What is Tamera?
Tamera is the name of a community founded in Portugal in 1995 by the sociologist and psychoanalyst Dieter Duhm, the theologian Sabine Lichtenfels and the physicist and musician Charly Rainer Ehrenpreis, who died in 2019. Today, this community consists of about 200 members who live and work together on a 140-hectare piece of land in the Alentejo north of the Algarve.
What did I think Tamera was?
We did not do much research before our trip to Tamera. In my mind, Tamera was a kind of ecovillage whose main concern is to live in harmony with nature and in a sustainable way; something that has always interested and attracted me. Even if this idea is certainly not entirely wrong, the core of cameras lies elsewhere.
The tour
Surprising for us at first was that there is no concrete road leading to Tamera. The last 3 km were on an unpaved rumble road to the Cultural Center, from where the tour should start. It is really very remote. We came from the still quite green Algarve. The landscape that passed us by in the Alentejo, on the other hand, seemed almost steppish: Scorched, strawy earth, very thirsty and dry-looking cork oaks and pines. However, as soon as we entered the Tamera countryside, the picture changed. Fruit and nut trees, full of fruit or already harvested, dominate the landscape. Since its inception, more than 20,000 trees have been planted here, according to the website.
We were 1 hour early and wanted to look around a bit first to pass the time until the tour started. However, we closed the open door of the superstructure immediately, because directly in front of it a (admittedly small) wild boar was looking for something to eat. Later we were to learn that a total of 20 wild boars live together in more or less harmonious unity with the community on the site and, while not destroying the herb map, have certainly had other vegetable crops on their conscience. These animals were also the reason why Uri, our guide on the tour, had given up his gardening craft of 5 years at some point enervated. Eva, the person in charge of the herb garden, on the other hand, has a deal with the pigs: she tells them where to open the ground and where not to trample. And the animals would respect this agreement. I tend to find this rather implausible, but living together with animals in unity and with respect for each other is a beautiful and honorable concern. Speaking of animals: Chickens also live in a mucked-out little caravan on the premises. Here the following “experiment” was started: There is a corner where laid eggs are not touched and instead are left for the chickens to hatch, at another corner laid eggs are used as feed for the animals living in Tamera and at a third place laid eggs are allowed to be eaten by the people living in Tamera. From a scientific point of view, the design of the experiment can certainly be optimized, but it’s a funny idea nonetheless, and you can probably find an egg at corner 3 from time to time.
After all the visitors had gathered, Uri, who has lived in Tamera for 16 years, started the tour with a circle of chairs: we were asked to say our names, where we were born, where we currently live and what we would like to heal. Uri himself wanted to heal the world from patriarchy; nature was mentioned, our hearts or relationships, liberation from fear, healing the world from capitalism. So far, so eso, but beautiful.
Water
The tour was divided into three sections: Water, Food and Energy. We learned that the community is 100% self-sufficient in this subarea due to its water retention landscape. As the principle was explained to us, the landscape is changed in such a way that artificial lakes are created, which, however, are not sealed to the ground with plastic tarpaulins, but merely compacted with clay. This is to prevent rainwater from seeking the quickest route back to the ocean, as it normally does. Rainwater is collected in these lakes and the percolating water enriches the groundwater, which in turn can be drawn from wells. The first of these lakes is currently almost dried up. The last few years have also been very dry in Portugal, but the system still works. Another lake, which they had built a little higher, probably never filled up – due to the weather, but not least because of planning errors. What the people in Tamera try to do are often (or always?) experiments that can go wrong. Uri described how the first lake helped change his own mindset and that of the community from a focus on scarcity to one of abundance. Such remarks remind me heavily of unserious self-help books and evoke in me above all the impulse to roll my eyes. This mindset-speak seems to me to suggest that people who lack something in their life (money, relationship, health …) could change all that if they only have the right mindset. Systemic causes of deficiency are, of course, disregarded. At the same time, I can understand that the success of this lake facility has particularly fueled euphoria and confidence in one’s own actions in Tamera. And they were definitely able to solve the lack of water in Tamera.
Food in Tamera
Afterwards we were taken to the community garden where all kinds of vegetables are grown. According to Uri, before the pandemic, Tamera had 15 times as much vegetable acreage, but its operation was dependent on the help of seasonal visitors (so-called work-studies). No one could visit Tamera during the pandemic peak periods starting in 2020, so the garden areas were reduced. Since then, only, but still, 5-10% of the food comes from Tamera itself. The rest they try to get from organic farming from Portugal, as regional as possible (80% of the additional food needs) and where there is no other way, from other parts of the world (20%). Tamera has 5 communal kitchens where the residents can eat together but do not have to. The catering is vegetarian-vegan. Dead animal does not go anywhere on the table unless a person absolutely needs animal protein due to a medical condition. In addition to the communal kitchens, there is a pantry where everyone can take what they need for their daily needs, free of charge. Only more expensive foods such as bananas, avocado or chocolate have to be paid for via trust funds.
Speaking of the trust fund, there is also a bar where people can get together in the evening to share a beer. This also works through a trust fund. Strictly speaking, however, it tends not to work: an audit in a previous year had shown that €10,000 was missing from the cash trust fund calculated over the entire year. The missing money was then raised again through fundraising in the community. In general: money. How does this society actually support itself? These questions came up again and again and could be asked by us after the tour and were also answered openly. More about that later.
Energy
The last stop on our tour was the Solar Village. On a 240 square meter area, experiments are being conducted on how a community of 50 people can live self-sufficiently in terms of energy beyond photovoltaics. For example, Scheffler mirrors are used for cooking, solar water pumps and Stirling engines, but also self-produced biogas. I find it all as exciting as it is technologically complex and difficult to understand, so I have to refer you to Tamera’s very detailed website for more information.
All of Tamera has not been off-grid in terms of energy for a few years and has connected to the national stromentz. Surplus electricity generated by photovoltaic systems on the land is fed into the grid. If the self-generated electricity is not sufficient, the missing amount is taken from the grid. In total, Tamera produces a remarkable 80% of the required energy itself.
Unfortunately, cooking with solar energy doesn’t work so well in the camper, so we rely on bottled liquid gas. To control their filling level, we have found a great option with the Mopeka Gas Sensor. Take a look at the article as well.
Questions
After each tour segment, Uri had us ask questions about the topic we had just discussed. Quite quickly, however, it became clear that there were other questions that had less to do with the life organization of the community and more to do with the why. Why exactly did they get together in 1995 and what do they do there all day? In addition, the financial topic was a dominant one: How does Tamera actually finance itself?
So at the end of the tour, back at the Cultural Center, there was a closing opportunity for a good half hour to get rid of the most urgent questions.
Finance
According to Uri, Tamera needs 1 million € per year, which they finance mainly through seminars, (online) courses and donations. For example, the 6-night, 7-day Tamera get-to-know-you week with full board and lodging in shared rooms starts – as of 7/2023 – at a proud 690€; those who earn well are asked to pay up to 1140€.
In addition, there is the possibility to arrive as a work-study in the period between April and November and help in the guest kitchen, where food is cooked for guests of Tamera. It is expected that work-studies stay at least 5 weeks, work 5-6 days a week 4-5h in the kitchen and pay 20€ per day. For an organization critical of capitalism like Tamera, this is an absurd number, in my opinion: People are supposed to use their labor for 4-5 hours a day and then pay something for it? I think that’s ridiculous.
At the same time, all permanent members of the community are paid a monthly allowance of up to 200€, from which they can finance all avocado or other going-out needs, if they wish. Some also leave Tamera for a few weeks each year to work elsewhere and earn some extra money for their life in Tamera. In addition, there is a kind of community healthcare, which pays for visits to a dental clinic, for example. What is unclear, however, is what happens when someone develops a really expensive disease. It seems that for very expensive medical needs, the group does fundraising to pay for it. In any case, they do not seem to be members of the Portuguese health insurance system.
A typical day in Tamera
What does a typical day in Tamera look like?
- Breakfast: all for themselves in their core (-chosen) family
- 7:00 Godpoint: Here, one hour a day is spent talking about God – whatever the members understand by God. Or spiritual texts are discussed. Not all members take advantage of this offer, which, by the way, applies to all community activities in Tamera.
- 9:00-13:00 Work: each person has their own sphere of action.
- 13:00-14:00 Lunch in one of the communal kitchens.
- 14:00-16:00 Siesta, which can be used for naps, making love and other things.
- 16:00-19:00 Community work: confidence building exercises (more on this below).
- 19:00-20:00 Dinner in a communal kitchen
- Afterwards: casual get-together at the bar or other leisure activities
Other joint activities
There are also weekly or monthly get-togethers, such as the Sunday matinee at 10:00 followed by brunch together. We were invited on the day of our visit to participate the following day. However, since we were not allowed to stay overnight on site and the journey was a bit tedious, we decided against it. A current work-study there told us that she had been to a matinee 2x so far, and once it was about water retention technology, so it was an educational talk, and the other time a woman spoke about her relationship with death. For the matinee, people gather in the auditorium, probably the largest straw bale house on the Iberian Peninsula. However, nothing is actually allowed to be built on the site and many members still live in caravans, yurts or tents, as the land is legally agrarian land. Currently, however, the community is in talks to legally transform the land so that even the permanent buildings already built can remain and, if necessary, new ones can be added in the future.
Every Monday, all those who like, gather at the 96-stone stone circle for sunrise. There is also a weekly Ring-of-Power mediation led by Sabine Lichtenfels: Here the meditators want to connect spiritually “with the holy alliance of life and with peace workers all over the world” (I want to roll my eyes again when I read something like that). And finally, the Tameranians come together weekly for the political café, where they learn and discuss news from around the world. LTE and WiFi g’s on the site, by the way, and at least at the work-studies we saw, smartphones were definitely present. But perhaps those who live there permanently consciously decide against the ultimate networking that a smartphone brings. I wonder how the news of the Russian attack on Ukraine last year was received and discussed in Tamera.
The big why
The aspect of why this community was founded was briefly touched upon at the beginning of the tour, but further details only came up gradually, among other things through the visitors’ questions. And although I was mainly interested in the ecological aspects of cameras, it was exactly here that it became exciting for me again, as I tend to quickly dismiss people who have more spiritual views on life and the world as esoteric cranks. So what a wonderful opportunity to challenge myself here and listen extra carefully. Uri summarized the history of the foundation by saying that Tamera was special precisely because the reason for its foundation was not spiritual or ecological, but above all political. Tamera is basically a peace movement: It began with a left-wing critique of the Vietnam War and a general rebellion against Western imperialism in the 1960s. The central question, which is still relevant today, emerged during the first joint project, the Bauhütte in the Black Forest (from 1978), where social conflicts in the group took up more space than anticipated. The question, and I think it’s a good and important question, is: “How can people live together in trust in the long term??” If this succeeds, there will be no more wars. Knowing this guiding question, the typical afternoon in Tamera also makes sense: trust-building exercises in the collective. The most important building block according to Uri is the Forum: Here 10, 20 or even all 200 people come together under the guidance of an experienced person. A volunteer stands in the middle of the room and shares something private that he or she might otherwise only tell friends, members of his or her own family, or therapists; the group then mirrors what it hears. This “social technology” creates a safe space that allows for connection, perspective taking, and true communication. I’ll be honest: Just thinking about the fact that such gatherings have been happening virtually every day for more than 30 years exhausts me. Do I think this is complete nonsense?: Absolutely not. On the other hand, how privileged are these people that they can allow themselves this permanent navel-gazing? Are they even aware of it? Criticism of capitalism and the decision for a “dropout life” should presumably make exactly that possible: Sufficient time to deal with the important things. But are these the right things that the people in Tamera deal with day in and day out? Am I perhaps even envious because they seem to have so much time to deal with themselves? I would like to answer the latter question in the negative and I even believe that one can occupy oneself too much with oneself. Uri, at least, was absolutely convinced of this method – if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have been living in Tamera for 16 years, I guess – and said this beautiful sentence:
“Truth needs containers – our Forum is one potential container.”
Uri
The core question of trust was joined by others in the course of time: Thus, Tamera was and is also much about how to heal the relationship between man and woman. Wanting to heal them presupposes that there is something generally broken in heterosexual relationships, which is what you seem to believe in Tamera. The prevalences of sexual violence, femicide, and psychological and physical violence (which, by the way, women also perpetrate!) in romantic partnerships in general seem to support this idea. The “love schools” held there are primarily about a political and spiritual perspective on love and sexuality. Jealousy is completely rejected and tried to be cured by “inner work”, because it is actually always an expression of fear, which should not really play a role in a love relationship.
By the way, the decision to procreate is not a private one in Tamera: The children are raised by the community, so the decision for or against having children is also up to the community. A radical way at first sight, but I find it better and better the longer I think about it: Whoever wants children, comes before society and expresses the desire and the need for a co-parent if necessary. Our guide has fathered three biological children with two different women this way, but lives in a permanent partnership with a man himself. Several generations live together in Tamera, and there is also an international school for children up to 14 (which is not yet recognized as such, and is therefore legally classified as homeschooling) on the grounds, which is also attended by children from the surrounding villages. For children, Tamera is a paradise, the perfect place to grow up. I believe that immediately. For higher education, the children leave Tamera and not all, but many, would return to the community at least temporarily after completing their education.
Sand in the gearbox? Current challenges in Tamera
Not everything is cheerful in Tamera, as Uri openly shared: “Tamera is in crisis, but we’re on our way out of it.” There are currently three major points of friction that occupy the community:
Gap between older and younger members
Years ago, he said, the social/spiritual institutions such as Meditation at the Stone Circle at Sunrise or Godpoint were always packed with people. There is no compulsion to attend these meetings and for some years now fewer and fewer have been coming there. Especially the younger ones stayed away.
Power Structure in Tamera
Traditionally, Dieter Duhm and Sabine Lichtenfels were (and still are) the head tastemakers. It is mainly thanks to them that Tamera exists at all. Uri said he came because of what Duhm and Lichtenfels created, not because of the two themselves. Accordingly, when Duhm and Lichtenfels die (Duhm is now 80 and Lichtenfels 68 and both seem to still be living in Tamera), the community will not look for new spiritual teachers but will rather organize itself in the direction of flatter hierarchies and circular sociocratic leadership and decision-making.
Lack of diversity and inclusion
99% of the people who live in Tamera are white. One of the reasons the community exists is to heal the romantic and sexual relationship between a man and a woman. For some years, however, voices have been growing louder that problematize this view as too narrow: Because yes, there are more than two genders and gender identities, and heterosexual is by no means the only sexual orientation out there.
Not everyone shares this opinion: There are still people on the ground who argue that Tamera has grown historically and deny potential systemic causes, which I find somehow inappropriate against the background of the critique of imperialism. In general, Tamera has discovered Wokeism for itself and this year, for the first time ever, offered an introductory week aimed primarily at people from the LGBTQIA+ scene. Wokeism, by the way, is an absolutely positive word in my world that means a view of the world worth supporting.
My conclusion to the visit
All of the questions we asked were answered openly and honestly – something we didn’t necessarily expect but took very positive note of. At the same time, I was especially interested in the ecological aspect of living together, as I had already feared that their spiritual views would rather repel or at least irritate me.
I was also touched by the attentiveness with which Uri dealt with our group of newcomers: He made sure that everyone remembered sunscreen, sun hats and enough to drink, after all, the sun was blazing and it was around 30°.
I found it remarkable that the actual core topics of what distinguishes Tamera were not addressed on their own, but were first brought out and discussed through questions.
As sweary as feared, the visit was then in the end not and much has impressed me strongly. There is certainly more content written on the website and in the books that Dieter Duhm and Sabine Lichtenfels sell in their own publishing house, which would again cause my eye-roll impulse. Not surprisingly, but still kind of sad to me, was the statement that Dieter Duhm takes a “critical” view of the Covid19 pandemic. And also references to a “morphogenetic field” can be found on their website. That’s when things get a bit chippy. I’ll spare you the details of this unscientific hokum. Such findings in turn make Tamera potentially dangerous in my opinion: Easily influenced seekers find a community that promises them healing and at the same time spreads pseudo-scientific content. And no, just because you call yourselves a research center doesn’t mean you’re doing real research. By the way, I am quite sure that people who live in Tamera or have visited it more extensively would reject all my fears as unfounded. They can and they should. I’m the last one to say my judgment is final. The best thing to do is to go there and see for yourself.
At the end
Why did I write this text: First, to contrast my perspective with the typical Love & Light perspective on such endeavors. What I could find online about Tamera was often very one-sided and, at least on its own website, too abstract and swashbuckling for my taste, even if it is generally worth a visit. Peace work? Heal the relationship between husband and wife? Connect in meditation in the stone circle with other peace workers around the world? What does all this mean, please? I still don’t know after our visit there, but now I have a better idea of what the people in Tamera actually do and especially why they do it.
I don’t want to bash Tamera and of course I couldn’t get a complete picture of this bunch in the 4 hours we spent there. Even though I shudder at the thought of having to pay there as a work-study as well, it’s certainly a way to be able to look even more into the workings and ideas of this community. So maybe I’ll just have to do that. But please do not bet on it. In addition, a work-study who also participated in the tour said that they are mainly among themselves and are not really in contact at all with the permanent residents there. When I hear something like that, I wonder all the more what this whole program is about.
Uri said he basically doesn’t handle money at all since he’s been living in Tamera. What he and his family need, they take from the communal kitchen and that’s it. This seems to me to be desirable, but at the same time it stands in stark contrast to the economic apparatus that Tamera is. Being able to endure cognitive dissonance is certainly a skill that should be better mastered in Tamera. I remind you that the community has been doing trust-building work for 30 years, but in one year they still lack 10,000€ in the bar trust fund, because at least some of the residents and guests do not honestly write down and pay for what they drink.
All members of Tamera see their life in the community as a laboratory, as an opportunity to try things out and do research: both in terms of social connections and technology. And that’s kind of pretty cool, too.
PS: By the way, about the difference between cults and communities, there is the following wisdom that I got from another visitor (thanks Lena!): In cults you get in very quickly, but difficult to get out again. For communities, it’s the other way around. At least this seems to indicate that Tamera is more of a community, because it is not easy to become part of the permanent residents.
Disclaimer
I am a scientist (psychology) in my main profession and probably much more skeptical than the average Tamera visitor. Nevertheless, I am very open to alternative models of life and love and was accordingly pleased to learn that Tamera allows curious people to visit 2x a month between July and October and offers a guided tour. Recently it was time again and we made the (surprisingly difficult) way to Tamera.
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