Gaia Retreats

17/01/2022

Dear friends of Gaia Retreats,

After too many months without an update we’re sad to report that we have officially closed Gaia Retreats. With the pandemic and the typhoons the past couple years, it felt like starting over again to build it back up. When we started more than 4 years ago with a crowdfunding campaign, we knew we were entering risky business. Still it hurts that we have failed to achieve the financial bottom line that we aspired for. Despite this, we have no regrets. So many good things have happened as we pursued the dream. We still remain connected and committed to the environment where-the-mountain-meets-the-sea and to the communities around Gaia.

This past year we have been shifting our attention to what’s possible given our energy and resources. We bought a small lot in Dingalan town. This feels much more doable, and manageable for us (without the boat trip as lovely as it is!) We have begun to build our own forever house, the foundation for our 2-year old daughter. We remain connected to rad local initiatives through good friends as we feel out our next steps to be more sustainable, financially and spiritually, as a little family. More than likely, hosting folks and facilitating nature-based experiences will circle back into our plans. We shall see! Especially in this time of so much uncertainty, it feels essential to embrace what we can do, rather than grasp for what we want to do.

We are very grateful to all who gave resources, energy, support and patronage. Especially to our partners, Gwyn, Danny and Tita J, our friends, and our families who have had our backs from the beginning. We cherish your support and hope we can smile and reminisce about this difficult and worthy dream we tried together!

It’s hard to summarize the lows and highs of running a heart-first project like Gaia. Blood, sweat and tears for sure. Despite the hundred loose ends that we couldn’t seem to tie, we feel proud of how beautiful it all once was.

One chapter ends, another begins.

With love
Melissa and Pancho

23/11/2020

We’re planning a trip to Dingalan this coming weekend.
Thankfully we have a safe place to stay in Laur, a nearby town. More importantly, we have community support, locally and globally. Our neighbour continues to hold the fort at Gaia. Our business partners in Canada have been steadfast in their commitment to Gaia’s vision, despite setbacks. And we’ve been in touch with old friends, many of whom have reached out with kindness.

The past 12 days since the typhoon we have been us slowly moving into action. What comes to mind is writer Bayo Akomolafe’s “The times are urgent. Let’s slow down.” With the urgency of climate change, of flooding, of relief and recovery, there’s a sense of powerlessness that, indeed, makes us feel crazy: mind rushing, worrying, impatience. But tempered by limitations, and Pancho’s sage advice, I have been burning a steady fire. Not slowing down, per se. But with an eye on the long game.

Pancho has been in communication with our caretaker. And he knew to give them some time and space to do their own grieving, assessments, planning. This past weekend they’ve been on the phone making plans to fix the first roof, so at least we can secure all of Gaia’s stuff in a dry cottage. We thought our first project might be to replace the water system that we share with our neighbours, but they have rigged up something for the meantime. They also suggested a more permanent solution is best built in the summer, when the water source is at baseline.

We are reminded of the resourcefulness of local people. And, at the same time, we see the vulnerabilities of our coastal communities, evident in the long lines for food aid in a fishing village without boats. We’re faced with the reality of continued risk. The Pacific Coast will continue to be in the path of typhoons that are getting stronger and more frequent. We already knew that back in 2017, when we first set out to create Gaia Retreats. Now, we are called to use our resources wisely, to build more resilience into our systems.
We are thankful for the donations and gifts we’ve already received to repair and rebuild Gaia Retreats. If you want to contribute please pm me for details.

15/11/2020

As many of you know, Dingalan has been hard hit by typhoon Ulysses and we have been waiting on more news the past few days. Thankfully so far our neighbours and friends are safe. No power still in Dingalan but Pepay, our neighbour who has been caring for Gaia since the lockdown began, has been able to send photos. We feel relieved that Gaia’s structures are still standing albeit with damage! It looks like waves came all the way into the shala, our big kubo, and wind has basically destroyed the anahaw roof. Pancho’s two roof design, intentionally made with a pass-thru for wind, worked though in the sense that the roof frame didn’t completely fly off. Our kitchen and cottages got a pummeling that will also need roofing, repairs and a good cleaning. Our boat, as so many others, will likely need to be replaced. Our free flowing water system, which we share with the neighbours will also need to be replaced.

It has been a very difficult year for everyone in Dingalan. Gaia’s future felt uncertain because of months without tourism, even before the typhoon. Now with so many people hurting, feeling they don’t know how to begin again, we are finding it challenging to feel out our next steps in this time. Our neighbours too lost houses and boats that they have painstakingly built with their own hands. A lot of hopes and dreams have washed out to sea.

Yet we still do believe Gaia is part of the solution. We are still curious about what we can do and change, and how we can adapt and grow. If you would like to help us and our neighbours in Dingalan please do be in touch. We are still strategizing our participation in rebuilding efforts but a vote of confidence in the form of words, prayers, financial, in-kind or at-hand would be much appreciated.

10/06/2020

Can you help sustain our eco-retreat space in this time of uncertainty?Dingalan is closed to tourism for the foreseeable future. And even the coconuts have been unable to travel! For those in the Philippines we are taking pre-orders for T-shirts with Pancho’s awesome diwata designs. 3 designs to choose from. Printed in size small,medium and large on white dryfit style shirts. 500Php each. For those in North America see: https://pancho.threadless.com/ Please share and order! 🙏🏽

31/05/2020

Gratitude to Inang Buhay! We felt the aliveness of the dance of life last night to Welcome Habagat. Thanks to those who joined the online event. :) More house parties to come! Our Artist Shop is now live for those in North America who can support Gaia by buying a T-shirt or maybe a phone case pictured here. https://pancho.threadless.com/

29/05/2020

How do you share your devotion? Many of us have been home taking care of each other under lockdown. What happens when we start from this place of love? Join us in virtual community for Welcome Habagat, where Teacher Mel will share her devotion to the wind and host a laidback house party (dancing encouraged!) Perhaps our humble devotions are at the root a deeply important creative impulse. And while we might not all be bound for the gallery, what blooms in sacred time, is definitely worth sharing. Tomorrow night. Philippine time.

28/05/2020

Diwata Magayon is also available as a T-shirt :) Please support Gaia in these times of restricted travel! We are also printing locally. Please message us for pricing and options. 🙏🏽 https://pancho.threadless.com/

27/05/2020

We are pleased to present our Gaia merchandise!

Help sustain a deep green and community-oriented retreat space in Dingalan, Aurora, Philippines! Given the need for travel restrictions, we are looking for new ways to connect. Stay tuned and please buy a shirt 🙂 A perfect gift for all the Zoomers out there wanting to give thanks and love to Mother Nature without saying a word! https://pancho.threadless.com/

23/05/2020

A lot depends on the wind. Twice a year we feel the shift from the colder, drier amihan or Northeast Monsoon to the cool, wet habagat. From the sweltering summer heat to rainy season, habagat starts in mid-May or June and carries us through to October. At Gaia Retreats, the habagat brings a sense of uncertainty, change and renewal. We feel awe at the power of nature, altering the shape of our coast with its gustiness. We have to reckon with its seasonal impacts, including uprooting trees and prompting roof repairs. But such is the raw reality of the season. The Great Habagat is a force of creative-destruction, producing our rainforest and water supply both. We are called to respect and expect the change.

In these times of great change might we look to the Great Habagat to guide us?

Image credit: Phlpost

15/05/2020

Prayers up for Dingalan tonight. And all the farmers and fisherfolk in the path. This is our first typhoon of the season, and with the pandemic and lockdown a lot hangs in the balance with Typhoon Ambo. 🙏🏽 for safety , health, and food security.

“At 7PM tonight, STS was located, based on all available data in the vicinity of General Nakar, Quezon with maximum sustained winds of 100 kph near the center & gustiness up to 165 kph. It is moving NW at 20 kph.”