Introduction
There are a number of innovative ecological communities that now exist around the world and serve as models for how to build successful sustainable communities but none is as famous as the now-legendary Damanhur. The story of Damanhur is a modern tale of the triumph of human creativity, responsibility and vision over incredible odds. It is a model eco-community that was founded in the Italian Alps in 1975 through the visions and dreams of its founder, Oberto Airaudi, also known as Falco or Falcon. It is considered a eco-society, a federation of 1,000 with their own sustainable food production, currency and culture.
Following Gaia Educations 4 Pillars to a healthy ecological community, it is an intentional eco-community firmly grounded in ethical and spiritual values that recognizes the preciousness of human and cultural diversity. From that firm humanistic and spiritual grounding of it’s community members comes the solidarity required to turn such a grand vision into a reality. In a successful ecocommunity, artistry is one of the most important elements to inspire the feeling of sacredness of life. The amazing artwork of the Damanhur community continue to create a spirit of sacredness within the community which provides its members with a feeling of sanctity and provides the most powerful cohesive force. In 2005 it was recognized by the United Nations as a model of sustainable society, an example for the future and a seed of a culture of peace that can inspire change in the world’s economic and social systems.
It is presently a federation consisting of a thousand inhabitants thats is a social experiment, a laboratory for the future of humanity. It is a marvel in construction and art, a truly astounding creation now considered one of the wonders of the world. Perhaps even more astounding than the physical construction itself is the proof that a small group of dedicated people working in harmony can manifest such a feat. For decades, a determined band of like-minded visions built what can only be described as one of the most beautiful modern structures of mankind. The group toiled secretly building a series of underground temples that testified to the beauty of human life. This complex of temples was modeled after the pyramids secret labyrinths and passageways but the architecture is more like Italian Rennaisance.
The story of Damanhur’s origin is the story of one man’s vision, which came to him in a dream. This communities hope is to inspire other intentional communities to do even better than what they have done….a tall order! The residents live in nuclear communities, choosing their “families”. Some families are specialists in alternative energy, others in education. All combine to contribute to the entire community.
Their ideal is to prove that Nations are obsolete and to promote a vision of a planet in which all beings feel they are part of the same human family.
The Temple of Mankind
This is the central space where art is taught, explored and performed, a place of prayer, whatever that may mean. The temples are built underground because of the founders belief that the energy lines that connect the earth to the cosmos (the synchronic lines) meet underground. The temples were built in secret because there were no permits to allow such building at the time.
The story of how the site came to the attention of the local police reveals the ugly side of human nature but also the triumph of love and beauty. A former member tried, unsucessfully to blackmail the community by threatening to expose them unless he was paid a large sum of money. The community refused and he promptly followed through on his threat by contacting the local police. They came but could not find the entrance because the maps given to them were old and out of date. The police then threatened to blow up the entire mountain unless the entrances were revealed. This pressured the community to reveal the entrances. The police chief entered with a threat of destroying the “cult” but after he viewed the temples and came out, he was in tears. In time, he became a great friend and champion of the community.
Selfic Technology
There are many types of research conducted at Damanhur. One of the most important is called Selfic technology, which Damanhur researchers claim is modeled after ancient texts and is a type of technology which harnesses field energy to produce measureable physical effects. This idea of unobserved energies is the foundation for the entire community. The researchers claim they have been performing research for over 20 years based on synchronic lines, energy channels that cross the planet and which influence living beings. The various devices they construct are various configurations of conductors and glass tubes filled with distilled liquids and their claim is that it can interact with these fields to influence human health like menstrual pain in women, restoring energy in sleep, improve memory.
Selfic Fields and Medicine
The Hall of Spheres is where the earth’s synchronic lines are said to converge. Damanhurians say that many energy channels intersect at this point and leave as well. Their medical system is based on field energy existing in space and having an influence in our bodies. The fulltime researchers are developing is highly pragmatic and based on real physical effects, claims Falcon, the founder of Damanhur. A Damanhurian doctor demonstrates the use of one of these constructed devices, a needle which influences energy flow in the body and whose field effect is dependent on the distance from the tip of the practitioners hand holding the needle-like instrument. There are also highly elaborately constructed instruments which the Damanhurians claim enable out-of-body astral travel experiences!
The Paintings
Damanhurians have built and decorated their world from 1978 to 1992. Now, they are entering a new phase of construction to continue to expand the temple structures. Among the most spectacular art in the temples is the painting. These paintings are considered a combination of alchemy and chemistry, whose combined purpose is to serve the telling of stories. The paintings are not just a visual experience, but also a olfactory experience, emitting smells as part of the story. Falcon, the founder, is a specialist at these paintings, which he claims, embeds a number of technologies that create the sensation the observer experiences when viewing them.
Talking Plants
In this last episode, we meet Lucertola Pepe, a Damanhurian who, with her nucleus / family of 14 is building an above ground eco-community named “Arboricolo” to cohabitat with trees in a harmonious tree house community. Their social community takes place in the trees, not the ground. Each member of the community lives in a small treehome with a living space and a bathroom and there is one large central communal space, a 3 storey building where the main community activities and socializing is done. The living spaces have a functional/living split design with an office on one side and the bedrooms on the other. Bridges interconnect the individual homes.
There has been 30 years of ongoing research on plants and their lives, how to communicate and interact with them. A Damanhurian invention allows plants to create music. The electrical potential between the leaves and the roots produces a signal which is mapped to a synthesizer to produce music triggered by plants. At first, these plants produce very simple signals but as the are exposed to other human musical stimulation, begin to produce more complex music that is dependent on the stimuli they were exposed to. They even bring plants which have been trained to close proximity with untrained plants and the untrained ones quickly become entrained to produce complex signals. Lucertola also claims that plants communicate telepathically with humans and are especially sensitive to emotions and the color orange.
The Construction of Damanhur
The Damanhur Youtube page
Virtual Tours of the Main Temples
- Click on the images below to go to the Temples page
- Click on the one of the 7 halls you would like to tour ( links below the main image)
- Click on Virtual Tour (link above the main image)
- Enjoy the 360 Degree view of the hall!
