Some journeys begin long before you board the plane.

Four months ago, Megan Miao Tong — daughter of Michael, Plant Music’s partner who produces our plant music devices in China — left her factory and her family to go in search of ecovillages and intentional communities across her country. She found the Futures Community: a retreat center nestled in a lush green valley in central China, roughly halfway between Shanghai and the south of the country. A place far from the major cities, away from the noise, built by a visionary young entrepreneur in his mid-thirties who dreams — among other things — of creating an ecovillage.

That’s where it all began.

A place you don’t expect

The Futures Community is not quite what you picture when you hear the word “community.” It’s a center surrounded by mountains, with classrooms, villas, and spaces for meditation, yoga, coaching, and sound therapy. A place where teachers from around the world come to do residencies — some in exchange for room and board, offering classes, concerts, or artwork; others renting the spaces for their own retreats. Around 50 people live and work here on a stable basis.

Terrier, a Damanhurian with a deep passion for nature and plant music, arrived for a five-day festival — April 22 to 26, starting on Earth Day — dedicated to art, sustainability, and ecology. He introduced Plant Music, the tool that creates an immediate bridge between human beings and plants, and a perfect entry point with a culture so different yet so attuned to nature. Trees were planted on the hillside. The relationship between humans and nature was explored. And for the first time in China, a Damanhurian Spiral was built.

Why we build spirals around the world

At Damanhur, we believe the Earth is a living being, and that it is possible to communicate with her through energetic structures like spirals. Built with specific materials and according to the principles of Selfica science — the science of forms and energetic flows developed by our founder Falco Tarassaco — spirals are not simply artistic installations: they are tools for harmonizing the energy of a place, strengthening the bond between people and land, and creating nodes of connection in a global network of awakening. Every spiral built in the world is a node in this network, a concrete act of care for the planet. You can find out more at our Spirals initiative in this community.

The spiral that was already imagined

Four months ago, the owner of the center had drawn a spiral at the heart of his ecovillage vision. Two participants, independently of one another, had done something similar in the weeks before — one had sketched a spiral, the other had built one out of sticks for a personal ritual. Neither of them knew why. So when Terrier proposed building one, it was received with great openness.

The spiral was built on a hillside, in the community’s new development area, in a festive atmosphere filled with Chinese traditional songs and deep emotion. Those present were curious, open, and visibly moved by the energy of what they were building together.

Why we speak with plants

At Damanhur, the relationship with the plant world is an integral part of daily life. Using specific devices, we are able to translate the electrical variations detected in the leaves and roots of plants into musical signals. Each plant has its own language, its own sensitivity and its own response. Sharing this music with an audience is a way of remembering that we are not separate from nature — we are part of it. During the six workshops and concerts Terrier held over these days, people stopped, listened, and shared something that is difficult to put into words.

You can learn more about our relationship with Plants in this Humanitree Alliance initiative.

The right questions

Throughout the days, Terrier presented Damanhur to the community. People asked many questions — especially about community life at Damanhur, its history, and how an authentic way of living together is actually built.

Those are exactly the right questions, in our view. With joy, we witness these movements sharing our dream of a future built on small intentional communities.

If you’d like to organize an event with Damanhur in your country, get in touch with us here.

What would be the pillars of your dream community? Share in the comments!