About Us
environmental Living Center
a life centered environment
All You Need Institute stewards 111 secluded acres of pristine habitats on occupied Chata’ (Choctaw) land in the heart of the Gulf South. We are guided by permaculture practices and the innate wisdom of the land to increase biodiversity and fulfill our responsibility to live in right relationship with mother earth.
All You Need Institute provides experiential learning and reflection opportunities that foster the practical skills and inner perspectives necessary for balanced relationship with ourselves, each other, and the natural resources that make our lives possible.
Our Mission
Our Values & Policies
Who We ARe
Contact us
Our Mission
>To nurture, nourish, and protect the delicate ecosystem of life on the land that we steward.
>To experiment with and demonstrate innovative approaches and tangible skills for living in right relationship with the earth, ourselves, and each other.
> To cultivate experiences and facilities where the healing capacity of the earth can reach its full potential.
>To foster and build community with those ready to face the realities of ecological collapse and/or seeking land stewardship in the gulf south.
Our Values & Policies
Reciprocity
Nurturing life-giving economic systems.
At All You Need Institute, we seek to create structures of exchange that demonstrate respect for the Earth and each other. We believe solidarity and gift economies align best with these principles. We acknowledge these systems are not new, but were pioneered and perfected by indigenous cultures over countless generations.
Ultimately we hope to live in an economy where individuals freely give what they feel is fair for what they receive from an experience, service, environment, or material good – all of which should be offered with joy or a sense of service, not just for accumulation and competition. Our disentanglement from capitalism will take time and won’t be pure. We hold that contradiction as we cultivate creative ways of being in exchange with our community. We support small and democratic ways of doing business, such as co-operatives and family businesses, of which we are one.
Our offerings include workshops, programs, retreats, and opportunities for folks to visit or camp on the land, as well as rentals for private events. For every offering, we suggest what we believe is a fair and accessible monetary value. We are also always open to trades, barters, payment plans, and other offerings as we seek to seed new systems of exchange. At All You Need we recognize a variety of resources: time, energy, material goods, money, knowledge/skills, networks, and passion. If you prefer to refrain from exchanging money, email and let us know what you feel is a balanced exchange. We look forward to hearing from you and commit to as much transparency as possible in these dialogues.
Responsibility
Reclaiming our responsibility to live an earth-centered life.
Our relationship with the earth is abusive and broken. Our daily lives are inextricably linked to a system of extraction and destruction that is rapidly making it impossible for life on earth to continue. We are in awe that regardless of this, the earth continues to make our lives possible every single day–providing the air we breathe, the water we drink, the foods we eat, and the lands we take shelter on. We acknowledge this debt and commit to doing whatever we can to take responsibility and make this relationship right.
Taking responsibility means acknowledging the ways our behaviors and choices cause harm and committing to changes. Taking responsibility means recognizing the incredible power, talents, and gifts we each have, then utilizing them to live in new ways on the earth. We recognize that each individual and community has their own way to answer this call toward greater sovereignty. We honor the multitude of paths towards reclaiming responsibility; specifically to those with intellectual or physical disabilities, mental or chronic illnesses, and any other situation that makes their path particularly complex.
An essential step to repairing our relationship to earth is humble listening. When we are willing to bow to the earth, surrender our self-centered, fear-based desires and instead heed the call from the waters, the forests, and the sky, miracles can happen. We commit to putting down the idea that we know best how to “fix” things or that the best solutions are determined through logical, rational means. Instead, we work to center the needs of the earth and devote ourselves to being in service of them, regardless of what we think.
Liberation
Liberation for all by seeking balance through reparations.
At All You Need Institute, we dream of the liberation of all people and the development of new cultural systems based on generosity, community, and balanced exchange.
We recognize that the history of exploitation and violence against the earth is linked to systemic violence and oppression of black and indigenous people throughout the recent history of the land we live on. This abuse has created a dire imbalance, giving us the privilege to live with the incredible bounty of this land, while others lack such privilege. To us, righting this imbalance means seeding reparations. All You Need commits to consistently redirect our resources–energy, time, money, and material goods–towards grassroots organizations and people who work for the sovereignty of the land and the sovereignty of indigenous and black people.
One way we do this is by offering reduced rates for Black and Indigenous orgs and individuals to visit, camp, and/or rent our facilities. As we develop programming and culture at the institute, we consult BIPOC expertise and leadership so that we can be as liberatory as possible in our practices. We do these things not in a spirit of charity but as acts of reparation we feel are necessary to achieve our dream of a liberated world. We are always available to listen and adjust to the needs of the most marginalized members of our community. We welcome all feedback and thoughts on these policies that are a perpetual work in progress, and look forward to learning together as we seek to be accomplices in the movement for liberation.
Compassion
Living in a heart-centered way.
All You Need Institute seeks to nurture a culture of compassion. We have compassion for ourselves–when we fail to meet our ideals, operate selfishly, or cause harm–and for others, even when it is challenging. We believe a resilient culture is receptive enough to release superficial judgments, adaptive enough to embrace and hold contradictions, and flexible enough to allow for the complexity and wholeness of the individual to exist within the container of community.
Mutual respect, clear communication about needs and boundaries, and commitment to navigating the difficulties of relationship cultivate compassion between individuals. We hold ourselves and our participants to these standards. We encourage kindness, receptivity, and vulnerability in our community, and recognize these qualities as signs of courage and strength. At the same time, All You Need recognizes the need for conflict, righteous anger, and direct speech about injustices and harm in real time. These behaviors are not only welcome in a culture of compassion, but necessary.
Who We Are
Jordan Bantuelle
Jordan is a native New Orleanian who graduated with a degree in biology from LSU, where he entered the world of environmental leadership. He’s worked and managed organic farms, New Orleans garden centers, urban farming organizations, and ecological landscaping companies. He’s been through Master Gardener and Master Naturalist courses as well as plant ID, water management and citizen arborist programs. He holds an advanced certification in the sustainable design methodology of Permaculture, completed Mark Shepard’s Restoration Agriculture course, is a Prescribed Burn Manager, and is a certified Wilderness Herbal First Responder. Jordan co-founded and co-operated Southbound Gardens over a 5 year period to sell produce and edible starter plants, install edible landscapes, and to teach adult urban farming workshops and school garden programs. Jordan’s work has been featured in the Advocate, the Gambit, Country Roads Magazine, Poppy Tooker’s Louisiana Eats, WTUL’s News and Views, WHIV’s Dig This, and on live television for Fox 8.
Kezia Kamenetz
Kezia is a New Orleans native, who graduated from Yale University with a degree in Philosophy in 2009. She has been practicing the Natural Dreamwork process with clients since 2013. Kezia offers numerous online and in-person classes, dream circles, and workshops based on her understanding of the dream realm and its potential for healing. She wrote and collaborated on a number of journals and workbooks such as Dream Wisely and The Dreaming I. She participated and organized a variety of community initiatives, including being a host of the community radio show WTUL News and Views and producing the Dream Caravan festival. She is a long time student of Nina Palmieri and the New Earth Movement and studied extensively with Jose and Lena Stevens of The Power Path. She completed training in breathwork with David Elliot and Theater of the Oppressed with Hector Aristizabal. Kezia’s work and writing was featured on Thrillist, WITCH Magazine, Lens NOLA, Rebelle Society, and many more. She believes in the innate wholeness of every person, in the power of fear to activate courage, and the power of pain to deepen compassion.