In short, the idea is to explore these aspects in a place that is built using natural principles and the fantastic dreamland of the imagination to create a space where everyone may feel inspiration rising within. The eco-centre would feature a central gathering place (perhaps as a dome) where local, healthy, ethical and vegetarian food and drinks may be proposed, along with workshops on this theme (e.g. becoming an expert in lacto-fermentation, sweet-talking to our sourdough bread...). It is said to be a good omen to have the kitchen as the central place of a home, and it is a well-known fact that nothing brings people together better than food (little fun etymological fact: "company" comes from latin con pane, meaning with bread). 

 

Around the central space would be four other spaces ideally located at the cardinal points to represent these four dimensions and offer a range of possible activites in each theme (see in the image below the text for some more propositions...). 

• North - Earth - Sensorial Intelligence: workshops, classes, sessions on each of our senses, e.g. art therapy (visual), singing and dancing (hearing), essential oils (smell), sculpture and pottery (touch), food (taste) ...

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• East - Air - Mental Intelligence: conferences, debates, research, forums, classes on ecology, renewable energy technology, eco-pedagogy, circular economy, ecological design thinking, holistic science ...

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• South - Fire - Intuitive Intelligence: workshops, classes, talks on spiritual practices (yoga, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, meditation) and fireside storytelling from worldly visitors ...

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• West - Water - Emotional Intelligence: individual and collective therapy, sharing circles, talks and practices on integral psychology, zootherapy and other unusual therapies, non-violent communication workshops ...

 

And why not... For each of the four dimensions, there could be an extra space dedicated to the dimension of building together, a chance for members of the community to make their mark and feel a deeper sense of belonging witht the Project. For instance, in the Air department, there could be an exchange-based library and bookstore dedicated to books on the themes discussed at the eco-centre. In the Earth department, we could have an art gallery with the masterpieces made on site by the visitors. For the Fire dimension, why not consider a shop dedicated to selling concoctions made out of the herbs collected on site in a sacred way, in the form of herbal teas, incense, potions... And for the Water dimension, create a room of Love, where everybody could write words or sentences that gave them hope in difficult circumstances where people going through distress could go and feel the love of the community... The possibilities are endless!

 

Outdoors, there would obviously have to be some permaculture gardens kept using agroecological principles for weekly veggie boxes, market stalls, permaculture classes and hands-on activities for the young to the wise ones. A great chance for landscape and landart artists to propose some wonderful sacred geometrical designs, and for gardeners and researchers to experiment with new science emerging on human interactions with plants (and vice versa). Hopefully, we'll have access to a forest and a river nearby to propose some other exciting activities and have a forest garden.

 

An eco-camping would garantee the visit of interesting travellers perhaps on the start of their journey to Compostelle, with stories to tell by the fireside. This would be an interesting way of opening the eco-centre to visitors who might not otherwise have stopped by, so as to inspire and be inspired by a larger array of people - hurray Biodiversity! It would also be a great opportunity for creative architects to propose unusual artistic and ecological light-habitat technology and assess its impact in a living context. 

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If the eco-centre is to take on the shape of an ecovillage, then this would add a whole set of new tools to experiment with, like a lab for community-living, testing what works and what doesn't, consulting the Global Ecovillage Network for wise advice. There could be a possibility of giving in-situ "community living" courses once we have established a well-functioning community. And who knows, maybe the possibility to start a foundation to support other eco-community living projects in the future...

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Along with these features, it would be great if the eco-centre had some features for hosting events aligned with our values both private and open to the public. The Celtic Wheel of the Year ceremonies currently held in Geneva could be celebrated at the new eco-centre, with the vision of celebrating solstices and equinoxes as the heart of each season. This could be the onstart of a new adventure: the four Festivals of the Wheel. 
 

Lastly, Art being a non-negotiable aspect of the Project, there needs to be a Temple of Nature. All spiritualities (and currents of thought considered otherwise) welcome. Professional artists and amateurs welcome. Kids, adults, elders welcome. Humans and more-than-humans welcome. All welcome to contribute to expressing their love of Nature through Art. 

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Artists, visionners, dreamers, to your pencils! We would love to see what the above inspires you and have nice visuals to go along with theory. Feel free to let your imagination run wild, that's what this project is about! Do get in touch if you would like to submit a drawing that we could put on the website...

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Here's a little story about the Project's vision in 10 years time that was written as part of the incubation with the French incubator InnoVales (more on this further below) - note that the story has been written in French: