Healing Our Movement Ecosystem (HOME) Jam
November 15-19, 2013
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Greetings! We are glad to share with you the invitation for the first-ever Healing Our Movement Ecosystem (HOME) Jam. It will take place from November 15-19, 2013, at Synergia Ranch, a beautiful retreat center in the high plateaus of New Mexico.
The HOME Jam brings together 30 passionate, dynamic changemakers from diverse regions and backgrounds, for a week of dreaming, connecting, growing, and learning together, within and throughout the environmental movement.
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“I love the dear friendships and network of support that have been with me since the first Jam I attended in 2001. The people I met at Jams have become advisors, board members, funders, collaborative partners, and among my closest friends… I appreciate the safe space created at Jams that allows each person to take risks at their own pace and in doing so empower one another to take greater risks in our own lives and work. The Jams allow each of us to SHINE! I love the laughter, the art, the music, the creativity, the joy a much-needed vacation for the hard working soul… You have taught me so much about group process, about exploring how the dynamics around power and privilege can get in the way, about the power in connecting and realizing our own truth AND introduced me to such a world of possibility.” – Kavitha Rao, 35, Cofounder, Common Fire Foundation, Tivoli, New York |
Why HOME?
The intersecting conservation and environmental justice movements have profound depth as well as tremendous breadth. Environmentalists, indigenous peoples, alternative builders, eco-justice warriors, scientists, and legal/policy advocates all identify with the need to ensure the vitality of our planet and all its peoples for generations to come. And, yet, it's rare for folks from across the environmental sector to come together in a spirit of personal, interpersonal and systemic transformation.
In our personal experiences and through our interviews with folks across the sector, we have seen how so many are struggling with a lack of time, with feelings of burnout, with overstretched capacities and resources… And also are missing out on the wider community, connections, trust and support, to work through a lot of these struggles with fresh eyes and hearts. Sustainability is dreamed of, but it's not being practiced; interconnection is hoped for, but it's not manifesting on the ground. The Jam hopes to create a space for that to change – for a lived experience to be had of what is possible for ourselves, our organizations, our movements and our world.
We are hoping to embark on new forms of learning and community to strengthen our ability to act collectively. We are guided by these inquiries:
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What are the ways to connect the dots between the mainstream and marginalized aspects of our movements?
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How could we generate more mutual support within and across the full spectrum of environmental activism?
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How might we celebrate our diversity and harvest our collective wisdom for accelerated social transformation and the well-being of each of us and of all?
We invite YOU, as a key leader in this field, to join us in co-creating a pathway to deepen personal alignment, support interpersonal healing, and enable powerful actions for systemic change.
Why Jam?
In music, a Jam is a creative, live gathering of talented musicians who together spontaneously create a new sound; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Similarly for us, a Jam is a place where visionaries and leaders make music with their passion, vision, openness, and courage. They bring what they have to the space and create together with no preconceived script. The Jam only asks that all the players are present and ready to listen deeply to each other and to co-create with each other, to weave layers of sounds, experience, knowledge and spirit together. In the realness of this connection, magic can be created.
To date, more than 85 Jams have been held on six continents, bringing together young leaders from more than 80 nations. The HOME Jam is being co-organized by a diverse group of environmental and ecology leaders and is being supported by YES! <www.oldsite.yesworld.org> and the Indigenous Leadership Institute <www.indigenousleadership.org>
What to expect at the HOME Jam?
The Jam aims to address three interconnected levels of transformation: the internal, the interpersonal, and the social/systemic. It is not a conference, seminar or a typical meeting. It offers multiple opportunities for deep, holistic exploration, in which each person has something to offer and something to receive. Through activities like facilitated dialogues, sharing circles, artistic expression, games, movement, participant-led workshops, outdoor adventure, and lots of free time for spontaneous interactions amongst the participants, we will together explore our own experiences, questions and dynamics.
We will draw upon the power of collective visioning, new storytelling, personal and interpersonal transformation, systemic analysis, and deep integration. Through activities, exchanges and just plain hanging out together, we get a chance to take stock. To see things from new perspectives. To activate our imaginations, creativity and curiosity. To align our vision and values. To face our fears and overcome our blocks. We get to heal and to find new friends and partners in our journey.
Who can attend?
We are generally looking for diverse leaders in the environmental/ecology sector, roughly between the ages of 20-40. If you want to see a change in how the sector operates and want to be part of making that happen, if you are open to learning from people different from you, if you are willing to push the edges of your comfort zone, then this gathering has something to offer you.
To leverage the movement-building impact of the Jam, we encourage applicants to identify other individuals and organizations with whom you would like to collaborate more effectively and encourage them to apply as well.
Who Is Organizing This Jam?
Enei Begaye-Peter is Táchii’nii clan & born for Tódích’ií’nii clan. She is of the Diné (Navajo) & Tohono O'odham Nations. Enei is an active mother and a recognized advocate of Indigenous People's rights, environment justice and community health. She is an experienced grassroots organizer and an active speaker, strategist, and writer. Among other recognitions, Enei was named one of Utne Reader's "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World". She is a co-founder of the non-profit organization Native Movement and served as a long-time Co-Director of the Black Mesa Water Coalition. Enei is currently the Executive Director of the Indigenous Leadership Institute (ILI), a non-profit organization that creates unique spaces that engage people in creative expression, self-reflection, and personal and professional growth. Enei grew up on the Navajo reservation in Northeastern Arizona; she is Stanford University-educated and currently lives in Fairbanks, Alaska with her husband and their four children. She is a dirt loving, vegetable growing, fabric addicted, bookworm.
Colin O'Brien is a staff attorney at Earthjustice, a non-profit public interest law organization dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. Based in in Anchorage, AK, his work has focused on preserving clean air both for public health and its own sake. Prior to joining Earthjustice, Colin cut his teeth at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, DC and, before that, at a large law firm in New York City.
Princess Lucaj (Neet'saii Gwich'in) is a writer/actor/director based in Alaska. Her grandparents are the late Steven & Katherine Peter of Arctic Village. She is the Executive Director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee an indigenous non-profit whose mission is to ensure the long-term health and viability of the Porcupine Caribou Herd that sustains the Gwich'in way of life. She is a mother and loves sharing her rich culture with others.
Kirk Hardie grew up in Sacramento, California and spent most winter weekends skiing at Lake Tahoe. He has been an environmental educator in Idaho, Oregon, California, and Nevada, highlighting the beauty of birds in the natural world, among many other topics. In 2009, he received his Master of Science degree in Biology from the University of Nevada, Reno, where he developed a four-week high school curriculum based on the ecology of the Great Basin. His background in field ornithology has included research projects with Gunnison Sage-Grouse and Lewis's Woodpeckers. Since 2006, he has led domestic and international eco-tours for the Audubon Society of Portland. Kirk is also the co-founder and co-executive director of the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science and teaches field ornithology courses as an adjunct faculty member at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, NV. His favorite pastimes are hiking, biking, snowboarding, and snowshoeing, when he is not birding.
Wahleah Johns is a member of the Navajo (Dine) tribe and the community of Forest Lake, which is one of several communities atop Black Mesa, Arizona. Wahleah's work with the Black Mesa Water Coalition and Navajo Green Economy Coalition has led to groundbreaking legislative victories for groundwater protection, green jobs and environmental justice. As vice chair of the Navajo Green Economy Commission, she is developing green economic opportunities in clean energy and traditional economic practices.
Jodi Lasseter grew up in the mountains of North Carolina and currently lives in Durham, NC. She brings transformative organizing tools to education justice and environmental justice organizations throughout the U.S. In her previous positions as National Program Director with the Engage Network and Director of Organization Development for the Amazon Alliance, Jodi worked closely with hundreds of community leaders here and abroad to build grassroots power. She also founded WEB (Whole Earth Balance) women's leadership incubator devoted to spiritual activism. Jodi continues to be engaged in restorative justice, water and energy issues, and natural building by serving on several organizationsboards. In both work and play, Jodi delights in sharing movement songs, walking in the woods and storytelling.
Shilpa Jain is currently rooting herself in Oakland/Berkeley, CA, where she serves as the Executive Director of YES!. YES! works with social changemakers at the meeting point of internal, interpersonal and systemic change, and aims to co-create a thriving, just and balanced world for all. Prior to taking on this role, Shilpa spent two years as the Education and Outreach Coordinator of Other Worlds and ten years as a learning activist with Shikshantar: The PeoplesInstitute for Rethinking Education and Development, based in Udaipur, India, where she served as coordinator of the Swapathgami (Walkouts-Walkons) Network. She has researched and written numerous books and articles and facilitated dozens of transformative leadership gatherings with hundreds of young leaders from over 50 countries. She is passionate about dance and music, organic and natural farming, upcycling and zero waste living, asking appreciative questions and being in community.
Dates, Venue and Contribution
The Jam will be held from Friday, November 15 to Tuesday, November 19, 2013, at Synergia Ranch, a retreat center outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is a naturally beautiful place, away from the hustle-bustle of modern life, so that it is both inspiring and rejuvenating
The total costs of the Jam are $800 per participant ($400 for food and lodging; $400 for program). We ask that participants make and cover their own travel arrangements and also contribute a minimum of $250 toward their food and accommodation. We were able to do some fundraising to bring the costs down to this rate.
However, we also realize that this is still a significant amount for many people, and we do not want money to be an impediment to your participation. So if you are able to contribute more, wonderful! The extra amount will go towards our scholarship pool. Even if you are not able to contribute as much, we definitely want you, too! We can work out scholarships and/or work-trade arrangements as needed. Just let us know.
Also, we welcome children to the Jam; we love having whole families sharing the Jam experience. We will cover the costs of childcare, and we will discuss with each parent how to work out any additional costs.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any queries. We eagerly look forward to hearing from you!
With gratitude for who you are and what you do,
Enei, Kirk, Princess, Colin, Trevor, Wahleah, Jodi and Shilpa