No under 18s

Writing, Story and Myths from the Soil

Tue Nov 9, 10:00 - Tue Nov 9, 20:00

Towerland Retreat

ABOUT

10 - 15 November 2021, Langeberg Mountains, Garden Route, South Africa

5-NIGHT RETREAT - WRITING, STORY AND MYTHS FROM THE SOIL  

with Sarah Bullen and Niall Campbell


Long long ago, when the earth was still soft. In the time when people and animals spoke the same language....


So many oral myths start this way. They start in a way that removes us from our present rational restrictions. They take us to another place and time, where things are matted and tangled. Where things are murky, where the boundary between the dream and our daily drive is blurred together in a multilayered tapestry. These kind of stories are the heritage of cultures the world over. Fireside narrations have had listeners spellbound for millennia. Maybe even going back to times before we were fully human.


?Join us and explore your myths


In ancient times our ancestors were a part of the environment they lived in. Their lives were determined by the nature of the place. The seasons, the climate and those they shared the land with, were the powers that determined their lives. 


Culture grows out of many generations of living in a place. 


How has land shaped you through the generations? 


This is a unique opportunity to join writing mentor Sarah Bullen and shaman and sangoma Niall Campbell for a deep exploration into your personal mythology, relationship with the wild inner self. **** You can find out more about the retreat or hosts by visiting our website page here. ***


We are working with wilderness as a portal into the mythological landscape. 

We will invite you to seek out and uncover the story of where you've been, what has happened and where you are now. Of those who came before you walked on this earth. 


Come and sit for a while. Listen to some stories from older times. Open your ears to myths and tales from the soil.


WHY WILDERNESS?

In our lives, as modern Western people we are constantly subtly influenced. New technological myths are being created and fed to us. Technology is now the God. It promises convenience. Less effort. Less risk. Less danger of failure. Less time. Less connection.


We will gather in the Langeberg mountains in the southern Cape, South Africa, in a wilderness retreat which enables the living flow of nature to be present in all aspects of life. 

When we slow down and connect with the rhythms of nature, our activities and our thinking become more rhythmic, more enlivened, more whole.

This is the space – inner and outer – that this immersion offers. It is a place for open conversation, between ourselves who are there, between ourselves and our world, and within ourselves


Over the course of the six days we will strip away these things to open the possibility that you may uncover another path, another story. You may uncover in writing, in the earth or in quietness another story to live into. 


We will ask - what happens when we avail ourselves to what is bigger? 


Myth and the symbolic language is how we convey “soul material” and it is this we will explore in language, writing, and in the land. 


EXPECT THIS


Writing

Storytelling.

Listening

Listen to the Stories of Old

Exploring Personal Mythology

Dreaming with Wilderness

Exploring Wildness and the Wilderness

The power of place, participation and reconnecting. 

Exploring belonging on all levels.

Working with the four communities (the living, the non human, the ancestors, the descendants)


This is an invitation to step out of the world of function and productivity and join the world of myth and magic.


YOUR HOSTS


Sarah Bullen is a storyteller, author and has been running international creative writing retreats and workshops for a decade all over the world.


Niall Campbell is a shaman, a storyteller, a weaver of magic and a traditional nyanga (medicine man). Niall has over 25 years of apprenticeship with African teachers in ancestral and nature spirits, divination and medicinal herbalism. He facilitates rites of passage, coming into adulthood and manhood and is widely regarded as one of the foremost holders of traditional ways. 






COSTS 2021

R18,000 - only 10 single rooms available

Deposit R8,000

Balance of payments by 15 October 2021.


COST INCLUDES

* 5 nights / 6 days

* Single occupation

* All meals for the duration

* All tuition and group material.


COST EXCLUDES

* Cost of flights, travel insurance, VISAS

* Transfers from George airport





CANCELLATION AND COVID TRAVEL

CANCELLATION We know that it’s a brave time to plan a trip and we want you to be sure you will attend. Please check all the dates and that you are free to travel. We have limited rooms.

Your second and final payment is due by 1 October.


Here's how it will work:

50% of your deposit is NON REFUNDABLE. That is R4000 ZAR. If YOU cancel - for any reason including Covid. These are the cancellations terms: more than 60 days before - Full amount paid less 50% of your deposit less than 60-30 days before - 50% of the amount Less than 30 days before - no refund


If we cancel due to a Covid lockdown making travel not possible this policy applies:

We will offer you an alternate date on mutual agreement. We are checking on the terms and conditions with venue and will confirm these)

Bear in mind this is a wilderness retreat with only 10 places so it unlikely this event will occur.


COVID-TRAVELLINGIt is your responsibility to make sure that your COVID testing admin is done correctly.


WHEN ARRIVING IN SOUTH AFRICAPassengers travelling to South Africa will be refused entry if they do not hold a printed medical certificate of a negative Covid-19 PCR test result obtained within 72 hours prior to departure, from the date of examination. Passengers travelling to South Africa must hold a QR code showing they have filled out the travel health questionnaire online at https://sa-covid-19-travel.info/entryq/create not more than 48 hours days before travel.Passengers travelling to South Africa are encouraged to install the contact tracing app COVID Alert SA at https://sacoronavirus.co.za/covidalert/, due to the outbreak of Covid-19.


TRAVEL INSURANCE AND VISASTravel insurance is your responsibility. Please note that there are no visa requirements. Remember to check that your passport is valid and has enough pages.

ACCOMMODATION


ACCOMMODATION


The accommodation consists of 10 units built from natural materials of clay, straw and wood, all situated at the top of a hill amongst pristine fynbos, giving a beautiful perspective of the surrounding area. The units are thoughtfully situated in relation to one another to allow both privacy and a sense of interconnectedness. All the units are pentagonal in shape, with a pentagon of glass in the ceiling through which the night sky can be observed. Generous windows offer beautiful views to the surrounds, and stable doors extend the flow between inside and outside, whilst the living roofs keep the rooms cool in summer and warm in winter. With single, double and twin options, the units are tastefully yet simply furnished to enhance the overall intention of Towerland: to experience oneself and nature in an ongoing interdependent dance.



A carefully designed ablution block with two composting toilets and four gas-powered showers serves all the units. The showers are designed with two doors, one of which can open to the outside with views of the valley extending below.



TRAVEL AND LOCATION


Towerland Wilderness is in the Western Cape region of South Africa in the Garden Route area.

It is 5 hours by car from Cape Town and an hour from the GEORGE AIRPORT.


It is a rare place. Surrounded by mountains, riverine valleys, exultant fynbos and abundant wildlife, it offers a space to reconnect with yourself – a place where you can walk far, swim in crystal clear rivers, watch the stars, sink deep into silence, let your thoughts unfurl in freedom, enjoy rigorous conversation and much laughter, and be nourished by great food. 


Visitors can either self drive, or fly to George Airport. A transfer will be organised from the airport.

COSTS

COSTS 2021?

R18,000 - only 8 single rooms available

Deposit R8,000

Balance of payments by 15 October 2021.


COST INCLUDES

* 5 nights / 6 days accomodation

* Single occupation

* All meals for the duration

* All tuition and group material.


COST EXCLUDES

* Cost of flights, travel insurance, VISAS

* Transfers from George airport

?


ITINERARY

WEDNESDAY

Arrival by 3pm

Settle in and explore this land

5pm opening fire circle and session


THURSDAY

The Ordinary World vs The Special World 

The power of place, participation and reconnecting. 

The promise of convenience and the three addictions of security, comfort and entertainment. Can we enter the he world of risk. The world of Magic. The world of Wild. The upside down world. The Red Queen's World. 


FRIDAY

Crossing the Threshold

We explore the four communities of the living, the non human, the ancestors and the descendants.


SATURDAY

The Innermost Cave

When last did you confront your discomfort?

How invested are you in convenience?

How scared are you of snakes? Would you be willing to meet one? What would happen if it spoke to you? 


SUNDAY 

Return with the Elixir

This gentle day is about bringing back your story, your myth.

What happens when we avail ourselves to what is bigger. 

Am I on a hero's journey or fool's escapade? 


MONDAY

Farewell breakfast and departure 

HOSTS

Sarah Bullen is a storyteller, author and has been running international creative writing retreats and workshops for a decade all over the world. Sarah is a cancer survivor and facilitates talks and writing workshops and writing work for trauma. ?She has written extensively about her own journey with cancer, death and resilience in magazines and on talk shows.



Niall Campbell is a shaman, a storyteller, a weaver of magic and a traditional nyanga (medicine man). Niall has over 25 years of apprenticeship with African teachers in ancestral and nature spirits, divination and medicinal herbalism. He facilitates rites of passage, coming into adulthood and manhood and is widely regarded as one of the foremost holders of traditional ways. 



DIRECTIONS

Writing, Story and Myths from the Soil
Towerland Retreat
Albertinia, 6695
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