Himdag Sanctuary

An acre of our land has been designated as Himdag Sanctuary.  Himdag (pronounced him-dug) is a word in the language of the nearby Tohono O'odham (The Desert People) Native Americans, which can be translated into English as "walking in balance," and much more.

By sanctuary, we intend a place where the land, the wildlife, and the human spirit are honored and protected.  It is a place where peace and quiet prevail.  A place conducive to a meditative state, where all non-violent religion and spiritual practices are honored.  It is an area where only foot traffic is permitted, machines are only used in special instances, and the amount and type of building is limited to natural, low-tech structures.

Besides being home to a few humans, it is also home to much wildlife.  If you are quiet and respectful of their habitat, here you can see and hear, for example, a family of quail, a roadrunner, cottontail rabbits, prarie dogs, many types of birds, reptiles, insects, bufo toads and tree frogs (during the monsoons), cacti, yucca, and mesquite trees, to name a few.  These animals and plants seem to know that they are safe here, and that all of them have as much right to the land as we do.

Himdag Sanctuary is our answer to the unlimited development, habitat destruction and noise of the world at large.  It is a microcosm which puts mother earth and all our relations first, that can serve as an alternative model for the current macrocosm in which humans and their inappropriate technology and habitat destruction dominate.

There now stand in the sanctuary two earth lodges made chiefly of local earth and partially sunk into the ground, similar to adobe structures seen around the world.  There is also a solar shower, as well as tipis under construction.

Himdag Sanctuary also hosts the practice and teaching of native arts and lifeways.  In this direction are unfolding ideas for the construction of a few structures as they might appear or have appeared in a native village of the Desert People and other native peoples, such as a ramada (structure that provides essential shade in the hot season, made of branches), fire circle, flintknapping pit, hide tanning rack, and inipi (traditional purification lodge).

The Sanctuary also encompasses our organic garden.  In addition to the crops that are already growing in it, we are in the process of planting some varieties of ancient, heirloom seeds from the native peoples of the southwest.  These crops - including for example corn, beans, squash, melons, and tomatoes - since they are native, require litttle if any additional irrigation, as well as being toleratant of the extreme heat of our Sonoran desert.  And, since they are adapted to make the best of local conditions these foods are often tastier and are high in nutrients.  Perhaps even more notably, these seeds' unbroken lineage and uninterrupted use preserves the gene pools of these ancient plants, representing perhaps one of our strongest hopes against the proliferation of radiated, genetically engineered and monocrop foods.  Thus, they help to ensure healthy foods for many generations to come.

Please come visit Himdag Sanctuary, and walk in balance.