Who We Are

The Founders

Gaia and Paul began their journey in 2004, where they met in Koh Phangan, Thailand. Together, they traveled internationally, visiting many ecological and spiritual communities along the way. These include the OSHO Meditation Center in India, Pacha Mama in Costa Rica, the Bullock Homestead in Washington State and Harbin Hot Springs in California. They also lived together in community at The Sanctuary in Thailand and Avalon Springs in California and have experienced, in depth, the inner workings of living in community. Paul and Gaia have most recently been furthering their own personal development by participating and serving on the staff in the Path of Love process.

Having gathered inspiration from the eco-village model and from around the globe, their mission of co-creation was clear. In April, 2009, Gaia and Paul were united with a magical piece of land that mirrored their vision; fertile and limitless. On the very special Isla de Ometepe, the process of co-creating a new international community began.

InanItah is an alchemical combination of Gaia’s fiery spirit and Paul’s watery soul, much like the fire and water volcanoes that come together to form the island. Much as the volcanos stand independently of one another – Gaia and Paul now operate the InanItah space during different seasons. Gaia from August 15 – February 15th of each year, and Paul from February 15 – August 15 of each year.

InanItah Founder Gaia Ma

Gaia

Founding Member

Gaia Ma encourages freedom and aliveness by inspiring an intimate and authentic way of life. Gaia is a founding member of InanItah and an international Tantra workshop facilitator. At InanItah, Gaia is the director of curriculum development, workshop programming, community outreach, business planning, and office management.

Gaia is best known internationally as a transformational workshop facilitator. In this work, Gaia discovered a way to bridge multiple interests: integrating body with awareness, shadow with light, feminine with masculine, and sex with spirit. She has been facilitating transformational Tantra workshops and retreats worldwide since 2004. She has received certifications in the OSHO Therapist Training and the Skydancing Tantra Facilitator Training. She also holds a degree in Gender & Sexuality Studies and Economics from New York University.

Gaia innovates many transformational tools and workshops reflecting the collective call toward human potential and Eco-Spirit evolution. She developed several unique curriculums offered at InanItah, including The Tantric Way series, The Tantra of Permaculture, Today’s Temple Dance, and InanItah Community Silent Retreats. She regularly facilitates transformational workshops, meditations, and classes at InanItah.

Gaia is also a devoted yogi who first found grace in the subtle transformational approach of Hatha yoga over 17 years ago. She has since expanded her yoga studies to include Jiva Mukti Yoga, Iyengar, Jungleyoga, as well as Kundalini and Vag Yoga. She has taught yoga at the Osho Meditation Resort, India, The Sanctuary Thailand, and at Avalon Springs in California and now teaches regularly here at InanItah.

Gaia founded InanItah’s Giving Program, a group of projects to benefit the local community. These include the Intercultural Massage Program, which provides education and employment for Nicaraguan residents; the InanItah micro-savings and loan programs, which provide microcredit and savings services for Nicaraguan residents; and other social programs that provide for children’s education, healthcare needs, and water system improvements.

Gaia has an intense love affair with nature, and named herself Gaia after the Goddess of the Earth, and the Gaia hypothesis, which maintains that the Earth is a living organism. She is an accomplished natural builder and natural building instructor and is Certified in Permaculture Design. She has always loved math and science and values the principles of sacred geometry, incorporating these principles into the construction on the land.

In her adolescence, Gaia was a highly competitive gymnast and academic overachiever headed to Wall Street. Burned out from trying to ‘do it all’, she realized her mind was responsible for creating her unhappy reality. With no knowledge of any healthy means to tame her mind, she became a Manhattan party girl and erotic dancer, leading a hedonistic lifestyle.

During this wildly unconscious period of her life, she discovered tantric yoga and experienced a much needed emotional and spiritual opening. The radical change she experienced has lead to her belief in the possibility for transformation: “If it’s possible inside me then it’s possible for the planet.”

Paul Mai

Paul

Founding Member

Paul is motivated from deep within a silent center. A natural meditator, his calm and centered spirit allows him to manage an ever-flowing river of creations on this land, and handle day-to-day activities with grace.

Originally from a small rural village in Germany, Paul grew up in a community and recognizes deeply both the gifts and challenges of community living. He developed community-building skills by co-facilitating alternative community-based travel adventures and retreats as part of his family’s business.

Paul is an experienced and enthusiastic natural builder. He was raised in a German ‘Fachwerkhaus’, a timber-framed earthen natural building, and thus began repairing natural buildings in his childhood. To build upon his experiential studies of natural building, Paul pursued formal studies in natural building and natural building management with teachers from the Emerald Earth Sanctuary in 2006. He currently manages and directs the natural building projects and volunteer learning opportunities for InanItah.

Paul has several years of experience working with renewable energy and gravity-based water systems. He studied mechanical engineering and renewable energy systems. Later at Avalon Springs, Paul spearheaded the maintenance of a gravity-fed water-system and the revival of a system of multiple hot and cold pools. During this time, he was under the personal tutelage of renowned water system developer, Art Ludwig of Oasis Designs. Paul recently designed, engineered, and managed the installation of a 5 km long gravity-powered water system in cooperation with La Ciguena water cooperative. The system now provides fresh spring water to 30+ families, including the InanItah community, and numerous farms here in rural Nicaragua.

Paul is a gifted negotiator and uses these skills to maintain healthy relationships with the local Nicaraguan community.  He was nominated by the local community to sit on the Board of Directors of the La Ciguena water cooperative. Paul is also responsible for maintaining the relationships that supply InanItah with locally available food and natural building materials.

Paul finds his bliss in nature. As the land manager at InanItah, Paul oversees the development of a 22-acre permaculture project. In a short 3.5-year time span, over a thousand fruit trees have been planted and the vast majority of vegetable needs are met by on-site production. Paul learned Permaculture Design while working alongside renowned Permaculture designer and teacher Doug Bullock, of the Bullock Homestead.

While traveling through Europe, India, Thailand, and Southeast Asia for years, Paul was introduced to many types of healing arts. He practices Thai and Ayurvedic yoga massage, Water Dance and Watsu, Ashtanga and Hatha yoga, and has completed the Skydancing Tantra Love and Ecstasy training and the OSHO Artist Training. He is a constant source of healing touch and regularly leads yoga and meditation sessions at InanItah.

Residents & Space Holder

Residents & Space Holders make InanItah their home for all or part of the year, putting their time, energy, and hearts into actualizing the InanItah vision and supporting global transformation by living a model of spirit and earth-conscious community. They contributed their skills and knowledge to the project support the decision-making process and make InanItah their home for all or part of the year.