ONE GARDEN
MONTENEGRO
OUR TEAM
is our family
Young Django and Ernesto, who are 10 and 4 years old, Marjo and Michel.
Michel. I'm a student of lama teunsang. Meditating and regular retreats, mainly with Thai forest monks. Most notably, luong pu yai, ajarn suphan, and luong por kam kien. My teachers and practice are my motivation for facilitating meditation.
Since the 90s, I have been working with wood and decor, a bit later, plants became a part of creation. Throughout the years, I immersed myself in creating seedbanks, places to stay, and retreats in Holland, the United States, Thailand, France, and more.
Marjo runs the international French school in Podgorica and does ceramics <...>
Michel. I'm a student of lama teunsang. Meditating and regular retreats, mainly with Thai forest monks. Most notably, luong pu yai, ajarn suphan, and luong por kam kien. My teachers and practice are my motivation for facilitating meditation.
Since the 90s, I have been working with wood and decor, a bit later, plants became a part of creation. Throughout the years, I immersed myself in creating seedbanks, places to stay, and retreats in Holland, the United States, Thailand, France, and more.
Marjo runs the international French school in Podgorica and does ceramics <...>
THE PLACE
Piperi
In 2021, we bought three parcels on the foothill not far from Podgorica, Montenegro. These sites are close to each other but have different biomes and vibes. The main plot with a family house, a piece of forest nearby, and a little bit down a vineyard. Altogether, it's about 1.5 hectares. Here, we want to continue what we did before in other different places—creating a space for working with plants and food growing, practicing meditation and ceramics, and just being and resting.
BASIC NEEDS
More and more people are getting tired. All the radiation, lousy food, and worries are lowering your baseline. If you grow food or build with your hands with wood, clay, or bamboo rock, you touch it and go naturally and speed. It's natural, like a presence exercise or meditation. Return to basics. We can't do without them.
FOOD
We need to eat healthy food, so we will continue growing it, and there will be different gardens. We can grow food for ourselves, visitors, and friends to exchange it. The climate here allows us to introduce tropical plants like papaya and avocado. We have five months of pretty hot conditions here. Pear, apple, and fig trees are already growing on the plot.
MEDITATION
We believe that it is very useful in general as a human being to practice that one way or another. It's a beautiful way of getting to know yourself better. It's extremely simple: you just have to believe it and practice. Maintaining it and going deeper is a hard job. But at the same time, it is an amazing journey.
BUILDING
We have to construct places to live, but we can do it differently. With the experience of a practitioner and teaching in non-destructive ways of construction for the last 30 years, we know how to build in a low-impact way and with the help of local and natural materials. Places to stay and leave, camp, and retreat.
CONNECTIONS
We don’t want to do it alone. The dream is that more like-minded neighbors will come here. If you live nearby, we can cooperate and exchange whatever. We can share our experiences and do hard work together. Work something out like a joint sauna or meditation space. Create a local community and expand our networks.
ART
We do art. Growing food and building is also an art, as well as paintings, furniture making, and decoration. Here, on the site, we are already organizing a ceramic shop, and there could be more activities about self-expression through art. Dance, singing, or other performances are parts of a healthy existence.
OUR PLANS
Ceramic workshop
Garden with tropical plants
Vineyards
Kids garden
Meditation and retreats
Place for volunteers
Trails and hiking
Local food restaurant
Who is the person we are waiting for?
Who are tired and looking place to rest
Volunteers who want to learn
Yoga teachers with their groups
Artist who looking for inspiration
PARTNERS
Seed- and autonomous living center in Pun Pun in northern Thailand
Foundation is a center for classical regeneration and reproduction technology The Garden of Eden
Retreat and course center in a more than 300-year-old farm in Antwerpen “de verscholen tuin”
Camping, tree house, wooden caravan he Monts d'Ardèche regional park, France "le folastere"
Hub in nature for creativity and education in Northern Montenegro Mountain Land