We need it badly for this winter. It will be made of wood and not attached to the ground. It will give us shelter on rainy and cold days in our new forest location. We will be able to take it with us if moving is necessary again. But we hope that we will never have to move again. Although we believe in what Leon, an experienced kaleidoscoper, once said - "Kaleidoscope is not about a place. It is about people".

Kaleidoscope it's about people

A little over 11 years ago, a mother from Gdańsk woke up with the thought that there was little time left. Little time to find a good school for her son. She started looking. She didn't find it.

But she found people who didn't find it either.

And then we were born. We, Kaleidoscope, the first democratic school in Gdansk, Poland.

Time for life

The people of Kaleidoscope - children and adults - often say that they can be themselves. We are not busy preparing for life - the time for life is now. For the feeling of boredom and for losing yourself in work. For urgent questions, for searching the answers. Plans and lack of a plan. Playing, sleeping, crying. There are no mistakes - there is experience. Adults and children have equal dignity and equal rights.

It wasn't like this from the start, but with each passing year we are getting better at it.

Let's move to the forest

After four years in the concrete of the city, Kaleidoscope migrated to the forest. To the little houses in the forest scout base, where chives and strawberries grow under the spruces, shrews eat supplies from the pantry, instead of a school bell you can hear the industrious tapping of woodpeckers, and dragon-like lizards bask in the sun between the stones.

In this forest we - children and adults - grew for 6 years.

We got stronger.

Despite many obstacles. Or maybe because of them.

Obstacles that made us stronger

We started to be visited not only by wild boars, squirrels and shrews, but also by vandals and burglars.

Thanks to them, we became closer, organizing protection for our place.

The owners of the place stopped taking care of it and many of the houses turned into ruins.

So we repaired what was falling apart.

One day in February, our toilet equipment was stolen, and soon after the electrical installation was destroyed and we were left without electricity.

Evacuation!

We bought kerosene lamps and a gas heater, and when we were already warm, we sat down and decided that it was time to evacuate. That we were going to look for a new place. In the forest.

And you know? We found it. It is in the forest, there are wild boars and deer there. It is beautiful!

But there is no building and it has to be built. Exactly where we are standing in the photo below.

The flying Kaleidoscope building.

The building was designed for us pro bono by the wonderful Tomek and Zosia from HAG - Human Architecture Group. It will be wooden and not attached to the ground. We will be able to take it with us if moving is necessary again.

Before Zosia and Tomek started designing, they asked us what we needed to do in the new building and listened carefully to our answers. That is why the building will consist of a loud part and a contemplative part. It will have a toilet inside, a place to play, a place to study, a place to cook, a place to create, a place to be quiet and many other places.

We need it before this winter. Not only to flourish. To continue being Kaleidoscope.