[Teahouse] Saraswati Tea House Update

Fri Aug 19 11:13:57 PDT 2011

Hello there!  I was passed along this info from my friend Donna Molletiere.  I would love, love to participate, contribute, and share.  My first choice would be to take the Monday Training and work the Monday 6pm - midnight shift.  I am only able to stay on the playa until Thursday morning, so my time is somewhat limited. I could also do Tuesday training and 6 - midnight as well with enough notice. Let me know if this works and if it doesn't, I'll try to shuffle and find some other possible times.Thank  you so much!~LILY

Subject: Fwd: [Teahouse] Saraswati Tea House Update
From: dmolettiere at gmail.com
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:13:15 -0700
To: lilychristian at hotmail.com

Sent from the spaces in between
Begin forwarded message:

From: Annie Harrison <ah at well.com>
Date: August 12, 2011 1:54:48 AM PDT
To: teahouse at eugeneweb.com
Subject: [Teahouse] Saraswati Tea House Update

Dear Friends,

Burning Man approaches and our Saraswati Tea House project continues to unfold. This message offers an update on our tea service, our training schedule, requests for assistance, and a form you can use to sign up for Tea House shifts during the week of the Burn. Our build crew is heading to the playa on Monday, August 22nd to construct the Tea House and our camp infrastructure. While there is much to do before we open the Tea House doors on Monday, August 29th, it's been a joyful and instructive adventure. 

The Tea

Today we purchased the ingredients for the tea we will serve on the playa. Thanks to the generous guidance of our friends Ash, Gordie and Fritz, we have decided to offer three types of herbal tea that we think will be especially useful for those who may need assistance. The first tea we will serve is Rose Tulsi which is made from whole rosebuds and Holy Basil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocimum_tenuiflorum. This tea assists mental focus and clarification. Our second tea is jiaogulan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gynostemma_pentaphyllum, an adaptogen which helps balance blood sugar and body temperature. The third tea we will serve is a tonic made from a blend of oat grass, skullcap, licorice, lavender, peppermint and chamomile. This tea calms the nerves and helps bring people back into their body. We will also brew ginger tea which is helpful for those with upset stomachs. Fresh water flavored with mint will be offered as well. 

The Training

We are fortunate to have the kind assistance of Ash, who helps guide the tea service at the Om Shan Tea tea house in San Francisco. Ash will offer two workshops on the playa to instruct us in the proper brewing and presentation of the teas. These workshops will also provide training in how to effectively assist people who are experiencing challenging altered states or other forms of stress. This section of the training will be presented by Saraswati Tea House organizers who have experience providing this service on the playa. The workshops will be held in the Saraswati Tea House home camp, Above The Limit, at 9:15 and A. The first workshop will take place from 4:30 to 6:00 pm on Monday, August 29th. If you can't attend the first workshop, we will be holding a second training the following day from 4:30 to 6:00 pm on Tuesday, August 30th. We will be posting training materials for these workshops to this list before we leave for the playa. 

Requests for Assistance

Please consider bringing some supplies with you to the playa that can be used to make our Tea House comfortable and welcoming. We are especially seeking donations of pillows, cushions, sheets, blankets, sleeping bags and warm clothes. If you have them, please bring images of Saraswati that we can display in the Tea House. Art supplies, musical instruments, inspirational reading materials, tissues, baby wipes, and simple snacks such as dried fruit are also welcome. We will be building two altars in the Tea House, so please feel free to contribute cloths and offerings for these altars. We will be playing quiet, ambient music in the Tea House. If you have music on your iPod that you would like to offer, especially Indian music, feel free to bring that as well. 

Signing Up For Shifts

Our intention is to keep the Saraswati Tea House staffed with volunteer Tea Wallahs twenty-four hours a day from Monday, August  29th, until Sunday, September 4th. Attached is a sign up form where you can indicate which shifts you would like to serve. Please fill in your preferred shifts and post this form back to the list by sending mail to teahouse at eugeneweb.com. We will compile a master schedule that will be printed out, posted onsite, and updated throughout the week.

The Tea House will be run on four, six-hour shifts per day - midnight to 6 am, 6 am to noon, noon to 6 pm and 6 pm to midnight. We are hoping to have at least three volunteer Tea Wallahs present for each shift. The shifts will include a Head Wallah, who will serve as a Tea House maître of sorts, and who has experience providing supportive services for people in distress. Each shift will also have an Inside Wallah, who primarily serves those resting inside the Tea House, and an Outside Wallah, who serves those drinking tea at tables outside the Tea House. The inside space will be set aside for people who need the most care. We hope to have a Floater Wallah on each shift to assist in either space. 

Other Considerations

When signing up for your shifts, please keep in mind that we ask each Tea Wallah be well nourished, rested and fully present for the shifts they wish to serve. Offering this type of service on the playa means that you must take extra good care of yourself, so that you can serve others well. We ask all Tea Wallahs to wear white while they work in Tea House, so please acquaint yourself with your white wardrobe. Please also remember to bring a watch, a flashlight, warm clothes, water, a pen and a snack when you arrive to serve your shifts. 

Gratitude

The Saraswati Tea House project is being organized by a group of wise and compassionate people. Special thanks to Shima, Hank, Sasha, Kaya, Phoenix and Twilight who have all provided insight into how best to provide this service. Please feel free to offer your own thoughts, comments and suggestions by posting to this list at teahouse at eugeneweb.com. 

Namaste

The Tea Wallahs

The Saraswati Tea House will be staffed by Tea Wallahs in four six-hour shifts daily starting Monday, August  29th. Please let us know if and when you can serve on a shift. We will provide on-playa training for assisting tea house guests.

We are asking our camp members to make a donation of $100 to help build the Tea House. If you can donate more, please do so. If you can donate less, it's ok.

We are currently accepting donations on the ATL website http://bit.ly/pKS4Zb. In addition to funding, we are also seeking clean bedding, blankets, cushions and tea cups.

More details coming soon. For questions about the project, contact the Wallahs at Info at CampAboveTheLimit.com

Things We Need, Bedding, Sheets Blankets, Pillows, Cushions

         Sign up schedule

         Inside Outside Servers

         Maitre De

         Bring Watch

         Training Schedule,

         Post “Running The Service”

         Update tea list schedule

         Monday evening Tea House Meeting Reception

         Tuesday 10 meeting and training

         Wednesday 10 am meeting and training

PSA

Build A Sign_______________________________________________
Saraswati Tea House mailing list
Saraswati Tea House at eugeneweb.com
http://www.eugeneweb.com/mailman/listinfo/teahouse

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