the destiny engine
DESCRIPTION
a photo essay about a Cultural Engine landing at Destiny.TRANSCRIPT
FAERIE
Text
(the 17th season)
CAMP DESTINY
Monday, January 27, 14
In May of 2013, a Cultural Engine team from West Philadelphialanded at a Radical Faerie Sanctuary in Vermont.
The following is a story of their warm season with Destiny.
Monday, January 27, 14
(re-printed from the 2013 Destiny STAR report that preceded our season on the land)
a Cultural Engine lands at DestinyCultural Engines weave community. They weave a powerful story of interconnection & love — one of a service to Life, & to one another, fueled by Love. And, like the living patterns on Earth, after which every Cultural Engine is modeled, they make more (& more kinds) of themselves possible, by growing regenerative culture. All the while, Engines feed & nourish bodies & souls, by bringing people together over healing foods, healing arts, & healing practices — they weave as well, people to place, by more deeply connecting communities to local foodsheds, art projects, & to one another. Hopefully, we are effectively painting a picture of a living system that enhances holistic community — & as well one that strengthens larger ecosystems of many communities, that feel linked & stronger together.
Essentially, we consciously co-create. We tend our minds, bodies, & spirits through focused action & service to Destiny Community. We continue beautiful work already begun. We make stronger our community's capacity to take care of itself in authentic and loving ways. We grow a community-of-practice, that nurtures our beings, & the land. We heal & deepen our connection with Mother Earth. We help one another fulfill individual & collective goals, & continue growing a culture of greater resilience. We source more & more of our community's needs locally, and cultivate living systems that grow potentially limitless nourishment on our land.
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(continued from Destiny STAR report...)
In physical form this work looks like re-shaping garden beds for maximum water holding; converting a few more to perennial beds; cultivation & care of the existing garden; beginning the terraforming of the lower meadow in preparation for an edible & medicinal forest garden; & upstream erosion control. For the land, we vision abundant gardens; rain water harvest; wildcrafting; plant nurseries; perennial vegetables; edible, medicinal terraced gardens with herbs, fruits, nuts & berries; and a deeper & deeper local-food culture that includes foraging & preservation.
Contents
Establishing Daily Rhythms
Start at the Heart
Tarot Gardens of Destiny
The Creek
The Patio
The Vegetable Garden
Terraforming
The Archipelago
Perennials
Lower Meadow
The Rocket Range
Gratitude
Monday, January 27, 14
(continued from Destiny STAR report...)
The richness of the Engine's offerings grow with all of our skills, insights, & experiences added. We hold space for co-created explorations in nature connection, herbal awareness, wild foraging, yoga, cooking, permaculture, regenerative design, peer-mentoring, & rites quests on the land. Feel something you want to add to the Engine's offerings? Welcome, please, & thank you.
In practice, we affirm Life in all it's expressions & forms; and we link & weave our efforts at Destiny to all of our connected Home communities. We process the yields of the land into food for our bodies. We build soil. We enrich the forest. We enlist plant & animal spirits. We practice our core gifts & discover or develop new ones. We map resources & learn from the life-growing practices of our regional neighbors. The Engine season will run from June through September. We welcome you to co-create the Destiny Engine with us.
See you on the land. <3 .
evenings from the patio
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In early, spring, the gardens were wild...
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We mowed the meadow & foraged for wild vegetables.
Establishing daily rhythms...
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Our Goals included:
- Local, renewable fuel sourcing(propane reduction strategy)
- Low-cost / Low-impact living- Locally sourced materials of all kinds
Our Tools included:
- Rocket stoves- Hand (garden) tools
- High nutrient, foraged, wild veggies(plentiful dandelion, sheep sorrel,
chickweed, chives, lobster mushrooms)
Our Meals included:
- rocket stove-grilled cheese the ‘Rocket Cheese’
- (a lot of) dandelion & garlic - chickweed salad
- fresh herbal infusions- soaked, sprouted beans
- local eggs
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And sometimes, we had dessert...
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So... Where to begin on 160+ acres of Faemily land in Vermont?
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Start at the Heart
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Organizing Principles:
Start In, Work Out.
Establish Areas of Focus.
Respect Community Values.
Develop Outdoor Living.
Celebrate & Feature Water Flows.
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Garden Visioning
First, we walked & documented the land -- identifying intersections of existing communal land use patterns & natural beauty.
Then, we mapped them, & selected those areas nearest to the kitchen to focus on first -- the ones in the center of our daily use patterns.
From there emerged a vision of a many-gardened landscape...
‘The Tarot Gardens of Destiny’
*point of clarification -- the following is a vision brought forward by the Engine & did not arise from Destiny Community consensus process*
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LOWER MEADOW
LOWER MEADOW
PROPOSED TAROT GARDENS OF DESTINYBY THE CULTURAL ENGINE
FOREST
FOREST
TEAHOUSECIRCLE
MOTHER GARDEN/DIVA STATION
COUNCILCIRCLE
CEREMONYGARDEN
CRONEGARDEN
MAYPOLEGARDEN
GARDEN KITCHEN
YOGAGARDEN
HOPS ALLEY
SHOWERGARDEN
PLATFORMGARDEN
LOW
HIGH
VEGETABLEGARDEN
SWALEGARDEN
ENTRYGARDEN
PORCH GARDEN
DRIVEWAYGARDEN
THE A
RCHI
PELA
GO
CREEKGARDEN
KITCHENGARDEN
SUNSETROCK
WORKSHED
SEPTIC SWALE
UPPE
R CR
EEK
(SEA
SONA
L)
WAT
ERFA
LL C
REEK
(SEA
SON
AL)
KITCHEN
DINI
NG
SHOWER
2ND POND
WATERFALLGARDEN
ZONE 1ZONE 2ZONE 3ZONE 4
21 + 0 gardens with which to playmap credit: Manifest Love
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The Creek
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before...
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‘by all means, weed the creek.’
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a riparian ecosystemis born...
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A day in the life...
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The Patio
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The Creek Garden
(after two moons)
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again, the before...
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after.
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The Vegetable Garden
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Terraforming
The Destiny gardens exist on a slope that was clearcut. The soil is thin, & the speed with which water moves across the
land is fast. Rather than move across, we want to gently hold water deep in the landscape, throughout the growing season.
Stemming from these landscape observations over the course of the season, we recognized the need to re-contour the
garden to better retain water, soil & nutrients.
After re-contouring, in preparation for next growing season, we sheet-mulched the newly terraformed beds with
cardboard & composted cow manure -- for slow, easeful building of soil fertility over time.
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Remember this?
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The Archipelago
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before...
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place-making.
thank you, rock.
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Perennials
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Comfrey Yarrow
King Henry
Sea Kale
Turkish Rocket
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rhubarb
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new kitchen garden.herbs.
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hops in the fall.
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Lower Meadow(brush clearing & bed prep)
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the Rocket Range
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boil your kettle in 7 minutes --or your kindling back.
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Gratitude
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to our grandmother, the Crone
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to our father, the sky
to our brother the sun
&
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to our Mother EarthMonday, January 27, 14
to the Destiny Engine team:
PashanandaHugz
Manifest
wildRose&Leigh
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& to the Destiny Community, for its vision, commitment & grace --
and for welcoming us Home.
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