The conversation illuminates the profound necessity of fostering sustainable communities, as articulated by our guest, Marat, the visionary founder of the ARC. At the very crux of our discourse lies the imperative to craft environments that not only nurture current inhabitants but also bequeath a flourishing legacy to posterity.

Marat's extensive background in government, politics, and business equips him with a unique lens through which he perceives the intricate interplay between vision, execution, and communal values.

The ARC is presented not merely as an ambitious concept but as a tangible exemplar of how collective efforts, rooted in transparency and integrity, can engender thriving neighborhoods that significantly enhance quality of life. As we delve into the nuances of community-building, we will also explore the practical milestones necessary to translate visionary ideals into concrete realities, thereby challenging the conventional paradigms of living and governance.

The discourse presented within this episode encapsulates an exploration of transformative community-building, as defined by the arc, an innovative model spearheaded by the visionary Marat. At the crux of our dialogue lies the fundamental principle that the future we bequeath to subsequent generations is both a product of our current actions and an embodiment of our collective vision.

Through Marat's rich tapestry of experiences across governmental, political, and entrepreneurial landscapes, we delve into the nuances of fostering sustainable, resident-driven communities that empower individuals and cultivate a sense of belonging.

We are drawn into a conversation that deftly interweaves the threads of vision, execution, and outcome, illustrating how the arc transcends mere concept to become a tangible demonstration of thriving neighborhoods that enhance quality of life and serve as a global beacon for sustainable living. In contemplating the arc's vision, Marat articulates a profound belief that the contemporary epoch—shaped by the pandemic's reverberations—demands reconnection with nature.

This shift, he argues, is not merely a return to simpler living but an evolution towards recognizing humanity's intrinsic relationship with the environment. The dialogue navigates the complex interplay of technology and community, positing that while the encroachment of artificial intelligence and remote work has altered societal dynamics, it is imperative that we do not allow these advancements to overshadow the organic connections that foster community cohesion.

As Marat expounds on the daily lives of residents within the arc, listeners are invited to envision a world where work and passion coalesce seamlessly, where individuals are empowered to contribute to their community in meaningful ways, thereby challenging the conventional dichotomy between personal and professional life.

Lastly, we critically examine the governance and operational frameworks that underpin the arc. Eschewing traditional democratic models, Marat articulates a sociocratic approach that prioritizes accountability and inclusivity while maintaining a clear decision-making structure.

This innovative methodology seeks to avert the pitfalls commonly associated with intentional communities, namely the propensity for disillusionment stemming from unrealistic expectations. By fostering a culture of transparency and shared responsibility, the arc endeavors not just to create a community but to establish a living organism that thrives on collaboration, creativity, and mutual respect. As we conclude this enlightening session, we are left with the tantalizing prospect of a future where communities are not just created but are cultivated—nurtured by the very individuals who inhabit them, thus embodying the spirit of co-creation and sustainability that is quintessential to the arc.

Takeaways:

• The conversation underscores the profound importance of creating intentional communities that prioritize sustainable living and collective empowerment, thereby ensuring a promising future for future generations.
• Marat's unique blend of experiences across government, politics, and business culminates in his endeavor to establish the ARC as a model for community-driven sustainability and resilience.
• The need for individuals to cultivate a deeper understanding of their motivations and aspirations is paramount when embarking on the journey to build an intentional community or a similar venture.
• The ARC embodies a bridge between traditional capitalist structures and emerging regenerative models, fostering a harmonious relationship with nature while promoting economic sustainability and community collaboration.
• In a world increasingly dominated by technology, the discourse advocates for a balanced integration of AI and human connection, emphasizing that technology should serve humanity rather than dictate its course.
• The dialogue underscores the importance of transparency and accountability within community governance, highlighting the role of clear structures and processes in conflict resolution and decision-making.

Links referenced in this episode:

• thearkworld

Mentioned in this episode:

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And a future worth handing to the next generation. I am your host, Reverend Dr. Keith Haney. Today's conversation sits at intersection of vision, execution, values and outcomes.

Our guest is Marat, a visionary founder of the arc, a bold living model for sustainable resident driven community. Marat brings a rare blend of experience spanning government, politics and business. And a track record for turning complex projects into reality.

His leadership is grounded in transparency, integrity and co creation where every resident is seen, heard and empowered.

ARC is more than an idea, it's a demonstration where the right principles and collective effort people can build thriving neighborhoods that enhance quality of life and serve as a beacon for sustainable living worldwide. Rad. Welcome to becoming bridge builder.

Thank you so much, Keith. Thank you. I was looking forward to this conversation. We postponed it a couple of times, so now I'm excited.

We did and I was like, we gotta get this out, we gotta get this recorded. So I'm glad it worked out for us.

Yes, perfect.

So I'm going to ask you my favorite question. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

Oof. Yeah, that was. I was, I was. At that time I was. I was an advisor to the mayor of Almaty, the. The second largest.

The largest city in Kazakhstan and the financial capital of Kazakhstan. And I was 28 and I was responsible partially for communication with the we. With the population.

And you know, there were like certain things and I came to with. I was young and obviously very unexperienced. And I came to the mayor and there was a moment when I.

Things went like, you know, and I'm like, but, but people complain. And he's like, and he's like, I tell you one thing, people always complain.

That's very true.

That's very true. And I was like, interesting.

And you have to learn to not let those complaints distract you from especially mission and vision.

Exactly.

You can be derailed very easily by critics.

Exactly. And you can get taken away by complaints. And they're just like, you know, the truth is that it's a human nature.

I like how Joe Dispenza is putting it. He's like, we are addicted to complaining, to suffering.

Yes.

Right.

We like suffering unless we're in the middle of it.

Exactly.

So I'm curious, looking at your vision behind ark, you have led government, politics, business, three arenas that are complex in the norm. What moment or insight persuaded you that now is the time to create the arc?

I strongly believe that this is the time from. Yeah. From different platforms where I was participating.

I strongly believe that we have reached the time in the development or evolution of this planet, of the humanity, of how things are going, Thankful maybe partially to Covid or because of COVID as well, that we have reached the point space when people are going to be moving more and more to nature. We finally coming to the understanding there is a gloom of robotics powered with artificial intelligence coming on us.

We realize that the remote work is not. Is something of a normality now. So now a lot of questions are rising about so what is natural for us, where it's natural to live. Right.

So like industrial revolution kind of pushed us towards the cities because there were more opportunities and all of those things. Now that the new revolution is happening and we're living within it. Right. So like this kind of next stage of, of a human.

And I believe that this next stage of human life is connecting, understanding us as a part of a whole and moving closer to nature.

And this is when I realized that if we going to bring our previous mindset, which is pretty much dictated by capital, we are, by this relocation to nature, we're going to destroy a lot of natural sites. And I realized that first of all, I want to create a space and the home for myself.

And whenever I'm going to have kids, which is going to be both safe and we'll give them homegrown food and we'll provide them with a prism of the world through which they're going to look at the world. And they were looking at through a very different kind of regenerative perspective.

And at the same time I want this to become a blueprint for future projects and for this kind of modality of relocation to nature that we don't have or all the things that we don't have to do and all the things that we kind of have to do if we're doing that. So it's not becoming a new colonization.

Yeah, I like that. So let's dig into that because I'm curious. When we say that ARC is a beacon, paint us a picture of what that looks like.

What's a day in the life of a resident look like and what you envision this to be.

Yeah. Well, at the Moment we have 35 adults and 17 kids. Not everybody live here full time. We're located in Santa Teresa, which is a tourist town.

So a lot of people are coming and living normally. The days start very early. We wake up pretty early with first rays of sun, which is around 5, 6 in the morning. And.

And then it's like normally mornings are all about like movement classes and people would Go to yoga classes or to whatever, like, you know, martial arts or movement of all sorts. And then we have a school. Now, we don't call it a school. We call that center. Center for conscious learning.

So at the same pro, at the same time, parents are dropping off their kids. There's. So there are parallel realities happening. We have paddle and pickle court.

So there could be, like, somebody who would, like, start already morning games. So this is all before kind of mixture of like, when people start kind of working. And I believe, like, working is. People can do it with the.

With the computers, like a remote work or within the arc or, you know, a lot of people who are populating the ark and not only as residents, but also, like, coming and going there a lot in the wellness space so that they create their own experiences. So there is. What I see, we're going from.

From structure, which is like 9 to 5, on towards more softer spaces when people don't distinguish anymore that this is my work life and this is my life. Everything is mixed and not mixed from the perspective of, like, oh, I don't have healthy boundaries, but.

But rather mixed from the perspective that this is my passion and I live and I create through me being alive, you know, so therefore there's like, There is. There are no days when people are just like, oh, I'm. I'm. I'm pulling a sledge here.

It's more of like, you know, I'm enjoying and just like, that's how I just flow through the day. So then normally it's like, yeah, it's a lot of, like, this kind of creative processes during the day. And then in the evenings, we always have.

So the kids, they're occupying the shala and the, like, you know, event spaces with their classes, with their gatherings during the day. And then in the afternoon, it's like, again, we're coming back with classes and the different concerts or talks.

So there are, like, this kind of dynamic when kids are deeply entwined into what the adults are doing, and we're kind of always spending time in the same spaces with an idea of empowering and bringing an example to kids that, like, what is a normality, how normality looks like?

So my first thought is, this sounds interesting. How does it work economically?

How do you give up your house, your car, your job, and move into a place where what you describe is very different than what you're typically used to?

Yeah, I think it takes certain. I wouldn't call it a leap of faith. I would call it rather reprogramming and Understanding or changing the perception of a normality.

And it inevitably comes with educating oneself of like how, or raising questions of like how the norm or conventional way of living has occurred. And. And then when one understands it, one also realizes that it's unnatural.

So then the exit from that kind of conventional way of living is becoming pretty obvious. There's like people normally go like yeah, I don't want to be part of the, of that anymore of this system. So that is a leap of faith in a sense.

But it's not anymore because we are not the first space like intentional communities have existed for pretty now like maybe three decades, something like that. So that's when like, you know, this was an important step towards what is a regenerative village. Right.

So I believe that's there that was a leap of faith.

Now it's just much, much larger movement and people still don't have to completely kind plug out of the, of the economical model and go into some sort of a commune cult where you kind of swear on blood and, and you're nothing like that. And I believe the arc, and that's why I love also actually then what calls me a lot in the name of your podcast, becoming bridge builders.

Because I believe and we all share kind of this idea also that the ARC is exactly this bridge.

I believe that we live in this kind of inversion point on when the capitalistic civilization is inevitably collapsing and a new civilization is appearing, which is the next stage of our evolution. And projects like us, they're exactly those bridges between those two spaces. So I believe we're now in this inversion point.

So it's technically if a person is an inversion point and they kind of that's what raising the awareness of do I want to keep watching the news and seeing how everything is bad or do I want to actually invest my energy into building something new and take the power in my own hands and join the group or whatever community or collective of building something that is going to be functioning for my kids or I'm going to be still trusting into elected officials and living in an oblivious that they still keep doing something beneficial for the people. You know,.

You kind of paint an interesting dichotomy because you have two options. The way I see the world going right now, one option is.

And you didn't really kind of address it, but so we have this AI tech generation where it seems to me like it's less and less about community and more about individualism in the tech direction.

What you're describing is almost not necessarily getting rid of Tech, but not having tech dominate our lives and getting back to community building where we rely on each other for things as opposed to relying on an AI generated something or other. So kind of maybe give me those two. Or are you seeing something different in terms of where you see this?

I love this kind of comparison. I tell you one thing, it's so funny like living here and seeing how people come here and then they spend some time and then they all go out.

Not necessarily from the Ark in general, from Costa Rica and like, you know, from this kind of space of immense connection with nature and with other people, which is the same nature and other people and. Right, right. And it's, and, and they, everybody has the same feedback.

Like they people go like, wow, this was the most connected, beautiful time of my life and I really enjoy it. And then that's what like raises the question, right? Like now Costa Rica is on top of the list of like people with relocation.

Because I believe people start feeling it that this kind of separation and fragmentation which capitalism has created for us is not, is something unnatural. And then part of that is also the AI and like, you know, everything that comes out from like scientific materialism.

And I think that here it's very important also to kind of not to create one that is opposing another. But as I was saying, it's creating rather a bridge where technology can be in service to the humanity. Right.

And I will completely lie to you if I tell you that I'm not using ChatGPT. I do. But at the same time, and it's such a huge helper to me, I'm ping ponging ideas a lot and it's like, it's really great.

The thing is that I believe what. And I don't know where it's all going, but it's deeply entwined.

But we're not kind of slaves of that thing, you know, we're not building our life depending on like where AI is going to go, which you see a lot now in the. Inobviously. Right. Like AI is a new kind, I don't know, new thing thing, new nuclear weapon or whatsoever you call it.

Right.

Like when people are like kind of correcting their life with. And you. We get all bombarded by these messages. If you don't learn AI now in three years, you're gonna live without job.

And these people live in this fear that they all have to run and now learn something which nobody still understands. And they're like, you know, daily newsletters of like tons of information.

And I've been in that space when it just all started and I was like, wow, I'm whatever I do, I constantly feel that I'm behind and I decided to stop it. First of all, I don't read news for the last and watch news for the last six years. And now I unsubscribe from everything what's going on with AI.

And I'm like, you know what? We have our own thing.

And it's like, I want to live in connection with nature and I want to live with the rhythm of nature because I'm part of nature and AI or whatsoever technology is going to come and serve us, it's going to be great, but I'm not going to make my life according to that.

Right. Makes sense. I love talking about vision. Vision is one of my passions. But I'm curious, having a vision is one thing, building it is another.

What are the first five milestones required to turn the vision like the Ark into an actual community?

Yeah, I love this.

I was listening to one podcast recently, I don't remember which, and a person said, I really like that we have a lot of system thinkers now, but actually we really need and system builders.

Right.

And I really love it as well. There's another expression.

There's like, I don't remember who said it, but it's a very famous one that the world needs dreamers and the world needs doers, but above all the world needs dreamers who do.

That's right.

And so practical implications, I believe first and foremost is to understand your why. And this is a thing that is not many people understand. It's like, you know, why are you, why do you want to create a project like this?

And, and it's not from like a perspective of like a business kind of why define your why define why of your company, what you're solving and whatsoever. It's truly like, what do you, as a person, why do you want to go and create an intentional community or a village or whatsoever you call it?

Because that, that, that is not an easy process. And second one, I believe is going to be the perseverance because when you understood we.

Or why creating an intentional community requires enormous effort. If people, if listeners were doing startups and they know how tough it is.

So intentional community or like a village is tenfold more complicated because you, it's a startup where you also leave where things are happening at the same time always. So it's. And you're sharing the space with people just like, you know, in the, in the, in a startup environment, you kind of come to the office.

You make it and you go back and you kind of have another here you have everything. It's all together. So there is, so there is no kind of separation in a sense.

And at the same time another thing is so perseverance would be the second one. So like you kind of, you, you have to push because it's going to be tough.

And another one is like to like a personal development in the sense of where humans that were untaught, we untaughter like you know, we, we were. We unlearned how to live together. We don't know that we. We don't know how to operate in these environments.

And, and it requires a lot of growth, a lot of understanding. A lot of community is moreover like a tight knit community, like a land based community serves as a big mirror to each other's patterns.

A collective mirror, you know, in which you're always communicating and you're co living and you cannot kindly escape from this situation. So without proper self reflection you, you can get into trouble.

Moreover, if you're a person that is starting the project, another one I believe which would be a practical, a practical step would be really being okay with unknown. And this is again not in this just a spiritual way. How you're like oh, you know, same like Joe Dispenza and all of that, which is true, right?

It's like being a.

But it's truly being okay with unknown because from the beginning, how you are planning it till the moment that you're executing it, it's going to be very different thing. And how it's got. This thing is going to evolve. You don't know it.

And, and if you're coming with rigidity, you're just gonna get, you're just gonna break, you know. And because this, this is not a real estate development you're building, it's a different thing, you know, it's different.

It's a living organism and an ecosystem and all whatsoever. And I believe with these four you would be already okay.

I love that. So here's a tough question because we talk about turning vision into reality. You've oversee a lot of complicated projects.

What's a common failure mode that you've seen elsewhere that the ARC intentionally is designed to avoid? Because you think about this community and it sounds so positive. But there's always downsides to everything you're creating.

What are the biggest failure possible modes that you're trying to avoid with what you're creating now?

I think when people are doing projects which are like they call Intentional communities. They remember when I was talking, when I was saying about this kind of first step towards something next.

And this something next, I believe is what we are experimenting with. And this is a new type of human settlement.

And the fallacy of intentional communities was that or is still is that there is no uniting threat, there is no economical element into it. And that's why they're collapsing. Because first of all, people are kind of trying to escape from something.

Normally people who are drawn to this project, they're a lot, they're looking for like they're not fitting into the conventional system for, for a reason. And it's sometimes these reasons are nobody is supposed to be fitting into this system, although you're taking advantage of that system.

So people feel that they want to escape and then like you kind of get this escapism mentality and intentional communities then become neighborhood of escapists and then they all kind of have something in common.

Yeah, they don't like, they don't resonate with what's happening around, but then it's still a neighborhood community is a community when we're all united with a certain idea, values and also certain activity together.

So that's what we're addressing at the arc through creating we're practically a land based enterprise and people who are joining the arc and it's not an obligation at all, but an invitation is for people to join also the team of the ark. So you can either be a passive resident and we have people like that, we call them stewards.

In general, all residents who are joining the ARC are called stewards.

So you can be a passive steward of the ark and you can just like, you know, you're committing to the vision, you love the vision and you're purchasing your real estate and you live and you're enjoying life. And actually we are redistributing 31% of our profit among all stewards.

So practically you're already entitled for, whenever you're joining for the benefit from the project and that none of the intentional communities normally have it. And another thing is that we were invited to join as an active contributor in the team member on economical basis.

And you are invited also to shine your, your talents. And that's when the implication, you know, very often we play with friends.

Well, before I started this, we were playing with friends like oh, if the world would end and you are invited. You're, you're suddenly in a tribe. What can you offer that they don't eat you? And I mean, I don't want to say that the arc is this.

But this is an interesting thing. You know, when we're like, oh, shit, so what actually can I offer? You know, what, what can I offer?

And, and, and our favorite question when people are coming to the arc is like, so what. What have you been always dreaming of doing? What is your passion?

Not what, like, you know, what, what the society made you to do, but truly, like, you know, what. What do you want to be doing? And it's not important that you haven't learned it.

If there is a passion inside of you that you know that this is your dharma, that you know that, that you're great for, the arc is going to be a perfect place for you to plug in your skills or your talent or your passion.

When I hear what you're talking about, I know my guests are probably going, are you trying to create a utopia society? Because that's always a danger, right? When you're talking about a community. Is this some kind of utopian fantasy?

And when people come to join this utopian fantasy, they find out that it's not utopia and they're disillusioned or it gets worse. So how do you avoid the utopian syndrome?

Yeah, it's either utopia or another question is like, is it a cult?

Yeah, that's right.

It's one of those two. I think we always are very upfront with the people who are coming. We do betting of their potential stewards.

And there are many people who are drawn like this. People who could do think that it's utopia, like end of the worlders and all of that. And we normally, we are very cautious with people like this.

We're like, that's not who we are. We're just.

We're just choosing not to give, not to pay attention towards the fallacy of the past, rather, but rather like pay attention to what we can create together. And not necessarily create together as a land.

As a land enterprise of the ark, but at the same time like a larger community of all people who want to build a more beautiful world that's possible. And I believe that that's. It's very much unveiled in the. In the conversations. Normally, people, the modality, how people are finding us.

They're first having an online call with our team, and our team is kind of explaining them very well. The concept where all these things are told are talking through.

So like, normally, when people coming to visit already the art, all these kind of ideas are fizzling out. They're not there anymore.

I think it's important what you just said, because it Made me think of another question that is how do you distinguish between a unified vision and uniformity? Because I think that's where it becomes a cult when it's uniformity versus a unified shared vision.

Yeah, I believe it's, it's. It's more of like a larger perspective of the world. Right.

It's like anyway, we still, as a project, we still of course mainly gathering people who believe that we can create better systems. And these better systems, they're rooted in, in, in, in.

In a more just relationship between people and a fairness and with the relationship with the earth. And, and it, it's not exactly. It's like not a uniformity of like, you know, everybody thinks the same.

It's rather like, you know, we all believe that. We all feel that that's what is true. What is what is in getting invited to get born. Right? It's. And we all feel it.

All, all people in the world feel it to a certain extent, right. That the nature is not taken as an equal stakeholder in the processes. And, and we all like, you know, yeah, this is true. So how can we make.

How can we make it happen?

And how can like, you know, and that's when you know that you can have so many different opinions and like, opinions can go from like, yeah, we can actually sacrifice this or maybe no, people can go to a very like strong rigidity. And it's like just a very small example, right? They're the same goes about healthcare and education and. And economical system.

So that's what I believe.

Regenerative kind economy and regenerative villages are all about like, how can we create these systems about like repairing or fixing, restoring something.

So I work a lot with congregations and churches and every time we talk about vision, one of the things that always comes up somewhere in the conversation is, okay, how do we get this done? So like, how is our governed? Yeah, kind of walk me through your structure. Is it a council, is it cooperative model, participating, budgeting?

How is that? How do you, how do you run this whole thing with, with some kind of a skeleton to go on the vision?

It, you know, it was an interesting exploration what to do and how to make it happen. What is fair and what is invited to get born. And I started the arc. We don't have investors. I started the Ark myself.

So this was one of the first decisions of us maintaining freedom rather than not to create any extractive mentality. The ark is governed by the team. The team is so far led by the founder, who is me.

Later on, my team My role is going to get transitioned towards the chairman of the board of stewards. But so far for the next three years I'm going to function as a CEO and as a founder.

And later on the operational executional kind decision making responsibility is going to be transitioned towards the general manager of the village. So we are not a democracy in a sense. You know, we are not like, you know, majority decides.

We are implementing sociocracy when you operate by circles. But this sociocracy is implemented by the team.

And that's what I, an important thing that I said is like that the, the ARC is governed or managed by the team. It's not managed by the stewards. Stewards are participating in this and there is a informing process and updates and everything.

But we, but there are people who are in charge of executing tasks. So intentional communities very often is like, let's gather together and John, you're gonna be cutting timber and like.

And people are just like, you know, like do. And then John stops cutting the timber because he's having a bad day and nobody is cutting the timber anymore. It's a very simple example, but it.

Could be an important example you Exactly.

Then it's like, you know, the whole system is collapsing because now somebody's having a bad day. Whereas like I, I saw that and that's where I believe also this kind of bridge building is that the villages were. The villages.

The, the way they're of the. Of the future of this like regenerative settlements of the future. They have to be operated as enterprises. They have to be financially successful.

They have to be at the same time successful on, on like sociologically and all of that like you know, on so many different levels, layers. But somebody has to be running the show, right?

And people normally who are joining in some very romantic idea you would have like oh yeah, everybody who's going to join is going to participate On. But then you're dealing with people who are purchasing real estate. They want certain services.

We are again we're a bridge from people who are coming living from the cities to nature. So if, if it's a very naive to expect that people are going to jump over the bridge and be like oh, I never cut timber in my life.

Now I'm gonna take an ax. I'm gonna cut timber for all my village.

And then there are like also another very naive examples of people thinking that their economical sustainability can be resolved within the, within the community. Now I always dreamt of baking the bread and now I'm gonna be making bread and selling the Bread to all the community.

Now then the person realizes that it was a beautif picture. And in the reality, baking the bread, it's a daily job that is not very well paid back.

And you actually, by substance, by providing it to 80 families daily, you cannot sustain yourself. So people are like, you know, there is a lot of projection and daydreaming about how this is going to look like.

And if, if one, as a founder or as an executor of the project, is building the success or the sustainability of the project on daydreams, that's a path towards a collapse. So therefore we are creating this blueprint to invite people who want to create the same. Like, how can you make it through the team?

At the same time, team can also be stewards. But then our relationships, when you're entering into the team, they're different. You're not anymore playing out with an idea. No.

You have a list of responsibilities. You can be fired. You're going to get compensated for what you're doing. This is your job now. You're becoming a part of the team.

The whole depends on you now. And if you're not ready for that, that's cool, just enjoy the life of the village.

But if you want to give, and this can be made by hours, by results, by whatsoever. Some people go like, and I just want to volunteer, go ahead.

Some people participate in their closing, very important positions in the whole, you know, so that's what, how we see that this is going to be executed. And again, this is an experiment that is for now lasts between four and five years, the arc.

And I believe that's why I'm always saying like, next three years is when I'm going to be still running as a CEO. Because that system takes time and takes centralization to build it. Because if you. And I don't mean that like it's an authoritarian system.

When there is one person deciding, it is still decided. And there are many opinions are taken into consideration. But there has to be like, you know, guys, we're, we're going to go this way.

Somebody has to take a responsibility for the decisions.

Anytime you talk about relationships, they're going to be disputes. I'm curious, how do you handle what's your dispute resolution approach and process?

It's a good question because I never realized before I was asking, asking myself a lot that like, and I was like, and even talking with the same chatgpt and I was like, challenge me about all those, those things. And it was challenging, challenging me a lot about like conflict Resolution.

And it's just like you have to have the conflict resolution mechanism in place. I'm like, yeah, okay, so tell me, what is the conflict resources, conflict resolution? And I was reading before and I, everything is so vague.

I was like, can somebody give me an exact example of like Sarah has fought with John? What is, what is the process there? What is the step by step process?

And I realized that as much as a lot of people like to talk about it, there are very little like SOPs in place. You know, okay, when this happens, we're taking out this book and that's how we go step by step.

And this is an important point because I can't stand, I don't know if you can say bad words on you. I can't say, can't start bullshit by nature, you know, and if something is vague, I feel it.

And like if somebody is trying to sell me something, which is just a lot of beautiful words, like, I immediately smell that this is a UN policy. And I'm like, I'm not buying that crap.

So far what we came up with is, first of all, we're having, every two weeks we're having an alignment circle between all of us. And what we have discovered that the best is working is this kind of circles conversation system when there is always a third person participating.

Doesn't matter if there is a conflict between groups or it was like one on one conflict or disputes or whatsoever, but there is always a mediator and the mediator is normally so so far this is me. And we see that this position has to be later on resolved by the, either by the board of stewards or by, or by the management team.

So there is somebody with, with a kind who's holding the truth about how we operate as a, as a collective, which could be, I wouldn't say a judge, but it's more like mediator in the process.

And, and, and there were situations like, you know, we, we had a situation when somebody built a water tank and this water tank was pretty high and the person next to, on the next property, they were not happy. And, and the conflict started appearing and I had to intervene.

And we went into, I was like, yeah, we have a measure, we have architectural guidelines according to which we have certain height which is allowed by law and by our internal rules. And we measured it and this tank was 1 meter lower than the, than our architectural guidelines.

So the person who was building was not kind of breaking any, any kind of law, any law or regulation or anything, but the person next to it, they were not Happy because it's still high.

But we were like, yeah, but we all signed up that this is the, this is so like, you know that the question is like if somebody is not breaking something. So it's not that like, you know, oh, the conflict. Everybody went out happy from the, from the situation. But the kind of.

The conflict doesn't exist anymore because there was a reasoning voice behind, you know.

Right. That makes sense. This is a fascinating conversation. I'm going to ask you my other favorite question though. What do you want your legacy to be?

I really like to remove myself from any conversation about myself because I believe there is. I stick to belief.

And I love that you're talking Now I'm excited even more about this conversation because I love that you said you're talking a lot with churches. And I believe that. My personal belief is that we all are the universe and we all are God. I call it the universe.

Just like to remove the word God because I believe it has so much programming already, that word. So I call it the universe. But we can say God. And I, and I believe that everything is God and we all are God. Right?

Like we all are this kind of physical reality of this energetical field which is the self organizing intellect and it's. We all are here just a representation of it. And we all are born in this specific place and specific time for a reason.

And the universe brings us all for a reason. And the universe equips us with traumas and, and skills and.

And I believe it was somewhere in the Bible actually was just like this subtle voice that, that is always there. So I believe the subtle voice is that like every kid has from the very beginning till they start getting conditioning and programming and.

And I believe it's our responsibility to hear to this voice and to listen to this voice and to unveil it and uncover it and to act in accordance with it. And I, and therefore I believe there is no me kind of. But it's just like what's happening and what is the universe is creating through all of us.

And I believe through me in particular, it's bringing the. It. It wants to create the world a more open and honest place and make it a more transparent place.

And also I believe it parts partly it kind of in physical representation. It is this kind of, this kind of human settlement and our relationship within. Within this.

So the ARC is more of a tool, but the ultimate objective is the transparency and openness.

Interesting. And kind of from my perspective we would say that we all reflect the image of God and he's kind of what you sort of described.

And so we reflected him perfectly, of course. And so when you see that glimmer, that light, that salt in the world, that's just us reflecting the glimmer of the divine.

And hopefully you see the divine in most of us more than you see most of the time. So, Murat, where can people connect with you, learn more about the ark and what you're doing?

I believe our website is the best invitation to do it. It's the ark world. We have the same Instagram handle. We are not on any other social media. We're not on TikToks, we're not from that generation.

But Instagram and our website would be the best place.

Well, Marat, thank you so much for sharing your vision, your practical steps to make it real. The ARC reminds us that communities aren't accidents, they're choirs where each voice matters.

So thank you for sharing your time and your vision for this with our audience.

Thank you so much, Keith. It was a pleasure.