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A week at Findhorn was a precious life-affirming gift for Brazilian singer, songwriter, social change activist and educator May East.

‘My Experience Week was a decompressing gift from Ed Posey with whom I was vigorously working at Gaia Foundation in London. Ed gave me a list of people to meet while in Findhorn, although I was so immersed in the intensity of the programme, I never had soul space to reach out.

‘On the last day I was meditating in the Sanctuary in The Park when suddenly I heard a most primordial sound of a didgeridoo played by a gorgeous man in front of me. Craig Gibsone, the Australian-born director of the Findhorn Foundation, was on my list. And like me he was a musician, ‘artivist’ and environmentalist. The rest was romance, family and life unfolding.’

Pivotal to both their lives was the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, known as the Rio Earth Summit. May was responsible for organising more than 300 artists in a project that harnessed creativity from around the world – and Craig was one of the artists, as well as being the focaliser for the Findhorn community.

She decided to spend her time between Brazil, the UK and Findhorn.

Perhaps inevitably her choice to create a life with Craig, living for 18 years in one of Findhorn’s iconic whisky barrel homes, captured the imagination of the media, sparking intense and unwanted attention.

‘Shortly after I moved in I decided to close the barrel house to journalists to keep a non-exposed environment for our girls to grow up in.

‘Findhorn was the cradle of my motherhood. Our daughters Inanna and Tara were born in the whisky barrel house where family life was infused by rhythm and play, growing food and rituals, beauty and care. The girls and their peers freely lived the paradigm that “it takes a village to educate a child”.

Transcultural rites and women’s circles supported my exploration on how to balance being a mother, a woman and a world worker. I deeply enjoy being a mother.

‘Early on I positioned myself at the edges of the Findhorn Foundation from where I was able to weave connections, particularly with the United Nations system.’

This alliance has seen May as a bridge builder between the Findhorn community and many UN movements over the years. The Foundation became an official non-governmental organisation associated with the UN Department of Public Information, the UN-Habitat Best Practice Designation, the UNESCO and UNITAR partnerships, culminating with the creation of the training centre CIFAL Findhorn and many alliances with local and national government. The work continues to evolve.

‘I became a stargazer at Findhorn. The night skies invited me to explore astronomically the far reaches of the Milky Way and our solar system.

‘I believe Findhorn is a port of call for those who were born to serve and do not yet know how.

‘In this transformative living-learning centre, I became an educator. Together with 23 ecovillage educators, social workers, economists and ecological designers I founded Gaia Education and served the organisation for many years of my professional life. Gaia Education works today with over 100 partner organisations in 55 countries and has its deep roots in Findhorn.

‘Looking back to the birth of Ecovillage Training at Findhorn, I remember the Alice in the Wonderland moment where I had this sense of “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date.” With Ecovillage project director John Talbott and Craig we developed the DNA of the programme that subsequently informed the birth of Gaia Education.

‘Together we pioneered the community’s core eco-themed programmes including Eco Experience Week, Applied Ecovillage Living and Ecovillage Design Education (EDE).

‘Today I’m based in Edinburgh although I never actually left Findhorn – I just stretched the edges.’

May was named one of 100 Global SustainAbility Leaders three years running and in 2019 was the recipient of the Women of the Decade in Sustainability & Leadership Award, which is presented by the Women Economic Forum.

Currently, she leads a generation of regenerative educators and practitioners in dozens of countries around the world, working with community-based organisations and intergovernmental agencies to strengthen climate resilience and food security.

‘My passion is to co-develop project-based learning trajectories to support indigenous and migrant communities and their traditions to survive in rapidly changing environments while enhancing their opportunities to become the designers of their desired future.

‘The focus of EDEs, which have been offered in many countries on six continents, is to provide participants of all ages with the knowledge and practical skills to design a society that uses energy and materials with greater efficiency, distributes wealth fairly and strives to eliminate the concept of waste.

‘My vision is for programme participants to become change agents, taking active roles in transitioning their existing communities, institutions and neighbourhoods to more sustainable patterns of production and consumption, as well as leading more joyful, meaningful and healthier lives.

‘Findhorn is the expression of systems thinking for systems change that the world intensively needs today.

May East
Educator + researcher
from Brazil & UK
First Findhorn visit » 1989

May East

I have a portfolio career, combining multiple streams of interests. As designer, consultant, educator, researcher and lecturer I thrive by working at the edges of bio-cultural-spatial systems.