Casa Jocului - Centru independent de arte comunitare

Așa că, dacă îţi doreşti să ai foarte aproape de Cluj:

• un loc unde să te poţi conecta la o comunitate autentică şi sinceră,
• un spaţiu unde să poţi vedea/participa în fiecare weekend la evenimente irepetabile
  alături de performeri diverşi din toate colţurile lumii,
• un loc unde să poţi întâlni oameni cu care să formezi relaţii adevărate,
• o şcoală unde să poţi învăţa şi aprofunda diferite forme de artă într-un mod neşcolăresc şi
  foarte practic, fie singur (ă), fie alături de partener(ă), fie chiar alături de copiii tăi,
• un loc unde să ştii că oricât de lipsit de vlagă ai fi la sosire, te vei întoarce acasă cu energie şi bucurie,
  ... te invităm să citeşti mai departe să ne cunoşti povestea şi să afli cum poţi deveni o parte din ea :) 

Pentru mai multe detalii despre spațiu și construcție, pe casajocului.ro/spatiul  găsiți o hartă a locației, cu cele 3 clădiri menționate. Mai jos 2 imagini cu felul în care va arăta clădirea principală, Casa Jocului:

Sprijin financiar
Pentru construirea centrului independent de arte comunitare Casa Jocului estimăm un buget total de circa 70.000 de euro, pe parcursul a doi ani.

Avem în vedere strângerea acestui buget din mai multe surse, cum ar fi donaţii directe, împrumuturi private pe 5 ani şi proiecte de finanţare pentru ONG-uri. Prin platforma sprijina.ro dorim să aducem împreună puterea comunității și să obținem suma de 20.000 de euro, adică aproximativ 30% din total.

Preferăm să evităm proiecte de finanţare pentru business-uri, pentru că acest proiect nu este un business care urmăreşte un profit personal, ci o viziune legată de o comunitate care se poate susţine prin oamenii care rezonează cu scopurile noastre, şi care vor ca prin contribuţia lor să îşi creeze un spaţiu de întâlnire unde să se simtă bineveniţi şi bineprimiţi.

Dacă ai posibilitatea să sprijini acest proiect financiar, te rugăm să ai în vedere următoarele principii:

1. Investeşte doar dacă te regăseşti în această viziune și vrei să contribui la realizarea ei, sau dacă simţi că vrei să foloseşti şi tu în oarecare măsură infrastructura pe care o creem, fie că vrei să vii la petreceri, la cursuri, să ai un loc unde să poţi să-ţi aduci copiii la cursuri, ori că vrei să vii să te încarci cu atmosfera de la Cercul Întreg.
2. Investeşte cât poţi investi cu bucurie şi generozitate. Fiecare avem posibilităţi diferite şi nevoi diferite. Respectă-ţi limitele dar cultivă-ţi şi capacitatea de a dărui.

Îți mulțumim pentru contribuție!
Te vom ține la curent cu derularea campaniei de crowdfunding și cu derularea construcție pentru centrul comunitar de arte Casa Jocului! 

Abia așteptăm să ne vedem cu drag și voie bună în jurul focului, la Casa Jocului!

Hai la joc la joc la joc!
Să ne fie cu noroc!
(strigătură populară) 

====================== English version ======================

Casa Jocului - House of the Playful Spirit, the first independent community arts centre in Romania, a place which, in a post-pandemic world, will serve as a space for reconnecting on a personal and on a community level.

The project "Casa Jocului" (our English name House of the Playful Spirit) is about building the first independent center dedicated to community arts in Romania, 15 minutes away from the Cluj Napoca city center. This will be a home for community arts built by the extended community of people which grew from 2009 until now around the group Cercul Întreg, The Full Circle.

It is a space which, in the post-pandemic world, will serve as a space of reconnection and joy on a personal level and on a community level, spiritually, emotionally and physically.

A new vision of what people used to do and feel when they would gather for music, dancing and play around the fire, in various communities of Romania. A place which will bring back into society the idea of play (in romanian: joc / joacă), a concept which was still at the root of Romanian communities two generations ago and a concept which finds analogies in virtually any community around the world. 

The ritual of gathering around the fire for playing and celebration was valuable both for the young generations, full of enthusiasm and energy, as well for the elder people in the community, which would meet regularly to observe, to enjoy, to share their experience and guide the younger generations.

A place which contributed significantly to the well being of the individuals, from a physical perspective and from a mental health perspective, as well as generating a sense of well being for the entire community, seen as an organism.

Through this project our goal is also to exemplify the strenghts of a community and show how such a community can come together to bring healing and joy to the world around us, while connecting us to the common core of being human.

A project open to everyone who relates with the idea of building a better future for ourselves and generations to come learning from the wisdom of our ancestors.

We invite you to discover our vision, and to join us into making it a reality!

"A dream you dream alone, is just a dream. A dream you dream together is reality", John Lennon.

A different kind of school

Since 2008 until now, our association Cercul Întreg, The Full Circle, has been dedicated to creating an alternative and complementary kind of education, through body work, music, crafting and connecting to the roots and wisdom of our ancestors.

Our wide variety of activities and experiences which Casa Jocului will offer will focus on the concepts of embodiement, live music, mindfulness, masterclasses, the art of storytelling, crafts and the concept of play (in romanian: joc / joacă).

Some of the workshops and activities for adults and children which will take place regularly in Casa Jocului:

• Jam sessions and regular gatherings for music and dancing around the fire
• African drums 
• African dances 
• Capoeira 
• Music and rhythm workshops for children
• Discovering the inner voice and circle singing
• Workshops for Romanian „hore” and traditional flutes
• Crafting workshops (building instruments, bread making, ecological building, ecological farming, etc.)
• Mindfulness (yoga, meditation, tibetan bowls etc.)
• Ecstatic Dance events
• Team buildings
• Masterclasses with various international masters of different forms of community arts
• Gatherings for traditional rituals and celebrations

So, if you would love to visit a space which offers:

• A community based on sincerity and authenticity,
• A place where you can be part of regular unique celebrations,
• Together with various performers from different parts of the world,
• A place where you can meet people with whom you can create meaningful relationships,
• A school where you can learn and deepen different forms of arts in a joyful, interactive and practical way, alone or with your partner, your children, your friends or colleagues,
• A place where you know that, even if you arrive feeling tired and heavy, you will leave with more energy, more joy and with a bigger heart,
  ... we invite you to continue reading our story and see how you can become part of it :) 

Three buildings connected to the roots:

We already have the land for Casa Jocului, located in Feleacu village, 15 minutes away from the center of Cluj-Napoca, on the edge of the forest. Here we want to build three ecological buildings, a space which will be perfect both for the natural surroundings and the activities that will take place inside.

The construction site for Casa Jocului will be a great opportunity to use different techniques for ecological building, such as the super-adobe technique, using strawbale building or working with clay. The experience of working on our construction site will be joyful and collaborative, with live music and good food, the way it used to be when people gathered in a community to build houses together.

The construction project will be coordonated by Nemeth Janos, one of the pioneers in ecological building in Romania, and the founder of the project and association Coliba Verde.

The 3 buildings inside the community arts center:

1. Casa Jocului – The main space for activities
The main hall will have a diameter of 12 meters and a surface of around 110 square meters, with an open fireplace in the middle, same as the arhaic living spaces from different parts of the world (yurt, tipi, wigwam and so on). The structure will be made of wood, the floor will be made of solid wood that will allow for a good resonance when stomping in the dance (important for traditional dances such as „hore”), a surround sound system, soundproofing underneath the floor so as not to disturb the surroundings, changing rooms, ecological toilets, showers and a space for storing equipments.

2. Casa Traiului – The space for hosting
A dormitory for around 20 people, community kitchen, musical studio, a room for special guests (profesors, facilitators, masters of diiferent arts), a space for instrument building and maintainance.

3. Casa Administratorului
A house with 2 rooms for the caretaker(s) of the space.

For more details about the space and the buildings, visit our website casajocului.ro/spatiul where you will find a map of the location and more specific details. See also the 2 images below, showing the plans for the main building:

About us

Our core team from Cercul Întreg is a community of lively people , diverse and complemetary.

Our common journey through the years took us through all kinds of experiences, both good and bad. What brought us together over and over again is our love for music, for dancing and for the joy that we create as a group, and it is this love that helped us get through the challenges and obstacles which come in building trust, being authentic with self and others. Getting to know eachother and accepting each other more and more, helped us get through the hard times and it is also what gives us the energy to generate a strong and honest group connection.

Part of the our team: Bogdan Octav Rakolcza, Adrian Tudoran Cimpoeșu, Lucian Conțiu, Roxana Niculescu, Irina Bardoczi, Diana Luiza Ionașcu, Magda Moldovan, Ionuț Cioflică. More details about us on our website casajocului.ro/despre-noi

Financial support

The budget that we need for building Casa Jocului, this independent center for community arts, is around 70.000 euro during the next 2 years.

Our strategy is to raise this budget from several sources, such as private donations, private 5 year loans or financing projects for NGOs. Through the sprijina.ro platform we want to bring together the power of community and raise 20.000 euro, meaning around 30% of the total budget.

Because we are not a business and we do not seek personal profits, we tend to avoid business financing projects and want to go towards the vision of a community which can sustain itself through the individuals who relate with our goals and our vision, and who through their own contribution want to create a space of joy and celebration where they will be welcomed.

If you have the possiblity to contribute to this project, please have in mind the following 2 principles:

1. Invest only if you relate to the vision of the project and want to bring your contribution to making it become a reality, or if you feel like you will want to use the space and the facilities that the community center will offer (you or your children will want to come to the workshops, the parties, the gatherings and charge yourself with the atmosphere that will be created here).
2. Invest as much as you feel like investing, with joy and generosity. We all have different financial posibilities and different needs. Respect your limits while also consider cultivating your willingness to give (the gift of sharing).

Thank you for your contributions!
We will keep you informed with the ongoings of our campaign and with the news and events happening on the constructions site of Casa Jocului!

Looking forward to seeing you around the fire, at Casa Jocului! :)