Home, are we going home? - ENGLISH

(If you prefer to listen to the Audio Version, instead of reading, scroll down to the very end)

Home, I’m going home, I need a land to heal my soul, take me home, take me home, over the green green hills and far away.

I have to think of this song when we see the valley with the green mountain slopes, where we dare to call a place our home.

The way there can be described something like this: Not far from the beautiful Aosta Valley, we leave the Po Valley by car, driving steadily uphill. We pass a few villages and finally climb the foothills of the Alps via a meandering road until we turn off onto an inconspicuous forest road. Once we reach the highest point of this road, we look out over the countryside in which the two communities of Terra Amica and Terra Mi Su are nestled; green ridges, a valley covered in chestnut trees and the high Alps towering behind them. A green idyll.

Home, we're going home...

We have been living in this small, green valley in the Terra Amica community since the beginning of July. Terra Amica means Friendly Earth in Italian. What a moving, life-changing summer. No more nomadism, no more searching!

But before I tell you more about how this place found us here, let's continue along the forest road to our new home. And let's say it's summer. Because in summer you can soak up the wonderful scent of chestnut blossom and listen to the endless buzzing of insects from the high treetops. So let's turn off the engine and get out.

Crickets chirping and cowbells ringing.

The occasional dog barking or laughing children.

Children's laughter echoes from the community of Terra Mi Su (“Earth me up”). Several children live in Terra Mi Su. Including a girl Elouan's age. Although Elouan is still a little hesitant to get involved in the activities of the gang of children, he is always very happy when we go over to Terra Mi Su and immerses himself in children's games such as dressing up, digging in the sandpit or jumping on the trampoline.

But we wanted to continue along the forest path. Along the potholed forest road, we first pass Terra Mi Su. Large chestnut trees line the path. Crossing a few babbling brooks, we finally reach the owl house. The first Terra Amica building on our route. The owl house is still half in ruins, but it is slowly being rebuilt. A little further on, the forest opens up and we enter a large meadow. Sometimes happy cows graze here. If we were still traveling by car, this would be our parking space.

Because the last few meters through the forest are only possible on foot, following a beaten path.

We reach an archway built from old chestnut branches. Passing through it, we head straight for the Casa del Bosco (which translates as “House of the Forest”). Welcome home!

Until recently, Luise and Simon lived here alone with their dog Moki and transformed the former ruin into a beautiful house. A blossoming garden has grown up around it. It's been a long time since I've seen so many different butterflies flying at once as I have here and in the adjacent meadows and gardens.

Luise is currently training as a doula for several months in Spain, and Simon is taking some time out to travel in Morocco. So we look after the Casa del Bosco with Patrick. Patrick is currently building his own little house nearby and we find it a place to arrive, get to know each other and reorient ourselves.

When we actually join the community fully, we will look for and create our own little place. But we are still in the year of getting to know each other. Everything takes time.

For now, it's good to arrive. Our water comes from the spring, the firewood from the forest. A 10-minute walk down the stream valley and up again on the other side brings us to Terra Mi Su.

Following a forest path in the other direction, we soon reach other Terra Amica dwellings. The community (around 15 people in total) live scattered around the mountain in ruins they have rebuilt themselves, tiny houses or in yurts. The heart of the community is the Casa Grande. This is where Freya and Emilio began to settle the overgrown land around 10 years ago. This is also where the Jyoti (Sanskrit; light) is located, a large yurt in which we meet regularly as a community. Further up on the land is the birch square, an almost sacred place for the people living here, with sweeping views of the Po Valley to the south and the high Alps to the north..

A few weeks after we arrived here, I had a nightmare; in this dream we were traveling in Germany with our camper and had a breakdown. We had to find somewhere to stay while the car was in the garage. In fact, we didn't even want to live in the car anymore. We were desperately looking for a green, wild country. Where could we be and feel at home? Someone recommended a place, but when we got there, it was just a small strip of beautiful land, surrounded by the city, the high-rise buildings, the noise. So we traveled to another place that was also recommended to us, but it was exactly the same. So once again we thought about where to go next. I woke up feeling immense strain and tension. But what a moment of relief! It was only a dream! How wonderful it was to realize that I didn't have to go anywhere. I could just stay. I looked out into the darkness, in which blinking beetles made the world more beautiful. With the soothing chirping of the crickets and the melodies of the stream in my ears, I fell asleep again.

Yes, this was just a dream, but it was a fundamental repetition of our lives over the last few months.

How good it feels to arrive. And how damned absurd and crazy life can be sometimes.

Some of the readers of these lines have probably read our last major travel report (“Homeless and Dreamfull - Winter Crisis”). In it, I already told you about the crisis we found ourselves in on our dream trip. We had been traveling for several years now, constantly searching. We as a family for four years, I alone for much longer. Where was our land? Where was our tribe/community? Where could we work and, above all, simply be? Where can we feel at home? What makes us feel at home? Our house was a car, with one breakdown after another.

Excessive demands, wrong turns, doubts caused us to stumble on our way. And this feeling of knowing our destination, but only being able to guess the direction through thick fog.

We found ourselves at a point where we were ready to leave the topic of community behind us for the time being, to make major compromises and at least return to where we felt most comfortable on our journey: to the far north, to Norway. The main thing is to take different steps. The main thing is to stop searching. For us, a normal job and kindergarden for a start.

Even though we were planning to settle down in Norway, we didn't know exactly where yet. So it seemed sensible to live in the camper again for the trip until then, even if it wasn't really what we wanted anymore. As we had sold our old road boat, we bought a new camper. This time it was one that had already been converted, as we now knew how time-consuming such a conversion or extension is. So it was a camper from 2014 instead of 1992, with a whopping 130 hp. Wow! It was a real sports car for us. It even had solar power and a fridge. More luxury than we needed and were used to. Lou's parents generously supported us with an advance inheritance, because we were better off buying something sensible than sinking back into stress. That's what we thought when we treated ourselves to this camper.

At the same time, we had a strange feeling about the purchase. Our hearts didn't say yes. And so we had a breakdown on our first long journey. Funnily enough, the reason for the breakdown was ultimately a minor issue, but it took a whole two and a half months before the car was towed away, taken to a garage and repaired!

In the meantime, we got married (“Celebration of Love”) and drove on in my mom's little red Opel Agila, which was stuffed to the brim.

Since I decided to assist a men's vision quest, we traveled to Northern Piedmont where Shanti and Helen live. These are the two elders from whom we are learning vision quest work. They are almost direct neighbors of the Terra Amica community. After a short time of getting to know the community, it was clear to us that the journey was coming to an end! We have since sold the camper again without really needing it. If we had listened to our hearts rather than our minds, we would have saved ourselves a lot of stress.

After the many breakdowns and problems we've had with cars over the past few months, it's relaxing not to have our own car at the moment. One less stress factor. Instead, we are grounding ourselves. Nestled in the green hills, we have a place to arrive and find a fertile soil for our dreams. And there is already good humus here. The vision tree does not have to be sown first, but new branches can grow on an existing tree. Even if our own personal vision differs in some respects from the status quo of Terra Amica, much is already in place. The people of Terra Amica strive to live in harmony with nature, to promote the development of human consciousness and healing, to contribute to peace in the world and to nurture love in ourselves and our relationships. Terra Amica also sees itself as a reintroduction station for humans, who live freely and consciously as creators. Even if our image of reintroduction differs to some extent, this is of course very much in line with our own vision, which has been with us for several years now.

From the very first day we were at Terra Amica, we had the feeling that this was a good place for us as a family, for Elouan's development and for other children. Here, the sparkle in the children's eyes is appreciated and loved. Here, people are allowed to express the joy of their hearts.

Im Kreis der Gemeinschaft

When the first phase of falling in love, the euphoria of summer, of words and perspectives passed, the sober shadow side of human relationships; conflicts have arisen and continue to exist. Collective conditions sometimes stand in the way of the ideal.

In any case, we haven't quite arrived here yet. Sometimes we are clearly here, then we hesitate again. The ambiguities of our being within the community structure and our financial situation in our being here are two further aspects. Money. Good old money. A big topic. This topic is also repeated: Where is our place here?

In addition, there is always a longing for the far north, almost like a little homesickness. Where does the mind speak and where does the heart speak, and where are the two aligned with each other?

Where do we stand in our own way of arriving fully and completely, where do we still need to clarify something on the outside?

The only clear answer I have is: Trust the process.

Yes, the summer passed. Autumn came. Cool air, rain. Then lots of sun, colorful forest, golden larches. Chestnuts for breakfast, roasted over the fire. Elouan diligently helps to chop wood and saw it into small pieces. He is generally a really active boy.

Sometimes he wakes up in the morning and shouts: “I want to work!”

How nice it is to see that there is no difference for him between playing and working. May it stay that way for the rest of his life!

In a few weeks, this year will come to an end. It's amazing how quickly it turned around. It seems to me that only a few months have passed since we spent the Rough Nights at Vellexon Castle and celebrated the New Year. At that time, we performed a fire ritual in which we intended to manifest our community in nature.

“Oh yes, this life!” Elouan sighs happily

Autumn left and winter came. The first snow lent the landscape a whole new magic. It only stayed for a few days, but the Alps kept their royal white dress. The high mountains now tower even higher over the land.

And Christmas is coming soon. Elouan is really looking forward to it. His first really consciously experienced Christmas, from the wonderful, magical perspective of a child. I'm already looking forward to seeing his sparkling little eyes in the Christmas candlelight. He is already busy making the candles with the other children. Will it snow again at Christmas? Here, in the mountains of northern Italy, anything is possible in winter. Snow and ice, or sunshine and the occasional cricket chirping.

Will we be permanent residents of Terra Amica in a year's time?

We are in the process. In any case, it is our wish to feel completely at home.

What will it take for us to feel completely at home?

Home we're going home...

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