Mountain Spirit Institute just attended the 17th Annual Vermont International Festival. Here’s a quick video overview, with some great music from Uganda. Stay tuned for some more video footage of the festival. Spread the word about this great event.
Author Archive
17th Vermont International Festival
08/12/2009Peruvians Erecting a Tipi?
03/12/2009Three Guys from the Andes putting up a Tipi in New Hampshire?
By Randall Richards
G. Seminario placing a pole
It’s not every day you see three Peruvians at a New Hampshire State Park setting up a tipi. But this is what happened at Mountain Spirit Institute’s SunFest, a holistic health and sustainability event held at Mount Sunapee last year.
Band leaders Guillermo Seminario, Wachi Taype and Mario Montalvo had just arrived from Peru the week before, for their first visit to the U.S.
The three were in the U.S under invitation from Mountain Spirit Institute to teach and perform Andean folklore music throughout Vermont and New Hampshire.
Three Peruvians lacing up a Tipi
I decided to press them into action to help me erect our tipi for the SunFest. The tipi would be used for classroom space and presentations by vendors and speakers invited to come to the SunFest.
I took the opportunity to get some shots of Guillermo, Wachi and Mario as they happily worked on putting up the tipi poles, fabric and the lacing pins. I kept asking them if they didn’t mind helping out, and they kept saying they were glad to learn about tipis. “It’s not something we ever thought we’d be doing,” said band director Guillermo Seminario, of Trujillo and Cusco, Peru.
Project complete
The group ended up playing Peruvian music at the SunFest as well as at other venues throughout New Hampshire and Vermont. While their tour was successful, (and they helped take the Tipi down after the SunFest), this turned out being their most unusual project during their stay, aside from playing in a few offbeat bars.
Happy Turkey Day from Mt Washington
01/12/2009Greetings from Tuckerman’s Ravine on Thanksgiving Day
The Salatin Family’s Ripple Effect
30/11/2009The Ripple Effect of One Couple’s Decision
By Randall Richards
Salatin Family Farm
Because William and Lucille Salatin decided to moved their young family to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and purchase a worn-out farm, they had the choice of how they were going to manage the farm.
Because they decided to “use nature as a pattern” in their farming practices, they established a way of farming that worked for them, the land, and the animals they raised.
Because they began using innovative ideas on how to farm sustainably in the early sixties, they knew what worked for them. (more…)
MSI Covered in Magazine Article
28/11/2009“Vacations with a Purpose” Cover Story writes about Mountain Spirit Institute’s work in NZ/Peru
“To Travel is to Explore, Dream, Discover”
"Vacations with a Purpose" Cover Story
An article recently appeared in New Hampshire’s Kearsarge Magazine about Mountain Spirit Institute by writer Deb McKew. It can be read on our Press Clips Webpage, as an excerpt from the magazine. Click on the first listing at the top of the page. We encourage you to purchase this good read of a magazine if you’re in the New Hampshire, USA area. Publisher Laura Jean Whitcomb does a great job with the magazine.
The article has a shot of MSI founder R. Richards doing a bit of ice climbing on a glacier in Mt. Aspiring National Park, and covered Mountain Spirit’s core mission of getting people connected “with themselves, each other and the environment”, where we “combine experiential wilderness programs with spiritual development”.
Richards near Mt. Aspiring, NZ
As the article states, “some programs are solely wilderness based while others are workshop based.”
The article informs readers of the educational programs and unique nature of MSI mission of getting people out of their native countries and into the mountains and cultures abroad. Being a non-profit organization, MSI strives to bring people of different backgrounds and countries together, to learn about new ways to work together, and to re-examine one’s role in the natural environment, and in the world community.
Learning Zampoña on Lake Titicaca
25/11/2009Guillermo Seminario, leader of Chimu Inka band in Cusco, and co- facilitator for Mountain Spirit Insitute’s cultural immersion program in Peru teaches a few participants on the Peru’09 program how to play zampoña. They three had been learning from Guillermo for a few days before this footage was taken. They did well. I hope they are still playing!
Local Screening of Movie “Fresh”, 106 Attend
22/11/2009The Movie Fresh attracts 106 people in small town
Good food, an idea whose time has come
By Randall Richards
Joel Salatin, Organic Farmer, Visionary
The small town of New London, New Hampshire, saw one-hundred and six people turn out for the screening of the new movie Fresh, an uplifting documentary about the local organic food movement in the U.S. The event was co-sponsored by the New London chapter of the Weston A Price Foundation, and Mountain Spirit Institute on Saturday November 21st. In addition to the showing, local vendors and food producers were invited to display, who had tables with samples and brochures, where the audience could browse and learn about the good and local food available in their community. A brief “Q&A” discussion followed the film, (more…)
Festival near Machu Picchu, Peru
20/11/2009In a small hamlet, near the town of Ollantaytambo, a few hundred devotees hold festivals in honor of the Virgen del Carmen, known locally as Mamacha Carmen, patron saint of the mestizo population. The gathering, that raises the curtain on these days of celebrations is held in the main square, where troupes of musicians play their instruments while richly dressed choirs sing in Quechua. The setting gives way to a series of ingenious choreographies that portray events in Peruvian history. The main and much bigger celebration of Virgen Del Carmen is in the town of Paucartambo, about four hours from Cusco, Peru. Mountain Spirit Institute participants, guide Guillermo Seminario, and host Anna Sequeros are in this clip.
Sir Edmund Hillary Museum, New Zealand
18/11/2009Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre at Aoraki Mt. Cook Inspires, Gives Glimpse into Hillary’s Character
Hillary Museum in NZ
By Randall Richards
We passed through the Aoraki Mt. Cook area, on New Zealand’s South Island, and made our way through the fancy Hermitage Hotel to find the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre. I knew of Hillary the climber, but the display, video presentations, memorabilia and photos portrayed a humble man with astounding climbing ability, a self depreciating style and sense of humor.
He was the first to reach Everest’s summit for a reason. His solid climbing skills, drive and competitiveness all put him in the position with Tenzing Norgay to be the first summiteers on Chomulungma.
Multimedia Displays, with Norgay/Hillary
The reason this story made its way onto this blog, is he seemed to have also been truly a nice guy. He was loved by his fellow Kiwis. He took care to leave the world a better place than he found it by creating a foundation that built schools and educated those in the Everest region. One leaves with a good feeling about Sir Ed, after strolling among old photos, his book collection and accounts of his relationships with family, friends and of course his sherpa Tenzing Norgay.
I have a greater respect for Mr. Hillary after having learned more about him at this Alpine Centre Museum dedicated to his life and acheivements.
From the Centre’s Website:
“It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves”
Hillary, His Early Days
“A tribute to Sir Edmund Hillary, humanitarian, ambassador and one of the world’s greatest explorers, the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre showcases the Aoraki Mount Cook region, its people and its place in the universe.
Designed to educate and entertain, the centre features a spectacular state-of-the-art 3D movie, New Zealand’s first full dome digital Planetarium and Museum which documents the pioneering heart of the region and features the impressive Hillary Gallery.
The Hillary Gallery depicts Sir Edmund’s longstanding connection with the region and touches upon his achievements, expeditions and life’s work. It was here he climbed his first major mountain, achieved a number of impressive first ascents including the difficult south face of Mount Cook, and trained for his Everest and Antarctic expeditions.
Located adjacent to The Hermitage Hotel in the majestic Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre is an opportunity to explore and connect to the national identity and celebrate the cultural characteristics New Zealanders hold dear.”
Yo.
MSI attends NH Grants Institute
18/11/2009Mountain Spirit Institute Attends Grant Writing Seminar
Plymouth, NH
Hosted by the the New Hampshire Center for Non Profits and Council on Fundraising, a three-day seminar held in Plymouth New Hampshire has been covering the essentials on grant writing. Randall and Amanda Richards are attending the seminar which wraps up tomorrow.
The following panelists presented during the first day, covering “Understanding the Grantmaking Universe, What are Foundations looking For”:
Christine Grenier – Citizens Bank
Marianne Jones – The Women’s Fund
Mary Kaplan – Endowment for Health
On day two, the following panelists presented on “What Great Proposals Look Like”
Bryon Champlin – Lincoln Financial Foundation
Kathy Cook – Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation
Ellen Koenig – The NH Charitable Foundation
Says MSI Development Director, Amanda Richards, “This seminar gives us vital tools and information to move forward with our development goals to further the mission of Mountain Spirit. ” She added, “We’re very excited to put these new skills into action.”
MSI plans to search for funding for the Peru/USA Music Exchange Program, Board of Directors development and training, and capacity building, that will strengthen MSI’s ability to deliver important programs.
The seminar has been presented by Elizabeth Sunde. If you would like more information about this new program, which will be repeated, please check out the links above.
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