Biocultural Practice and Biomimicry Design at the BILD 501c3

Hi!

I'm Dr. Tamsin Woolley-Barker, an evolutionary primatologist, Biomimic, and author known for my research on baboon and human social organization.

I’m the Director and Founder of the Borrego Institute for Living Design, 501(c)(3), an innovative wilderness field school for proven Indigenous biocultures and strategies of native species in the remote Southern California desert.

In 2020, just as the pandemic began, I took on the role of Dean at Geoversity's School for Biocultural Leadership in Panama. Their 13,000 hectare cloudforest campus, with six species of primate including the two-legged variety, was a dream come true for me. Since I was very little I'd had the idea of a design school aimed at awakening people's connection to the Earth and all its wild and wonderful life, and here it was.

But the pandemic threw a wrench in that of course. No travel. No students. And then my favorite wilderness, the Anza Borrego State Park, closed to the public. I was pretty upset. I thought, maybe I could find a place to give Biomimicry workshops and retreats? And suddenly, there it was! A sacred wildflower and endangered desert bighorn sheep-filled wilderness, practically a State Park in its own right. It was for sale, and there was a buyer. It was slated to be an ATV track and industrial water facility.

It seemed like destiny, how could I refuse the call? With the help of a lot of amazing people, I was able to secure the Borrego Institute for Living Design! Thank you!

Now we have our 501(c)(3) and are actively seeking funds from family offices and granting agencies. We have a dynamite coalition coming together!

Did you know it was a felony for Native Americans to study their own sacred sites until 1978? It's true. The BILD is actively applying for funds with a coalition of friends including the Kumeyaay Community College Humanities Program to support a unique Living Design Field School for Kumeyaay, Cahuilla, and Cupa to renew the traditional ecological practices that enabled their success for 12,000 years. This effort is part of a larger initiative to restore watersheds and build climate resilience throughout the County with traditional expertise.

Here are some of the transformative educational programs we have planned in Biomimicry innovation (inspired by species adapted to life in their ecosystems over millions of years), Biocultural practice (shaped by and for life in these ecosystems over tens of thousands of generations).

If you like what we're doing, please consider donating! There is so much to do! By way of thank you for reading this far, please enjoy a free copy of my new book for leaders doing impossible things the way life always has! https://www.skool.com/your-teeming-transformation-8140

Thank you for all your support, and I hope to see you out here sometime soon.

Tamsin

https://BorregoInstituteforLivingDesign.org

Some of our Current Collaborators

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