I was heading to the next Permatour event in Rhode Island. We would be building a chakra garden with hugelkultur beds, a centuries-old way of building raised gardens. It would stretch the entire length of the yard, with a section for each of the seven chakras. Each section had two separate crescent shaped beds facing inwards, leaving a path between the two. In the spring, the plan was to plant each bed to correlate with a specific chakra.
Tucker and I were driving to the event together. It was a stormy day, and as we drew closer the rain worsened. By the time we pulled in, it was a torrential downpour. I figured everyone would be inside avoiding the storm, but to my surprise, there were multiple people working in the rain.
Tucker and I threw on our rain gear and joined the others. Someone explained the process for creating the hugelkultur beds. First we would dig trenches that were six inches deep. The bottom of each trench would be lined with a layer of wood chips. Next we would place logs and branches into each of them. A layer of horse manure would be added, with another layer of wood chips on top. We would light a fire on top of each bed in order to create biochar. Biochar is a charcoal like substance that is made by creating a fire, then smothering it so that oxygen is no longer present. The lack of oxygen is what causes it to turn to biochar instead of ash. Lastly, we would replace the soil we had originally removed back on top of the mounds. All of this is supposed to create the perfect environment for plants to thrive in for years.
I grabbed a shovel and started digging. As some of us were working on the trenches, others were in the woods cutting up trees that had previously fallen to be used in the beds. We continued to dig as the rain came pouring down. My raincoat was no match for the storm, and I got soaked to the bone. My puddle boots were like buckets that collected the rainwater. Occasionally we would joke about the fact that we were all here by choice in these harsh conditions, and in any other situation like this we would probably be miserable, but we all wanted to be there. But oh boy, was I cold.
After we cleared out some trenches, we helped move the piles of branches that had been removed from the fallen trees. As we finished, my friend, Joy, went over to a giant puddle that was more of a pond, and sat right down into the middle of it. As she did she said, “Come on Teagan, sit in this puddle with me.” I figured there wasn’t any way I could possibly get any wetter or colder, so I plopped down into the puddle next to her. It was so deep that my legs were almost completely covered. It somehow seemed to warm me a little though, and it gave me a rush of energy. Joy and I sat there splashing around and making duck noises as we laughed. That puddle was just the pick-me-up I needed. I ran around in the rain afterwards, jumping and splashing in every puddle along the way.
Once inside the house, I was able to take a warm shower. For dinner, we wanted everyone at one table, but there were about twenty of us, so that was going to be a little difficult. Ashley grabbed the coffee table from the living room and put it at the head of the kitchen table, and we gathered random chairs from around the house, making room for everyone. The coffee table was quite a bit lower, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that we all ate together. We ate soup, rice and salad. The soup warmed my body after the cold day’s work, and the company warmed my soul.
After dinner we gathered in the dining room. Some people grabbed instruments and others gathered art supplies. Some people strummed guitars, banged on drums, and sang, creating joyful music. The rest of us drew and sang along when we knew the words.
The next morning we had a breakfast of fruit salad, oatmeal, and an egg and veggie dish. The storm had cleared and left us with a beautiful sunny day. We got back to work on the gardens, finishing digging the trenches. As we moved up and got to the higher chakra beds, others started filling the lower beds with the wood chips, logs, and horse manure.
As the digging continued, there was a call for volunteers to go inside to help start making dinner. I joined that small crew. We figured with so many people to feed, it would be best to do soup, salad and rice again. I helped chop vegetables for the soup.
Eventually someone came in to tell us that all the beds were dug, and all the lower chakras were filled. They would be starting fires soon, and wanted to know if we wanted to participate. That was something I didn’t want to miss out on, and most of us went outside.
We gathered in a large circle at the front of the gardens by the root chakra. Since a few new faces had arrived, we each went around the circle and said our names. Then Pat, the man in charge of the project, came around and gave us each a peace of tobacco leaf to offer to the gardens. Joy led us in a chakra activation. It was a type of song where we started at a low octave, going higher as we moved up the chakras. We went through the song several times then we walked single file up the path that led through the center of the garden. The objective was to think or speak of a blockage in each chakra that we wanted to release, and then offer the tobacco. I went through each one thinking of what I needed help with in that area. For the throat chakra, I released not speaking my truth.
It was time to start the fires. We collected twigs and branches and formed them into little teepees. We started with the root chakra and worked up from there.
As we lit the fires, A few people started drumming. As they did, another man came down with a maraca and a didgeridoo, and started playing, all while his baby was strapped to his chest. The three of them played as the fires started to burn. We got four of the chakras up and burning, which was eight beds. Others joined in with drums, a clarinet, and other random instruments that were laying around.
With the fires going and smoke billowing, it looked as if half the lawn was on fire. There were around thirty of us working, along with several children who were safely helping and playing. Maggie, along with multiple other dogs, roamed about. There was a sense of magic in the air as so many people came together to create something so beautiful.
Once it came time to put the fires out, we smothered them with dirt to make biochar. Only half of the beds were burned, the lower chakras. It was an experiment to see which method worked better.
We all gathered inside after the long day's work. The house was packed and we felt like one huge family. In the kitchen people put the finishing touches on dinner, music played in the living room as people strummed guitars and played the piano, and every room in the downstairs was filled with laughter. My pup Maggie wandered throughout the house, making friends with everyone.
So many more people had arrived since the previous dinner that there was no possible way we could all gather in one room to eat, let alone around one table. Instead, the food was placed on the table, and it was grab a bowl and find a spot anywhere to eat. After dinner, the music started again. The living room was filled, and it was as if we had our own band and choir. You could feel the love pouring through the house.
The next morning we had another breakfast of oatmeal and eggs before going outside to finish the work. Some people worked on the upper beds and lawn clean-up. I went over to help with a little herbal garden off to the side. We had to clear away a large brush pile, putting it all onto a tarp and dragging it off. A few of us worked on building a little rock wall that would go all the way around the garden, using rocks that had been dug up from the lawn.
As the project wrapped up, we all gathered at the heart chakra. We each got seeds that we added to the beds as offerings. We gathered in a circle and sang a song together. The beds still had multiple rocks in them, we all went single file down a pathway that led through the garden. We each removed rocks along the way from each chakra to represent removing our own personal blockages in that area. Once removed, we placed them in an arch at the top of the gardens. I ended up going through three times because it just felt right.
We all gathered at the top of the gardens for a closing ceremony. We sang together and a few people shared words. This whole event felt magical, as though I was wrapped in a blanket of love. So many people came together to create this beautiful thing that would forever hold every ounce of love that we put into.
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