Dear guests, dear friends,

The Spanish foundation „Fundación Canaria Antroposófica en Lanzarote“ can certainly be called unique on Lanzarote and the Canary Islands. The founders, Lilo Felk and Enrique Winzer, took their life's work out of private funds and made it available as a non-profit foundation to promote anthroposophical initiatives. In this way they laid the foundation for everything that has been built up, promoted and used by many people in the last decades: the biodynamic cultivation of the finca, the cultural, healing and meeting centre in the Centro with the anthroposophical working group and the Christian community, the healing treatments in the therapy house, the Waldorf kindergarten and the Waldorf school initiative on Lanzarote.

In the founding and development years there were many ups and downs, personnel and economic challenges and the busyness of everyday life, where some content had to give way to pragmatism. But valuable places, spaces and opportunities were created that gave important and decisive impulses to many people and established friendships and long-lasting relationships.

Nevertheless, in recent years many guests have increasingly emphasised the need for further development of the range of services, quality and customer orientation. The Corona crisis with the forced closure from March to September 2020, the collapse of the majority of tourism activities and since then a year of crisis management have finally led the Centro into an existential crisis and make a new beginning as inevitable as it is challenging.

This goes hand in hand with the retirement of those responsible in the Foundation, Centro, Therapy House and for cultural activities already mentioned in the last newsletters. To mention it again with special thanks for the work done, in some cases over decades: the tasks of Wolfgang Nott, (Managing Director Centro), Robert Schmid (President Fundacion/Foundation), Dr. Nikolaus Butin (Head Physician in the Therapy House) and Barbara Wiesner (Cultural Officer) in particular have to be taken up or filled with new personnel. In the next newsletter we will present the changes in the staff, bid a fitting farewell to some, pay tribute to others, including the active voluntary supporters, and warmly welcome others.

In order to take the lead in shaping the upcoming complex transformation process, a team came together in the summer that will form the Foundation's Board of Directors in the future. We will develop the process with the involvement of local people and guests and accompany its implementation: 

Michael Dackweiler, married, father of three children, grandfather of 9 grandchildren. Worked for many years in the worldwide anthroposophical curative education movement (village community Lautenbach, co-founder and leader of the village community Tennental, on the board of the German Federal Association and the Council for curative education). After his retirement, he continues to work as a coach and companion for colleges and teams in curative education and education. Work weeks with staff in December 2020 and February 2021 on Lanzarote and in the context of anthroposophical university work on Lanzarote.

Lisa Hugger lives and works in Germany and (increasingly) on Lanzarote as an independent project developer for communal forms of living. Married, mother of a grown-up son. She has implemented numerous community projects in Germany as a project manager and done consultancy work in organisational development, including various anthroposophical initiatives and organisations (kindergarten, schools, social work of the CG NRW). Several years on the board of the trias foundation (soil-ecology-living).

Mikaela Nowak, mother of 2 children and married, has lived on Lanzarote for 8 years. Having been born and raised in Bolivia, she has numerous experiences abroad and in different cultures, including a three-year stay in Cameroon. She studied and worked in Germany, most recently for the Association for Education and Cultural Dialogue in Stuttgart. Lanzarote is her her chosen home and base, as it attracts people from a wide range of cultures. Closely connected with the local Waldorf kindergarten and Waldorf school initiative, she is a member of the anthroposophical working group. Mikaela Nowak will coordinate the cultural work for the Foundation and Centro in the future, having already been involved and worked here on a voluntary basis in the past.

Thomas Gädeke, married, 2 children. After several years in charge of human resources development at a bank, he has been managing director of Dorf Seewalde in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany) since 2002 - a rural cultural centre comparable in many respects to the Impulse on Lanzarote, with the foundation and development of several areas of work, education and life: Curative education, Waldorf school, tourism/meeting, medicine, biodynamic agriculture, Christian community etc. He has been known for many years as a guest and is well connected with the anthroposophical institutions on Lanzarote.

We approach this demanding task and the collaboration with staff and guests with joy and respect.

On the current situation and the tasks ahead

Because the Centro is no longer able to finance its operations during the crisis due to low booking figures, a large part of the staff has been on short-time work since spring 2020.

Since the permitted reopening in autumn 2020, operations have been maintained at a low level and the continuation of business has been secured so far - thanks to the special commitment of the remaining staff and a highly commendable personnel, partly also due to the financial commitment of those responsible.

The restaurant, which had only hired new staff shortly before the crisis, has since been able to maintain operations and contributes to the cultural programme with self-initiated events. Shopping in the organic food shop is also possible again.

For the guests, the otherwise appreciated cultural activities were not permitted, or could only be carried out to a limited extent. This meant that the central element of encounter was at least severely restricted and still is to some degree; even the reception could no longer be open to the extent it used to be. Beyond the clear restrictions, however, the experience of the island, of sun, wind and water, in an otherwise rarely known tranquillity, predominantly far away from the stress of Corona at home, was very beneficial. The necessary measures for entering and leaving the country were and are a nuisance, but with the support of the Centro, they can be managed well.

In view of the emerging "winter" in Central Europe and the very low pandemic figures on the Canary Islands, the above is particularly true at present. The booking figures for November have risen encouragingly, so that the cultural programme is also taking off.

Our team is in the process of gaining an overview of the situation and the various operational areas, of the figures, the occupancy rate, the guest needs, the staff arrangements, the applicable internal and external rules and regulations - and last but not least: also of the situation of the buildings and outdoor areas, the flats, the finca, etc., with regard to current and future need for action, to name but a few.

To manage this, we are in intensive exchange with each other and with the staff, also beyond personnel meetings and a summer working week on Lanzarote, mostly in online conferences.

Since October, Mikaela Nowak has been employed by the Fundacion, initially for 20 hours a week for tasks on site, including a new supervision of the cultural programme.

At the end of November, the next reunion of the whole team on the island is scheduled, then Lisa Hugger will also be on Lanzarote continuously and will shape the transition together with Mikaela Nowak. This also marks the beginning of the decisive step of a conceptual design for the future: How can the anthroposophical impulse of the founders be taken into the future under changed ecological, economic and social conditions in the world but also with regard to individual guest needs of the next generation(s)?

It is already clear that this will, on the one hand, certainly also mean saying goodbye to some things we have grown accustomed to, but hopefully also and even more an intensification and viability, on the other hand. Many aspects have to be taken into account, not least what sustainable tourism of the future can look like and with how we can contribute to it.

A central motive will be the preservation and expansion of the Centro as a place of therapy on an anthroposophical basis with its special qualities for social encounter and regeneration in the healing climate of Lanzarote. Networking and anchoring on the island itself and, if possible, clearly beyond the hitherto dominant central European focus, are also among the central motives of a future development.

As guests and friends of this impulse on Lanzarote we ask you to contribute

• by making numerous bookings in the near future to treat yourself to a holiday in the special light- water-fire atmosphere of the island, helping to stabilise the Centro economically in difficult times. We are aware that not everything will be as we would ideally like it to be at the moment - in just a few weeks of working together we have already gathered a multitude of ideas and some acute need for action! But this naturally takes time and resources, and we don't want to promise too much too quickly. Since actions speak louder than words: feel free to warm up to our little surprises for our guests on site!
• Even though you may not be able to visit us on the island in the near future, you can contribute to the future by sharing your experiences with the Centro, the inspiring as well as the perhaps difficult ones - and then above all your suggestions and wishes for the future.
• And thirdly, you can support by approaching competent people in your environment to apply and work in the Centro in the future for the above-mentioned tasks and encourage them to get in touch, or simply by motivating people in your environment to book a holiday.

The current offer

In this year's autumn/winter season, the flats in the Centro and on the Finca are available for your bookings.
The restaurant offers a regional menu as well as vegetarian and vegan cuisine.
We continue to offer treatments and therapies, and the artistic courses in the therapy house also take place.
The house is filling up with cultural activities and life again! We are happy to be able to offer weekly eurythmy again. We also have people among the guests who enrich evenings with their lectures, for example, on texts by Christian Morgenstern or the seven healing substances of the bee.
We again have various book readings, a course on calligraphy and various painting courses. A film evening and a poetry evening are scheduled, and with a practical introduction to the Japanese short poem, you will be able to get to know Haiku.
The covered seating area by the therapy house benefits from the approximately monthly "Velada Musical", which roughly means "Night with Candlelight and Music". It is organised by Belén Álvarez and brings young islanders and our guests together.
On the finca, the patches are prepared for sowing. A regular guided tour takes place weekly with Birgit Otto.
Seminars by Frank and Inessa Burdich are currently taking place with well-attended talks. In addition to good food, the restaurant continues to offer a platform to musicians from the island and has meanwhile developed into a meeting place for people living here.

Looking to the near future, we will be able to maintain this trend: On the first weekend of December, we are planning a small Christmas market with up-and-coming island artisans and music at the restaurant. Over the Christmas period, the Swiss musician Adolf Zinsstag will accompany us. On his Thomastik violin he will play solo sonatas by Bach, among others, on six evenings, and in the mornings he will instruct creative work on the Christmas signs. For the Christian Community, Friedhelm Zimpel will celebrate the consecration daily from 25 December to 6 January. There will also be a spiral of lights with musical accompaniment in the hall. We will welcome the New Year with a matinee by pianist Natalia Nikolayeva. More programme are still in the making. Please have a look at our online calendar of events, which we keep updated.

You can reach Mikaela Nowak as the contact person for our cultural programme and as a contact for the whole team, especially for your future suggestions, by phone: 0034 928 516 958/ 0034 650 907 064 between 8:30 and 12:30 on weekdays and by email: cultura@centro-lanzarote.de.

So much for the brief insight into the exciting and challenging situation of the Foundation and Centro on Lanzarote. We look forward to your feedback, suggestions and support for the future, see you soon.

Yours
Thomas Gädeke, Mikaela Nowak, Lisa Hugger, Michael Dackweiler

Centro Antroposófico | www.centro-lanzarote.de | info@centro-lanzarote.de

Our reception can be reached by telephone as follows: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 9:00am to 14:00pm (Local time) at: +34 928 51 28 42. Outside these hours the answering machine is activated.
As usual, we can also be reached by email: info@centro-lanzarot.de or by contact form on our website.

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