Retreat Centre on the NSW North Coast

There has been a long-term wish, both among practioners and many of the teachers in the Insight Teacher Circle to set up our own retreat centre somewhere on the North Coast of NSW. Having a dedicated retreat centre would in the long term make it possible to run retreats when we wanted to and hopefully run retreats cheaper than we can at present. It may also serve as a place where people can do long-term practice, longer than is currently offered in retreats.

For some years we worked to raise the funds to buy a share in the Sangsurya retreat centre on the edge of Byron Bay. While many of us like this place very much and we're still fortunate to be able to use this place at very reasonable rate for retreats, we did not raise the necessary funds and we have decided to focus on other places.

One option we are seriously considering is the Steiner Chrysalis School near Bellingen. While this school is not currently on the market it was on the market and is expected to be in the future. Chrysalis is a 25 acre property, it adjoins the Bellinger River, it has many buildings - most of them classrooms - and it has been built with much creativity and attention to detail. It is a very beautiful place. It also comes with many of the facilites we'd need (parking, kitchen, toilets for over 100 people, internal roads and paths). The cost is similar to the cost of a one fifth share in Sangsurya (just over a million dollars), and while this is a huge amount, the buildings and improvements on the property are extensive. The property is also big enough to have a small residential community live there as well as host retreats and larger events, like a dharma gathering.

At the moment we are having a report prepared by an architect who has inspected the property, we are talking further with the administrator of the school and we will be talking with the Bellingen Shire Council about their views and requirements. We imagine that there will be a meeting in Bellingen for all people interested sometime in February or March 07 and that will include a tour of the school. If we proceed, we would need people with a broad range of skills. Like most places, Chrysalis has positives and negatives and it's our intention to look carefully at all aspects.

We have a mailing list of people who are interested in either finding out how things develop or contributing in some way. If you'd like to be on this list please email Will James

wvjames@yahoo.com.au

with "Chysalis List" in the header.

Some people have donated money to buying share in Sangsuyra. These people will be contacted and asked whether they would like the money they donated returned to them or switched to the fund for another retreat centre. Details of how to donate to the general retreat fund will be on this site when arrangements have been made. For further information or to discuss donations, email Will James or call Subhana Barzaghi on (02) 9888-7255.