Spinach wars and Irish clowns

Skye shares her experience at Damanhur after a month of WWOOFing and work exchange in the nucleo communities…

Hey there, my name is Skye. I’m writing this article to share my experience over the past month as a new comer to Damanhur.

I bought a one-way plane ticket and left my country, Australia, on June 1, 2014. I initially enjoyed traveling the west side of Europe for most of the summer. I explored cities, countryside and forests. I discovered many weird and wonderful things.

I then arrived in Damanhur on Tuesday November 5th for work exchange at Prima Stalla, the Damanhur farm. My first week in Damanhur was already quite an adventure. I met people from all over the world with all kinds of exotic animal names. Many of them had extraordinary gifts such as being able to communicate with plants. I learned about a Sacred Language and how to purify my food. I became a gladiator as a Lion (Leone) and I went to war with the spinach (spinachi). It was a “grand casino!” I worked on many new projects including the deforestation of an entire tomato plantation with the New Life participants. We were assaulted by tiny white insects that seemed to enjoy exploring my nose.

I participated in a beautiful Damanhurian wedding and baked a cosmic cake for the groom’s 21st birthday just a few days later. I experienced the absolute miracle of life as I witnessed a difficult birth of a baby calf outside my cabin. Soon after I was confronted by the stark contrast of death as I learned the mother and baby did not survive. I experienced the full effects of the European flu (much more challenging than the Australian counterpart) and was bedridden for almost 3 days. Two lovely healers Nandu and Beluga took pity on me and I received my first pranatherapy session, bliss.

Soon after, I parted ways with Prima Stalla and my new friends for the next stage of my adventure to continue in Dendera. Needless to say I was beginning to get curious and being a member of Gen Y, I have never been a person of patience. Curiosity always gets the better of me. What brought me here to Damanhur and how can I learn more about this magical place?

In Dendera I was welcomed to join a Permaculture project converting a sad swampland into a beautiful paradise. I began a new kind of battle involving mud, water, thorny weeds, worms and my new courageous comrades Michal an engineer from Czech republic and Didi a clown from Ireland. We shaped and molded the land, forming ponds and streams which will bloom with gorgeous flowers in the springtime. Some days were challenging as we were assaulted by cold mist, rain and painful thorns while the very ground beneath our feet moved with the consistency of custard. I really feel as though I merged a part of myself with this piece of Earth between the nucleos Magilla and Dendera, which together make up the community region Tentyris. As the days went on, others joined us in the work and the days when we began to feel rigid and unmotivated, Didi the clown would materialize bringing jokes, stories and a balloon that could squeak and fart.

I was very lucky to have the opportunity to join some of the New Life classes and visit the living Temples of Humankind which were extremely thought-provoking to say the least. I even pitched in to help with an event organized by Judy from New Life called “Time’s Up.”

I have experienced the convenience and luxury of synchronic car rides, beautiful music, Sacred Dancing, rituals, the Oracle and magical spirals. I even had a few lucid dreaming experiences recently in which I was able to fly and metamorphose into a mythical creature…

Click here to read Part 2 of Skye’s Damanhur experience: Laughter, tears and dreams

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Have you ever gone anywhere on a one way plane ticket? Where did it take you? Comment below…

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