Spaces of the Possible, Holidays to be lived and to be created

Want to ‘jardiner’your ‘possibles’, improve your French and meet and connect with French people in a simple and natural way? Jardiner ses Possibles is the place for you!
One of France’s best kept secrets, Jardiner ses Possibles lies upon the west coast of France, between Bordeaux an La Rchelle, not far from the Côte Sauvage, encamped upon a beautiful piece of wooded terrain ‘Entre Mer et Forêt’. Both a holiday and a summer university, a rich and unique adventure can be had by all here, filled with inventiveness, festivity, interiority... So, the famous French savoir-vivre !
The associative goal is to bring together those who wish to ‘tend their garden’ and share with tact, taste and passion.
Participants of all ages hail from every corner of the Earth, each carrying their unique personal history and one common intent: to improve their quotidien. ‘How can I free up my inventiveness and put it to better use?’ ‘What am I doing with what I have made of myself?’ These are the sort of questions one finds oneself asking in this magical place, where the limits to one’s ‘possibles’ are forever expanding.  

Opening dates for 2008
Spring: 8th to 23rd April
Summer: 1st July to 3rd September
Autumn: 25th October to 5th November
Happy new year : 26th december 5 th january

 

We rejoice in the fact that we were the first to develop approaches towards personal fulfillment in France by making them accessible to a greater number of people. L’Espace has remained an anthropological adventure that is decisive in the lives of many. Instead of proposing run-of-the-mill workshops, we have invented a vast platform of cooperation, arising from in situ experience and the free exchange of practice and know how. As in the beginning, everyone is invited to step out of the role of consumer in order to become an active participant and even a producer of activities. Throughout the years, this ‘action-research’ has gained in freedom, becoming a veritable backdrop woven from the large strands of the collective intelligence to hang behind the desires and talents we keep on centre stage.

Two strong ideas have guided us:

1. accessing the poetic basis of existence; our interior life and responsability (a construction site constantly under upheaval from our very first breath until our last). This happens via the quality of our silence, outlook and inspiration; in the way we experience our daily lives, appropriate our bodies, call ourselves into question, take measured risks, and offer ourselves moments of mingling and moments of withdrawal…
2. involvement in communal projects and the experiencing of intelligent, sensitizing holidays, where every participant recognizes their responsability in the smooth running of the household, helping to pour oil onto the cogs by giving time to collective chores, replacing insensitivity with feeling, and being vigilant in regards to security and the quality of social interaction.
3. Over and above the break of one’s holidays, the best results occur in the nourishing of harmonious and fertile ties with one’s close ones and at work, and in the success of one’s projects, be they simple or wild.

We are very happy to start 2008 with a unifying theme that will inspire our activities this year: Between the two: Exploring the world’s beauty and savours.
From 23 to 30 August, we will further this theme in the company of the great names associated with this subject.
The second Festival Art Présence Multi Arts, Multi Plaisirs, from 8 to 12 May will give a court or stage to artists and artisans, and to all those that would like to join them. More than forty artists, sculpters, musicians and writers will come together to propose workshops, exhibit their works and debate the affirmation: «art can mould the individual».

The Internet being used more and more frequently, we have chosen to favour both ecology and economy by putting the programme of activities on www.jardiner-ses-possibles.org. 00 33 143 393 697 - We’ll be happy to send you the progamme by mail on request.

                                                                                                  Bernard Maksoudian and Yves Donnars

Consult 400 new 2008 workshops directly on line/ www.jardiner-ses-possibles.org or ask for the programme to be sent to you by mail : info@jardiner-ses-possibles.org - 00 33 143 393 697

 

The associative goal is to bring together those who wish to ‘tend their garden’ and share with tact, taste and passion. The holidays offered by the association Jardiner ses Possibles are intended to give every opportunity to the development of talents thanks to the intermingling of emotion and technique, attention to detail and global vision, and an ability to articulate content, process and organisation. Between resignation and the illusionary hope of immediate happiness (the siren’s call of personal development and advertising), there lies another option: that of giving time to time and allowing one’s personal rythm to dance its own unique dance. By permitting ourselves to explore, invest and mature, we can arrive at a sense of our ‘I’ that is far deeper than our tiny habitual talkative ‘me’.
     Year after year, participants attest to having grown in self-affirmation thanks to a growing ability to stake out their boundaries, develop their personal ethics and rejoice in their creative freedom.

A regional, national and international point of encounter
The goal of the association Jardiner ses Possibles is to develop a sociable network for the sharing of skills, where each individual is both an apprentice and a person of ‘resource’ who contributes their building bricks to the construction of the other and the group.

History: The Pioneers
During the Easter holidays of 1977, a group of enthousiastic pioneering friends initiated a form of encounter that drew from different existential psychology techniques, including Rogers, Maslow, Perls and Berne amongst others. In the thirty years that have followed, this style of alternative holidaying has been continually redefined to integrate the pressures of modernity and the individual’s ever changing needs. By continually modifying its goals, ‘research action’ has attained clearer definition, broadened its public, diversified the number of its activities and deepened its self-questioning, whilst cherishing its fundamental friendly character.
If you would like to know more, ‘Espace du Possible, pour des vacances polyphoniques’ by Yves Donnar is the book to read!

Participative holidays
Live in harmony with your natural rythm whilst partipating in workshops and events.
Consult the workshop programme as well as the regular updating on www-jardiner-ses-possibles.org and the on-site notice board.

Convivial participation in chores
Everyone is called upon to participate in the ongoing workshop of dealing with the day to day upkeep of the site. Playing the game involves giving 4 weekly hours of one’s time to an activity of one’s choice: decorating and beautifying the site, cleaning tables, washing up, welcoming new arrivals, etc. What better way to integrate and make friends?

The social spirit
But things should never be taken for granted, for the garden is fragile! The association offers a springboard from which exchange and sharing can happen, but success depends upon each and everybody’s implication, integrity and sensitivity. We are all responsible for ensuring the creation of an atmosphere based on mutual respect and good humour so that we can all feel at home.

The charter of savoir-vivre
The quality of the way in which we relate to each other is fundamental. Our intuitive respect for each other’s needs, limits and freedom of movement is important, as is respect for French and European law, the confidentiality of each other’s private lives, observing the silence in sleeping areas between 10 p.m. and 9.30 a.m, being punctual for workshops, parking in designated areas only, reserving one’s non-provocative nudism around the swimming pool for the morning hours (ending at 2 p.m.), etc.
The signing of the charter at the beginning of our stay engages us, GUARANTEEING SECURITY AND FREEDOM FOR ALL.

Children
The kid’s house was conceived with our children’s needs in mind. The organisation of it is taken in charge by their parents, who remain entirely responsible for their welfare. The time given towards organizing activities such as painting, clay modelling, night games and storytime can be counted in the 4 hours weekly of community work.
The programme of activities is decided upon between the parents and the kids at 7 p.m. on Sunday and assured by all. Ideas welcome!

Teenagers
A lot of the music, dance and theatre workshops (amongst others) are open to teenagers over and above their own activities. Their own are conceived and decided upon by the teenagers themselves on Sundays at 9 p.m. and their parents (who remain entirely responsible for them) meet with them on Mondays at 7 p.m. to help them turn their ideas into reality. 

The newsletter and the website
The fortnightly newsletter put together by Jardiner ses Possibles is transmitted to all members by e-mail with a view to keeping them informed of workshops and activities taking place in France and elsewhere. Therefore, keep us informed of your news, workshops, programmes, likes and dislikes (shows, books, sights...), as well as your wants and offers by sending them to info@jardiner-ses-possibles.org. We will be happy to include them in our newsletter and place them on our website, www.jardiner-ses-possibles.org. Thanks!