Just Live Camp organised by Claudia Caolín
Dates: 28th May to 1st June 2024
(Summer half term)
Where: Withy Garden at Higher Keigwin Organic Farm
A family-friendly camping community building & creative retreat in nature to celebrate our humanness
Size: between 25 and 50 adults (plus children)
Claudia Caolín from Claudia Caolín Dance & Entertainment and her team are organising a very special event, with the aim of making it a yearly event. It is just what Cornwall needs - and people from elsewhere are welcome to join us. Just Live Camp is four days and nights of creative community-building with skills sharing in the beautiful landscape of Penwith, the magical peninsula in the far west of Cornwall.
Community building:
Live together, laugh together, cry together, learn together, play together, cook and eat together, sing and dance together, and go on journeys together - you get the drift... Bring your family, but don't just come for a day or two - that way the group dynamic can really develop. It's all about enjoying camping out in nature and sharing time and resources in a free and generous way, to make time for these really deep chats, whether it's with one of your old friends with whom you finally can catch up, or with somebody you never met before, but feel you have a special connection with. It is also about the joy to see our children run and play freely in nature, without having to be too much restricted - to just feel part of this earthly community. We want to celebrate our humanness!
Food and drink, activities and knowledge, experiences and fun times will be shared. Offer special skills in workshops or just chatting, or get involved in children’s activities to ensure that little people also have a brilliant time and parents get a well-earned break.
We'll be cooking and eating together in 'tribes' mindful of dietary needs, and we'll hold a general gathering (in a bigger tent structure) in the mornings or evenings in a ‘talking stick’ manner, where people are invited to tell their stories, adventures, and experiences of the day, with an optional meditation.
Final evening: creative contributions and celebration.
This camp is about creative skills sharing. Most likely there will be lots of offers, but we hope that everybody who wants to give a workshop and will have the opportunity to do so.
At the moment, we have already takers for Dynamic Meditation, Acrobatics, Circus Fire Skills, Massage Therapies, Kinaesthetics (exploring the body, its structure and movement), Willow Weaving, Discussion Group, 'Always wanted to teach that'-slot, Healing Horse Work, Light-Saber Combat (think Star Wars), Water Confidence Building, Dancing, Drumming, and Healing Sound.
There will also be an inspiring talk by Humanitarian worker, author, editor, and astrologer Palden Jenkins: ‘The Ancient Roots of Cornwall and Their Significance in a Transforming World’. His books include The Shining Land (www.palden.co.uk/shiningland/) and he is the creator of Paldywan podcasts. (www.palden.co.uk/podcasts/)
Part of the vision is that everybody should be able to attend, regardless of their financial circumstances. This is why we want to make this a non-ticketed event and generate the necessary funds through this crowdfunding. There are many retreats and camps out there, but most are ticketed events from which many people are excluded, especially creatives and people who work in the alternative or caring sector, because our society is not valuing this type of work enough. This is why, when this crowdfunding has generated the necessary funds, everybody can come and join. What matters will be the people’s spirit and generosity in what they bring to the camp.
There will be tents for gatherings and activities, a central fireplace to cook on and sit around, another open fire pit, a kitchen area and washing-up area, two compost toilets (toilet rolls provided), two hot showers and woods, moor walks and beautiful beaches in the vicinity.
You can camp or come with a van. If you have no vehicle there is a bus service to Morvah from Penzance and St Just. You can find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/just.live.camp and on Instagram at @kernowjustlive. Looking forward to seeing you there, in springtime, in magical West Penwith, in Cornwall!
What the money is used for:
We are dedicated to run the camp this year and will therefore run the crowdfunding as a 'Keep what you raise' type, (rather than All or Nothing crowdfunding type.) We are confident that enough people will be generous and contribute to this project so that it can come off the ground.
Running a camp for many people doesn't come free and we need to cover expenses. The money the crowdfunding generates will be used for:
Tent hire, trampoline hire, site fee, insurance, materials, and contingencies.
PS: We decided to have no extra rewards, or perks, as they are referred to, for certain amounts that people give to this project, as the whole idea is to get away from an overly capitalistic approach to life and a rewards system for monies would be against this ethos. The project is rather about sharing our resources freely and with good will, so that everybody profits from this atmosphere of generosity.
Please give generously to make this project fly!