Water flows and greenhouse growth at Tiglio
Continued from… New Life Journey: My nucleo community Tiglio
After a week or so, I feel quite at home in Tiglio. I don’t mind the walk to Damanhur Crea, and I usually get rides anyway from people passing by. I am finally catching up with myself. During
the afternoons, I walk down to the small stream that runs along the bottom of the property. I often like to lay down and take a nap here, listening to the many songs of water and leaves. There are streams everywhere in Damanhur. It seems that a number of territories have streams running through them. And some of these provide drinking water.
I’m enjoying the flow of fresh water around me. It’s as if these silver streams thread the earth with poetry and sensitivity as well as life-giving fluid. There are other water 
sources as well, such as the large river that runs right along the main road near Damanhur and the nearby villages. And Tiglio also has a small lake. I’d call it a pond, more or less. And it’s water is rather stagnant at the moment.
When I first arrived here, Anaconda told me that the current nuclei was only ten months old. He said, “The lake was surrounded with several meters of thorns. We cleared away the thorns and cleaned out the lake.”
They also cut a channel from the running stream nearby which now brings fresh water into the lake. A channel on the other side empties out further downstream, thus creating a circulating flow. The water level is too low to flow out now, so more work has to be done. And eventually there will be things like water plants for aeration and life.
“We feel that the energy in the nucleo is too earthbound and masculine,” says Anaconda. “We’re hoping that when we get the lake clear and flowing, we will in
crease the feminine energy of the land and of everyone who lives here.”
I realize that I’ve been well-placed in this nucleo, having a strong affinity for water myself. I love how people work not only with the physical aspects of the landscape but also with its consciousness. This connective and evolving relationship resonates through the collective ethos of the place…and beyond. I feel I am just beginning to get a sense of it.
Sunday afternoon. The plastic is on the greenhouse. Last week we prepped the structure but rain and wind postponed the final stage. Today we covered it. It was sunny all morning and now there’s a bit of a downpour passing by. When it rains, there’s a quick pummel of water often accompanied by a rumble of thunder and then look, already the sky is blue again and all the leaves are dripping.
Three Sunday mornings a month, nucleo members work together doing chores on the territory. Sometimes, if the project is big, folks from other nucleos come to help. Even guests and visitors join in. Working on the greenhouse today, I met an independent French filmmaker from Cannes. I also got to talk with Betsy and Eddie, folks from L.A. who live in the nearby town. After a few hours of work, we have a delightful two-hour lunch on the porch. We celebrate the new greenhouse with food, wine, camaraderie, and a continuation of interesting conversations.
by Ann Marie Molnar
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