Some of Margret’s old students she taught in Java, Indonesia, now practicing psychotherapists and lecturers at various universities, came for a refreshment seminar in HeartSelf-intelligence to Jiwa Damai in August. We are happy to share some photos with you.
Here you see how incredibly inventive our local Balinese team is. The tires for the Earthship inspired building have to be unloaded by the large trucks on top of the hill and then loaded on motorbikes to be ferried down via a small path to the building site. Placing a stick across the back of the seat of the bike, tying them with string, he actually manages to take 8 huge tires with him on one bike and take them downhill .
What an art it is! The tires for the Earthship inspired building have to be unloaded by the large trucks on top of the hill and then loaded on motorbikes to be ferried down via a small path to the building site. Placing a stick across the back of the seat of the bike, tying them with string, he actually manages to take 8 huge tires with him on one bike and take them downhill . What an art!
If you want to follow our updates on our Earthships inshipred build, visit our instagram account @jiwadamaibali! We have daily updated on what is going on. And if you want to find out more about becoming a volunteer, go here.
Jiwa Damai Instagram account
A wonderful volunteer group with incredible supportive skills. Evan from Australia, giving much love and knowledge to our garden, Iseult from France, supporting with her graphic skills improvement on the website, Lulu from Brazil, introduces many wonderful recipes how to prepare cassava from her Brazilian cooking heritage. Our Chilean fairy, filming and producing four wonderful videos, last not least Boris from Bulgaria, working though our website and company structure. A great group.
If you would like to join us as a volunteer, find out more.
What a surprise! On Indonesian National Independence Day, Margret found this motorcycle gang parked in the Jiwa Damai parking lot: a huge number of heavy motorcycles with the accompanying drivers as well. Rasio Bali group which is connected all over the island.
Wondering why they were parked here, we tried to find out their purpose as well. After much back and forth talk, they were willing to offer support if needed for our educational and social foundation, Lagu Damai. They stressed that they support good causes and if we let them know they will support ours and we can also support theirs.
Lukas and Analee are leaving and they gifted us with the most wonderful divine chocolate mousse cake for their goodbye celebration. This was their last evening Jiwa Damai. We are so grateful for their presence and wish them all the best in their new life. They will get married in the USA. We wish them lots of love!
Our resident cat, Orchid loves to be petted and lives in the garden Lumbung. She's very good friends with our guests, volunteers and interns.
Another lovely visit form an International School in Bali to our permaculture gardens.
These young ones, ranging form 7-11 years were extremely interested in our gardens and especially all the animals they encountered during the garden walk. Butterflies, Tokes, all kinds of lizards and some of our beautiful birds, like the kingfisher, which resides here.
Opening a coconut, trying the meat of the coconut, cacao fruit, tasting basil and mint and then enjoying for lunch a banana pancake with cinnamon and honey. This was topped with a dip in our pool. Everyone left joyful and very happy. We really enjoy having young people discovering our garden.
We received students form the International School of Canggu. 12 youths from 12-14 and 2 teachers wanted to learn more about where their food is coming for. They were very interested in our gardens. From trying cacao beans fresh from the tree to each planting a set of pepper seedlings after mixing the soil with sand and sawdust and compost, to trying to open a coconut, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. So did we. A powerpoint presentation about healthy and unhealthy foods, a healthy lunch and an after lunch swim complimented the visit. It is so wonderful to see our young people interested and quite knowledgable about heir food and health.
Arabella was our volunteer from Amsterdam. She stayed at Jiwa Damai for 5 weeks and shared with us her enthusiasm and positive energy. After her program was over we wanted to share with you her story because we found it genuinely inspiring.
„Previously, I worked as a project manager and marketing consultant at an advertising agency in Amsterdam. But I had a wake up call after travelling the world and hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, I shifted my career with a focus on sustainability and circular economy, and started working at Blue City in Rotterdam.
One of the reasons I do wwoofing and came to Jiwa Damai in Bali, is to learn from nature and reconnect. And also work with the context and come up with possible solutions within that context.
I found this quote by Antoine Lavoisier very intruiging... "In nature nothing is created, nothing is lost, everything changes.”
During the 5 weeks I worked on several projects; restarting the mushroom project, shaping the compost areas, seeding and transplantation, organizing the seedbank and planning a family veg garden as an empowerment project with the purpose of making them less dependant on external sources.
My time at Jiwa Damai was wonderful and so much more then just a wwoof experience. It was a gift that kept on giving. The place is magical with endless (sometimes hidden) learning opportunities and the possibillity for cultural exchange.” Arabella, our volunteer from Netherlands.
The ethics of earth care, people care and sharing surplus are one of Permacullture’s unique contribution in our today world. They actually point the way to a new paradigm, from survival and lack of, to abundance and sharing.
Permaculture design provides a system which allows us to move deeply into our abused eco-systems and release their inherent potential.
Jiwa Damai is a hands-on, socially responsible organic garden and retreat center.
We are located amidst lush tropical vegetation in the heart of Bali (20 mins from Ubud).
