Desteni Farm es una comunidad rural localizada en Sudáfrica próxima a Pietermaritzburg en Kwa Zulu-Natal, organizada bajo el principio de constituir una comunidad en contacto con la naturaleza y los animales. La comunidad se basa fundamentalmente en la propia iniciativa y experiencia de sus miembros que entienden el cambio que proponen a los demás como una instancia que ellos mismos deben superar primero.

Desteni Farm es un experimento social y ecológico que busca demostrar cómo los seres humanos son capaces de vivir en armonía con la naturaleza y el medio ambiente. Esta comunidad busca entre sus pares el logro del entendimiento, la compasión y la asistencia a través de la experiencia del “conócete a ti mismo”.

Hay dos propósitos que guían la experiencia de Desteni Farm. El primero consiste en alcanzar a partir del individuo el nivel de conocimiento, comprensión y desarrollo de la comunidad. Paso que lleva al segundo, esto es, la superación del individuo hacia estadios donde se considere el medio en que se vive y de esa manera trascender mediante la sociedad el ciego interés en sí mismo. Transformar el eco-sistema del predio en que vive la comunidad ha sido uno de los logros. Varios logros se han obtenido a nivel de la jardinería, plantaciones de flores y vivencia con variada fauna incluyendo, patos, gallinas, perros, caballos, gatos, etcétera. Este trabajo y vivir en comunidad ha significado crear nuevas formas de vivencia entre sus miembros.

A continuación Fortinmapocho.com da a conocer este experimento en Sudáfrica, como uno más que se desarrolla en un planeta -nuestro hábitat- asolado por desastres ecológicos, epidemias, hambrunas, crímenes raciales, discriminación, esclavitud, mutilación de mujeres, niños abusados…y el fantasma de la guerra. Nuestro corresponsal en este envío desde Sudáfrica es Kim Amourette, joven belga que habita en la comunidad Desteni Farm y que nos da a conocer el sentido de su reflexión.

Fortinmapocho está en contacto con la Fundación Centro de Estudios Africanos de Santiago [Chile] y espera por ende mantenerse en contacto con otras experiencias del continente africano. Comentarios de nuestros lectores son siempre bienvenidos.

TEXTO DE KIM AMOURETTE

Located in South-Africa, the Desteni Farm is a community of people working together with the common goal and vision of creating a better world. The Desteni farm was founded for the purpose of practically testing and applying sustainable coexistence between humans, animals and nature in ways that are best for all involved.

The Desteni group is also the founder of an online community where people from all over the world come together within a shared understanding and vision. The Desteni community has dedicated their lives to creating a world that is best for all life on earth.

The foundation of the Desteni community is a set of principles based on the realization that in order to change the world, each person must change, as it is individuals who makes up and direct the world as we know it. The main focus of the Desteni community is therefore to nurture the ability of individuals to develop common sense and the skills needed to live as responsible members of society.

Since 2003, the Desteni community has been actively searching for ways to get this message across and to find people who understand the importance of self-change as a foundation for world-change. Over the years many structures have been developed to facilitate this 'journey' and 'process' for those individuals dedicated to become a better human for the sake of creating a better world. Such structures mainly include the Desteni 'I' Process [DIP] Pro and DIP Lite courses, the Journey To Life blogging project, the EQAFE Online Store and the Desteni Forum.

The Desteni 'I' Process or DIP Pro and Lite are online courses that one can take that have been developed by the people who have walked their process for quite some time and who are in a position to assist others. In this course, the individual is gently guided through the layers of their internal self to develop self-understanding and become a self-empowered individual in their own lives and in this world.

The Journey To Life is a project which involves daily blogging wherein people from all walks of life and many different countries share their process with the world through writing and stand as visible examples of how each human being has the potential to develop and change themselves into true leadership material.

The Eqafe Online store offers insights and perspectives to assist people with facing life's struggles while simultaneously generating financial support for the Desteni Organisation. The Desteni Forum offers a platform where people can come to discuss and share and be a point of support for themselves and others.

Primarily, the purpose of these projects and structures has been to make the concept of change in this world, on an internal as well as on an external level, as tangible as possible.

The Desteni Farm is a social and ecological experiment of finding out how human beings can live and work together and create an environment that is most supportive for all individuals involved, and to learn what it means to not only support each other but also to assist each other to become the best each one can be as individuals. The Desteni Farm is an experiment that serves to prove that human beings are capable of living as a community in harmony with understanding, compassion and support as its foundation.

There are two main aims and purposes with the Desteni Farm: The first is to expand the process of change from an individual level to a community-level and to challenge the individual's tendency of looking at things from a self-centered and individualistic point of view, to begin considering their environment and all the beings in it and, through that, transcend the primal survival instincts that are still driving and guiding people and society as a whole today. The goal is to expand this to a global scale to support a way of living that is based on common sense and common good, rather than blind self-interest.

Natural horsemanship is one such approach to working with animals in a way that considers the well-being of the animal, which is being practiced on the Farm. Despite the poor conditions of the South-African farmland where the Desteni Farm was built, the community has over the years been able to inject life into the area by for instance planting only indigenous fauna and flora, which attracts many species of birds and insects who have since found their home on the farm and in turn contribute to creating a sustainable eco-system.

Thanks to various projects related to gardening and creating sustainable ways of living - such as extracting and purifying water from the soil, making vegetable gardens, planting an orchard and taking care of many different animal species like dogs, cats, parrots, chickens, geese, ducks and horses - living and working on the Farm is an extremely valuable educational experience which provides individuals with an opportunity to step beyond the accepted ways of living and interacting within western culture and society.

The second aim and purpose with the Desteni Farm is to allow people to have the opportunity to have a safe environment wherein they can restabilize their lives and hone their skills with the assistance and support of others to be able to create a stable and supportive life for themselves outside of the farm. This based on the principle of ‘give as you would like to receive’, a principle which must be lived practically in reality by people, starting with each one individually, if we want to truly change our world into one that is best for everyone.

For updates and documentation of the Desteni Farm, please visit the Desteni Farm Facebook Page

Imagen: Kim Amourette, miembro de Desteni Farm en ZA

17/04/2015