August :)

What can I say about August...

August was a challenging month, and also a very exciting one.  The month began with an ending as I left my day job at Talisman centre. I was feeling some fear around this as it means that i no longer have a steady pay cheque, but mostly I felt (and still feel) empowered and excited to embark more deeply than ever into my passions of Permaculture, Art and Energy.  I feel so inspired by the people surrounding me that have taken the "leap" to immerse themselves and dedicate themselves to their paths and I only see success in those individuals.  I hope to manifest this same success and to date feel extremely supported in the path i have chosen.

Shortly after my last day of work I left for Shambhala, the last festival of this season where I was scheduled to teach a Permaculture seminar.  I was really stoked to share at Shambhala.  It is such a large festival and I believed that Shambhala needed the Permaculture consciousness as earth care seemed to fall to the side with much of the focus being on the entertainment (which is obviously also very important!).  When I arrived at Shambhala, things seemed hectic, but I went with the flow.  Within the first 24hrs, so much had happened and I found myself feeling a little disconnected from myself and little too connected to everyone else around.  Being an empath, I feel everything from everyone and most often I protect myself from this and use it as a tool when asked to help someone, but for some reason, at the festival, I opened myself up wide.  I was feeling so much suffering and self doubt, I started to question why I was there, as it felt that my conference was not supported, none of the conferences were supported as they weren't even placed on the festival schedule and it seemed as though most peoples priority was to party, rather than to connect with the divine.  Although I was feeling pretty disempowered by the whole experience, by the time I went to sleep I was filled with the courage to share the Permaculture wisdom. Regardless of the support by the festival, I had the understanding that all this suffering and self doubt I was feeling was the reason I love Permaculture so much and emphasized my desire to share it with others.

During my talk, we built an interactive art piece while discussing how Permaculture ethics and principles can save the world. The feedback from the participants was awesome and I love how much I can learn from my students too! Here is a photo of the piece we created:

 Aside from my talk, there were a couple notable moments for me at Shambhala.  It was super inspiring to hear both Raw Foodie David Wolfe and Unified Field expert Jamie Janover speak.  I also feel blessed to share some deep moments with some of my closest friends and see my family be able to express themselves in a deep way through all of their work at the Village. (which was pretty epic!)

All in all Shambhala was a lesson for me about who I once was and who i am now, remembering a message from July, that I can reinvent myself, through my heart in each and every moment. I will never be the person i once was and  I don't know where this path will lead, but I do know it is the right one for me, right now in this moment.  Permaculture allows my heart to sing to new heights, full of love to the depths of my soul!

After the festival I escaped to the hotsprings with no cell service, it was nice to get away to be with myself and the infinite universe.  Here I asked some questions, one of which was, "how do I reach my full potential?" The answer came quickly, that this can be done by connecting with my heart and expressing fully through it.  Funny, I think i knew that already, just needed a little reminder.  Again, this was just more emphasis to continue in the direction I have chosen, this is where I feel most connected to my heart! Returning home, I remind myself of the importance of love and send myself some love energy.  In this moment I recognize that i have been protecting my heart from being hurt by others, and understand that if I continue to do so, I will never reach my full potential.  This is when I decide it is time to just open up fully, let go of the fear and let love reign.  It is challenging to do this, but i feel deeply that the rewards will outweigh the challenges greatly.

Being back in the community of Calgary has been so great!  I have been showered with support of the new farmers market in Inglewood and blessed with well wishes for my Permaculture journey locally and beyond.

One sad thing I came home to, was a hail decimated garden at the AREA.  I feel that the death of the gardens reveals an opportunity for rebirth and is a physical symbol of what many of us are going through right now.  Letting go of our old selves to allow for the new, to allow for the connecting with all beings and to allow us to connect with our unique creative self expression.  Although i dont see our garden coming back to what it was before, I see that what has survived will be better than ever, what we plant new will help cultivate the soil, and next year the garden will be stronger and more resilient than ever!  One thing that I really love about the AREA is that it is a constant evolution, always growing, always changing, always renewing.  This place shows us what is possible in our lives, whether its by growing food, building resiliency or constantly evolving.  It is truly a blessing to be a part of this beautiful space.

I am excited as always to see and experience what is to come in the following month! Some exciting notables will be part 2 of the Visionary Permaculture Course and a couple of awesome Permablitzes (dates to come soon!)

Infinite Love, gratitude and giggles,
Kym Chi

July Updates

The end of June and the beginning of July have proven to be most inspiring, deep and profound and more than ever i am understanding my place in this vast and infinite universe.

I feel truly blessed to have been able to speak and share some wisdom  so far at Inshala, Entheos and Astral Harvest.  I am so thankful for those that came to my talks and were able to share their beautiful wisdom with me as well.  One of my favorite things about teaching is that i am able to learn so much from my students.  I am curious to see what teaching at Shambhala will be like as it is so much bigger and has a bit of a different focus in comparison to some of these other smaller more intentional festivals.  I have come up with a different idea for Shambhala that will include music and the building of a live art peice while I teach. I am hoping this will draw more people in and help spread the Permaculture consciousness on a larger scale.  I am not sure what the schedule is, but if you are at Shambhala i hope you can make it to my talk!

The AREA garden is coming along super well!  Photos are attached below.  We have all the beds planted and most are flourishing, small gopher and rabbit concern to try and find a solution for, but I am sure we will get it sorted!  There are 6 organizations planting as well as a few other involved in other ways including compost tea spraying, the building of the herb spiral (completed in May) and helping with the mapping process (this is going to be really exciting!).  Our main focus right now is working on the forest garden, adding more art elements, digging of the exterior swales and the mapping.  We are also working on the volunteer program (thanks to all that have been volunteering so far!) and the Farmers Market which will debut on August 21st!  We have been having a great year so far and I cant wait to see how it all looks in a month from now!

My internship with Verge Permaculture has also been great.  It has been awesome and therapuetic to get some hands on experience and see how the process all goes in a super productive annual veggie garden, greenhouse and forest garden!  There are also great benefits like fresh strawberries right off the plant and awesome dinner salads every intern day!

Giggling Chi Tree has also been super busy!  So far this summer I have worked on 3 designs and have hosted one blitz.  I have two more blitzes coming up one of which is on July 29th in SE calgary.  Please check out www.permaculturecalgary.org for more details!  With Giggling Chi Tree I am also working on an exciting new design which I cant say too much about now, but will have details for you soon!  I will be teaching 2 cob bench workshops in August and September that I am super excited about, go to my website for details. www.gigglingchitree.com

On top of all the exciting Permaculture stuff, I have also been able to do alot of self reflection and I have discovered so many amazing things about my self and the gifts that I have to offer.  In my younger years I always felt a bit alienated as I didnt know anyone quite like me and had a hard time finding community.  Now I am blessed to be surrounded by amazing community, but have still struggled a bit to find my place.  Although I am friends with many like minds, we are all so different and because when I was younger i was ridiculed for this, I have been afraid to share my full self with some of the people I know.  I have recognized now that the people in my life have fully accepted me and that I am the only one that is not accepting me.  There may still be a few people in my life that have a hard time, but I cannot allow for this to hold me back.  I want to spread my wings and share my whole self, my whole vision with the world and this is the only way that I can fully contribute to the collective and to help the collective to be whole.  I want for everyone to be able to fully express themselves and therefore I want this for myself as well.  I also realize that we can recreate ourselves in each and every moment, through our hearts.  In order to do this we need to fully surrender our pasts, embrace and love who we are in the present and understand we will never know who we will be in the future.  A little tough to swallow, but also super exciting!  I hope to live these values fully!

Another thing I have been working on since COSM is recognizing my intention in all of the things I do.  So whenever I make decisions I ask what my intentions are and make sure that my choices are reflecting my intentions.  It has been challenging sometimes to have the strength to do or not do certain things, but the results are awesome! I am able to focus all of my energy into the most important things which really help me to move forward more quickly with my visions!

Lastly, I feel so very grateful to be on this ever changing, ever excting journey! So blessed to have such amazing experiences and filled with crazy gratitude for all of this amazing love I feel!
Wishing you all the very best on your journies and hope to hear about everyone elses inspiring lives!
Talk to you again soon!

Giggles and Gratitude,
Kym Chi

Summer is upon us!

Wow! Can you believe a whole month has passed since my last entry!  It has been a whirlwind since returning from the amazing COSM land.  We held our first annual Urban Agricutlure Day at the AREA which was a great success.  We had 15 vendors of local Urban Agricultural goods from Cheese Making, Apples, Window Farming, Spin Farming, Permauculture, Chickens and more!  We also showcased some great free talks and saw over 400 people pass through our cozy quarter acre property. Looking forward to a bigger and better event in 2013!

 From there it was straight into the Garden. So far we have reworked the soil and freshened up the beds with some sweet compost and straw and have edged the beds nicely with some free cinderblocks.   We have also planted some squash, peas, beans, salad greens, kale, spinach, swisschard, radishes, carrots, tomatoes and more. Yum! We also planted a variety of tea herbs and culinary herbs into our brand new herb spiral created during an awesome water management class.  Next steps are to get the other organizations in to do their planting and then continue on with more exciting projects.  I will be keeping you posted as things progress and adding pictures as things continue to evolve. Over the summer I will also be creating mapping package of the AREA which will show visitors details of the Permaculture implementations as well as many sectors such as water, wind, people and animals.  The most exciting project at the AREA will be the installment of a new weekly market!!  I can't share too many details yet, but it is just what Inglewood needs! Stay tuned :) It has been truly inspiring to see the way the space evolves and I feel super blessed to be a part of it.

I am also very excited to begin the process of an Advanced Diploma in Permaculture specializing in Education.  This will be an amazing upgrade to my current education and I will be thoroughly documenting my progress and sharing as much as I can here on my blog. The amazing Delvin Solkinson is going to be mentoring me through my journey and if anyone is interested in Permaculture on the West Coast, I highly recommend checking out his many offerings at: http://gaiacraft.squarespace.com/ . Delvin is one of the most inspiring people I know and he strives to spread the love of Permaculture and Visionary Art.  You can also see some of his other amazing projects here: http://elvism.squarespace.com/

I have been interning with Verge Permaculture for 2 months now, I can't beleive how time is flying. Its been a ton of fun and I have been learning alot including: Installing a first flush system, pollinating and pruning tomatoes, installing drip irrigation, building awesome vermi bins and so much more. Last week was the best when we guerrilla planted some potatoes... YAY!!! I am really looking forward to what we will do next and have taken on the special projects of creating some maps of the Verge Permaculture Headquarters and designing a cob bench!

Ok... so what else have I been up to?  Art wise I have been feverishly creating some new Orgone Generators and Geometrical lanterns for Inshala Music Festival and Astral Harvest.  I started working with some new products and after working through the kinks I have created some sleek generators.  For those of you who don't know, Orgone Generators are sculptures made from resin, metal and quartz crystals that transmute negative energy, dispel EMF's and Chemtrails and omit all around good energy.  Pictures to come very soon!

Not only will I have some art installed at the above festivals, I am most honored be sharing some Permie Wisdom at Inshala, Entheos, Astral Harvest and Shambhala! I will be evolving the talks for each festival so each one will be a little different then the next.   Evolver will also have the dome set up at Inshala, Fozzy Fest and Shambhala.  I hope to see you out for at least one of the amazing festivals.  Here are postings for schedules at Inshala, Entheos and Astral Harvest.  Shambhala schedule to come soon.

http://www.inshala.ca/storage/Sched2012.jpg
http://entheosgathering.com/2012/conference
http://www.astralharvest.com/2012-conferences/

Van living is proving to be pretty awesome with a few challenges like my fridge breaking down and my solar panel malfuntioning.  It is pretty pricey to replace a camper van fridge, but I must do it as fresh veggies are super important to me! I will be putting the new fancy fridge in tomorrow and will be able to run it off of AC/ 12 V and Propane so that will be great for all my summer travelling and times when I can't plug in in the city.  As far as the panel goes, I will be getting some help next week and hopefully learning some tools for trouble shooting with it in the future ;)  All in all though it is pretty awesome and I do really love being mobile and having my own little sanctuary. I will keep you all in the loop as to how the repairs go :) 

I think that is about it for today, looking forward to sharing more of my adventures with you as they come about and please feel free to share any of your awesome stories with me as well!!
Lots of love and infinite giggles,

Kym Chi

Visionary Permaculture Day 3 and 4. :)

I have so much to say about yesterday and yet so little that can actually be communicated in words.

We spent most of our morning talking about connections and starting the "zoning" process.  It was amazing to engage with all of these beautiful and creative entities to work through building the connections and placing elements in the zones that make the most sense.  The funnest part is that there really is no right or wrong way that elements in a system connect.  It is organic in nature and really reflects our needs and yields at any given time.  There is a grand goal of working to build a system that functions most efficiently based on stacking functions and placing items in the areas where they are most effective. This is done for not only the needs and yields of new elements, but also of existing elements in the present and in the future.

Our class is so inspiring and the mornings activities built a new appreciation of the gifts and talents that we each can offer to the collective whole.  It also sparks consciousness of opportunities to help someone who can benefit from your outputs. There are infinite possibilities for beneficial relationships in every system.

In the afternoon we finished zones and then spent a charged couple of hours interacting with the Grey's in their beautiful studio.  It was great to hear their account of the connection with the land and to get a deeper understanding of how COSM arrived in this sacred space.  Hearing from them really helps to anchor our work here and understand the intentions to a cosmic level.

We finished our classtime with a walk along the wisdom trail... There are so many levels of consciousness and wisdom on this land and I am soooo stoked to delve in to it and learn from the nature spirits here.

Dinner was delicious as always, again I am so grateful for the gift the volunteers here offer in providing us with the nourishment we need to continue our intensive journey here.

In the later evening we were gifted an amazing opportunity to interact with the Grey's on an intimate level in there studio for a Wisdom talk.  The theme of the discussion was prayer and faith.  It is really hard to put into words just what happened in that room, except that is was beautiful and it was in this moment we all really truly became a full on community.  I also really felt connected into my path of self love and the recognition that I will continue working hard on this.

It was an amazing information packed, emotion packed high vibration day.

Today, day 4! It was super beautiful today, clear skies were shining on us!  We spent almost the whole day outside and really got focused in and talked sectors and patterns.  I think we all felt super charged from yesterday so we were really able to get things done today.  Lunch time was spent at the compost blitzing out the path around it with a quick sheet mulch.  Some biodynamic plants were put there recently, but the invasives are trying to take over, so some cardboard and leaf mulch should hopefully help.  We will find out in September! It felt great to do a bit of labour, sometimes this is when I feel most connected to the earth.

The afternoon went by super fast, but at the same time it was almost like time stood still.  We finished our day with 2 very special gifts.  The first together in the nest sharing our thoughts about the course and our intentions for the next few months and secondly spending another super deep time with the Grey's where we really got some more concrete perspective on their visions for the land.  It was super special and a great way to end the beginning of our journey at COSM.

I will get on a plane early tomorrow morning and head back to Calgary.  I have said a prayer asking that I take the amazing lessons learned and wisdom integrated back home and share it with intention and love. I will not soon forget the brilliant experience of COSM and am super excited to continue contributing to the blessed land.

Please take some time to check out cosm.org and if you feel called to contribute or visit, do not hesitate to make the journey!

In epic gratitude and visionary love,

Kym Chi

                                Our spiral of connecting elements, everything works together!

                                           Our super rad zone project, pretty sweet design!

                                                       Awesome design by zones part 2!

                                               

                                                              The Wisdom Trail to.....

                                                                The Cistern! Beauty!

          Another divider in my notebook with another important principle... Design from Nature!

                                  Delvin, giving the Permaculture sermon from the Pulpit! lol

                                                Part 2... lol Prrrraise Permaculture!!!  Lol

                               Yay, spiral heart plant, anyone remember this from day 2???

                                                                        Sector chat

                                                                        TREES!!!!

                                                                Compost awesomeness.

                                                  Pattern Mandala in the labyrinth :)

                                                        Group works mandala spiral

               A nice view of the area surrounding the guest house.  Lots of opportunity here :)

The final chat and rad interaction on the land with the Greys :)  The beautiful end to the beginning of a journey!

Visionary Permaculture- Day Two

Another amazing day on the COSM land integrating alot of information. We focused on the Permaculture Ethics and Principles.  We were also blessed to spend 3 hrs on the land with a native plant expert building relationships with only a few of the hundreds of amazing plants on site.

  We began the day in the library where we spoke on the ethics and talked about some of the principles.  For your reference, the 3 main ethics of Permaculture are: Care of Earth, Care of People, Return of Surplus (Always give back).  One of my favourite parts was the learning of a new Ethic that Delvin and crew in Vancouver came up with.  I found the 4th ethic to be really valuable and relevant to our time.  It is: Transitional Ethic (I am calling it Integration Ethic).  This ethic is all about our transition and building compassion in realizing we can't all change overnight.  We need time to integrate new ideas, techniques and visions into our lives and during this time it is ok if we falter a little bit or continue to use some unsustainable means while we are learning, changing and growing. Dropping fear of judgement (self or otherwise) and showing compassion for ourselves and others during this crucial time is super important and will allow for a larger network of beings to integrate Permaculture and other conscious change into their lives in a more meaningful and deep level.  Understanding that we can do things in baby steps is much less intimidating then the big leaps for most of us.  Another thing to remember is that change starts with us, the individual.  The change happens at a pace that works for the individual. Do what feels right in your life and follow the Permaculture ethics the best that you can and you will become inspiring living examples of what it means to be the change you want to see.

After reviewing the ethics and some of the principles we finished the morning outside with more principles.   I really enjoy Delvin's teaching style.  It is very creative, interactive and full of intention and permeation.  He uses alot of hands on methods and gets the class to move around alot which I find keeps me alert and ready to learn and also summarizes beautifully.  For those who are interested, Delvin and a crew of other Permies created these great open sources of learning tools which can be found at www.gaiacraft.com  Please check it out if you feel inclined!

This afternoon we were super lucky to hang out with Dina who really taught us how to start a journey of getting to know the plants here at COSM but also in our own Bio Regions.  The observation techniques she used were super logical and practical, yet also intuitive and integrative.  We would spend about 10 min on each plant really getting to know it from all of the senses.  This tour today is the beginning of our mapping process.  It will be very helpful for us to know the existing plants before we start to implement a design or start any type of implementation. We barely scratched the surface of this 40 acre land, but the wisdom shared with us today empowers us to continue to spend time in the space getting to know more and more as we move forward.

Not only did we spend the day learning from Delvin and Dina, but we also spent the day learning from each other and learning from this amazing land.  I feel such deep gratitude to be here and to share this experience with such charged beings that have such a strong presence and purpose. This experience along with all Permaculture experiences is super special and filled with intention and most of all Vision. I am super excited and humbled to contribute to this space and to the world through the art of Permaculture.

Love and giggles,
Kym Chi

Below are some of the amazing plants we identified. I am going to try and add the latin names, i apologize if they are not spelt correctly. ;) Keep in mind these are plants in this bio region and may not be found in your area :) Dina also explained the importance of naming the plant family, unfortunately I didn't get them down, but I will add them as I do more research.

This is a ground cover called Plantain, the latin name is Plantago Major.  It is a soil rejuvenator and great for inflammation.  It has astringent properties. Also great for bites! It tastes great in salads or fresh from the ground in early growing stages.  May become bitter with age.

 This awesome species is called Calming Blue Violet and its latin name is Viola Papilonacae. It is found in shady areas and on edges.  It smells salady and secretes a sticky gel like substance. It is great for burns, sore throat, cough and is extremely high in Vitamin C. it is also great for inflammation.  This plant flowers for only 2 weeks and when it does, eat the tasty flowers in salads. You can eat the leaves about 6 months out of the year (in the NY bioregion).

This is not the best photo, but this is actually a type of aromatic mint called Ground Ivy. Its Latin name is Glechoma Hederacea. This plant has tiny purple flowers that are long narrow and somewhat square shaped.  The stem is also square shaped. They have a small fuzzy scalloped leaf. It is aromatic, and tastes a bit like lavender and minty. This plant makes a great garnish and is good for congestion, calming and lead removal.  It has diuretic properties.

This is just a nice photo of the group checking out the Ground Ivy :)

 This plant is from the Brassica family and is called Garlic Mustard.  Its latin Name is Alliaria Petiolata. It has a strong garlicky taste, some like it and some don't.  Is good for digestion and is aparient (somewhat laxative).

 This pretty plant is called Dames Rocket and its latin name is: Hesperes Matronalis.  This plant grows on edges and the flowers are edible as well as the leaves when they are young.

 This is the Mustard Garlic in it's second year.  Might be even more strong tasting now.  You may want to eat it in its earlier stages ;)

 I really like the leaves on this one! It is called Great Celandime and its latin name is Cheledonium Majus.  This special plant releases a yellow dye from its veins when squeezed and has an acrid taste.  You only want to use this in small quantities and typically for external use. It is good for the Gall Bladder and for wort removal.

 This is called Jewel Weed.  Latin Name is Impatiens Capensis.  This is great as a Poison Ivy Antidote and Dillon one of my classmates showed me that the leaves turn shiny silver when under water. Very cool!

 This one is Poison Ivy... Quick Run! Just kidding, just be careful and use some of the Jewel Weed to protect yourself!

The above is Broad leaf Bitter Dock.  Its latin name is Rumex Obtusifolius.  This leaf can be a bitter when picked close to the root, but some of the leaves taste good and even sort of sweet. The inside of the stalk is also edible and quite tasty similar to Rhubarb. It is helpful for liver, lymphatic system, clearing skin. It has tonic and laxative properties.

 This is Dina showing is how tall Poke root can grow.  It is great to see if you can find last years fall when you are identifying plants :)

 Here is the poke root in its baby stages.  Its latin name is Phytolacca Americana.  The leaves are edible when young, but in general this plant is regarded as toxic and is a purgative. The root however can be used in very small doses for stimulating a stagnant or non responsive lymphatic system.  it is recommended to harvest the root after 3 frosts.

This is wine berry. YUM! Its latin name is Rubus Phoenicolacius.  This plant is from the raspberry family.  We are unsure of its medicinal properties, but it is edible!  I will update you as I do more research.

This is called Japanese Knotweed from the Buckwheat family. Its latin name is Reynoutria Japonica. Its root is antioxidant and helps with Lime.

Visionary Permaculture - Day One

Morning :)

 WOW!! We started class this morning in the Altered States Chapel in the middle of a meadow, where we smudged and grounded and then came back in to the library where we sat and shared.

 So far it has all been introductions and really honing in on who we will be spending this course with. Everyones personal stories and how they got here along with their intentions are inspiring and exciting! With some knowledge of Permaculture under my belt, I can see just how perfect it is that each person is here to take part in the learning circle that is taking place.

 Along with meeting these super inspirational and beautiful beings, i am being overwhelmed with mass creativity and love. There are beautiful paintings and sculptures everywhere... (photos to come) and just amazing energy and presence here. I don’t believe that one element was placed without intention and thought. Sitting in the library where we are engaging in part of the class, all I could feel was love. When I look at the work of Alex, Allyson and other artists in the space I can see and feel the loving intention that has gone into its creation. I feel at home and at peace here.

 The staff here are also inspiring. I haven’t had a chance to meet many yet, but the ones I have met are super friendly and open, extremely welcoming. Those I haven’t met, I already love and have immense gratitude for. We were told of the many people who volunteer here to see this place thrive and grow, including the kitchen staff who prepare our lunch and dinner. I am learning that it just feels good to give, and when we give from our hearts to contribute to what we feel passion for, we are constantly receiving. I feel this way back in Calgary with various projects I believe in and see it in others leading by example in their own lives as well, constantly sharing and just being who they are, visioning a better, more beautiful future.

Super blissed and blessed!

Afternoon:
 Well this afternoon was still about integration and grounding in each others journeys to the Permaculture Path and then we walked to the beautiful labyrinth and listened to Delvin (our teacher) speak a little about what this course will hold. Finishing on the deck overlooking the COSM land, I am overwhelmed with a sense of belonging here.

Since after lunch I have felt strong energy surrounding my heart and my third eye, and being out on the land I can feel how strongly activated this space is. I feel so blessed that this is only day one of 4 and part one of a four part series as this place is so deeply integrated with wisdom and teaching. Not only am I going to learn a tremendous amount from this course, I will learn a tremendous amount from this place and this sacred land. I write this as I wind down from the day and feel more alert and alive then ever.

 Below are a couple photos so you can see some of the awesome things I am surrounded by.

 Love and giggles!!!

                                                Inspiring one of kind work by Alex Grey!

                                                 The above is one of our classrooms!

                                                        Where I sit as I write this blog!

          The cover page for this course in my binder... 2 important Permaculture Principles!

                                      The Altered States chapel I spoke of earlier in the day.

 Kym Chi

Updates!

Ok, so it has been a while since I have updated my blog and I really want to get better at this!  Life has been awesomely insane and I just haven't made the time to keep up with writing all about it.  It is funny that I created this blog to write about what inspires me and during the time I have been most inspired, I have not been documenting it!

Well here it is, time to write! Time to be more dedicated to this blog.  I recognize that not only is it awesome to share with others and get people excited, but it is also a great way for me to remember all of the awesome things that happen and all of the inspiring interactions I share with others!

I have been up to alot over the last year and particularly over the last few months coming into 2012, so I wont spend too much time worrying about the details in this blog post, but will be detailed going forward so hopefully this is something you can refer to if needed.

I thought what I could do here, is give a brief overview on some of the things I have been doing and then just lead into some more detailed posts.

Here it goes:

Evolver:
I have been loving the involvement in Evolver Calgary and watching the intentional Community grow!! Most recently I spearheaded the planning of an event called Electronic Awakening and it was an amazing event filled with beautiful beings, amazing music and art and most importantly, LOVE!  It was really an eye opening experience of our amazing community and the wonderful beings in my life!!
Upcoming we have some amazing events and each of the sporeganizers will be taking turns spearheading.  In May we have Psychedelic Renaissance, Family Oasis and our convergence and then in June we have Food for Thought.  We will also have a booth at Inshala! YAY!! check Evolver.net for updates!

The AREA:
I became involved with the AREA accidentally on purpose. lol.  I was so stoked after finishing my Permaculture Design Certificate with Verge Permaculture last May, and I synchronistically met Dave and Kathryn the owners.  I loved their project which is all about which is Arts, Recreation, Education, and Agriculture.  These are all things I know and love so I offered to do their Permie Design.  It went something like this " I just finished my PDC and I want to learn more.  I have no experience, but would you be open to me doing your design and helping implement it?"  I thought I was totally off base and had no chance, but to my surprise they said YES!  This has led to the design of the back space, implementation of a mandala garden (with lots of volunteer help) and now to me living in my van which parks on the lot and being the garden coordinator. We are also integrating and evolving the design further, starting a weekly community market and offering awesome facilitated work studies! Please stay tuned for more as we progress!

Van Living:
As indicated above, I am living in my van.  This started in March and so far I really love it.  I am learning alot, and really recognizing a deeper connection with myself, my needs and the world around me.  Photos and details to come on later blogs!

Interning with Verge Permaculture:
I am blessed to have received a spot as a Verge Permaculture Intern for the 2012 season.  So far we have shared 3 sessions and it has already been a sweet learning experience, from seedlings and soil blocks to pulling out deep seeded clover (oops!) to shadowing design consults  the experience is everything i imagined it would be and more! Looking forward to the rest of the season and what it holds.

Visionary Permaculture:
WOW!!! This is where I am now, please see the blog following this one for the first details!  I will be spending a few days each season for part of 2012 and 2013 at the sacred COSM land in New York.  COSM stands for the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors and is where Alex and Allyson Grey house their art.  It is a beautiful peice of land where workshops, full moon gatherings and consciousness events take place regularly.  The course itself is a Permaculture Design Course which integrates visionary themes.  Our design project includes a design for a space from home, but also as a group, we will Map COSM, which is deeply meaningful for me to be a part of!  COSM is a very special place and what is happening here is amazing! I ll leave it to the rest of the blogs to explain.

Also keep your eyes peeled for updates on my involvement in spreading permaculture seeds through music festivals and more!

Love!
Kym Chi