​
‘In any creative work, be it the artist or the artisan, the creatve person unites with the material they are working with, which symbolises the world outside him/herself. The worker and the artefact become one. The human being becomes one with his creation. ‘ Erich Fromm
The word Poiein in Ancient Greek (ποιεá¿–ν) means making. It is where the word Poetry comes from. Plato had pointed at the connection between craft-making and poetry, calling us to gaze at the rich worlds of form and meaning that come to life when we take raw material from our landscape and create with it. It is possible, when we look at a handcrafted object, to appreciate the emotion and soul life that the maker had infused in it.
​
Sefrou is located in the heart of the middle Atlas. Traditionally, a market town located amidst fertile farming lands, it is known for its fruit orchards, cherry festival and the large Jewish community that lived there up until the last century. Sefrou is still home to a large community of local artisans, metal smiths, woodworkers, weavers and button makers. Though the community is still thriving, few are the ones of the young generation who wish to learn these skills.
​
Visiting local crafts people in their workshops, we will learn about their work and daily lives as a way to get a sense of the place through the people and their working spaces. An orientation of the city from the inside out hosted by Culture Vultures, will lead us into a deeper relationship with Amazigh women who spin and weave and we will participate in a hands own textile workshop.
We will be introduced to ‘The Loom in Local Rituals’ and how women used the loom as a sacred medium for protection. On Sunday we will make a day trip to a mountain market town in the Middle Atlas where the wool comes from, to meet women who practice unbroken textile traditions in the region.
Alongside these visits our work will consist of listening to the stories that emerge from our activities, as well as engage with traditional stories from around the world to bring into clearer focus the role of craft-making in the life of the Soul. On our last day we will share these stories in a storytelling evening (no previous experience necessary). Daily shamanic practices will help us access ancestral knowledge and seek healing for modern day’s rupture between skill and community, craft and Time.
​
​
Avalonia re-imaginada
una investigación energética y artística del microcontinente Avalonia
​
Entre las grandes rocas de la costa susurra un sermón silencioso sobre cómo se formó el mundo. Los mares avanzaron y retrocedieron. Los volcanes sacaron a la luz los secretos más profundos de la tierra, el agua y el viento moldeaba el paisaje, transportando sus semillas y relatos a otros lugares lejanos.
Avalonia se desarrolló como un arco volcánico en el margen norte de Gondwana hace entre 730 y 570 millones de años. Con el tiempo se separó y se convirtió en un microcontinente a la deriva en la era paleozóica. A medida que las placas continentales se desplazaban por la superficie de la Tierra durante millones de años, Avalonia se conectó con otras masas de tierra y se fragmentó dentro de este lento movimiento.
En la actualidad se pueden encontrar restos del microcontinente Avaloniano en el borde suroccidental de la Península Ibérica y en el norte de Marruecos, en Inglaterra y Gales, en las Ardenas de Bélgica, en el sureste de Newfoundland, en Nueva Escocia y en la Isla del Príncipe Eduardo, en el norte de la costa de Maine, en Rhode Island y en otras regiones costeras de New England.
​
En colaboracion con distintos organizaciones culturales, proponemos una investigación artistica, en colaboración con ciudadanos, artistas, geólogos, geógrafos culturales, chamanes y geomantes, para contemplar la posibilidad que haya un hilo común que perviva en los distintos continentes, países y lugares donde se encuentran trazos geológicos de Avalonia.
A través de una serie de talleres impartimos ejercicios sencillos de percepción e imaginación, sumergiéndonos en la escucha activa de los paisajes y creando juntos fragmentos de relatos improvisados. De cada taller iremos recopilando información que nos permitirá imaginar Avalonia, apelando al pasado profundo para ayudarnos a procesar una forma mítica de percibir los paisajes y sus memorias.
​