PEACE, silence and a sustainable way of living is on offer at the Khula Dhamma ecological farm and retreat – an escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Situated 10km inland from Haga Haga, the 308- hectare organic farm was started in 2002 with the idea of creating a meditation centre that also offered various courses.
Now, a decade later, Khula Dhamma has become a community and a lifestyle.
Anne Keating and her husband joined the Khula Dhamma community in 2010 and are two of the four adults, and a baby, living on the farm.
The residents focus on sustainable living. They grow their own food in a natural way, use solar and wind power, use natural materials for building their homes, use donkey boilers to heat water, drink rainwater or water from a borehole and have a dam for irrigation.
They also have a compost toilet and a bio- digester toilet in place.
“We have a strong focus on growing food in a natural way and attempting to live in a sustainable way – living lightly with as small a carbon footprint as possible.
“Some people today use the word resilience when talking about how we should be living on the planet,” said Keating.
“Changes need to be made; we need to wake up. We’ve broken the rules ... we’ve poisoned the water, the air, the soil and broken the thermostat.
“The planet needs people who can think out of the box, who are creative and have the get-up-and- go; the guts to do something differently.
“It’s about getting out of comfort zones.”
Keating said Khula Dhamma was set apart in its philosophy and its strong focus on alternative living.
The food production methods adopted by the people of Khula Dhamma are also different – making use of totally organic methods including natural farming and using permaculture principles.
“There are people who face the despair we all feel and who try to restore some justice and beauty in this world,” said Keating.
She encouraged people to join the community in living a better and more sustainable life.
Keating said that as soon as more people came aboard and joined in this lifestyle, the easier it would be to get the retreat up and running.
“There is nothing ‘on offer’ as yet – people can come and join us to make it happen,” she said. —
In pursuit of nature’s way
Situated 10km inland from Haga Haga, the 308- hectare organic farm was started in 2002 with the idea of creating a meditation centre that also offered various courses.
Now, a decade later, Khula Dhamma has become a community and a lifestyle.
Anne Keating and her husband joined the Khula Dhamma community in 2010 and are two of the four adults, and a baby, living on the farm.
The residents focus on sustainable living. They grow their own food in a natural way, use solar and wind power, use natural materials for building their homes, use donkey boilers to heat water, drink rainwater or water from a borehole and have a dam for irrigation.
They also have a compost toilet and a bio- digester toilet in place.
“We have a strong focus on growing food in a natural way and attempting to live in a sustainable way – living lightly with as small a carbon footprint as possible.
“Some people today use the word resilience when talking about how we should be living on the planet,” said Keating.
“Changes need to be made; we need to wake up. We’ve broken the rules ... we’ve poisoned the water, the air, the soil and broken the thermostat.
“The planet needs people who can think out of the box, who are creative and have the get-up-and- go; the guts to do something differently.
“It’s about getting out of comfort zones.”
Keating said Khula Dhamma was set apart in its philosophy and its strong focus on alternative living.
The food production methods adopted by the people of Khula Dhamma are also different – making use of totally organic methods including natural farming and using permaculture principles.
“There are people who face the despair we all feel and who try to restore some justice and beauty in this world,” said Keating.
She encouraged people to join the community in living a better and more sustainable life.
Keating said that as soon as more people came aboard and joined in this lifestyle, the easier it would be to get the retreat up and running.
“There is nothing ‘on offer’ as yet – people can come and join us to make it happen,” she said. —
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