Chapter 1

“The Beginning… Well, a beginning,…
Actually any number of them……….”

         The Kotema property, originally known as Samba Lodge, named after the local deer that reside throughout the nearby mountains, was purchased in December of 1998.     It was chosen for its sunny aspect, the river border with all its diversity of wildlife and the manageability of 5 acres, as opposed to the larger acreage predominating in this valley.

        The name “Kotema”, meaning; gathering place, the place where spirit meets the skin, was given by one of the partners who purchased a share of the title in the year 2000.


           Initially it was assumed that gathering place was an appropriate title for the property given that it has attracted many diverse people over the years of its community life. Later it became obvious that a lot of self gathering and healing had been taking place.

         The Acheron River borders the southern and western boundaries, offering spacious, green river flats with a bush corridor banking the waterway.

         The highway, which winds its way over the great dividing mountain range, borders the eastern perimeter of this property.

The northern aspect is bordered by a neighbouring farming property.

         The small land holding, with all its ramshackled sheds and unfinished projects, boasts lots of potential for the handy person with vision.

          It is attractive to those who like to fish, or garden, with enough space for the young at heart, the dreamer, the naturalist, the artists, those looking for inspiration, or for a retreat in which to heal.

          Kotema has long provided space for people who have found selves in homeless and desperate situations, often grappling with alcohol and drug addictions, or co-dependencies of other sorts. Though the structure seemed ill equipped to manage some of the challenging scenarios, which were regularly presented, there was always the scope for sharing stories.

          There were opportunities for being heard and acknowledged, for tears through speaking truth and finding resolution, for humour to establish itself and for the celebration of life to continue.

 
         Travellers from both this country and from other cultures have come to visit and on occasion have stayed for periods of time.
         Business people from various walks of life have shared the campfire over a meal; many expressing awe at their relaxed appreciation of the rustic and natural surroundings and a sense of rejuvenation is evident as they leave.

        There are no boundaries in age, no discrimination in cultural differences, or religious denominations, or sexual preferences.

         There is no division between the wealthy and the poor, with all available resources being shared, all be it on a shoe string budget around a fire in humble conditions. The need for “self gathering” has well shown itself through the many people who have shared their time at Kotema and the signs of personal achievement are evident through the evolving stories and constant feedback.

          It would seem that many people could do with a place, which promotes time for a deep breath, encourages the inspiration for good spirit and the sharing of life stories. A place where views can be expressed and respected for all their differences and where understandings and considerations can be expanded upon. A place where life’s humour can be expressed, where tolerance can grow into acceptance and where compassion can be explored.
          Nestled amongst the beauty of nature, Kotema has been and is such a place.

 
        Through the unfolding nature of organic process, residents and visitors of Kotema pooled their resources and in 2002 set up a welcome kitchen at ConFest, a well attended conference festival.
A small amount of funding was given to establish a point of initial contact for the many hundreds of people, which the festival accommodates.
          The welcome kitchen was to provide community meals and refreshments for travellers who stopped to orientate themselves and to gather information on how to participate in festival activities. It was also a point from which people could network together and in this provide a more diverse team of volunteer recruitments for ongoing maintenance of the overall festival event.
          The positive feedback from the general public and from the directors of the Organisation, allowed scope for further projects to take place.

          In 2004 a small group from Kotema and friends established a stone soup community kitchen more central within the festival. The aim of this was to continue to provide community food for the 80 or so people who were camped around the kitchen area.This was staged as an exercise to enable people to meet each other and through conversational exchange, facilitate a forum in which an understanding of life subjects could be broadened.


It was, in itself to be a safe and welcoming space for sharing meals and to allow for networking possibilities to occur amongst the people in the community.
         Among the Kotema and friends crew, there are performers, fire stick dancers, musicians and singers, cooks and specialty chai tea makers. There are those with a natural ability to facilitate conversations and those with the skills to keep a communal camp running well, from the structural set up, its maintenance and in all it provides.
 
        The success of this event was measured by the crowds of people who regularly occupied the community kitchen fire circle, who were attracted from areas within the broader festival boundaries, well exceeding the initial intended perimeters. The draw card of this event was that people had a place to meet, to say hello, to establish a connection point within the festival and to grow the conversational exchanges into friendships.

         Food was donated primarily from the community with the concept of the stone soup story, whereby one starts with something small and through community contribution one ends up with a much more diverse set of ingredients. Some funding to seed the project had been made available by the directors of the festival and the achievements recognised through the facilitation of this event laid a more solid foundation for future events.

         The core group of workers from Kotema grew with the forming of new friendships and expanded networks. As a result, the resource pool of knowledge, skill, material and inspirational ideas also manifested into a larger body of support.


          Throughout the following year, Kotema began to look at itself as a more functional body, with more discussions applying to self-healing and future vision. It began to be collectively more effective in acting out its inspiration on a daily basis. It was a period of movement, filled with possibility and at the same time continuing to accommodate a stream of visitors. A new energy was present, eager to expand on its expression and experience of life.

         During this year, eight intentional events were held on the Kotema property, with the view of bringing people together, to share their talents, skills, human experiences, knowledge, vision, humour and celebration of life. Through this the support and resource pool strengthened, enabling more people from all walks of life to have a sense of place in, which they felt they belonged.

         Easter 2005, the now extended Kotema community, staged a community kitchen and conference centre at the same annual Easter festival. From the perspective of the now growing core group, this was a magical and awe inspiring experience.
         Magical, from the point of being an organically orchestrated event, created by autonomous individuals, respecting and caring for each other and the broader community of people.
          No one was in charge of the overall function and yet its individual facilitation ensured that all areas of work were covered.
         A space within the kitchen and community fire vicinity was set up for workshops, or discussions to take place. Part of the measured success of the community conference area, was attributed to the workshops spilling from the designated space into the broader kitchen and community arena. Very often many workshops were being run simultaneously, which stretched any foreseen expectations, resulting in yet more expansive ideas.

         Some of the workshops facilitated from within the Kotema community, were; guitar for beginners, alternative energy, bread making for children, welcome workshop for new festival arrivals, the art of making chai tea, firestick dancing, welcome to the planet, the art of palmistry and a workshop on the wwoofing Organisation for travellers.Individuals acting autonomously, such as the flying naturopath of rural Victoria facilitated many other workshops, which found the community site a welcoming place.

         The communal fire circle adjoining the kitchen held active conversation among groups of people at any given time of day or night. Musicians and performers from the festival came to share their talents and the formally invited international guests, spent every available opportunity, sharing their cultural stories and listening to others around the community fire.

         Again, funding and some material infrastructure were provided and food continued to come via community contribution.
         The success of this event could be measured by the continual active flow of festival participants occupying a space, where the community meets itself.
         It could be measured by the consistent provision of food, regardless of who occupied the kitchen, or for how many people were being cooked for. There was almost always enough.

         Perhaps it could be summed up with the success of the workshop attendants and those continuing to stay on, work-shopping ideas through intimate conversations around the fire. And those many began to see it as a meeting place. Perhaps it was successful in that the tarps stayed up and that water was on tap, that the fire circle was always warm and inviting, or perhaps the colourful signage and the fairly constant availability of delicious chai.


         The Kotema group however, measured the success perhaps more by the way they worked together, in harmony with each other, offering opportunities for self empowerment, with autonomous action for the greater good of the experience. It is likened to a fluid movement of play whilst trusting the integrity of other people. This experience reinforced a view that when people play together, with an interest in supporting each other and each other’s processes, the whole experience becomes something, which can hardly be aligned with work. The free energy associated with such dynamics can be moved around to embrace those in need of support and encouragement.

The Free Energy of a community Microcosm

         The 2005 festival community kitchen experience, reinforced a view that when people play together, with an interest in supporting each other and each other’s processes, the whole experience becomes something, which can hardly be aligned with work.
         The free energy associated with such dynamics can be moved around to embrace those in need of support and encouragement and mixed through with those who hold good spirit and inspiration.

This free energy, which the community kitchens have provided, is the vehicle to enable people to say hello and hello again.

          From these simple interactions conversations can develop, whilst they share a cup of tea, or a meal around the fire.
         It has been observed that through these conversations, people have found employment, places to live, tutoring, support for the young people, for the elderly, those with disabilities and those with poor mental, physical and spiritual health.
The free energy of Kotema and the community kitchens is a microcosm of what could be a broader experience for society at large.
         People throughout the many neighbourhoods and suburbs within any state in Australia, have little opportunity to safely access the people who live around them. If one does not belong to a club or Organisation, or if one rarely frequents the pub, there are few opportunities for any of them to meet each other.
         Many people live insular lives, never having the experience of what it is to belong to a functional community. Many have no one to talk to, whilst they live amongst thousands of people, often enduring loneliness and depression.
         This is not to suggest that the Kotema vehicle have a welfare orientation, at least not in the way in which we understand welfare.
For through creating a space for people to say hello, commonalties may be found, which can also enrich lives. Musicians find each other, performers and artists gain inspiration; the elders pass on knowledge to the young, those who want to learn can access those who are able to teach.
         The potential diversity of this experience can flow out like ripples on a pool, creating safety nets, forums for expression, avenues for resolution and a resource system capable of embracing community, with all its diversity.          This was not what the resident and friends of Kotema set out to do. It didn’t actually set out to do anything, other than to support each other where possible and to acknowledge that every one had a story.
          It began as an indirect classroom, learning to accept and embrace human difference, whilst resolving past traumas. Kotema simply became a safe place in the country where people felt comfortable to share their stories, their talents and gifts and to have access to the nature for their own spiritual needs.
          So whilst Kotema had no initial plan for its destiny, the apparent success of its organic unfolding, has resulted in widespread interest. Positive feedback over the years has shown the evidence of what healing can be accessed, through informal therapeutic conversation and permissions granted to develop a nurturing and spirit enriching relationship with self, within the safety of caring and supportive people in community.
        The Kotema community kitchen and fire place area, on the Kotema grounds, is made up of tarps and colourful imagination, enclosed like an Arabian cave for the winter and opened as a shade house during the heat.

       This simple, yet intricate structure was created out of adult’s play and continues to be modified with the same essence.

         From an intimate observer’s point of view, one can see the long journey of recovery, which Kotema has been witness to and the steps which have occurred naturally toward the realms of discovering something more.
         The “something more”, is perhaps aligned with what happens, when spirit meets the skin.
         

Play performs a valuable part in the role of self- healing and a sense of play is where the Kotema story has grown through.          There is work to do on the property for it has old buildings in need of repair and land, which requires managing.
        It has through the years grown ample food, gathered and split the wood to keep the home fires burning, managed compost systems, slashed grasslands and racked paddocks for mulch.


        It is conservative with its water use and maintains the property suitably against fire threat. It has propagated eighty percent of all its gardens and has shared its resources with many visitors.


        Yet woven through the daily chores of any given season at Kotema, encouragement is given, for the development of friendship with self, in all its creative forms and to expand on understandings pertaining to community needs. There is an art to being human and Kotema is exploring it.

Monika