As many of you know, the 35 ft. long matched set of poles for the tipi were donated to us by Tracy Dianne Foreman in 2002 for a Native American Church meeting which took place using a borrowed tipi cover.  After that single all night experience in the tipi it immediately became obvious to us that we needed to purchase a tipi of our own to match the beautiful poles, so we bought a 27 Ft. diameter tipi made by a small family-owned business in Canada called Arrow Tipi.

We have cared for the tipi as best that we could, but we had to learn through trial and error what applies in our sunny central California environment, since the care instructions were written for Canada.  In retrospect, we probably kept too much tension on the canvas during the summer months (especially the first summer) because it gave the tipi its amazing acoustic properties, but this plus the accumulated sun exposure may have weakened the fabric too much and by fall 2005 we had to start patching it in many places so we could continue to use it for gatherings that were held during the first half of 2006.

On July 20th. 2006 the tipi canvas met its demise when strong "Mono Winds" (hot NE winds) gusting at 40 MPH blew through and reduced the canvas to shreds in a very short period of time.

Sharing in the Cost of Maintaining the Tipi

We are very grateful to those of you who contributed to our fundraising efforts in the late summer and early fall of 2006 which raised $450. to help offset the $1,600. that we needed to replace the tipi canvas in early October 2006.   Our beautiful new canvas is now in place:

Those of you who have spent many hours in the tipi with us at the numerous gatherings held at Gaia's Oasis in the past few years know first-hand the value of the experience.  We will continue to provide the sacred space of the tipi.  This is where you come in, because we are asking for additional donations to help cover the canvas replacement cost..   Even if you haven't yet had a chance to do spiritual work in the tipi, you may want to some day, or know that you're helping provide that opportunity to many others.  We greatly appreciated any and all contribution you wish to make.  To donate, please click HERE.  Please note that donations are NOT tax deductible, but rest assured that these contributions will go directly to cover the cost of the new tipi canvas.

Blessings,

Chris and Gaiella