Inspiration

Here’s how my father tells the story:

“The year is 1998. I went to work one day and when I returned to the apartment we were renting for $280/month, there was no one home. I called your mom and she said we moved!!! Where? I asked. “

“To our house,” my mother replied.

“Which house???? There are no doors, no windows, uneven floors and no gate.”

My mother said “those $280 dollars will help add a couple of windows and doors every month.”

25 years later, that house is now a three storied apartment building. It’s an economic resource paving the way for self-determination.

What could be true after 25 years of investment in Aurora?

Growing up, the space pictured below was a family mini golf center. It’s located next to Bicentennial Park and the Aurora Hills Golf Course. The space has been vacant for decades. We want to invest 25 years to renovate and rejuvenate the land as a sustainable community-owned marketplace of innovation.

 The Grove

is a spiritual center "as within, so without...as above, so below". It is that center inside all of us we retreat to after much suffering. It is where we discover the golden lotus which unfolds 1,000 blessings. The seat of our soul. It is also not just a metaphor but a vision to manifest.

The Grove is a 3rd space. It is a physical location grounded in nature offering inter-generational healing via education, art & culture, and entrepreneurship that nurtures the soul of our community. This is the non-profit arm of our work. We are currently fiscally sponsored by CNDC. They provide back-office supports. We focus on the impact.

Design Principles

Biomimicry: We learn from and mimic the strategies found in nature to solve design challenges.

Intergenerational: The great oak shades the young violet. We know there is power when young and old grow together.

Play: Through play, we take risks and we discover who we are. Play is the most active form of learning as it unites the mind, body and spirit. “What we learn with joy, we never forget.”-Sanghamitra Bhattacharya

Community Ownership: Community land ownership models lead to tangible economic, environment, social, and civic benefits.