With the recent opening of the St Peter’s Rainbow Village in South End – housing the ruins of the former St Peter’s Anglican Church, which once served as the heart of a multi-racial community displaced during the forced removals of the 1960s – it’s hard to imagine a more fitting gathering place to celebrate the enduring spirit of humanity and the importance of connection, inclusivity and unity.
Recently revived to showcase the diverse range of cultures that flourished here, there are many interesting combinations of activities underway and already taking place in this historic space.
In collaboration with the MBDA, a variety of organisations and contributors are involved in bringing life back to this previously forgotten space. Damian Williams of Earthbound, a regenerative farming specialist, has been preparing the sloped land to implement a community garden. And The Rooted Home and Gathering of Hearts are collaborating on several activities to celebrate the area’s rich legacy in a renewed way.
I spoke to Lian Taylor, a Yoga and Meditation Teacher and founder of Gathering of Hearts (formerly Evolution Collective), a local holistic community started some years ago.
Her sincerity and enthusiasm rang true as I heard more about the heart and vision of this community platform. Her primary goal is clear:
Fostering a culture in our region that is more integrated, cohesive and thriving, facilitating understanding of and access to holistic modalities, so that people can be more wholly supported and better resourced in their healing journeys and life in general.
“Gathering of Hearts is a Gqeberha-based community, platform and movement for the Eastern Cape created around holistic wellbeing and natural living,” Lian explains.
Here, holistic health professionals can promote their services, are encouraged to find and connect with others, to collaborate, combining skills and expertise, and in so doing create an enhanced and more supportive network for individuals seeking natural and integrative approaches to health and wellness.
“Our mission is to help people empower themselves. We provide a platform and are building a framework so that individuals can effectively resource themselves with the support, tools and practices to enable them to create better health, to stabilise themselves so that they can navigate life and experience it more joyfully.”
Lian’s personal healing journey began while she was still working in the corporate sector.
She followed her inner guidance, but it became clear that many of the kinds of resources that provided the most impact in achieving true healing, balance and peace were not commonly known about, and thus difficult to access and benefit from. On having left her corporate career and becoming a full-time yoga teacher, she has also felt and observed how many healers and practitioners in the local wellness industry – offering truly beneficial modalities and practices – struggle to attract enough clients to be supported and thrive. This kind of environment can bring a competitive air, but “nothing good ever came about from being lone wolves and in competition with each other,” she adds. “We always make more when we come together in unity.”
Thus, motivated to create a warm and welcoming, inclusive, mutually supportive platform, what began as a simple WhatsApp group has since evolved into a private Facebook group, offering a space for those who both require and offer support, holistic in nature, understand the importance of mindfulness, and work in an aligned way towards holistic wellbeing.
“Always listen to your own inner sense, but if required, people can search this group for the offerings, tools and modalities that resonate with them,” Lian advises. “This is a safe space for all faiths, shades and orientations of humans where people can announce themselves, others can know you’re there, and everyone can find what they need on their individual path.”
While the group is not publicly accessible, anyone can request to join by answering a few straightforward – but important – security questions designed to maintain the integrity and safety of the community.
A series of weekend get-togethers at St Peter’s Rainbow Village will showcase a curated mix of practices and practitioners drawn from the community, like breathing exercises, Yoga and Pilates sessions, different talks and interactive workshops.
For more information, follow @gatheringofhearts_gq or @therootedhomehealing on Instagram, and visit or join the Gathering of Hearts page and private group on Facebook.
