Join the Metafari – The story

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- How old are you, Rafael?

- You cannot ask that question in that way to a Maasai.  With your ways of thinking I am around 40 years. But we don’t count years.  I am a younger elder, a retired warrior.

It took us another three hours to explore the idea of age. I got a lesson around how our assumptions form what we take for granted.

-Zacharias, as we sit here around the termite mound, tell us about what we see.

-Why do you ask me such a question?  You probably know more than I do.  But coming to think about it, I have often wondered about how so small creatures can create so large things together.  What about their leadership and organization?

Zacharias, the local Maasai leader had noted that there were lots of creatures visiting the mound even though they did not belong there.  Zacharias pointed.

-Sometimes we think of ourselves as those little black ants. We go the city, pick up something of use, like the mobile phone, and return home again.

Rafael had been sitting by the waterhole for a full day.  As we talked in the evening, he was amazed.

-The waterhole brings all animals big, small, the powerful and the graceful to the same place with one purpose, to find the necessity in all living being – water. As we watched the different types of animals each at a time I noticed that no one is claiming full time presence and monopoly of the resource. I saw cooperation, not competition.  If I, a Maasai, who has lived in the bush for all my life can learn from this journey, what could it not mean for a leader coming from your part of the world?

The Metafari project started out as a conversation around a web site in Sweden.  We talked about how to present the web sites to the target groups.  What could it be like?

-Maybe it should be like a waterhole?  This initiated a vivid discussion about the waterhole.

What is a waterhole? What happens around the waterhole? Who comes to the waterhole? What are the elements of a well functioning waterhole?

The questions created wonderful conversations, and ideas about other exciting metaphors.  The coral reef.  A termite mound. The tidal landscape.

-Would it be possible to arrange Metaphor Safari?  I dreamed.  Through different connections the Metafari became a reality in Tanzania.  Through Ruth Nesje, the founder of Tanga International Conference Center I got in touch with Rafael ole Monoo who has become my friend and partner in this project.

-Metafari is about inspiring the mind to decode the meaning that can be derived from every event, be it cosmic, living world creations of animals and plants, or geographical like wind movement, seasonal temperature, as it unfolds from what happens before our own eyes.

From the dawn of morning there is the eternally amazing turn of night into day, a moment always inspiring to body and mind as the transformation takes place. It can make us be part of the amazing creation by whoever founded it.

The Metafari is an odyssey of discovery decoding the meaning behind events of nature that could have wider meaning on issues that surround our social, professional and even religious life. 

The Meta-journey can of course take place anywhere, and anytime.  Kate Coutts, founder of Metasaga expresses it gracefully: Discover yourself in the world around you.

Wishes and dreams and a bright future

By On · Leave a Comment · In Metaspace

With this I would like to send a greeting and wish for you and all those around you the best wishes about a 2013 that will be yet another exciting year in a world that steadily becomes better to live in.

Because, it is all a matter of choice of perspectives.  What do we want to see?  We don’t need to deny problems or challenges, but if we focus on opportunities and the things we would like to see happen I believe that we increases the chances for a better world.  A world that has become so much better already, during my lifetime.
On January 26th I will travel to Tanzania for the 12th time since 2007.
So what brought me there?  And what am I looking for?
Those are two questions that are very relevant as you have landed  by the waterhole.  Because the Waterhole that was the metaphor which kicked off my Tanzanian adventure.
What enabled me to come to  Tanzania was Ruth Nesje, the founder of Tanga International Competence Centre –  www.meetingpointtanga.net - facebook.com/meetingpointtanga - and her idea of doing good through business.  The values of Connect – Combine – Create are based on truly new images of what organisations are about.  Of organisation, not as a machine, but as a living system.  And about development not as war, but as play.

Thus, we are not looking after the problems, or what does not work.  We look for what works, for what brings life.  And we are not in “competition”, we are in “coopetition”.
In a new world, we need to learn to listen to each other in new ways, and to enter the spaces where true dialogue of diversity can be allowed.  So enter MetaSpace, the name of my company, and back to the waterhole.
The Metafari was the origin of my  journey, a Metaphor Safari that would take the participants to the Waterhole, to the dream of doing business with a social purpose, to the high and low tide of the mangrove swamp, to the Maasai Village.
However, the open source idea of the Metafari was first adapted by Kate Coutts from the Shetland Islands who created the MetaSaga – “Discover yourself in the world around you”
The Metasaga has begun to spread, first to Orkney, Scotland, Shetland Islands, but now also to France, Denmark, Czech Republic and other places.  http://metasaga.wikispaces.org
I have found a space in Tanga, Tanzania.  It is not my home, but a home.  2013 I will work to contribute in making Tanga region a place where people come to Connect, Combine and Create in order to learn and develop together with the people they meet.  The Metafari, the Maasai Trek/Walking Safari, Village Dialogues or just other types of hosting are examples to where I would like to invite people for experiences of sharing and learning.
I invite you to come to Tanga where my platform will be the partnership with TICC and with Imosut e Purka, the NGO of Rafael ole Moono, my friend and partner.  I will spend quite a lot of my time in the town of Handeni where one task is the collaboration with the Handeni Folk Development College (don’t miss to like).  Handeni has up to now been a “wild west town” in the middle of nowhere, but the new tarmac road, huge findings of gold and minerals, a new 3G network, the finding of water below all will make this a truly interesting town for the years to come.
6 out of 10 fastest growing economies in the world is south of Sahara.  The future is happening here, but for many of us ignorantwazungus we have not managed to look beyond the the Safari – Zanzibar – Poverty stereotypes of Tanzania.  It is time to change that perception and to allow for some of our views to be turned upside down, just as the story of the Baobab tree tells us.
“When God created the Baobab tree he created a tree that was of such exquisite beauty, so when the Devil passed by he got so enraged that he pulled the tree up and put it down again, upside down.”
The world is changing, and we need to change our images of this world in order to create a desired destiny.  So welcome to a new world,  Welcome to Tanga, Tanzania, Welcome to your own future.
With this, I wish you all the best for a 2013 where dreams can be fullfilled.  And when we encounter hardship, we can allow us to accept it with stoity, and trust that this is just another step to a richer life
We are all in this together.

Ok, so why am I here? And what am I doing?

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No, this is not about technology, even though what you see is the fibre optic internet connection at Handeni Folk Development College that was made possible thanks to sponsorship by Leksand Folk High School in Sweden.
My short term purpose here is to start learning Swahili and to assist FDC in use of the technology of internet.
The underlying purpose is yet for me to put in concrete words and my first period here is about exploring the motivation behind my 10 visits to Tanzania since 2007.
I know that since a long time my purpose of work has been around creating spaces to connect people and the company name MetaSpace reflects this desire. But I have yet to find out how this idea can be transformed into tangible products and services, and one could say that I am exploring Metaspace to develop my own business.
However, I know one thing: That I want to be out of developing this part of Tanzania, Tanga, as a place where people want to come to Connect, Combine & Cocreate ideas, learning, experiences and dreams.
I will be around here more or less the coming year combined with periods in Europe.
So here from Tanga Region we say: Karibu Tanzania. Welcome. And if you are thinking about a trip to Tanzania, please let me know.
There is so much more here than just Zanzibar and Serengeti.

Endings and beginnings.

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To use a cliche. This is the first day of the rest of a life. I will start this day by going to the Catholic church here in Handeni.
And by this I also use the WordPress Android app for the first time.
I am grateful for what is happening around me right now.
Asante sana. Thank you all.

Grand premiere for MetaSpace Walks in Stockholm

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Today was the first time for a MetaSpace explorational in Stockholm.  Thank you Johanna Nordström.  We announced it as a Facebook event, and today was the big day.  Three brave pilots showed up:  Sousou, Kina & Liv.  With Johanna we were five to explore a journey with three themes.

  • The Journey.  We started with the commuter boat Emily where the captain Micke greeted us welcome and told the story about the small ship that started as a car ferry a long time ago.  The rest of the 30 minute journey was spent alone.  After debarking from the ship we walked in pairs, sharing thoughts around our journey.
  • To the top of Hammarbybacken.  There are many ways to the top, but only one top.  What questions arise on the way to the top
  • Getting lost in the forest.  Then Nacka natural reserve starts at the bottom of the slope.  Venture into the forest and explore the feeling of getting lost.
The experience of exploring your mind using the place and all your senses has a great impact.  We were using the following tools when we gathered to share.
  • The analog Ipad.  A plexiglass board which we use for collaborative notes.
  • Marker pen.  Each person has her own marker pen
  • The Maasai talking stick.  We used it to ask for the word, when someone wanted to talk.
  • A camera.  Capturing the drawings on the analog Ipad, and the process.
This MetaSpace walk took three hours.  From eight to eleven in the morning.  Lets wait to hear what the participants have to say.

A flow of events that can leave you somewhat lost

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Stockholm. Home. Lost.

Today is like a migraine without headache.  The weeks that passed are a blur in the moment.  So where have we been?

Rafael ole Moono arrived from Tanzania on Sunday April 22.  Next day we left for Belgium and the World Appreciative Inquiry Conference in Ghent.

Six days in Ghent of lectures, reconnection with friends, new connections, workshops.  Late evenings with Belgian beer.  And then our workshop on Saturday April 28.  A little more than 20 people came, and it was an amazing experience to take the people in the room to the Water hole, the Mangrove Tidal Swamp and the Maasai village of Nanyogie.  The feedback we got was truly encouraging and let us know that we are on the right track

Back to Sweden on April 29th we stayed with the friends Elisabet Wollsén and Tommy Kvarnlöf outside Flen.  Celebrating the pagan spring festival of Valborgsmässoafton at April 30th with other friends as well was quite an experience.  And two farm visits was also amazing.  The Kings Cows at Stenhammar Estate and the cow milk robot at Flassbro Gård gave new perspectives to our discussions about Maasai cattle.

Oslo, Norway….  Promotion tour for the leadership journey co-arranged by the Norwegian Communication consultancy Axxept and Tanga International Competence Centre

 

Meetings with the Norwegian Federation of Enterprizes, interview with Aftenposten and a lecture for an Executive Masters class in PR and Strategic Communication at the Oslo School of Business..  Rafael is a brilliant speaker, and the meetings was really fun.

Back to Sweden.  Now up to Leksand Folkhögskola and the dairy at Grådö.  With Leksand we have collaborated to sponsor Handeni Folk Development College with the first public Internet Access points in Handeni.  Rafael spoke to the students and then we had a great discussion with the Anki Gullback, Alf Wigren and Camilla Mattsson about future plans.

Next day off to Milko Grådö who has now become Arla Grådö through a merger.  So now this dairy is part of one of the largest dairy companies in the world.  Here we met with “Milko-Bertil” – Bertil Wennberg who is running a number of micro dairy projects in Tanzania.  One project is to provide these dairies with equipment that is no longer used in the production at Grådö.  Below Rafael & Bertil is inspecting milk tanks

Well, after writing this, confusion has given way to direction.  Now out for another great meeting.

 

Metafari Day 0 – Landing (not) in chaos

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Yesterday was day 0 of this week that has taken Rafael to Stockholm. After moments of doubt and despair managing the VISA bureaucracy for a Tanzanian citizen going to Sweden Rafael arrived in Stockholm with Qatar Airways on Sunday, April 22.

The main reason for the journey is to present a workshop on Metafari on the World Appreciative Inquiry Conference 2012 in Ghent, Belgium.  As I am writing this we are on the bus to Stockholm Skavsta Airport.  So this post will connect to the last meeting we had in Tanga on April 1 and to the first meeting we had here in Europe after Rafael had landed.

On the picture above is

  • Ruth Nesje, founder of Tanga International Competence Centre (TICC)
  • Chiku Gallawa, Regional Commissioner for Tanga Region
  • Rashid Mwanyoga, Regional Director of Tanga for Tanzania Tele Communication Limited (TTCL)
  • Rafael ole Moono.  (you know him)

We had this meeting to talk about plans for the future of business oriented community development and other important issues.

And below you can meet Rafael together with Nils Hannertz, founder of Tipforce – a consultancy with a mission to facilitate change, enabled by technology.  We talked about the fundraising dinner Nils is so generously organizing to support a project to bring solar powered light and phone charging to 40 nurses and teachers in a pilot project in Handeni district.

We are on a path to connect communities, people and ideas, to combine in new and innovative ways, in order to create sustainable change for the communities we are involved in, and connected to.

This week will be a Metafari in itself. Tonight we will land at our waterhole in Ghent.  That will be a time to explore why we came there.

 

 

 

The tide

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I am more and more getting in sync with the tide and becoming aware of the highs and lows.  Today, the morning high tide was at 05:48.  I have set the alarm but wake up earlier.  The cooler morning air is refreshing, even though the thermometer at the receptions says 28.6 C

The tide is still coming in when I arrive at the little beach by Saidi’s workshop, the Nautic.  The current is moving slowly, slowly from the sea, so the tide is still on its way in.

Sunrise behind the clouds.  A sense of stillness, with birdsong when you open your ears.   The water is welcoming, and the pool is wide and still.  Everywhere water.  I try to find different positions to take some good picture, but the feeling is difficult to capture in images.  The experience is so much greater.

“Come in.  Welcome, Karibu” says the water.  I enter and am greeted by the cool and gentle salt water.  The gentle current takes me drifting slowly inland.  Slowly, slowly the current come to a stop.  I discover that the “stop” is only a few minutes.  Almost unnoticeable and yet immediately the direction switches and water is starting to flow out towards the ocean.

The Metafari program for the day of the tide is taking shape.  The low tide will be a walk heading out towards the ocean and the sandbanks.  We will start about half an hour before low tide and walk in silence.  It will be muddy and hot and some kinds of shoes are required.  The landscape will shift as we walk through mangrove bushes and trees, crossing small water pools and then reach the ocean where the sandbanks stretch out past the mangrove.

Some 5,5 hours later in high tide this is a water landscape, so we will explore it by boat.  We will start our high tide journey by walking through the tidal landscape between the Centre and the fishing village, which is covered with water only on an hour or so at the highest level of the tide. At other times this is just a sand plain where thousands of small crabs are filling it with life.  At the fishing village we will embark on a boat and slowly move with the tide as it flows in and enter the most inner parts of the tidal landscape before coming to a still, and then gently returning with the tide back to where we started our journey

This is a day of exploration of the high and low.  We will use silent reflection, journal writing, story sharing and dialogue to make sense out of the experiences from the tidal landscape.  The imprints in our minds will stay long after this journey has come to an end, and the photographic images of this day will be useful tools for us when we need a reminder that after low tide there is always a high tide coming again.

A MetaSaga morning walk in Athens with some amazing discoveries

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I find myself in Athens (how this happened is a long story).  I connect with Ann Shacklady Smith at breakfast and we decide to go out in Athens to do a Metasaga and see what the city wants to say to us.

Ann picks the first Metasaga spots.  The house that is enclosed in the bougainville.  The church that is enclosed in scaffolding hiding the transformation to become renewed to what it once was.  The statue of the priest, and the open arms of welcoming, but is this someone who can be trusted?

We set out with a new idea.  Lets walk in silence and see where the path leads us.   And it leads us to the Church of Metamorphosis up in Plaka.  We are watching in silence as an old man rises up from a stone bench, picks up a key ring, open the doors and invite us to the church.  As we enter he goes through the routine of lighting the candles and preparing the small chapel for visitors. We say nothing, just being there in silence.

- Let’s go downwards to continue our exploration

As we start to walk, suddenly this black dog appears and will follow us all the way back to our hotel.  We pass a sign saying Sissifos which gives us the sentence  ”Metamorphosis of Sisyphos”.  Maybe that one day it is possible to find a way to push that stone up to the top and find rest.

Coming back into commercial Athens our road is blocked by another old church.  We stop to reflect and enjoy the orange tree with all the fruits hanging there to be picked.  Our guide, the black dog, wants to be in the picture before we move on towards the future.  Ann will go to New Zealand on Saturday, and I will go back to Tanzania on Sunday.

And the morning exploration becomes a wonderful metaphor for how life is there for us to discover, and that guidance and support is there for us when we need it.

Please join our Metasaga walk in the image story below.

When God created the Baobab tree……

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When God created the Baobab tree he created something of such exquisite beauty that when the devil passed shortly afterward he lost his temper and became absolutely furious.  The Devil could not stand to see such beauty.  It was unbearable to him.

So he took a firm grip around the Baobab trunk, pulled it up from the earth and put it down with the roots up.  Then he walked away with a grim smile.  Maybe this is also why the Baobab is not really a  tree, because the trunk and branches are not wood, they consist of fibre. Maybe the devil crushed to wood and made it to fibre in that vicious act.  After that, the Baobab is one of the most remarkable beings in Africa.

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