Casa Latina is part of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) yet a world apart from GEN Europe. Reflecting and magnifying the cultural differences between the 2 regions. Attending the Ecovillage Gathering in Europe the last 2 years, then in Latin America this year made for very interesting and contrasting experiences.
Time is, indeed, an artificial construct. It’s in the eyes of the beholders. In Europe, when they announce a meeting time, people start lining up 30-45 minutes in advance and the doors close 5-10 minutes prior to the starting time. In Latin America, time is much more elastic and flexible. Schedules are merely suggestions. People, with all their diverse changing moods, have priority over structures. Meetings don’t start, or even happen, because a schedule and a clock said so, they start when people are ready. Someone, often the facilitator, decides when to start depending on the weather, how many people are present…etc. Those who are waiting engage in small, or big group activities, sometimes facilitated but often organically, without any iota of frustration or complaint. When people share; questions, opinions or whatever, they use a lot of formalities, like asking for permission (even though it had already been granted), expressing gratitude then eventually, in so many words, getting to the point. Like in Egypt, and very different from the West, people can talk for a long time without saying much. Initially, I felt frustrated and bored when I heard ideas repeated or long segways. As I relaxed into the rhythm here, I started to see and feel beyond the surface. The slow pace and elaboration create a welcoming space where everyone feels fully expressed and heard. The shy and introverts, who would otherwise feel bulldozed by the extroverts, took their time and contributed. Beyond expressing new ideas, the objective is to build trust and safety for loving relationships to flourish. People are more important than concepts. As a personal side benefit, the repetition helped improve my Spanish.
Meetings and presentations often got interrupted by children needing attention; crying, screaming, asking for food or whatever. Everyone patiently waited while the facilitator or someone else tended to the child’s needs. Again, people have priority over structures.
All during the 2 weeks event, people kept coming in and out without any official welcome or goodbye rituals. At the beginning, I felt it disrupted the container; new faces every day. Then I got used to it and eventually, I enjoyed it especially when the new faces become new friends.
There’s magic in giving priority to people over structures. People, who trust, self organize organically. When the critical mass is reached, things get done effortlessly. It’s not unlike the flowering of a bud or the hatching of an egg. All that’s needed is a field of Love and trust.
Systems that lack these important foundations of love and trust, are typically ruled by fear and power over. Instead of relationships, they need to rely on structures, rules and punishment to get things done. While it may seem efficient and reliable, in reality, it’s fragile and destructive. It’s hard to describe the magic of trust in words yet it’s very palpable. When we invest in people, their well-being and needs, they take care of each other and of Mother Earth. Love, trust and the health of ALL beings multiply. When we invest in structures, we constantly need to add more rules, fix things on the back end and increase the fear and regidity at the expense of our happiness and wellbeing.
“Give a person a fish, and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to fish, and you feed them (and their communities) for a lifetime”
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Unconditional Love 