On claiming our space, local integration, time and trust

It took us one year to hold a first official presentation about our project in the public here in the community in Galicia - and one year can seem freaking long when participation, community and local integration is at the core of this project ⏳ 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦.

Yet, looking through the time perspective of 7 generations (that's the perspective taught in permaculture, a perspective rooted in various indigenous cultures), one year is nothing. Also community care cannot happen without self care. And we needed a lot of it in the first year to cultivate and maintain our trust, stability and joy in our work here 🤸‍♀️🌱💆‍♀️.

Why?
Even though our local project partner Manolo and others have welcomed us warmly, we still experienced the mistrust and suspiciousness against foreigners and new projects from local villagers and neighbours, something that we know from our work and rural areas also in Germany 🙈.

Even though we understood, feeling as mistrusted strangers did something to us. We became super alerted about our actions and behaviour. We found ourselves going back into our people pleasing state, which put us in a lot of stress actually. When we recognized that, we paused, reflected and said STOP to ourselves knowing that we do everything from the bottom of our hearts and the people will get to know us slowly and understand who we are and what we do, but we can go in our pace 🐌🧡.

It takes time to arrive to a place. To claim your space in the cultural and social ecosystem and understand it. It will take time. And that's good. We and the community need that time to grow together. We know we are so right where we are. We belong here. This project belongs here. We feel this. And we have trusted this feeling again and again when things got tough. Regeneration is a lot about feeling and anchoring this knowing into your body before you see it manifested around you. That's why trust is so essential.

1 year later, we feel it more than ever and standing here, next to the best project partner in the world Manolo, in front of an amazing community and receiving standing ovation from neighbours, we could not be more happy and motivated to grow our project of connection and exchange and regeneration 💚.

Love goes out to everyone in the process of respectfully claiming their space. You belong. Trust and move with grace and self-love. Connect with the people who see you and support you. The rest will follow.

🧡

#regenerativeprocess
#trust
#communitywork
#localmeetsinternational
#ruraldevelopment
#HopeHub