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Pushkara Sally Ashford peeks out the door of her brand new handcrafted gypsy vardo wagon. Ashford is getting ready to wheel out from Whidbey on a pilgrimage for peace.
Photo courtesy of Pushkara Sally Ashford

Giving peace a chance
By PATRICIA DUFF
South Whidbey Record Arts & Entertainment, Island
Life
Feb 26 2010, 4:10 PM · UPDATED
A wagon of peace is rolling home, and its owner would like to invite the community to welcome it with song. The peace-wheeling, hand-built gypsy wagon, owned by local resident Pushkara Sally Ashford, has been a year in the making. Ashford will eventually live in the wagon as she pulls it along throughout the
journey she calls “Sing Peace! Earth Pilgrimage for Peace and Global Harmony.”

The first leg of her pilgrimage will begin the day after Earth Day, April 25, but until then, the gypsy wagon will be home on Whidbey Island, where it will be featured at the Yoga Lodge in Greenbank on
Saturday, March 6 and Sunday, March 7. The community is welcome to come by at 7 p.m. on Saturday to view the wagon, followed by singing at 7:30 p.m. led by songweavers Laurence Cole, Rob Tobias and Sara Tone who hope to bring the audience to their feet in an interactive sing ‘n mingle style, with songs celebrating the earth and the unity of life. The evening includes clips from “Sound of the Soul: Taking Humanity to a Higher Note,” an interfaith film documentary of the 2009 Sacred Music Festival in Morocco. On Sunday the celebration of peace continues with a “Singpeace! Family Event” from 1 to 3 p.m., with singers gathered outside to sing around the peace wagon. Mick Dodge, the “Barefoot Sensei,” will demonstrate E.A.R.T.H. Gym (Exuberant Animal Rhythmic Training Hall) activities and practical play,
the goal of which is to feel the exuberance of the land under your feet. Ashford said Dodge’s training has been eye-opening for her. “Sinking our soles deep, singing harmony with the land,” she said of it.

Ashford has given a lot of thought to the land this year since she introduced her plan to design and build the handcrafted Roma-style wagon for her pilgrimage. Her plan is to spread the message of peace and draw attention to housing, health, food and environmental issues. This 70-something maverick is a former teacher, singer and now a grandmother who wants to focus on the big picture and the long-term
legacy that will be left to her grandchildren and their grandchildren. “My mind is going toward the 500-year plan, the 1,000-year plan, for the rainforest, water and the other components of true sustainability,” Ashford said. “I’m going for ‘peace in my lifetime’ and I’m willing to do what it takes to bring it about.”

What it took first was designing the wagon and finding someone to build it. Ashford found herself at the “How to Build a Gypsy Wagon” course offered by master craftsmen Jim Tolpin and Steve Habersetzer at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. After creating the design on paper, she commissioned Steve Habersetzer and a team of other craftsmen to help her finish the project. “It was a very delightful process for me, because I didn’t know I could do that,” Ashford said. It was a satisfying collaboration that, when all was done, left Ashford with a beautifully crafted green-living wagon — complete with decorative carvings, stained-glass windows, a 12-volt solar electric panel, a composting toilet, running water and a beautiful French vintage-style propane fireplace. Etched into the windows are symbols of the most meaningful things in her life, including her grandchildren, her guitar, animals and the lyrics to a song.

During the process, other pilgrims of peace began to take notice of Ashford’s intentions, and she has subsequently gathered several followers in her serious pursuit. Ashford and her ever-growing band of singers and activists hope to establish a culture of peace by drawing attention to issues with songs
and activities such as the planting of trees and other communal tasks that will bring young and old people together to make a long-term commitment to the earth. She used as an example Ecuador, which in 2008 approved a new Constitution that granted inalienable rights to nature. For Ashford, peace and harmony in the world are not a dream or a fantasy or a pastime. “They require the efforts and attention of everyone of us,” she said.

After Earth Day, Ashford and friends will circle the Olympic Peninsula, stopping along the way to create “singing villages.” They will visit part of Oregon and then head north again in time for a stop at the
Folklife Festival in Seattle. “It’s meant to be joyful and fun,” Ashford said. “When we think about the warring mentality of the world and the economy, none of us really knows peace. But when we sing together, it’s hard to bear a grudge, and the joy takes over.” It is with joy that she follows the intentions of her heart. Her plans are not set in stone, and she is not sure where the wind will take her after that, but Ashford is sure that, with the help of social networks and other means of news travel, her repertoire for a culture of peace will have a snowball effect, and that people will know these songs when they come together in the “singing villages.”

Having felt a strong need to let go of her “homebound” style of living and build a vehicle that would transport an important message, Ashford said that to consider one’s relationship to the land, and that one is its steward, is central to everything else in life. “We need a strong base — habit is formed in habitat. I want to strengthen the base of the culture here. There’s plenty to do; plenty of neglected and unattended concerns to address,” she said. A lot of people are becoming interested, Ashford said, and there has been a steady gathering of older women she calls the “Elderwise,” who have begun participating in various ways.

It is not a hurried journey, and Ashford said it will be going on for a long time. It is, in fact, a commitment that has spiraled into other connections such as having been named an “Ambassador of Change” among 50 others in the world who are sponsored by a program called “The Movement
of Change,” a network comprised of people who believe and act as if they could change the world through their positive messages. Ashford’s message will be published in a “Messenger Mini Book” through the organization. It is one way people are taking ownership of intention, she said, about
the journey of change that needs more than one voice. Ashford has every intention of making her voice heard. “That’s what I signed on for in this life,” she said.

Suggested donation is $12 for adults, free for children age 12 and younger. For advanced tickets, call 579-2129, or e-mail singpeace.pushkara@gmail.com. Parking is limited; carpools are appreciated. Also, a shuttle will run between the Greenbank Park-and-Ride at Highway 525 and Bakken Road and
the Yoga Lodge at 3475 Christie Road. For the Web site, click here. Click here for more info. All donations will go to the support of social and environmental projects.

South Whidbey Record Arts & Entertainment, Island Life Patricia Duff
can be reached at pduff@southwhidbeyrecord.com or (360) 221-5300.

SingPeace! Earth Pilgrimage for Peace & Global Harmony was inspired by  a singing dream that focused two essential elements in my life: music, specifically, singing, and the quest for inner and outer peace. The image of a pilgrimage came up, but one that would take place in a gypsy wagon, a "peace train."

I went online to find a course in my region: "How to Build a Gypsy Wagon." Calling up one of the Founders of Port Townsend School of Woodworking, Jim Tolpin, I told him of my intention. He offered to come to Whidbey Island to present his talk and slide show about his 30-year love affair with building gypsy wagons. I planned to introduce the concept of crafting a culture of peace through sharing song to my community. I invited singer/songweaver Laurence Cole, a master of what I was calling singing 'n mingling participatory singing, to lead songs at the event.

The introductory program for SingPeace! took place in March 2009. In May, I took the course where I had the opportunity to design the wagon. I drew the plans and details of the interior, after which we lofted it and laid it out on cardboard so I could get a sense of the space. On the first day of the class, Jim had offered: "Steve can build it." Steve Habersetzer was co-teaching the course with Jim. So, I hung out with Steve that week, and subsequently commissioned him to manage the project and build the wagon.

The intensive collaborative process of construction and decor followed, beginning in July 2009. Our singing troupe inaugurated SingPeace! when the wagon was displayed in November at the Port Townsend Woodworker's Show. Our Whidbey Island "homecoming" took place in March 2010, with a 2-day event at Yoga Lodge, where our singer-song leaders, Laurence Cole, Rob Tobias and Sara Tone, were also joined by EarthGym's Barefoot Bard, Mick Dodge.

SingPeace! support for protection and conservation of land and species, stewardship of and learning from the Earth has become a central theme of the gypsy wagon journey."The Garden" as a function of the pilgrimage has generated plans for a "Peace Garden," "Forgiveness Forest Garden," "Garden of Tranquility," and a "Secret Garden." So, as we travel from community to community we will support efforts already underway and encourage new garden planting aimed at healing communities.

Most recently, SingPeace! has become sponsor for Rasur Foundation International's BePeace Course, the first in the Northwest region. Feel Peace, Speak Peace, Teach Peace, via combined methods of HeartMath, for "coherence," and Compassionate Communication for "connection" have  significantly improved students' academic scores while maturing their social skills.  With the gypsy wagon as a staging area, SingPeace! is the celebratory component of this collaborative journey, with its singing 'n mingling, storytelling, puppetry, EarthGym and exuberant play activities.

SingPeace! is launching a North American tour. We have invitations from every corner of the U.S. and locations in Canada. The physical realities of gathering a troupe and caravan, attracting a truck and driver to haul the wagon, enlisting community participation in all aspects of crafting their "piece of the peace," all are among our present challenges. We are establishing an online presence, finding our place within the movement already under way and encouraging greater cohesion at the grassroots and policy levels to realize our goal: "Peace in our lifetime."

Steve Habersetzer is busy at work on a gypsy wagon, trying to get the exterior finished in time for the Fourth Annual Woodworkers Show, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7-8, 2009 at the American Legion Hall in downtown Port Townsend.

This wagon is a special commission by Whidbey Island resident, Pushkara Sally Ashford, who is putting it into service for "SingPeace! Pilgrimage for Peace and Global Harmony." Ashford plans to travel around the United States and Canada with a group of troubadours, gathering communities together to sing and talk about peace.

"I've been surprised and delighted to witness the pilgrimage taking shape and building momentum," says Ashford. "We've recently been invited to take 'songs for a culture of peace' into schools as part of the curriculum. Over the coming months, we will be going in the gypsy wagon from neighborhood to neighborhood, town to town, sharing this repertoire with choruses, choirs, song circles, and at festivals, camps and retreats."

The first few months of the journey, SingPeace! will culminate in an appearance at the 2010 Northwest Regional Folklife Festival in Seattle in May 2010.

Ashford designed the 14-foot-long, 8-foot-wide living space during a course at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, "How to Build a Gypsy Wagon," taught by Jim Tolpin and Habersetzer. The wagon will soon have modern "green" amenities, such as a marine composting toilet, an on demand propane water heater and a solar electric panel for the 12-volt electric system. It will soon have a galley and tiny hearth, as well. "It's essentially like a boat that goes down the highway," Habersetzer says.

Steve Habersetzer uses hand tools to cut the shallow rectangular void where the hinge will rest for the door on a cabinet he's making. "This is more traditional woodwork," he says. "A lot of people would use a router to do this. This is more fun and not as loud. Once you learn how to do it, it's probably just as fast."

Habersetzer knows well the life in a gypsy wagon. At one time, he lived in one himself. That one, he says, was only 6 feet wide. He built his first gypsy wagon, or "vardo," 25 years ago, and several have followed. All of them are designed to suit the owner's fancy - whether for living, playing or working.

Inspired by horse-drawn carts used by the English Romano people, this wagon is a "ledge" design, which includes a small extension on each side, supported by hand-painted wooden brackets, and a small porch on the back. Other vardo types are called the Burton, reading, bow top, open and brush, and they all function as traveling living spaces.

This is the most collaborative wagon project Habersetzer has created. Ashford has recruited other area artisans to take part. The decorative woodcarving is done by Laurence Cole, and Jeanne Moore of Northwest Potpourri and Susan Leinbach, another local seamstress, are at work on the upholstery and interior furnishings. The stained and etched glass is created by Everett artist Stan Case, and Don Tiller is in charge of the decorative painting.

The SingPeace! wagon is on view outside of the Pope Marine Park Building throughout the Port Townsend Woodworkers Show. A SingPeace! gathering takes place at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, following PT Shorts. Songweaver and director of PT Songlines Laurence Cole - along with visiting song leaders Sara Tone from Olympia and Rob Tobias from
Eugene, Ore. - gather to lead participatory singing on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. and again from 6 to 7 p.m. The singers will be on hand again on Sunday from 1-3 p.m.

* http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=101&SubSectionID=471&ArticleID=25583&TM=33184.13

3/19/10

Sing Peace!

I believe that each and every one of us has a special calling and a unique role to play in this great emerging world. We will know it by our great desire and joy with embodying it. Some are brave and strong enough to answer this call with great passion and dedication. Dear Pushkara Sally Ashford is one of those people; a singing grandmother who wants nothing more than to make Peace on Earth a reality for her progeny and many generations to come. She is called to spread peace is through a pilgrimage of song, dance, communal gatherings and celebration in and around a beautiful hand made gypsy wagon that she designed to become a center-peace for SingPEACE gatherings and events in the Northwest and beyond.

This afternoon Pushkara; her son Dave visiting from Woodstock, NY; Mick Dodge the Barefoot Sense Say; Charlie the dog and I gathered to make song, dance and film at her new gypsy wagon. It is an exquisite work of art and so inspiring in the late afternoon sunlight at her home overlooking Puget Sound and Mt. Tahoma to the south. The wagon is parked next to a great grandmother Big Leaf Maple with a Buddha face peering out of its side. Below the tree is the grave of Pushkara's beloved dog, Miwa. It is truly a place of peace and
grace that I felt honored to dance upon. We began with the song "I'm On My Way" from the back of the wagon. This seemed so appropriate because
we all are pilgrims on our respective paths moving on our way toward Peace and Global Harmony. When asked what she would like to happen with
this pilgrimage she said she would like to encourage those she meets to find their own sources and stories of peace. Mick had brought out a number of his hand crafted staffs and training items and I danced with them while Pushkara sang, Uncle Dave drummed and Mick filmed and interviewed us. Such a joyous & peaceful way to celebrate this last day of winter together!

I will add another daily dance film we made with the grandmother maple tree to this post soon. For now I just want to get this first one out into the world asap because Pushkara & Co. are heading to a big peace rally in Seattle and an event with Congressman Jim Mcdermott at Town Hall in honor of her mother's lifetime of activism on Sunday 3/21...This is the maiden voyage for the SingPeace wagon to the big city. I wish them all the best and hope I can join them the next time round. For me, Sunday will be an Equinox celebration of pole dancing--to hopefully finish stripping thelast 11 poles for the new tipi.

What is your calling? What are inspiring sources and stories of Peace and Harmony in your life? Are dance, song, craft, beauty, travel and creative collaboration sources for peace in your life?

Thanks for watching. Enjoy!