The Gila Circle Way Project encompasses many programs aimed at serving our community and our wild neighbors. Some are underway, and some are yet to come. We look forward to seeing you!
Current Programs
Wild Neighbors Walkabout is a program that provides local kids with an opportunity to wander the local ditches, creeks, hillsides, and nature corridors immediately surrounding the town(s) we live in. The goal is to get to know our place. In order to do that, we must have unstructured time to wander, follow our interests and intuition, and touch the dirt, the plants, and the follow the tracks of the animals all around us. Through group wandering, circle awareness games and dream sharing, and guidance with earth living skills such as friction fire, cordage-making, natural crafts, etc, the goal is to awaken in our children their natural deep connection with wild nature and their own natural selves. We also work through interpersonal disputes using the ancient method of the talking circle, which is still the best way to work things out and come together as people. Currently we have an awesome weekly Wednesday Wild Neighbors Walkabout for homeschool kids. Also forming and starting soon is an afterschool version of the program for elementary-age kids who attend schools in the area.
Plant Walk/ Natural Healing Series with Doug Simons
This series of programs features amazing and unique classes and plant walks by our honored friend and contributor Doug Simons. Doug has had the unique experience of living primitively with the wild plants and animals for long periods of time, including a stint of 7 years without ever getting in a motor vehicle! His walk has given him a depth and understanding of the plants, and an ability to communicate with them strongly bound by spirit. His stunning wealth of first-hand knowledge of plants and natural healing touches all those who have a chance to study with him.
Full Moon Village Dance is on the weekend closest to the full moon every month. This community event is hosted by our local West-African Drumming group, and invites everyone to come out and dance with us. We encourage folks to come join us, make up whatever kind of costume they can think of (or don't), and get out and dance in a village environment. Traditional rhythms of West Africa, each with its own significance for various members or elements of the community, provide loose formats for how everyone can interact in specific thematic dances (or, more often, everyone dances however they like!). The goal of this community dance is to provide local people with an opportunity to step out of their everyday perspective and let the drums take us somewhere together using the same vehicle humans have used for this for thousands of years: drums! Event is free to all.
African Drumming Classes are currently offered for adults. In these classes, people can get to know their musical voices and learn how to listen and speak within a group ensemble of the traditional drums of West Africa. Drummers learn traditional rhythms and how each part fits together to create an amazing musical whole, and what that whole signifies in the context of a human community. Classes meet once a week. Call (575)519-9232 for more information. Instruments are provided.
Outdoor Traditional Skills Workshops are offered periodically, teaching various almost-forgotten skills that help us connect with the natural world, and increase our ability to craft, forage, and build the things we use and need in our lives. Past workshops have included basketmaking out of yucca and other local plants, old way firemaking (without flint and steel!), hats out of cattails, and more.
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