TRIBAL GATHERING 2012
KUNA YALA ** THE CARIBBEAN SEA ** OFF THE COAST OF PANAMA
21ST - 28th DECEMBER 2012
GeoParadise will be holding its next festival 21st - 28th December 2012, coinciding with the end of the 13th B'ak'tun of the Mayan Long Count Calendar and the last full moon of the year.
The dates cannot be more emblematic for the indigenous and psychedelic tribes attending this event!
We have already started booking an amazing lineup of international high profile musicians.
Picking the very best from the Psychedelic Scene with Progressive, Goa, Full-on and a touch of Dark ensuring the main stage absolutely brings it on. We'll post the line up as soon as contracts are finalized.
The Global stage will feature a more eclectic and laid back musical selection, with a blend of International, local and tribal acts.
Twelve Indigenous Tribes of Central America will come to the festival to hold the first in a series of much needed conferences.
They will be having positive debate around the gathering theme: "Our roots in Mother Earth", discussing possible solutions for today´s environmental and social challenges. They will be holding workshops, talks, rituals, stories, dances, etc to help the global party community understand their cultures and realize how many common elements we share and how we can help one another.
Mayan Shaman from Guatemala and the Americas will guide us in this epic journey into the new cycle to our full potential.
Western scientists, thinkers and body movement instructors will complete the educational cocktail for this area.
There will be nightly sweat-lodges held on an adjacent island.
Allowing the ceremonies to be unaffected by the electronics and ambiance of the main island. There will be local tribesmen in dug outs that will row you there and back, or you can swim as its only 50 or so meters, the waters warm and rather shallow.
All structures will be built from sustainable, locally sourced materials. The event will be carbon offset. Food and drink will be provided by the Kuna Tribe. There will be a zero waste policy. Hand built Showers and Compost toilets.
As with all GeoParadise events, this festival will Leave a Positive Trace, providing funds and resources for the bioregion in many different ways. A local NGO will be set up with the Kuna indians to run educational and environmental programs, empowering them to become more sustainable and resilient.
We´ll dance together for a week to celebrate the achievements. A sense of purpose and belonging to a caring community will fill our hearts. We no more are isolated tribes struggling to survive, we are one GeoTribe, the Tribe of the Earth, and we together will keep our loved planet a paradise. We call it GeoParadise.
KUNA YALA IS A TROPICAL PARADISE CONSISTING OF 365 PERFECT CORAL REEFED ISLANDS, ADORNED WITH COCNUT PALMS AND WHITE SANDY BEACHES, NESTLED IN THE WARM TROPICAL CARIBBEAN SEA OFF THE COAST OF PANAMA
Kuna (People) Yala (Land) are quite simply the last islands in the Caribbean not to be overrun by foreigners, the Kuna are the last indigenous peoples to still control their lands. They still live in traditional wood and bamboo huts, fish in dugout canoes, the women wear traditional dress and only three island groups have electricity.
The Kuna People and their land are really a beacon of self managed autonomous tribes. They are one of a few tribes in the Americas that still exist in their own form and are, in fact, thriving. They manage this seemingly impossible task by keeping their traditions alive and holding on to a strict policy that no foreigner can own land or a business there. Huge and powerful consortium's are constantly turned away, the lure of wealth and power does not sway the Congreso General Kuna. Disney Land will never come to Kuna Yala.
The Kuna have a Pacha Mama or Gaian based philosophy. They are elements of the universe interwoven with all. They are matriarchal with land being owned and passed down by women to women. The men are warriors, defenders of the land and are honored as such with authority to manage the lands being bestowed on them by the matriarchs.
GETTING THERE FROM PANAMA CITY:
THE EASY WAY
Contact San Blas Tours
www.sanblastourspanama.com
and they will for a small fee organize travel to and from the Island for you.
THE HARD WAY
Bus or taxi to El Llano then north to Carti ($5 bus or $25 Taxi) Alternatively you can take you own car.
IMPORTANT: The Kuna Yala road is open between 6am-4pm, so you need to reach the Kuna Yala border before that time. You will be asked to pay a few dollars at the boarder for the upkeep of the forest (a very good cause indeed).
Once you arrive in Carti (the coast), ask the launches for Banedup Island. ($10 + depending on how many of you share the boat)
All in the return journey from Panama should cost you less than $70.
For more information on this event, the tribal conference and GeoParadise visit our website:
http://geoparadise.org
