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GABRIEL PEACE FARM: A VISION FOR A PEACE AND RECONCILIATION
TRAINING CENTER
Gabriel
Peace Farm is a 40-hectare property in Barangay Lamanan,
Calinan District, Davao City,
Philippines. It is a 45-minute to 1-hour drive from Davao
City. In the next few years, God willing, we will develop
this area to be a --
:: Model Farm for
Peacebuilding Sustainability. This will be a model farm to realize our
vision for ecological-economic transformation and sustainability
in our peacebuilding work. Mennonite farmers from around the world will be
invited to compare notes on organic agricultural technology and
agri-entrepreneurship with local farmers, seeking to be both learners and teachers
as they work with Mindanao's tri-people.
::
Home for Peace
Workers and Leaders. PBCI field workers and other
peace workers from our partner organizations
will be welcomed
in this center for their spiritual, emotional, physical,
and mental revitalization. Professional
counsellors or theologically trained spiritual directors will be provided.
Various peace seminars, workshops and retreat activities will be held here.
National and international resource persons will be
invited to encourage and nurture community leaders in various
learning events.
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"Reconciliation is the central component of peacebuilding.
Reconciliation, in essence, represents a place, the
point of encounter where concerns about both the past
and the future can meet.
Reconciliation-as-encounter suggests that space for the
acknowledging of the past and envisioning of the future
is the necessary ingredient for reframing the
present." [John Paul Lederach, Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation
in Divided Societies, 1997, p. 27]
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:: Training
Center for Peace
and Reconciliation Team Organizers.
This will be the main training center for our Peace
and Reconciliation Team (PAR-T) Organizers. From here,
they are pre-assessed, given theoretical training,
and are assigned to various conflict zones for practical
exposure and immersion. This
will also be the place for their final evaluation and
graduation. From
here, they will be assigned to their respective peacebuilding
project areas where they would organize a PAR Team.
The PAR Team Leaders Training will be a year-round
program—just like a regular school year.
:: Coordinating
Center for Peace Learning
Tours.
We will facilitate Peace Learning Tours for peace-oriented
organizations, churches, and other groups from around the world
who want to see various peace projects in Southeast
Asia.
This program would include international and local travel
arrangements, board, lodging, itinerary, and orientation
seminar.
::
CrossCultural
Orientation Center
for International Volunteers.
We
will provide training and orientation to volunteers—farmers, environmentalists, builders, water &
sanitation experts, nutritionists, business people, counsellors,
computer experts, ESL teachers, etc.—from churches in Europe,
Canada and the USA and from other places in the world who have
availed themselves to serve the people of the Philippines.
They are coordinated from here and are given
socio-cultural preparation before they go to their specific
areas of service.
We are searching for appropriate funding partners for this
vision. For further inquiry, send email
to center@peacebuilderscommunity.org
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