The Forest is Calling...

Dear friends - We are delighted to share here a new fundraising video. Please help us to secure the home of Gaia Forest.

A critical moment

Here on Gumbaynggirr Country on the Dorrigo Plateau, we are stewards of a rare remnant of old-growth Gondwanan rainforest — a landscape that has been refuge for life since the age of the dinosaurs. In 2025, His Holiness the 42nd Sakya Trizin bestowed on this place the auspicious name Tan Ma Ling — “Island of Stability”.

Yet we now find ourselves at a pivotal moment; through loans and investment we have been able to refinance the project for the short term, but we now need your help to secure the long-term future of this land for meditation, deep ecology and forest restoration.

Progress so far

Your response has been amazing, and we are already deeply humbled by the generous dāna we have received!

To help us reach our goal, please use the donation form below. Any amount is appreciated, large or small, and each contribution brings us one step closer to securing the stability and tranquility of this ancient forest refuge, for many years to come. Please don’t forget to also subscribe to updates We plan to hold an opening event in October to celebrate this new beginning - and would love to welcome you to Gaia Forest.

Other ways to support

There are many ways to support the Gaia Forest Project - please share the link to this page with your friends. We are also very happy to announce that we are now able to receive volunteers through our profiles on Helpx and Workaway. You can also apply to book accomodation for personal retreat and volunteering. For this, and for information about deeper participation — through unit purchase in the Gaia Forest Trust, or sponsoring a kuti for example — please Contact us.

Why this matters

We live in a time of intersecting crises — ecological, social, economic. Beneath all of these lies a deeper disconnection: from ourselves, from each other, from the living planet that sustains us.

Gaia Forest aspires to be part of the healing — protecting a critical remnant of old-growth Gondwanan rainforest, providing space for deep practice across all Buddhist traditions, and demonstrating that caring for the earth and caring for the mind are one and the same path.

“What we most need to do is to hear within us the sound of the earth crying.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh