Name: Tamera Peace Research Center & Community, Portugal
Country: Portugal
Founded: 1995
Type: Intentional Community with a Collective Budget
Members: 200
Date of Visit: June 2023 + September 30 - November 1, 2023
Tamera is a peace research village with the goal of becoming "a self-sufficient, sustainable, and replicable communitarian model for nonviolent cooperation and cohabitation between humans, animals, nature, and Creation for a future of peace for all." It is also often called a "healing biotope". Literally translated, "biotope" simply means a place where life lives. In Tamera, however, "healing biotope" is also described as a "greenhouse of trust, an acupuncture point of peace, and a self-sufficient future community." It is located on 335 acres (1.36 km2) in the Alentejo region of southwestern Portugal.
When I first visited Tamera in June 2023, my curiosity led me here to discover if it could truly be the case that 200 people have been living together in open love and sexuality for almost 40 years. It sounded too good to be true, but that was exactly what had been dormant in my heart and was my grand vision of my dream life. Upon arriving in Tamera, I felt like I was in another world. People moved much slower. They didn't have phones in their hands as they walked around.
I could sense the genuine interest in me from the people I encountered. Everywhere I went, I had access; there were no closed doors, gates, or fences. Everything was open, and there was a great sense of trust.
In addition to the 200 residents of Tamera, at the time of my arrival, there were approximately 50 seminar participants in my group who were attending the Love School together with me. This institution was established by Tamera many years ago to share their insights from over 40 years of research on the topics of love, sexuality, and eros with the world. In addition to this course, there were other seminars taking place simultaneously, as well as a large work-study group of about 50 people who committed to a minimum of 10 weeks in the work-study program at Tamera. During their time, they worked in one of the many facilities in Tamera and, in return, received education, accommodation, meals, and still had relatively ample leisure time.
And in the evening at the Culture House (Bar & Cafeteria) of Tamera.
Thus, the overall mix consisted not only of the 200 residents but also of an additional 150 temporary guests who stayed in Tamera during the guest season (April to November). A similar number of guests were also present when I attended my 4-week Community Training at Tamera in October 2023.
"Group of the 4-week Community Course in October '23
The projects that Tamera operates on its premises and worldwide in cooperation with other organizations are incredibly impressive.
One such project is "The Children's Place," which includes a kindergarten and a school attended by approximately 40 children. The school operates under Portuguese law, combining homeschooling with Portuguese and international teachers, some of whom are from within the community and some from outside.
Another project is the aforementioned Love School, one of the largest projects in Tamera, which primarily aims to explore the question of what love is free from fear and how people can live together and create a reality where love can flow freely, devoid of fear and any judgment.
Other important projects in Tamera revolve around landscape design and water retention since Tamera is located in the Alentejo, a region of Portugal that experiences drought. Here, Tamera has succeeded, in collaboration with some of the world's leading water experts such as Sepp Holzer and the Waterman from India, in building 14 lakes and ponds, transforming an almost dried-up landscape of 140 hectares into lush greenery, which is truly incredible.
Tamera form above with Lake nr. 3
This achievement has also made it possible to establish projects in agricultural gardening using permaculture principles, enabling Tamera to produce a significant portion of its own food, although complete self-sufficiency is not the goal. The aim is for Tamera to collaborate with local farmers and other projects and to have a large purchasing department with its own grocery store that buys all the necessary food items it does not produce itself.
Overall, Tamera has managed to reduce its annual budget from 3.5 million to 1.2 million euros because products and services worth 2.3 million euros are exchanged within the community through the gift and shared economy among the 200 people on-site. This is one of the many great inspirations I have gained from this project.
This is in line with the research project "A Post-Capitalist System," which Tamera has been researching for many years and collaborates closely with many other organizations worldwide.
One of the major projects in Tamera is undoubtedly the global peace work it undertakes. Here, all themes converge. According to the knowledge imparted to me during my stay, Tamera believes that there can be no peace in the world unless we recognize that we must not ignore Eros and love but rather communicate transparently about them and invite it in our life. Eros is the most powerfull life force.
Likewise, peace cannot emerge if we live in a system of scarcity, which is inherent in the capitalist system, where it is clear from the outset that there will not be enough for everyone. Therefore, Tamera invests much effort, particularly through pilgrimages in the Middle East and peace actions in conflict areas or locally, emphasizing the importance of creating space for mourning and not rushing into solutions and thoughts too quickly. Only with compassion and mourning can genuine peace work be achieved, which I personally experienced during my stay in October 2023 when the Gaza-Israel conflict reignited, and many people from Gaza and Israel were present. Creating a space where all people could simply grieve, pray, and feel compassion without rushing into thoughts or solutions deeply touched and influenced me as a person.
Also tamera is involed worldwide and suppprots people to orgnaize them self in communitys in order to bring peace like for example in the slams of in Brasil or in the jungel of Columbia.
A series of other projects that I learned about in Tamera included cooperation with wild animals and invisible beings, the tea house and tea cultivation, the seminar center, SolarVillage, and SolarKitchen, where groundbreaking technologies are used to achieve complete energy autonomy, or the Bodega, a conscious space where people can meet and freely express eros and sexuality.
Teahouse, Tamera
All these projects in Tamera, with its over 200 people and their highs and lows, including a generational transition from the founders to the new generation, would not have functioned without the tools and frameworks for open and transparent communication and decision-making that Tamera has. One of the most important communication tools is the Forum, moderated and led by a leader and a co-leader. Anyone who feels the call can enter the middel of a circel and share their own feelings in various ways. Here, one can speak freely about their emotions, knowing that they are doing so for the benefit of humanity and not just for their own sake. Most of the emotions we sometimes confront are known to all people. Often, the reason we feel emotions such as jealousy, envy, hatred, or aggression lies not within us but within the societal system in which we have grown up. In the Forums, extraordinary deep healing occurs in a short amount of time for the person in the center but also for the audience. For me, it is a mixture of psychotherapy, trauma therapy, artistic self-expression (because singing, dancing, or other performances are also allowed in the Forum, not just speaking), and one of the most important building blocks for a community to connect in solidarity so that everyone feels heard and seen but also to grow together as a community. I would argue that this is one of the key factors in Tamera's success and why many other projects fail.
Forum in Tamera
In conclusion, I could write many more pages about my experience in Tamera because it was an absolute life-changing experience for me, bringing healing, opening, and awakening more pure love and curiosity within me, which is natural in every child when they come into our world.
Therefore, full thanks to all the people who have been doing this incredibly important work for humanity and themselves for over 40 years and contributing significantly to global culure shifts.
Whenever you feel the call to visit Tamera, I can confirm it with 100% certainty (heart, body, everything a resounding yes).
I would like to note that Tamera, like all projects and living beings, also has its problems. However, the difference is that everything is communicated transparently, and no one is shown a facade. Instead, Tamera truly reveals reality. This makes many of the so-called problems experienced with much greater ease. There is a great solidarity and trust, greater than I have ever experienced anywhere else in my life.