Heyokateljee organized the World Sand Project in a first edition in the summer of 2010! Sand from 21 countries was braught together and mixed by childrens hands during 6 Peace Ceremonies . Sand grains which hold all world colors, nest along each other, brotherly side to side in a glass jar.

Sat in a large circle, each child braught his own box of sand to a large dish experiencing the solemnity of the moment.

A jar of sand full of memories of joyful moments during the holidays on the beach or in the woods. Gathered in a jar, and subsequently dried and sieved so it has a nice and smooth texture. Or a jar of sand from one of the parents’ homeland. Or a jar of sand from a distant uncle who gave it to as a present from a country he visited. Along with mixing, we and the children held a ceremony for World Peace. After the ceremony had ended each child could fill a jar of sand to take home. They have chosen theirselves the place where they return the Peace Sand back to the earth, in a place of their choice: the garden, a forest ...

This first 2010 edition of the project was a collaboration with several childworkers in Flanders (Belgium) : Zonneklasjes, Calista muziekworkshops, Terra-Ischtar, Gevoelssprietjes and Heyokateljee. The final ceremony was held by the youth service of the city of Blankenberge, near the beach of Blankenberge.

The very first exchange of sand was done by Christine Moreel, who is known from the newborn celebration 'Potjebuur'. She took some sand from the beach in Belgium to Ghana where she is supporting several projects. You can have a look how the children naturally formed a circle around the jar, and started singing spontaneously.
                                            
These ceremonies were very special, powerful and beautiful. During these ceremonies several points on earth are connected in harmony and you help in the healing of our big mother by offering the peace from the heart of every participant and supporter.

In 2011 the sand went on the road again and travelled to Mali, where Heyokateljee held a ceremony with children in Bamako. Back in Europe several ceremonies were done with children in Belgium. We also went to the Netherlands, to the Hein van Elteren project ‘Kinderbouwers’ (Children-constructors of a land where everybody can be happy)  
Back from the Netherlands, the World Sand contained already the sand of 35 countries.

Then the World Sand went on a journey alone. During two months it travelled in India, where 2 childworkers held 3 ceremonies with groups of children. When the worldsand is travelling alone, it is important that it is not sent by mail but ‘carried’ by a person who transports it from one place to another. Sometimes the Worldsand gets blocked somewhere, when no suitable person offers to bring the sand where it should go.

For these ceremonies we collaborated with Sankalpa Journeys, an organisation for Art Therapy in Auroville. The other organisation is a childfriendly school project in Goa, named Healing Here and Now. These children held a beautiful international ceremony on the beautiful Goa Beach!

When the sand arrived in Belgium, I was invited in Paris with it.
In France the World Sand met the water ‘Aguas Unidas’, water collected by minthé in women’s circles. She organises circles with women from all over the world.
Minthé is Belgian, but speaks French, and it was very special to sing with her the Mother Earth Song in Flemish and Wallon, the lost language of the frenchspeaking part of Belgium, and this on 21th of July!

The ceremony in Belgium for 2012 was also a meeting of the Worldsand with the Aguas Unidas. We went for this ceremony to the park of Tervuren, where we found water and sand. Sometimes we also receive unexpected invitations for smaller ceremonies, but then often people come to these ceremonies with very special sand and silence enters in the circle while children are watching the colour or imagine the country of the sand. During a small ceremony at Marrik’s a man braught us sand from Hawaï and caused such a moment of bliss…