The first visit one takes to Tierra can be a perplexing one.
First off, there are multiple centers that fall under the organizational umbrella: Tierra Learning Center, Tierra Retreat Center, and Tierra Village. All of these separate branches fulfill different purposes. On top of that, when you finally arrive at the village, you’ll actually only find one building. It’s not necessarily much of a village- yet. BUT, thanks to some new developments, that’s going to change in the not-so-distant future!
Sunitsch Canyon, LLC, the land management arm of Tierra, recently submitted a master building plan to Chelan County. Following the finished paving of our main road, this will allow us to construct more buildings here at Tierra Village. As we continue to expand!
In honor of this amazing development in Tierra’s journey to providing a community for people of all abilities to flourish, we want to highlight other inspirational organizations that have made a similar impact across the globe:
The first community under the L’Arche banner was actually founded nearly 60 years ago in Trosly, France. Upset by the way people with disabilities were being treated by institutions, Jean Vanier invited two men from one institution to come and live with him- forming the very first L’Arche community. He worked toward a goal of creating a world where people of all intellectual abilities celebrate life together, recognizing the unique value and gifts that we all have to offer.
It did not take long for this mission to spread, as a new chapter started in Canada only a few years later. Since then, L’Arche has flourished as a global community, with 154 establishments spread across nearly 40 countries worldwide.
In the same vein as L’Arche, Camphill communities strive to be drivers of social change when it comes to recognizing the inherent value of every person, regardless of their range of abilities. The project first started in Scotland, when a group of refugees who witnessed the mistreatment of people with disabilities in Nazi German developed a novel approach to raising children with special needs. As the popularity of the approach grew, the community was moved to a large property in Aberdeen, known as the Camphill House.
Nearly 80 years later, Camphill’s humanistic approach to growth has spread around the world, with 15 countries housing over 100 Camphill communities. The Camphill Foundation is a testament to the positive change we can recognize when communities are centered around recognizing and promoting human value.
When Tierra Village was in the idea phase, representatives toured L'Arche and Camphill communities. These groundbreaking initiatives have been influential in the growth of Tierra and we hope to one day provide the same level of inspiration to our community members.