reset our values, cultivate creativity, and forge deeper connections with ourselves, each other, and the world around us.

WHAT WE STAND FOR

1. CONNECTION

We provide the spaces and activities that cultivate community and collaboration. From communal dining, group workshops, shared spaces, and educational and environmental programs to uplift our local communities – We live as an ecosystem at Madre.

2. SUSTAINABILITY

We inhabit a rare and beautiful ecosystem with the responsibility to protect it. We designed our home with the principles of permaculture and the ethics of regenerative development. We get creative with waste streams and make sure we have the least impact on our earth – We champion regenerative hospitality and empower our guests at Madre.

3. KNOWLEDGE

We foster an environment to better understand the natural world around you and the inner world within. From igniting introspection into sustainable and regenerative living, local Indigenous knowledge and practice, and the principles of permaculture – We expand our consciousness and deepen our awareness of nature’s teachings at Madre.

4. NOURISHMENT

We provide fresh, farm-to-table, locally grown food right from the property of Madre. From high-quality seasonal ingredients, a dynamic plant-based menu, and inspiration from local and distant cultural cuisines – We nourish our earth and cherish what we put in our bodies with care and gratitude at Madre.

5. PRACTICE

We catalyze the connection between you and your practice - in whatever form that looks like for you. From restorative movement and mind activities, treatments and rituals for awakening the spirit, to immersive artistic workshops in our studio – We work with our hands at Madre.

THE EXPERIENCE OF MADRE

Madre aims to transcend traditional tourism by fostering a sustainably driven, multidisciplinary creative hub. It will be a home to reground, reconnect, and live within the abundance of our earth.

Restorative movement and mind activities that redefine wellness Yoga, breathwork, meditation, sound healing, hot and cold therapy, and other treatments and rituals for awakening the spirit.

Artist residency programs

Do you have a creative practice you want to share with people? Do you want to engage with people through the craft of making? Do you draw inspiration from your surroundings? Contact us for residency opportunities.

Creative workshops and studio access

Daily workshops if you want to expand your skills or try something new. Workshops will rotate and change dependent on our in house resident artists. Private studio time is also welcomed.

Educational and Environmental Volunteer Programs

Take part to engage and uplift our local communities.

Through localized approaches and immersive experiences, we invite you to rediscover the beauty of simplicity, the joy of creation, and the richness of community. Here, amidst the embrace of nature and warmth of human connection, kindle the creative spirit within.

HOW WE FEEL–THE ENVISIONED SPACE

NESTLED AMIDST THE LUSH JUNGLE,

EMBRACED BY THE TOWERING MOUNTAINS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA, Madre stands as a sanctuary for those seeking an intimate connection with nature. Here, amidst the groves of avocado and mandarine trees, beside the rushing river and within reach of the ocean breeze, guests find themselves immersed in an environment that beckons them to slow down and marvel at the earth’s abundance.

The architecture of Madre is a space designed to inspire and facilitate both individual creativity and communal collaboration. Artist-led projects adorn the space, serving as focal points for inspiration and creativity. We offer bungalows nestled in the trees, cozy outdoor gathering areas, our communal art studio, and spaces dedicated to our restorative movement and mind classes. Guests have the choice between private sanctuaries and shared dormitories, each embodying Madre’s dedication to crafting space for connection within yourself, your practice, and your surroundings.

Drawing from local building approaches and employing the principles of permaculture design, the space is integrated with its natural surroundings, evoking a serene and sensory experience. Here, the raw and fragile coexist with the contemporary and traditional. The bungalows and infrastructure on our grounds will be built with locally sourced materials and will be elevated above the ground to reduce the impact on the natural environment. Through the use of locally sourced materials and renewable energy, Madre stands as a testament to sustainability. 90% of our land will remain untouched and be a component of our conservation efforts. For every decision, there will always be a faster and more cost-effective alternative. We aim to not cut any corners. We inhabit a rare and beautiful ecosystem with the responsibility to protect it.

The breathtaking location of our space is what truly sets it apart. From trekking the Lost City, exploring waterfalls, hiking Tayona Park, or stargazing the clearest night skies, our natural surroundings breathe life into our space. The location of the Sierra Nevada offers unparalleled adventures and experiences.

Madre aims to be more than just a stay; it is a living example of sustainable, regenerative design and mindful living. It is a place where the ethos of sustainable design meets the preservation of natural beauty, where every detail is crafted with care and intention.

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Follow our evolving journey

JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ON OPENING AND BOOKING OPPORTUNITIES

We are all environments Walking Oceans Teeming with life United by an unending rhythm That blurs the boundaries between all breathing bodies And submerges us in torrents of being –DAISEY LAFARGE

FEATURING

JANE HAYES

DAAN WOLTHIUS

ANNE BAUMANN

KAREN BAGAYAWA

LUKE OTTENHOF

MOLLY LIPSON

GOBINDER JHITTA

DANIEL MILROY MAHER

Madre envisions itself as a sanctuary for creatives and seekers alike. A home to ultimately cultivate, collaborate and create. How can we develop abundant communities that empower one another? How can we be more empathetic of our earth? Madre explores the avenues through which we can care for our natural ecosystem, nurture our found communities and kindle the creative spirit within. This book serves as a tangible medium for the pillars of Madre to live; discussing climate, ecology, spirituality, alternative living, sustainability, and creativity. Made by Madre aims to encourage readers to engage with the core tenets of the Madre project – to reflect on the necessity of living more intimately within our values and embracing the abundance of our earth.