Our project – Les Gavatxes

Kshanti-Les Gavatxes, Name, Vision and Mission Kshanti is Japanese for patience; the Japanese calligraphic script holds a central place in the zendo (meditation hall). This name honours the zen foundations of the beautiful meditation space while also reminding us of a key spiritual virtue. Kshanti is the name we have given to the project with the core spiritual vision set out below. Les Gavatxes is the ancient catalan name of the masia (farmhouse). While difficult to translate, it means ‘Outsiders’ or ‘Those from the North’. This strange name moves us to be a place of welcome and to overcome divisions of insiders and outsiders, friends and strangers. Les Gavatxes is the name given to the whole estate, the place that hosts and holds the project. Back story: the estate was bought in 2005 by the Dutch couple Leo de Wolf and Corrie Koppedraijen who had the vision to create a centre for retreat, rest and recovery. With the help of many friends they renovated the old farmhouse and barn and built some other guest accommodation to be able to host retreat groups as well as individuals. After an interim period of the project being run by Nines Martinez and Guy Stainforth the property changed hands with the new owners being Jan Paul de Wolf (son of Leo), Claudia Castro and Stephen Bushell who seek to continue the original vision and mission.

Mission and Vision

The core mission of Kshanti-Les Gavatxes is to create space for mindful transformation. We run meditation retreats, host groups who are aligned to our aims, and welcome individuals seeking rest, recovery and transformation. We notice how the overly busy and anxiety ridden nature of much contemporary living obscures us from the natural flow of things and puts us out of balance.

Aligned to this core mission is our seeking to nurture a spiritual relationship with the environment. Recognising that the forest and the mountains were here before us and will outlive us, we feel how they invite us into respectful relationships acknowledging the earth’s natural wisdom.

The core vision of Kshanti-Les Gavatxes is to enable deeper, spiritual and meaningful relationships with ourselves, others and the places we find ourselves in. Just as the forest and mountainscapes of the estate are continuously changing with the seasons, so we too can find ways of flowing with and opening to the inevitable changes in life. This is at the heart of meditation practice and mindful transformation; it is a continuous process of being attentive to the present moment that holds everything.