We have a deck, and a trench (or the beginning of one) for putting the electric cable in. When friends come to visit and help – this is the best way to test the friendship – ask them to dig a ditch in the boiling sun.

Well, they are still with us, the trench is almost half done, and all are happy to be part of the project.

Each day is different here – this weekend the deck was oiled a rich orange colour to protect it from the fierce sun and the battens were put up on the roof, ready for the corrugated iron.

The grass is growing long and green – an early summer feeling about the place. We checked the trees at the entrance and they seem fine- still a few more succumbed to the harsh environment, but most are settling in.

Next time we will open up a water supply near the trees for the inevitable thirsty dry time ahead.

All this means Glentui is shaping up. We are already imagining a barbeque with fine friends on the verandah under the starry sky… and an early morning meditation before sunrise in the mini gompa!

Another trip to the retreat land to see how the hut looked and how the trees were faring in the spring nor’west gales.

The guys all put up the walls last weekend and I was eager to see how it looked and how the interior space would feel. Having a design on paper is a different kettle of fish to the actual thing.

Its cool! It will be a great little space to use with friends. Walk up a few steps onto the verandah and then inside through some french doors to a cosy, open, and functional space. We planned the two sleeping lofts which can fit two double beds to be quite high so that the living space feels big for it’s actual tiny size: 2.8m x 3.5m.

A meditation platform that can double up as a bed on the left, a pot belly on the back wall for heat and cooking, a kitchen bench on the back right corner and a table on the right. We figured we can have a ladder for the loft access which slides away so it doesn’t encroach on the living space when not needed. With four windows inside for views and ventilation we will have lots of light and fresh air.

The next step is to clad the roof and walls with corrugated iron. “What colour?” is the big discussion.

We then did a little landscaping and tidying up around the hut then went to inspect the plantings. They were not doing too bad. We replanted about six dead ones and refixed many shelter bags. A very fiddly business.

Come late afternoon we shut the gate and drove back with a satisfied feeling that once again something had been achieved.

No new posts have appeared in the blog within last three weeks, but it doesn’t mean that nothing happened in Glentui. The spring time brings both warmer weather and longer days. Thus, we were able to spend three days during last several weeks, when we were building the meditation hut and planting the groves.

The hut is gradually appearing from space. We have done the framework of two walls and we began to make roof trusses. They lay on the ground now. When we finish this work, we can assemble the whole framework like a jigsaw puzzle. If all is going well, we might roof our hut before Christmas.

At the same time we began the planting project. As a first step we decided to plant the native trees at two areas, which we had fenced up. These will work as both a visual and dust barrier and doesn’t let the gorse grow.

We planted over 200 trees till now. On the project were collaborating people from the whole world including four people who are not Buddhists, but they are keen to help.

The members of the New Zealand Media Team also work hard, to give an opportunity to plant a tree for people who cannot come to Glentui.

On Saturday September 4th most of the people were woken up by the earthquake. It had a magnitude of 7.4 Richter scale and the epicentre was 30km from Glentui. Fortunately both the retreat centre and our city centre were untouched apart from few broken tsa-tsas in Christchurch.

We woke up on a rainy morning on Saturday. About 10 o’clock the sun appeared among the clouds so we decided to go and get some positive impressions.

At the first step of the building process, it was necessary to dig a flat platform on the slope, where we can start to construct. Despite the foggy weather we were very successful with this. In order to warm ourselves we dug the rectangular platform approximately 3×4 metres and 70 centimetres deep in less then 4 hours. With the huge amount of soil and rocks from this hole we were able to make the land around the hut more flat. This is the area where we intend to plant native bush in the future.

Now we have the place ready for the digging of the holes for the foundations and we can start the real work.

Our hut will have a ground plan of 2.7 x 3.6m with a well insulated floor, walls and roof. At the north side will be a small deck. The layout of the hut will create an ideal environment for both living and meditating, complete with a raised meditation space, altar, small kitchen/dining area as well as a loft, which will be used for sleeping.

If we put together enough energy the hut will be ready to accommodate a travel teacher for the New Year’s course.

We bought the concrete and filled up the car with gravel in Rangiora. The weather alternated between rainy and sunny on our way.

There were clouds but no rain and the temperature was high enough to wear a t-shirt in Glentui. Within the day we had dug six holes in the rocky soil, put pylons in and filled them with concrete. There are three more to go and then we can start to build the floor.

Besides building the hut we also started cleaning up the property from gorse and broom in order to enable us to plant native bush in the future. If you think building is not for you, you can try gardening! There are 42000m2 of land to develop your qualities and a bond with the Sangha.

Glentui is the national project but due to large distances between cities friends from other centres have not had so many opportunities to come down. We appreciate it when they take the time off work, buy airline tickets and come to help. This time it was friends from Wellington.

On Saturday morning, instead of the usual shopping for building material, we went to the airport to pick them up. We headed straight to Glentui. The other carload of kagyupas caught up with us on the long stretch of road on the Canterbury Plains.

Surprisingly, it was nice weather up there. Dark clouds were staying at bay… or should we say at valley.

We divided ourselves into two groups. One finished putting pylons into the ground for hut foundations, so the next time they are ready to be built upon. We also moved some more ground and have built small stone wall to stop erosion. Around lunchtime there was some heated discussion about verandah, and the consensus was that it would be nice to have one, if budget allows.

The other group planted cabbage trees in the fenced areas and sprayed the gorse with herbicide. We like cabbage trees because they are native, and look nice on pictures. We dislike gorse, because it’s prickly, spreads like locust, and doesn’t want to go away.

Speaking of which, we would like to plant a forest on the bottom part of the land. We will would need 1000 trees to cover everything. We are thinking about asking friends all over the world for help. You will be able to have your own tree and become living part of Glentui. We will plant the tree for you too, or you can come and plant it yourself.

At the end of the day we all sat down around the table and indulged in fine wine while chatting away discussing plans for the future.