As Christmas is the time of peace and goodwill, Tomorrow spoke to Uri Ayalon at the Tamera Community, an institute and research centre for global peace.
With so much conflict and increasingly polarised views in the world, peace, understanding and love might seem unattainable goals this Christmas. Can we take any hope from a community of 165 people in the Alentejo, who hope to spread the seeds of peace in a troubled world?
Tamera was established in 1978 by a generation of pioneers who started researching a new community in Germany. In 1995, the community moved to Portugal, establishing the 134-hectare site at Monte do Cerro in the Alentejo region. The vision was to establish a “Healing Biotope” which benefitted from Portugal´s great climate, and could generate its own power and be sustainable. In the intervening years, Tamera has grown from a small community into a thriving eco-village and research centre. The website claims, “Our vision and its manifestation – to create a model for a new way of living with planet Earth.”
Next year, Tamera will celebrate 30 years in Portugal. It is fitting that in that time almost 30,000 people have visited the village to learn about this bold experiment in creating a model for a regenerative culture, working towards truth, love and sustainability.
Uri Ayalon works as a media liaison officer in Tamera’s Institute for Global Peace. An Israeli, he describes himself as “broken-hearted”.
Of growing up in Israel, he says, “I was never told that our victory was at the expense of the Palestinian people. Our society told us that we were the victims but became the winners of the war when Israel established its own state. It was only when I went to university that I discovered the different narrative that the story was not just about the establishment of Israel in 1948. It was the disaster of the Palestinians.”
In 2003, when Uri was 24, an American non-violent activist and diarist, Rachel Corrie, was killed by an Israeli armoured bulldozer. She was a member of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM) protesting in Rafah, where the Israeli military was demolishing Palestinian houses. While protecting a house belonging to Palestinians, she was crushed to death. “She was the same age as me,” reflects Uri. “This event made me decide to give my life to end the occupation.”
For many years, Uri was an activist and devoted his life to ending the war. He initially tried to start a peaceful community in Palestine, “but the 2014 war in Gaza started, so it was too tough”. He moved to Portugal in 2014, a country which he says is “very open to foreigners”. When he came to Tamera, Uri decided to start trying to build the world he could envisage after the occupation – building a future rather than fighting.
So how do the members envisage that their community can create peace when it seems humanity has been at war with itself for all time. “By researching the social, spiritual, sexual, ecological, technological and economic areas of life, we align with the universal patterns of life and its self-healing powers, so violence becomes impossible. We are sowing the seeds of a new culture.”
Yet, as we enter 2025, it is difficult to envisage a future without violence. “My heart is broken by the situation and lack of hope. After the Oslo peace agreement in 1993, we felt there was a way forward. But there is nothing hopeful now to say. I am ashamed about what the Israeli government is doing, and there is no justification for the horrors the Israelis are inflicting on the Palestinians. I find comfort in the fact that my children are being raised in a culture of peace. They know I am from Israel, but they don’t have that identity. My four-year-old has a friend who is Palestinian, but they are unaware of the conflict. I have provided my children a life which is not defined by violence.”
Three days after 7 October, Uri and a Palestinian colleague at Tamera tried to articulate a message about the crisis. “It was a very intense process for Aida and me. As much as I identify with the Palestinians and their fight for independence, it was still hard for us to find the right words relating to the horrors and find a voice for hope.” Part of their statement read:
“Our hearts are bleeding with the unimaginable violence that’s still unfolding in Israel-Palestine and crying out for an end to the bloodshed … Those of us in the Western world have an ethical obligation to stand up for an immediate permanent ceasefire, for a safe return of all hostages and a just peace for everyone between the river and the sea.”
Tamera is radical in attempting to create a new social structure dedicated to peace. Each person has a different role within the community, and their days are structured around spiritual practices, work and community engagement with members working together in teams. Uri’s team in the Peace Centre is focused on networking, talking to journalists, newsletters, online courses and social media. Others work for the school project – Tamera has a nursery and kindergarten based on a home-schooling structure, but also invites children from the surrounding community to attend.
The campus and guest centre welcomes around 2,000 people from April to November with seminars and activities. Many members of the community work in this area, either as educators or in the guest kitchen, which can feed 200 people.
Early in the morning, they engage in physical activities like yoga and movement, or spiritual practices. Some people start the day at 7 am to connect through text, conversation and prayer. Their stone circle is their sacred space. Every Monday, there is a ceremony at sunrise to connect the community spiritually.
Tamera has five community kitchens, which serve between 10 and 40 people, and the community eats lunch together. But Uri’s family often shares breakfast and dinner with other families. In the afternoons, they might meet in smaller groups in the community, which is divided into neighbourhoods. Once a week, the whole community comes together to make decisions, talk and listen to speeches from community members. They also have a bar which hosts political events, or they may watch a movie or documentary to stay current and up-to-date with world events.
The community tries to live in harmony with the earth and our surroundings. They are almost self-sufficient in electricity and energy – and most of their food comes from the surrounding area. All their vegetables and fruits are organic and the economy is radical – a strong alternative to capitalism. “We don’t have salaries, but we have pocket money, and the community covers our basic needs, food and education.”
Tamera is, though, fundamentally a research hub, and to live there is to commit to living in a laboratory in which the members are both the researchers and the guinea pigs. “So, our lives are a study of how peace can prevail on earth. An example of this is how to raise children. Is it based on evidence or reinforcement of the trust that babies have? How do we eat? Is it based on the exploitation of the earth? We have a vegetarian commitment and our main kitchens are vegan. We research how we stay at peace with animals. Tamera’s vision is to build a peaceful culture – for us and for the world” explains Uri.
As well as researching how to live, community members also engage in the research of religious texts and history. Communitarian spirituality was conceived in prehistory, so the community takes inspiration from pagan cultures and researches what could be a current, modern and relevant spiritual practice for them in the future. “Many of us are Christians, so we celebrate Christmas and I still celebrate the Jewish holidays,” says Uri.
Members study diverse spiritual texts such as those by the American spiritual teacher Peace Pilgrim or Etty Hillesum, who was murdered in Auschwitz. The community was established by strong spiritual leaders Dieter Duhm and Sabine Lichtenfels, and the new members now study and research their books. These elders still live in the community and are revered members, however Uri says that, as with any community, they need to evolve. “When I came here in 2005 as a visitor, the majority of the community was Germans, there were only five of us who were not German or speaking German.
Now, it is quite different and keeps changing. We encompass all different nationalities including people from Chile, the US, France and Palestine; so [there is] a variety of nationalities and now we are intergenerational.”
There have been 30 births in Tamera with a new generation raised there. Through their research and discussion groups they constantly question themselves and what works and what doesn’t. “As we move beyond our pioneering phase, led by our visionary and charismatic founders, we’re now facing the question of how to transition to an intergenerational model. A model that balances the integrity of our founding vision with the evolving needs and ideas of a new generation. This generational shift needs to be done in a respectful and loving way.”
In recent years, many community members – especially from the younger generation – have been exploring issues around power and privilege. They have been questioning how Tamera’s predominantly white, German, and cis-heterosexual demographic has shaped our work and worldview. These discussions have not always been easy.
“Healing Biotopes are open systems, responding to the needs of and integrating knowledge from the region and the world around them as they evolve,” says Uri. “One aspect of our community that is special to me is our commitment to truth. We have some tools that allow us to be transparent with each other, step outside of a community based on lying and secrets, take off the masks we put on ourselves, and start to be authentic. This is important in the peace culture. I am proud that I live in a community that is spiritual, political, ecological and communitarian. We name the atrocities, keep the hope and try to create a world beyond violence and war.”
Uri’s vision of replicating the Healing Biotope model in Israel-Palestine now seems a long way off. For now, Tamera is relying on its regular guests and students in Portugal to spread its vision worldwide. “We believe that creating one vision can have a greater impact on the world.”
I imagine they are slightly crushed by Donald Trump’s victory in the US elections. “We are in service of ending patriarchy in the pursuit of equality and to bring hope over fear. For those reasons, the fact that Donald Trump was elected is a terrible mirror held up to humanity. And at the same time I think our task is to create a real alternative to fascism, which unfortunately the Democratic party in the US failed to do”.
If Tamera sounds like Utopia to you, you might already be thinking about escaping the world and moving there. But don’t pack your bags just yet. The community is located on agricultural land with no room for expansion, which means it is closed to new members. This is a hurdle they are looking to overcome. “We have a clear vision and detailed plans showing how we want to expand the facilities in Tamera to be able to invite more peaceworkers to live and learn with us. We’re working to change the registration of land use so that we can build a regenerative model settlement for the future. With the municipality of Odemira, we’re going through the PIER process – Plano de Intervenção em Espaço Rural – Intervention Plan in Rural Areas.”
In the event they are successful, there is a detailed vetting process for new members to ensure that they will fit harmoniously and contribute to this pioneering community.
For now, as Tamera enters its 30th anniversary year, the community is celebrating by hosting online events. “It feels like an important milestone for our development. We are one of the more mature eco communities in Europe, which brings with it pride and a responsibility to bring hope and inspiration to many of the peace warriors in our global community.” Two films were released recently to celebrate and bring the community to a wider audience: The Village of Lovers and Water is Love, which explores the issues of water retention and the landscape.
Talking to Uri has been a welcome break from the intense feeling of anxiety and despair I get from my newsfeed. Tamera might not be able to save the world but at least they are trying!
“It’s not a question of taking sides. It’s a question of being concerned with the fate of humanity.” – Gabor Maté
Tamera are asking for your support with transitioning successfully into their next stage. Your contributions to the 30th birthday fundraising campaign will help them continue along this path. If you feel moved to offer a birthday gift, there are three impactful ways to contribute.
All information about their course can be found here www.tamera.org/peace-education
