A Family Experience Living-in-community

Published in Juno Magazine recently Dorota Owen a long term leader of Kalikalos Family weeks talks about  holistic holidays and living in community with a family.  

I first heard the term “Holistic Holiday”, from a former Findhorn community member who, in 2008, invited me to join the staff of a Findhorn-inspired summer community project in Greece. Called “Kalikalos”, this community project is based in an old hotel in the picturesque mountain village of Kissos in the Pelion peninsula. 

The cobbled streets and stone houses are home to a population whose ancestors have enjoyed the tranquil  forests for centuries,  living on abundant harvests and the clear, clean water that bursts from the mountainside springs.  In winter time, the snow attracts skiers: in summer time  the many tavernas are a magnet for hikers and visiting Athenians, many of whom have family holiday homes here.

Swimming in a perfect sea, I wondered how it would be to bring my three children, then aged 15, 13 and 7—would they get bored ? Should we invite their friends? In the end, the Kalikalos director suggested that I run the first of our family experience weeks (which are patterned after the Findhorn Foundation family experience weeks) and the children helped. Since then, this week has grown into two and our numbers have doubled year after year.

Now there are two venues and a waiting list!

Why are these family weeks so popular? Obviously the location, warm sunshine and sea are a big draw for British visitors in particular. Living in community is also a factor, as deep friendships are formed in the context of community life which simply would never happen on a package holiday in an anonymous hotel.  Community can be intense sometimes, and over the years, communication processes like Marshall Rosenberg’s nonviolent communication, sociocracy and council circles have been adopted to facilitate conflict and reach harmonious win-win resolutions.

There is some special magic about a community-based holistic holiday which has emerged over the years, an alchemy of healthy, fresh local food, gentle work rhythms and  a profound connection with nature as we eat under the stars and  walk in the shady forests.

This, to me, is truly the meaning of a holistic holiday. I learn about human nature and how to get along with people, as do my children, and I think this has been key to our evolution as a very happy family unit. I eat healthily, swim daily, walk through nature. We always  return to our home town glowing, tanned, fit. Finally, I feel nourished by the good company of friends, supported in the larger world by the knowledge there is a tribe that I am part of, a family of cultural creatives who share my values around planetary sustainability and good living.

For more detail about the Family weeks and our work shop programme visit.

http://www.Kalikalos.com

http://www.kalikalos.com/workshops/family-experience-weeks.shtml

http://www.kalikalos.com/program.shtml#swap3

Reflections on 2 weeks at Kalikalos

Hello everyone! I'm Fiona, and I've been living at the Kalikalos community for the last ten days. Sitting in the rain (very unusual!) on my last working day here,  I felt drawn to writing about my experience here before it fades into my return journey home.......

So, where to start? I've lived in community a lot over the last few years, and I've been away on retreats and workshops a lot too - so I'm quite used to sharing intimate space with others - both those I know, and those I come together with for a short space of time. I'm also used to living in parts of the world where things may not function as they do back home (India, Russia) - but there is something unique and for me utterly charming and captivating about Kalikalos, and I intend to share that with you in this blog.

I will start with a few "snapshots" of my time here: long, lazy afternoons on the beach, swimming and floating in the deep blue sea, eating cherries straight off the tree, spontaneously dancing together in the evenings, eating delicious vegetarian food, chanting by moon and candle light for my friend who has just been ordained, cooking together,  gardening together, washing up together outside in the warm sunshine (so different from washing up inside in the cold), being a "body" for the Bowen technique workshop that was taking place, hearing shouts and screams from the other workshop space (a leadership course!), playing with 2 cute dogs who arrived for an overnight visit (planning to stay longer, but frightened by the thunder!), admiring a beautiful tortoise who also visited overnight, watching Enrico, the 8 year old son of one of the staff playing with his two insects he is keeping in a jar, a healing swap with an amazing energy worker, early morning chi kung, yoga and meditation sessions, making natural cosmetics, a "men's group" (can't tell you much more about that - for obvious reasons!!), nights out at the local taverna, some tears - and above all a lot of laughter and hugs!

As always, with these comparatively short but intense times away, I have made some good friends, and feel that I have known people for far longer than just 10 days.

So, what makes it for me "unique, utterly charming and captivating?"  First of all, the place is absolutely beautiful. The hills, the many colours of bright flowers and their different scents, the blue, blue sea - and the clean, pure air. And for me, life is so much easier in the heat and the sunshine - bare feet on the ground, loose, bright clothing and a deepening suntan!

It's also that Kalikalos is small enough that you know from the very beginning that your presence and your contribution matter. Because it's comparatively small (about 11 of us in my first week, and about 18 the second week) you get to know people quite well. Also, living in a smallish space with a lot of different people doing different things, all of whom have different needs and wants, can really bring you up against your "edges." I have become aware (again!) of my patterns and tendencies when I am in community situations - and have felt that it is a safe, supportive space to share about them, and to work through what I want to address.  Sometimes this week, I have let go of what I wanted to do to help someone else, and the other way round - people have often gone out of their way to help me.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, this place seems to attract some really interesting people - and we are all so different! People from Findhorn ( a community in the Northeast of Scotland) and Auroville (a community in South India), people with gardening and permaculture expertise, body workers and healers, people from different countries and cultures, and with different interests and talents. I will miss you all!

My Kalikalos Experience

Hello, welcome to my blog. My name is Enid and I've been at Kalikalos for 3 months so I thought it was about time I put my fingers on the keyboard and told you something about my experience here!

I arrived on 12 June to participate on a workshop of non-violent communication with Maria Arpa. The workshop was interesting and I felt it would give me extra insight for my work as a life coach.

The centre was expecting a big group of people to arrive for a permaculture workshop and I volunteered to stay for the weekend to help out. Little did I know I would be spending most of my summer in Kalikalos as a member of staff! I very quickly became engaged with what was happening here and felt I was accepted as part of the project. Over the weeks we have had many interesting workshops and the participants have brought their own special energy. We've also had many living-in community guests who have come for one or two weeks and participated by contributing with their own particular skills.

I've also had opportunity to attend various workshops that have taken place. I attended a couple of sessions with Annabel Aguirre on her Art from Within week - I found working with the paints inspiring and talking through the results, which was guided by Annabel, revealing. Mark Taplin's week of Experiencing Pelion gave me the chance to see more of this amazingly beautiful area as well as learning some of its history. I also attended a day with Victoria on her Creative Works for Health and Wellbeing workshop. We went out for the day to Zagora with pen and paper in hand so we could find a space to be alone and write on a particular theme. The exercise was emotional and meaningful but as our next stop was the beach Victoria guided us back to a balanced state. Each session gave me a deeper understanding of myself and what I need to create the life I want.

However, it hasn't all been plain sailing! I guess whenever you get a group of different people together there will be certain frustrations, irritations and downright anger. We acknowledged these situations and did what we could to work through them. As a person who likes harmony I had difficulty when something wasn't quite right, but, I've learned to accept that this is just the way it is.

I've made some strong connections with some of the people who have passed through our beautiful home in Kissos. I hope they continue to be a part of my life for many years to come.

So, here I am preparing to leave Kalikalos feeling a mixture of emotions for what has gone and what is to come .....

Enid Pinder, London, UK

Well-Being

My last day. Today is one of the cool days that seem to come once a week in this glorious land basking in radiant sunshine. Later perhaps there will be a “Katabatic Wind” that happens when the heat of the hills draws air off the sea, creating gusts that bang the shutters to and fro all night. At least the mozzies and midges can’t battle against those winds, unlike the calm hot nights when they get under the skin. Bring a net if you have one.

The bell will ring in five minutes. The rhythms of Kalikalos are wonderfully reliable. There will be bread, olives, tomatoes, feta, and copious mild olive oil for lunch on the terrace under the vines where grapes and !Kiwi! fruits slowly ripen. A small strong sweet Greek coffee, a nap, and then a drive down the hairpin road to the pale glowing shingle beach, float in salty blue sea. Watch the deep blue sky shade to silver as the sun sinks behind the mountain, and the moon, full tonight, glows pale in the East.


My window to the rosy sunrise over the Aegean.

Life here feels timeless, ancient, and utterly present. Although the names and faces of people change, there seems to be a spirit of the place that welcomes into its heart those who come this way, that lives here throughout the year, breathing in, and breathing out. Claudia, Jessica, Dera - angels of love and light and service - David, Mark, Enid, Monica, Jock, lightly supporting and encouraging with humour and integrity and dedication.

When I considered coming here to facilitate the Well Being Retreat with The Work, the required tasks (washing up, food prep, gardening) looked like chores. Now I see that each contribution brings a sense of connection and fun. "Wash your plate and one other thing" sounds earnest and virtuous, yet brings a tremendous sense of well-being.

Tamara Alferoff, London

Tai Chi on Plaka Beach

As the sun goes down on a late summer evening; the natural, free flowing movements of the Tai Chi echoed the natural beauty of the Pelion peninsula all around us. Gazing across the calm, deep blue ocean; fishes dancing across its surfaces, and seven of us commenced our Sunday practice.



A complete first timer to the art of Tai Chi; the experience was at first a somewhat daunting one. After the initial five minutes of flailing around in the sand, continuously losing my balance, and breaking into an embarrassing sweat; the subtle movements and graceful form I was attempting to recreate from Francoise, eventually became far more natural. After yet another fifteen minutes a strange feeling of total mental ease began sweeping over me, as my body began mimicking the moves almost automatically. It had seemed my my mind had entered almost into a calm meditation, as my body continued to flow through these movements, without any forced insistence. I will certainly be coming back for more.

Freddie Matthews (Kalikalos staff recruit and first time Tai Chi'er)