For those of you who joined us this weekend for the epic Call of the Turtle Mini Vision Council, and indeed for any of the brilliant EcoSapiens who shared their stories and insights with us during the monthlong Restoring Sacred Culture in the Americas Convergence, we are so grateful to you. You, in fact, are why we are here, doing this quixotic dance with the possible.
For those who weren’t able to be there for some or all of it, or just want to hear it again — there was so much packed into that 7 hours!! — the good news is that the whole day-long meeting of great minds, hearts and spirits will be available soon for viewing. Right now you can check out the program and bios of all the speakers, HERE, and the “cosecha,” or harvest, of insights, gleanings and sharings from the entire event, facilitated and compiled by Arun Ruz, HERE.
Except for The Call of the Turtle, which we are still working on, the entire Restoring Sacred Culture in the Americas Convergence, most notably the EcoSapien Speaker Series, is already available for viewing HERE. The convergence was a truly remarkable and ambitious undertaking by my sister Tami Brunk, aka Earth Sky Woman. The Call of the Turtle was spearheaded by me, Tracy, woven together with our combined vision, mutual encouragement and collaboration.
Over the course of the next months, we will be rolling out transcripts and stories with selected EcoSapien and Call of the Turtle speakers, thought leaders from the four directions whose voices are urgently needed in these times. Meanwhile, we invite you to browse the incredible lineup of speakers we’ve assembled in these pages, together with Earth Sky Woman Tami Brunk, principal organizer for the EcoSapien Series, and me (Tracy Barnett), principal organizer for the Call of the Turtle.
We heard from the people who more than a quarter of a century ago created the Vision Council – Guardians of the Earth and kept its transformational, high-impact gatherings going ever since — pop-up ecovillages that inspire a higher level of eco-consciousness wherever they go. As they (we) prepare for the long-awaited next gathering, Embrace of the Amate, Dec. 4-11, 2022, in Tepoztlan, Morelos, a magical village near Mexico City, we wanted to highlight the work of this remarkable collective and invite more participation from people in the North.
We heard from cofounder Coyote Alberto Ruz, a visionary force behind Huehuecoyotl, Mexico’s first ecovillage, as well as the Vision Council and the Rainbow Peace Caravan, a peripatetic Vision Council on wheels, which for 13 years traveled from Mexico to the Tierra del Fuego spreading permaculture, ecovillage and nonviolence principles through theater and art. Also like Luix Saldaña, another Vision Council veteran and the magical being behind the participatory spectacle that is the Art and Culture Council.
We heard from leaders in the Ecology Council – Author, teacher and activist Noelle Romero, who took ecovillage principles into some of the roughest barrios of Mexico City to help in the process of greening the megalopolis, and Odín Ruz, son of Alberto who has become a internationally renowned permaculture designer and the logistical heart of the highly complicated challenge of creating an entirely new ecovillage, from scratch, on a shoestring, each time a Vision Council happens.
Then there was the Cosmovision Council – formerly called Spirituality – with Earth Sky Woman Tami Brunk, who spoke of the dream behind the convergence, and Fernando “Nando” Ausín, a remarkable social entrepreneur and nomadic teacher of regenerative ecology principals, who shared with us a bit about his spiritual work: 12 years of teachings with a Wixárika mara’akame (shaman) published in the form of his book, Messages from the Elders.
Finally, in the best Vision Council tradition, we closed with a “Cosecha” or harvest of the group wisdom, led by Arun Ruz, representing the third generation of ecovillagers in the Huehuecoyotl community, an inspiring teacher in his own right and longtime leader of the Youth Council. Arun led the group in a dynamic that examined the learnings, insights and sharings of each of the councils from the multiple perspectives of the participants. Those findings are available HERE.
For those who would specifically like to support the Vision Council – perhaps you’d like to come but don’t have time – there are various options. We are seeking volunteers, help with publicity, and most of all, funding – you can sponsor an indigenous elder or low-income youth to come spend a week at this life-changing event. Or you can just make a tax-deductible contribution to help us keep our costs low and accessible for the hundreds of people who would like to participate. If you would are interested in becoming involved, please write to us at [email protected].
