PARADISA is the most peaceful place I've ever had the pleasure of getting to know.And at the same time lively, raw, full of adventures, surprises, pure love, magic, wild and free.
The mind often can't even grasp it yet - as if I had landed in the middle of a postcard.Only this is mobile and real and not just for a few days; I can now call this my home.
I've already spent a year and a half with my sons on Nosy Be, the island about 30 to 45 minutes speedboat ride from PARADISA.
Of course, we had a good time there and familiarised ourselves with the Malagasy way of thinking and living. But it was always just the waiting room after PARADISA...
The move over here was very exciting and of course something different: our household was brought over on a transport ship, while my sons, our two dogs and two cats travelled over by speedboat.
The island of Nosy Be will remain an important port of call for us, if only because of the international airport.
But it's so different here! At last!
There is none of the tourist consumption here, we are in unspoilt nature and simply completely out of the matrix (at least on the outside - how much we let it come out of us is now our responsibility...!).
Here we Paradisians are free to do our thing. We are now the first and a village will gradually emerge around us, based solely on our shared values. Full of peace, dignity, freedom, love & joy. How beautiful is that?!
Although, when I say only on our values, that is true and at the same time needs to be expanded.
We are integrated into the Malagasy community on the peninsula where our Beach Village is being built. We have founded an NGO in which we protect nature, promote Malagasy projects and support intercultural understanding together with, for example, the mayor of the region, the chef de village of the neighbouring village and other important representatives of the local population.To be honest: a beautiful piece of land is of no use in the long run if you are not welcome by the locals.
Therefore, the long lead time from Nosy Be was not only important to familiarise ourselves with the Malagasy bureaucracy, for example, and to further improve and adapt our company structure, to gain initial experience with building contractors, architects and the Madagascan way of working and living in general, but above all to integrate PARADISA as a project into the environment here. And this requires asking questions again and again: "What is important to you and why?" and then finding solutions together.
Because PARADISA's fundamental values of freedom, love and dignity apply to all beings who come into contact with it.
We have two small original villages on the edge of our 100 hectare property (this is the beginning, more bays can be purchased at any time). There is almost no electricity there and of course the way of life is very different to what we know. In addition, almost everyone there only speaks Malagasy and some speak French, and I only speak a few words/phrases of both so far. But nevertheless, the interaction/coexistence is so friendly and full of love!
I am currently the first of us Paradisians to live here with my boys (16 & 10). All alone in the middle of nature. And I feel safe and protected here because I can feel how the village looks after us with love.
For example, when a zebu was slaughtered here at a big opening ceremony, an acquaintance from the village told me to leave (we were standing right next to the zebu)... Fortunately! I wouldn't have liked to have been right in the middle of it out of ignorance!
This is also one of the examples where we proceed with great sensitivity. In the local tradition, big celebrations include the slaughter of at least one zebu. Of course, we want to establish other rituals for PARADISA.
We also organised a small party to celebrate our arrival. We like to celebrate often here anyway! I'm looking forward to seeing how our relationship develops over the years. I think we'll be like two friends living next door to each other. Not becoming one, remaining different and sharing the best of both.
One of the next projects of our NGO is to set up a play area for children in the common area of the neighbouring village. With paper & pens, toys & musical instruments, where both the children from the local village and the PARADISA children can play at any time. We are organising a campaign for this at Christmas, where donations can also be made.
Being together with the locals and being embedded in the environment is important to us and that's why it has been given so much space here in this blog, which is all about me moving here.
We receive so much beauty and love in this place, so it goes without saying that we proceed with great mindfulness, recognise the pitfalls of 'patronage' and create new paths instead. Pure love for life and meeting at eye level pave the way.
We all learn so much from each other here! I'll write an extra text on this soon, otherwise it will be too long.
Here and now I would like to share something else with you: the magic of new beginnings.
Of course, as pioneers, we also face a few challenges here. We still don't have running water (we get water from the well every day), the internet didn't work for the first few weeks and we seem to have invaded the territory of a wild cat, which even broke into our house and injured our much smaller cat so badly in the fight that it died.
Since then, I no longer call it paradise here. It's not. It's raw, wild and free. It is adventure through and through. It is as alive as life can be and death is naturally part of it.
We find paradise within ourselves. In the silence of eternal being. There we can experience imperishable bliss at any time.
Here on earth there is this wild ride of duality and the whole range of experiences is part of it. There is also death, sadness, anger, powerlessness, lack of understanding, shame, guilt, fear as well as ecstasy, joy, acceptance, peace, friendship, gratitude and so much more
This is not paradise. But it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
I'm walking along the beach. Deserted.
We hike through the mangroves, the jungle, the green plains.
Incredible beauty, vastness, powerful vitality.
Everything still completely deserted.
And then I see how our beach village will nestle into nature here. Children's laughter, which complements the many bird calls.
Music, dancing, eating together, celebrating, talking, laughing, excursions, fun, adventure, togetherness.
I am grateful to be able to get to know this place in its original state. This stillness and emptiness is perfect for now, for a few weeks.
It nourishes me and the boys at the deepest level. We completely shut down and experience our innermost powerful nature in a completely new way.
And at the same time, we are already looking forward to all the new life that will come here with every single Paradisian.
Firstly with those who are already on Nosy Be and will soon be moving over to us, the Paradisians who are still in Europe and then with all those who are new to PARADISA.
We are looking forward to restaurants, diving school, creative workshops, yoga on the beach, the spiritual centre, massages, fun in the pool, new knowledge of all kinds and people from all over the world.
I'm looking forward to opening an art centre and shop here. To campfire evenings, sporting challenges, singing, philosophising and enjoyable silence.
I love being here and watching PARADISA grow.
I love watching the birds fly up on the beach and knowing that turtles lay their eggs here on a stretch of beach that is sacred territory and will therefore never be built on.
I love connecting deeply with the sometimes very different nature and knowing that we are proceeding with care and that so much nature will always remain untouched that you can find yourself here.
We enjoy this beautiful place and pave the way for all those who still want to come.
Veloma and see you soon!
Tahalia
