We wanted to head this report with the Foundation’s motto and clarify it with some beautiful words from Mahatma Gandhi:

“I feel myself a brother of all beings, and to be happy, I need to see the smallest of all beings happy. My life is a continuous work, realized with joy. Because I do not want to worry about tomorrow, I feel as free as a bird.”

“The world is not based upon the strength of weapons of war, but on the strength of truth and love. Just as there is a unifying force in the world of matter, so there is also amongst living beings, and this force is love. The power of truth and love is invincible”.

“I believe in the essential unity of the human being with all that lives. Consequently, if only one single person takes a step forwards in life, all of humanity benefits. We must fulfil our duty and leave the rest in the hands of God. Prayer has saved my life.”

The name ‘S´Olivar’ comes from the Foundation’s location, in the ‘finca’ of S´Olivar (the ‘estate of the olive grove’) near the village of Estellencs (‘the village of the brilliant star’, or the ‘place’ or ‘valley’ of the stars). The olive tree has been the symbol of world peace since the origins of the Mediterranean culture: the twig in the beak of Noah’s dove or the tree planted on the Acrópolis by Athena, goddess of wisdom. It also symbolizes eternity because of its longevity, fertility, because out of its adaptation to austere environments, it feeds, heals and enlightens people, and victory, as when Olympic athletes and illustrious citizens in Greece were crowned with olive wreathes. For Christians, Christ (‘the anointed one’, with olive oil) was hailed on Palm Sunday with olive branches, he prayed in an olive grove, in the valley of Getsemany whose only roof was the starry sky, and finally he was buried in the olive grove of Joseph of Arimatea on a Friday evening, to be resurrected again in the early morning of Easter Sunday.

We conclude this short introduction by expressing our sincere gratitude to all those who are making this project possible.

Estellencs, june 1998

Taizé – Surrexit Christus
Taizé – Adoramus te, o Christe