Creating an urban Village for queer Community!

What is the Village?
The Village is a new urban community center in the heart of Berlin. Having organically developed out of a gay male context, the Village encourages new forms of community, connection and social innovation based on mindfulness, inclusivity, and intergenerational exchange. Already visitors from other countries have been inspired to create their own version of the Village in their city.

What do we do?
A big focus is exploring the values and benefits of creating community and having a sense of coming home to a shared place when individual isolation, technological overwhelm or latent discrimination are hallmarks of our wider culture.

We explore issues around body and spirituality, masculinity, identity, sexuality and gender. We offer weekly, monthly and one-time-only events that are very much about sharing and experience - often involving movement, touch or other body-based approaches.

We also host discussions, initiate social projects, create queer art events, exhibitions and offer artist residencies.

Events see: WWW.VILLAGE.BERLIN or https://www.facebook.com/village.berlin/

While we feel there is a cultural need for healing and strengthening within a male-bodied / male-identified environment, we are also in the process of developing other specialized content, for instance for the trans community, or anyone interested in the topics and values mentioned above.

What is needed?
To create financial sustainability, it is necessary to be able to host multiple events at the same time - as originally planned. To do so we need to rebuild and finish our second studio where the wooden floor was flooded and destroyed by a torrential rain in July 2016.

Please support our efforts to finish this construction project. We very much appreciate it.

How does the Village get financed on a monthly basis?
The Village is currently community and event-rental funded and operates based on a lot of volunteer contribution and support.

It is is co-used and co-administered by the membership association: Stretch Village e.V.. There are currently around 200 members. Once we are 250 members we will be able to cover all of our monthly costs.

If you would like to become a member visit us here: http://www.village.berlin/membership

GOAL: Enabling the second studio to function.

STORY: In July 2016 there was a Berlin-wide flood caused by a statistically “once every 50 years type of rain”. Our newly installed floor in the downstairs studio had to be removed. The insurance refused to pay as this particular kind of flooding “backwater created by torrential rain” was not insured.

This second studio is vital in the overall success and survival of the Village project.

It allows us to:

• create a bigger multifaceted space for the emerging community
• to host multiple events at the same time
• to host big events like the Summer Festival

Aside from rebuilding the floor we also need to complete other aspects of the renovation (new windows, emergency exit, ventilation, permits) as our initial start-up funds were not sufficient to do so.

FOR WHOM?: The Village is an urban sanctuary for collective development catering particularly - but not exclusively - to gay bi queer trans men, male-identified or male-bodied people who are sexually attracted to the same.

Our culture is craving spaces that foster the day-to-day lived experience of:

• community, compassion and deeper connection
• an integration of the body & mind
• political & social engagement
• gender diversity and intergenerational exchange

The money will be used to renovate our 2nd studio

- Rebuild floor destroyed by flood = 7000 EUR
- New insulating custom windows = 5000 EUR
- Emergency exit = 2000 EUR
- Fireproofing = 2000 EUR
- City permits /architect fees = 4000 EUR