We invite funders and funder activists to our 6th Transition Resource Circle gathering. We call our project and our annual gathering the Transition Resource Circle because we focus on the broader transition from the current meta-crisis to post capitalist realities. We invite you to join us to deepen into the inner and outer work required to usher in transformative possibilities and build transition pathways.
CONTEXT
This meta-crisis is not something outside of us. We are all complicit, to various degrees, in perpetuating and benefiting from dominant culture. Philanthropy believes it is part of the solution. And sometimes it is. However, we believe that philanthropy requires a deep reimagining of its purpose, capabilities, and the possibilities for change.
Given the fast-changing context, we acknowledge the privilege and value the importance of meet in person. We do not know how long these opportunities to find allies, deepen collaboration and trust together in shared space will continue. From our experience, the deeper work of getting out of habituated patterns to open to what else might be possible is best done together as a community of praxis. We also acknowledge the complexity and responsibility of travel, and the consequences to the broader ecosystem.
AREAS OF INQUIRY
Throughout our time together, we will explore how we can alchemize and liberate capital to be in service to Life. We work through circle ways (e.g., non-hierarchical, embodied cognition practices) to move from a culture of individual entitlement to ways in which we can honor the multiple collective entanglements of historical precedents, our respective lineages and storylines, and what is required for reconciliation and healing.
FORMAT
In order to deepen into these questions, we start from a structural analysis of power, privilege, and capital; we will develop both a historical lens and a future lens of transformation beyond the immediate horizon; we will explore how to build transition infrastructure; we will actively build a relational web, a community of practice that is committed to making kin with the living world once again.
During our time together, we will spend seven days at Tierra Valiente, a Center for Cultures of Transition based in northern Costa Rica. The TRC will be an intimate circle of 15 people, including founders, board members, executive directors, and funder activists. We use a “de-schooling” pedagogy focused on embodied cognition, meaning that we will actively practice deconditioning our hearts, minds, and souls while continually returning to our bodies as guides. We collectively listen, reflect, and learn together.
This format allows us to step outside existing cultural narratives and programmatic boundaries to expand our imagination of what is possible. Throughout our time together, we will have a mix of discussion, working groups, embodied practices, silence, and space for reflection and integration.
To prepare, we hold one-on-one interviews with each participant and ask participants to do pre-readings. The content of these interviews will determine the specific objectives and agenda, which participants will have a chance to review and adjust before and during the gathering.
LOGISTICS
We ask all participants to arrive at Tierra Valiente by or before noon on September 16th. The opening circle will take place that afternoon. The closing circle will take place in the evening of September 21st.
First departures will be September 22nd. The nearest airport is San José International Airport (SJO). Tierra Valiente is a 2.5-hour drive north into the rainforest. Transportation will be arranged for pickup and drop-off from SJO. You can find out more about Tierra Valiente / Brave Earth at braveearth.com.
The TRC gathering is by invitation only.
The cost for attendance is on a sliding scale from USD $4,200–$7,000. This includes:
7 days / 6 nights of food and lodging
Event production
Transportation to/from the airport
Post-gathering engagement
The contribution range depends on organizational size, individual resources, and related factors.
The minimum donation of $4200 only covers our hard costs of room, food, production, external facilitators, etc. Funds above $4,200 help cover TRC facilitation and ongoing accompaniment of the TRC circle. We do not want costs to be prohibitive, so please contact us if you need financial assistance. Please confirm your attendance by completing the intake form by August 17th. Participants will be accepted on a rolling basis. Space is limited, as the circle will be kept to a maximum of 20 people.
TIERRA VALIENTE | BRAVE EARTH
Brave Earth is located between San Ramon and La Fortuna, nestled in between Arenal Volcano and the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, the largest reserve of protected wildlife in Costa Rica.
As a living lab, we have experimented with different building modalities using AirCrete and materials sourced on the land including bamboo and adobe. We have implemented biophilic design, closed-loop systems and permaculture design principles. Ornamental, food, and medicinal gardens surround the center as well as hiking trials to a nearby river, and a natural swimming pond.
CULTURES OF TRANSITION
The impulse for Tierra Valiente stems from an awareness of our civilizational trajectory within the dominant culture with its source code of extraction, domination, commodification, colonization, control, entitlement, and separation from the living world.
We are both informed by this critical lens and inspired to create outside of the old values and incentive landscapes to build a culture based on reciprocity, regeneration and resiliency.
In this collective transition - whether you call it the Anthropocene, the Kali Yuga, late-stage capitalism or capitalist modernity - our intention is to become more attuned to this cultural context in order to decolonize the conditioning of the dominant system and be in deeper service to our collective potential.