Peace Research Center Tamera: Creating Models for a Peace Culture
an article by Leila Dregger

Tamera in Portugal is a Peace Research Center and a community: nearly 200 people from different countries live and work together to create the knowledge and experience for a peace culture. From May 2006 to April 2009, there was a special experiment Monte Cerro to train people from many countries how to build peace villages, how to create trust in community, how to help in areas of crises.

We are looking back on an exiting time, with many ups and downs, with the main line of building a global network for peace knowledge.

I am overwhelmed when I see how it all has developed in the last three years: A Permaculture water landscape was developed: a model for healing devastated areas and for growing organic food regional in order to provide food autonomy. A solar village is in development, with solar energy systems independent from large industry, which can be built in small workshops. More and more houses are built with strawbales and clay, it is a low cost architecture fitting for peace villages. And above I am overwhelmed by the community process. So many young people developed such a strength to lead, to communicate, to spread trust, to help each other and the world.

During these three years a deep and committed cooperation with specialists, committed peace workers, global activists, representatives of indigenous knowledge, with peace villages and initiatives to start peace villages developed. Three peace walks - "Grace pilgrimages" took place, with several hundred people, led by Tamera founder Sabine Lichtenfels, through the Middle East and through Colombia. They provided deep insights into the world situation and the interconnectedness of it all and into possibilities to help and change. We became aware how much our lifestyle in Europe is responsible for the suffering of campesinos in Colombia that are under the permanent stress and threat to be displaced and killed.

The aim is to build a Global Campus for peace studies. For this, the curriculum has to be developed further. For that, more cooperation partners and new visions are needed.

Tamera will have a Summer of Vision this year. Starting with a gathering of young leaders from July 18th to August 31st, the Summer University "Global Grace Village - Creating Models for a Future without War" and - after this communitarian vision building - we will provide an individual Vision Quest where 100 people can join. (Imagine - 100 people for four days and nights in nature, everyone alone, without food, only water, listening to nature, facing fear and shadow sides, and in the end harvesting deep insights about their vision and contribution.)

We would love to have people from other communities and ecovillages to form this global ring of knowledge and cooperation.

DISCUSSION

Question(s) related to this article:

Where and how do we learn about peace professions?


As a reader, you are invited to join in the discussion of this article based on any of the above question(s): just click on the question, read the previous comments and add a new reply. You may also enter a new discussion topic on this article - see bottom of this page.

Thematic forum(s) in which this article is being discussed:

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CULTURE OF PEACE

Latest reader comment:

Readers' comments are invited on this article and topic.

This report was posted on April 20, 2009. The moderator is CPNN Administrator.

If you wish to start a new discussion topic on this article, please copy the title of this article which is Peace Research Center Tamera: Creating Models for a Peace Culture and its number which is 438 and enter this information along with your discussion question and a brief text on the new topic form.

A few stories are retained on the main listings if they are considered by readers to be a priority. If you have not already done so, please take the time to check a box below: should this article be considered as a priority?