Courses + Workshops
 
One-week courses

 

 

 

One-day courses and workshops *

Colors in Bahia: how they work and what they mean
The Luminance of the Colors in Bahia - a day of photo opportunities
Artistic motifs - travel impressions expressed in colors
A day of making handicrafts with palm branches
Gemstones and deco-natural stones of Bahia
Gastronomic delights in Bahia
Orixás - African deities in everyday Bahia
Afro-Brazilian rhythms - drums, dances, singing, and simply playing

*) These courses will be run if a sufficient number of people have registered for them in advance. Please contact us for additional information. 

*) One-Day Courses and Workshops will run from 9 AM to 5 PM and will include the following additional offerings: intercultural briefing; seasonal fruit basket and a typical lunch (drinks not included).

Courses which take place in the Seminar House include the following: full board with fruits and fruit drinks in season. Upon request and pre-arrangement we also can offer lodging at the Seminar House (not included in the price of the course).


Description of the one-day courses

Colors in Bahia: how they work and what they mean

One-day course with round-trip and promenading in Salvador and surroundings

It is especially remarkable how colorful Bahia is. On one hand the light intensity is a function of the location of the city and the climatic conditions, on the other hand however also with the culture, which has a special relationship to colors. As an example, each day of the week has assigned its color, each African deity - Orixas of the Candomble - its particular color and corresponding significance to which there is deep reverence. Where colors are symbols one certainly also can communicate via colors ! This cheerful and at the same time serious color game often is also expressed as "sound colors" ins Salvador da Bahia. Based on photos and guided walks through the city and surroundings the visitor is brought close to these forms of expression, expressions that have such strong influence in Bahia.

The Luminance of the Colors in Bahia - a day of photo opportunities

One-day course with round trip and "picture-taking walks" in Salvador and surroundings


The special location of the city "Bahia de Todos os Santos" and local climatic conditions result in Bahia being one of the most light intensive regions in the world. This fact has a strong influence onto how we perceive the calors in Bahia. The experienced photographer knows that he has to set up his camera to these particular light conditions. Those who need some additional support here will be helped ! On this day the course participants wild be brought to particularly pretty and/or colorful areas, allowing them the time to take pictures in a quaint and save environment. The selection of the locations can be arranged prior in order to satisfy the special interests of the group.

Artistic motifs - travel impressions expressed in colors

One-day workshop in the Workshop house: brushing, smudging, painting


Pre-condition for this one-day course is to have participated at one of the previously offered courses, in order to be able to better express what was seen, felt and photographed. With art therapeutic guidance we will interact fully creative with the colors - previous painting or drawing knowledge is not required. Brushing, smudging, painting, splashing, gluing of previously collected artifacts, etc, mainly the objective is to express from within the previously experienced color delights ! We offer a color meditation to support and harmonize what was experienced previously. This course is held in the Country House "by the Old Cashew Tree", where one can rest, where we offer the meals and where we additionally offer breathing and exercise training.


A day of making handicrafts with palm branches

One-day Workshop in the Country + Seminar House, including hiking to a palm tree grove


In Bahia, the leaves of the Licuri- Palm tree are worked to very pretty and ornamental artifacts, such as decorations, stylized animals, lamps, bags, hats, belts, coasters, etc. These artifacts the visitor can easily buy on one of the local handicraft markets ... however, how about while sitting under a shady palm tree to craft your own souvenir made of palm tree straw ? The Workshop starts with a typical breakfast, while we show pictures of various palm tree varieties and techniques of working the palm tree straw. This is followed by a brief hike through the nature preservation area, where we collect palm tree leaves, the raw material for the later Workshop. Additionally, one can purchase very fine artifacts made by the local craftsmen.


Gemstones and deco-natural stones of Bahia

One-day course with round trip through the city of Salvador and surroundings

The goal of this one-day course is to bring the curious visitors closer to the diversity and remarkably beautiful mineral resources of Bahia. In Europe or the USA we sometimes see a very special and colorful marble counter, or a kitchen or bathroom furnishing of natural stones. At times we know from which region in the world the natural stones come, but very seldom how this beauty comes together. Bahia is blessed with very pretty and sometimes valuable natural resources, so to speak a specialty of this state, similarly as the state of Minas Gerais. Therefore, this course teaches the mining, the aesthetical characteristics, the workmanship, the usage and the market value, as well as social-economic relationships of the production process and the marketing. We present a film about the mining, the geological museum, a marble and granite processing plant, a showcase of a colorful variety of marble and granite slabs, and a gemstone exhibit.


Gastronomic delights in Bahia - getting the taste of it

One-day course in the Country House, with grocery shopping and restaurant visit

On this day we present a typical menu of Bahia. A portion of the ingredients are jointly prepared, some portions are ready made: entree, main menu and dessert, together with typical local drinks. The objective is to encourage the participants to also prepare something from the Bahia cuisine, when returning to your home. Therefore we also inform you how you can get these ingredients when back home, or what alternatives can be used as ingredients. The day is spent on the farm and the cooking are done in the house "To The Old Cashew Tree". Starting from here we will visit various specialty shops and vegetable stands, and visit a typical restaurant at the beachside of the Arembepe beach.


Orixás - African deities in everyday Bahia

One-day course with round trip and visit of a Candomble house

This course will give you a "taste" of reality in how African deities participate in the day-to-day life of a Brazilian city - Salvador da Bahia - often these deities influencing and participating in the decision making. One day is certainly too short a time to realize the deep roots of belief of the population of Bahia. However, this course will give you an insight into the intercultural acceptance and the historically grown religious syncretism and the strong presence and meaning of African deities - Orixas - for the population of Bahia. In the morning we start with a photo and film presentation, with sufficient time for Questions & Answers. During lunch we will be "sensitized" how African deities influence the daily menu during the passing of the week. In the afternoon we follow visit an excursion in the city of Salvador, where we visit various cult sites, a Candomble museum and a Candomble house, where the course participants have the opportunity to experience from a Canbomble priest the shell-reading of their own patron saint (Orixa)

Afro-Brazilian Rhythms - drums, dances, singing, and simply playing

One-day Workshop in the Country House by the Old Cashew Tree

"Afro-Brazilian Rythms" is a very broad topic when applied to Salvador da Bahia, because it includes just about everything, everything here relates to the very down-to-earth vibrations of the Afro-Brazilian rhythms. The Workshop begins with a typical local breakfast, during which we give you background information to the course's theme and to the day's activity plan. Right after breakfast we start with the practical part, where our bodies are the main actors, however always attentive in spirit. During this Workshop we will have local instructors and masters, whose directions will be translated in real-time (dancing and percussion instructors as well as Capoeira instructors). These instructors will show you how to beat the drums, how to play the Berimbau and some Capoeira steps (obciously without hurting yourselves !), how you always will stay in step with the Samba rhythm, what songs are sung when and - last not least - how you deal with all these pieces of information in and easy-going and stress-free playful manner.

     
   
 
Contact: bahiawillkommen@email.de