PRESERVATION AND PROMOTION

OF CULTURE

SUMMER NEWS 2021

Dear friends and members of Eurasia
As many of you may be aware, the Gross National Happiness (GNH) paradigm is an important
root of the work of Eurasia. The four pillars of GNH, Preservation and promotion of culture,
sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, good governance and environmental
conservation will be the the themes for our next newsletters. We would like to dedicate this
newsletter to the theme of Preservation and Promotion of Culture.

The etymology of the word "culture", from the Latin word cultura ("to inhabit", "to cultivate", or "to
honour"), itself derived from the Latin "colere" (to cultivate AND to celebrate), suggests that culture
generally refers to human activity. We can talk about cultivating the earth and cultivating the soul or
the mind. Culture brings people together and nourishes community life, by connecting us around
common values, thus building a shared vision which is the basis for living together.

The heart project of Eurasia, The Peaceful Bamboo Family, or Tinh Truc Gia (TTG) is a vocational
and living community for people living with disabilities in Hue, Vietnam. The community is
inspired by Camphill values and at the same time completely integrated into the cultural fabric
of Vietnam.

During the first years TTG was very much focused on taking care of the inner dimension and building
its own identity. The culture that has been developed in TTG over the past 12 years, based on the
values of cultivating self-care, care for others and care for the planet, is now shining out
through training programs offered by Eurasia Learning Institute in Vietnam and Europe and
inspiring many people and organisations. These are also the values that are at the core of the work
of Eurasia since over 20 years. Our work is to plant seeds of care, and compassion in action.

Jana Castles, editor

Association Eurasia, Chemin des fleurs 10 CH-1607 Palézieux-Gare, Suisse

eurasia-foundation.org
 The Importance of Culture
In all traditional civilizations, Culture was the very heart of society. Culture can be understood
in three main fields: Spirituality, Art and Science.

Spirituality used to be, all over the world, the core of human societies. It provides a common
narrative to understand the world we are living in, our place in the universe, the purpose and
meaning of life, and the values that shape our behaviors. Spirituality gives a community its sense
of belonging and of common purpose, it hands down the traditions inherited from our ancestors,
but it can also be a field of renewal when inspired teachers adapt and transform the traditional
forms to make it relevant for the present situation. This is what we are implementing in our TTG
community: on one hand, we honor traditional Vietnamese festivals, such a New Moon and
Full Moon, Têt, Mid-Autumn Festival, and many more. Besides we also celebrate Christian
Festival such as Christmas. We also cultivate our inner life with regular Practice Days when we try
to be fully aware, mindful and present throughout the day. We host weekly community meetings
“Sharing from the Heart” that allow all those who are present to have their voice heard, their
concerns, their joys and sorrows can be shared with everyone, without any discrimination based on
age, background, or disability; we also read inspiring texts from great sages from diverse traditions
to nurture our mind. All these activities play an important role in the community building
process and foster a common vision and mission for all, shared values that guide our behavior
in daily life.

Art is closely linked with spirituality, as it is a medium that enables to convey subtle realities that
cannot easily be put in logical thoughts. Art comes from the heart and speaks to the heart, it is a
powerful tool to develop Social and Emotional skills. It is also the field of creativity and freedom.
On one hand, the artist has to respect some basic rules such as harmony for the musician, or
perspective for a painter, but within these frameworks, the artist can create a new world that brings
together his inspiration coming from above, with its manifestation within the material world so that it
can be experienced by many. Art is what brings Beauty and Joy into the world, and the tragedy of a
materialistic society is that it has lost its sense of Beauty. Economic priorities overrule the need for
harmony and beauty, for nature and parks for trees and art. But art is not only to be found in
formal practice, in TTG we practice the art of caring for every detail of our physical and
natural environment. When people arrive in TTG for the first time, one of the strongest
impressions that many express, is the cleanliness of the place, the care for every detail, from flower
arrangements to the spotlessness of the toilets, the beautiful colors, the many decoration, the
magnificence of the garden… Moreover, we also practice many arts and crafts such as painting,
dance, Eurythmy, theater, singing, poetry, and soon also pottery and ceramics.

Practicing art together is a powerful

community building activity. In art, we
are all equal, it's not about being better or
more talented than anyone else, it’s about
contributing within our abilities to the
collective endeavor. We meet on a different
plane, from heart to heart, each one’s
sensibility is as valid as any other person’s
feeling, so it’s a place of oneness in
diversity.

Science a fundamental characteristic of

our shared humanity is that we have the
ability to learn, grow and develop
throughout our entire life. We know from

Association Eurasia, Chemin des fleurs 10 CH-1607 Palézieux-Gare, Suisse

eurasia-foundation.org
neuroscientific research that the “Brain Plasticity” - although most active in early childhood - never
stops and can be activated at any age. Therefore, TTG is also and even centrally so, a “learning
community”. Learning happens in many different ways: We have formal and structured learning
activities, from Kindergarten, adolescent class, and also for the apprentices undergoing a professional
training in our various workshops: gardening, painting, incense making, cooking, hospitality, jam and
food processing and more. We also have regular training sessions for our co-workers and volunteers.
But beyond the formal education setting, the most important part of the learning happens in
everyday life and work. We know from research that when adults are asked to name the most
formative experiences they enabled them to develop the competencies and skills that they master,
they mostly describe life situations and challenges, both professional and personal, rather than
formal learning in schools. But an experience is not yet a learning, therefore, we call our
educational pathway a “Learning Lab”. It includes theoretical knowledge related to our field, social
and emotional learning - and community life is the best possible setting for it - and most importantly,
practical learning by doing day after day over a long period of time, and regularly reflecting about
these experiences so that we have a clear understanding of the process, and we are able to formalize,
explain and share the insights gained through practice.

In conclusion I would like to advocate the central importance of Culture in any society,
organization, school or business as the common ground that gives stability, meaning and
motivation to all its members.

Tho Ha Vinh

“MƯA XUÂN – Spring Rain" Exhibition

Daily life at TTG is a natural flow of care for the individual and for the community through an interplay
of work and art. Different art forms are interwoven in the daily rhythm such as watercolor
painting, eurythmy, drama and clowning giving our youngsters the opportunity to express
their feelings, develop a positive worldview, and integrate into the community. The experiment
at “Trúc Chỉ” garden was an opportunity to discover a new dimension through artwork for our
youngsters.

From September to November 2020, TTG’s youngsters

from the Art workshop and Adolescent class together
with thầy Nguyễn Đình Long, cô Nguyễn Thị Dạ Thảo and
our volunteers experienced making art at “Trúc Chỉ”
garden every Wednesday. The most distinctive feature of
“Trúc Chỉ” art is that it is composed on paper made only
from natural materials of bamboo, cork, water hyacinth, or
corn,... Patterns and figures are drawn using a wet brush on
wet paper, then the composition is hung to dry. The subtle
layers, tints and shades combined with light, bring pictures
to life, reflecting a warm and authentic inner space.

During 7 days from March 20 -27, 2021 the "Mưa Xuân"

exhibition shared the Trúc Chỉ’s paintings by our
youngsters at TTG. Whenever anyone visited the exhibition,
they felt touched by the work of our youngsters, and they
also felt the dreams, optimism, and innocence that exist in
the artists’ hearts.

Association Eurasia, Chemin des fleurs 10 CH-1607 Palézieux-Gare, Suisse

eurasia-foundation.org
Each of our youngsters at TTG is like
“The Little Prince” of Saint-Exupéry.
Their inner world is as humble but
immense as a field of wildflowers. They
are less likely to be inhibited by common
notions of beauty, so creativity comes
naturally, an outpouring of memories and
feelings from the unconscious. Logic does
not determine the drawing, but rather the
hands, and heart guided by what is within
the artist at that moment.

According to Phan Hai Bang, founding artist of Trúc Chỉ Art, when the old worldview of social norms
causes us to get stuck in negative thoughts and dualities of success and failure, happiness and suffering,
the works created with freedom by the hands of TTG’s youngsters tell a new story.

Enjoying the artwork at Tinh

Truc Gia, the audience can
feel this rich source of
energy, a simple and free
inner world without imposed
structures,, orientation, or
standards, yet filled with
emotion and the capacity to
awaken the senses and
move the hearts of others.

Hai Nguyễn

A Pottery Workshop for TTG

There is great enthusiasm in the team to expand their therapeutic and educational capacity
with the young people of TTG and other children, who need education of the head, heart and
hands. The teachers of the adolescent class would like to add a pottery and ceramics training
workshop to our existing workshops.

Ceramics is a traditional handicraft that has been developed over thousands of years and is an
integral part of the asian and European culture. It is a form of manual work that corresponds
to the needs and possibilities of the youngsters. They will be able to develop their motor skills,
sense of touch, sense of warmth, sense of balance, sight and listening skills through these
professional and therapeutic practices. The sense of beauty, shapes and colours, as well as the joy of a
quality product, which will serve the people who can buy it, will give them great satisfaction.

We have already started fundraising for this project and are still looking for further support.

Association Eurasia, Chemin des fleurs 10 CH-1607 Palézieux-Gare, Suisse

eurasia-foundation.org
A Collective Learning Journey
around the Empowerment Project
For a long time, Tinh Truc Gia and Eurasia have
supported me in my journey of inner transformation.
I had been meaning to design something with TTG for
years and "the empowerment project" came at the
right time. I had just finished my Masters in
Ecological Design at Schumacher College and was
looking for projects that valued both local
communities and ecology.

A long process of meetings began to understand the TTG community context, intentions and
needs for this project. We organised a workshop with all the teachers to generate collective wisdom
from their ideas and experiences. Before and after the workshop, we also conducted several in-depth
interviews with teachers. What made me say "wow" about this process was the attentive energy
of the TTG teachers and the way the community can give detailed feedback on the prototype.
More importantly, this feedback comes from real experience, from their attention to young people,
students and their work, e.g. where students should leave or take off their shoes, where they should
wash their feet, where the place for raincoats or umbrellas should be (a real problem in Hue), what
kind of tree usually has cicadas/crickets (which can be very noisy in the summer for the class), etc.

An extremely powerful idea came to me the moment I received Hai's wedding present - a beautiful
painting made by Tien at TTG, and while watching the youtube link of TTG's last exhibition. "What if
we (the designers) could turn the 2D paintings of the young people at TTG into 3D and even into
the real world?". "Isn't this a great opportunity to bring the imagination of people with
disabilities to life, so that many people can experience and learn from it? I believe that we can
work with the young people of TTG and their teachers to create something special, unique and
meaningful. We have been working in this direction for the sensory playground: we are studying the
way people move, play and draw and using this as inspiration for the physical shape of the
playground. For example, we have observed that many children with autism play with imaginary
memories triggered by sensory experiences and this translates into the design of a small, safe space
with gentle stimulation that allows for introspective play time that is both entertaining and healing.

For each stage we interview

teachers and students, design and
come back with proposals to the
team who then further enrich the
work with their field experience. I
get so excited when I think about it
all!

Trung Pham

Association Eurasia, Chemin des fleurs 10 CH-1607 Palézieux-Gare, Suisse

eurasia-foundation.org
 Community Culture in Social Therapeutic Communtities
Inspired by the wonderful community of TTG and our dear friends in Vietnam, the Eurasia learning
Institute for Happiness and Wellbeing (ELI) initiated a project in partnership with the Anthropoi
organisation in Germany. The intention is to create a nation-wide social awareness for the
contribution of anthroposophical communities living with people with disabilities and to co-
create inclusive projects with local neighbourhoods and communities.

We are currently travelling to different socio-therapeutic communities all over Germany to explore
the lived experience of their members through moments of in-depth sharing. We offer spaces in
which we cultivate listening from the first person-perspective, leaving aside our own
preconceived ideas of what they may be experiencing. This allows us to connect to their personal
experience.

We see what they see

We hear what they hear
We feel what they feel

This space of deep listening allows people to connect to their true selves, to their deepest
wishes and aspirations.

We want to see the potential instead of the

disability
We want to hear their happiness and their
difficulties
We want to feel their impulses and heart
forces

We have already met many different people,

such as the empathetic board game expert,
the networker, the cautious one, the skilful
pilot (see drawing).

What we are learning is that the vitality of the community depends on the possibility that each
person has to express his individuality and the wellbeing of each person is representative of
the happiness of the community. To say it with words of Rudolf Steiner:

A healthy social life is found only when, in the mirror of each soul, the whole community finds its' reflection,
and when, in the whole community the virtue of each one is living."

When members of a community share a common vision and mission, they can expand the
boundaries of their sense of self and this allows members to move beyond interpersonal
difficulties that inevitably arise. Otto Scharmer calls this moving from and ego perspective to and
eco-system awareness: The focus is not only on myself and my needs, but on the social field, on the
space that is created between the individuals.

We feel deeply grateful for this possibility to learn from people that are speaking from their hearts, it
is a wonderful gift.
Jacoba Harm

Association Eurasia, Chemin des fleurs 10 CH-1607 Palézieux-Gare, Suisse

eurasia-foundation.org
 Upcoming events*
13th-15th August 2021: Deep Ecology weekend, Petit Bochet, Gimel.
31st August: Conference as part of Alternatiba, Geneva: "Let's inspire the schools of tomorrow".
3 September: Conference « Thinking and acting when faced with today's challenges! Ideas for the
great transition" 18h30-20h, HEG Aula, Geneva.
21st September: Panel discussion: Which form of wellbeing at work? 18h–20h, Hôtel Warwick, GE.
8-10 October: Reconnection to self, location to be confirmed.
12th-13th October: International meeting on Leadership 2021 in Geneva.
13-14th November 2021: Reconnection to others: co-evolving in relationships, Morges.
*All events will be in French

Eurasia festival: "The more beautiful world our hearts know is possible"
11-12th September 2021
Join us for two days of celebration, with activities nourishing head, heart and hands for all ages.
For further details of the program, please take a look at our flyer/website.

A Legacy to Eurasia
You might ask yourself how to ensure the sustainability of
the work Eurasia has done over many years: a legacy,
adding Eurasia in your will, or as beneficiary of a life
insurance can be a powerful way to guarantee a long term
commitment.

It is an investment in the future of Eurasia and thereby in

the wellbeing of future generations. It is an efficient way
to support some of the most vulnerable members of
human society in the long run: those living with an
intellectual disability, and it is also a way to help promote
an social innovation based on happiness and wellbeing
for all, rather than on material growth only. It also
contributes to healing the earth in a country that has been
deeply wounded by decades of war, by developing the
first pilot project in biodynamic agriculture in Vietnam.

Various forms of legacies and donations can be made,

depending on the laws of your country of residence,
please contact your notary or solicitor to find out the form
that is most appropriate to your situation and context.
You can contact Eurasia Foundation to find out about tax
exemption in your country of residence.

The examples given above are just some of the ways

in which Eurasia is working to embody a new
For your donations:
paradigm. To learn about other ongoing projects,
Association Eurasia such as Eurasia Learning Institute, Happiness in
Bank: PostFinance Ltd organisations, please visit our websites:
Address: Mingerstrasse 20, 3030 eurasia-foundation.org
Bern, Switzerland
BIC: POFICHBEXXX elihw.org
IBAN: CH81 0900 0000 1749 67385
or contact us on: info@elihw.org
Account: 17-496738-5

Association Eurasia, Chemin des fleurs 10 CH-1607 Palézieux-Gare, Suisse

eurasia-foundation.org