I (Brian) found the Sunseed people to be so encouraging and open to how we could contribute. This gave me space to try out ways to help that I may not have otherwise tried.
Mens circle
After doing the Mankind Project weekend at the end of February I have found incredible value in sharing circles of compassionate men. Being on this trip has meant I have no regular contact with such circles so in Sunseed, I created one. Taking some inspiration from how the Mankind Project run their circles I set out a 75 minute sharing session, where we looked at some male archetypal psychology, a check in and our thoughts and feelings about men’s circles.
Seemingly the men in Sunseed are already accustomed to sharing their emotions so this process was not new to them, though the frame of having only men in the circle was. We didn’t see any tears or deep emotional outburts, though we were honest and pleased to know that we share common struggles in life. Afterwards, our conversation was buzzing and I certainly felt a lingering joy for the rest of the evening. Great success!
Games
As a big games enthusiast, I brought with me over 10 fun games to pass time with fellow ecovillagers. Some are competitive, like Star Realms or Dixit, but some like The Game, or Hanabi are cooperative, where all the players work together against the game. This type proved quite popular here as many people’s experience of games to date has been purely competitive and thus divisive.
What draws me to games is how they can bring people together with joy and fun, and are not dependant on alcohol. While playing with Rach one day she articulated something I’ve always felt but never put into words before, which I will try to put in my own words:
While playing games we usually feel the pressure of competition, and the highs of winning and the lows of losing. These are excellent triggers for the ego to take you out of the present moment and into separation (which, if you are on a journey of self discovery, you will by now have identified as a bad thing). Because these types of games are frivolous in nature, they are excellent practice ground for flagging up and dealing with your triggers. When I play a game, I sometimes try to watch my reactions and emotions and see when I get carried away. Am I playing to enjoy the moment, the beauty of the game mechanic and the interactions I’m having with other humans, or am I playing for an end goal which will ultimately result in separation?
Big thanks to Nela who gave me her copy of Hanabi, a game that’s been on my wishlist for ages :D. Thanks!
Workshop
I spent most of my working time helping build a workshop up behind the main house. A Spaniard named Michael was leading the transformation from useless storage area to functional workshop. Symptomatic of Sunseed’s high turnover policy it seems this useless storage space was once a workshop about 5 years ago. A little frustrating to have to redo work from years ago, but I was super happy with the work. Upcycling pallets and other waste wood into a nice workshop is very satisfying.
Agave plant
Wow what a plant! Thrives in arid climates, and can produce a lot of straight, lightweight wood, or nutritious nectar, animal feed, heal burns, make tequila, sequesters more carbon than many other plants and has many other uses over 200 counted to date! It proliferates well, but takes a few years to get to the useful benefits, though it is low maintenance while you wait. If there was one thing to help arid areas rise out of poverty, this would be it.
One of the buildings in the village is Pita Escuela. It is an agave workshop / museum run by a totally inspired man called Timbe. He carves multitudes of different items from agave, but mostly musical instruments.
Before the plant dies, it stores up lots of energy in its core which is all spent in the final 2 months in growing a massive flower shoot at a rate around a 1.5 metres per week! He uses the base of this shoot for making drums and the rest for didgeridoos.
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