How to staff on NWTA weekends

• Man of Service – this is about pure service, cooking and caring for the initiates and staff (and staff get more interesting food than do initiates!).  The men of service are the warm heart of the warrior weekend and it can be a hugely fulfilling role.  You get to work in a mindful and conscious way with your brothers, and MOS do work very hard.  The difference is in the way we use our MKP learning to handle team building, clear charges, hold ourselves accountable and so on.  You don’t have to have done the PIT cycle to be eligible for MOS.

• Staff member – you have to have completed your PIT cycle to be eligible to staff.  When it is your first time on staff, don’t worry you won’t be given hectic tasks you can’t handle.  The design of the weekend is amazing in the way all men get to contribute in line with their experience.  It is a deeply humbling experience to staff on a weekend.

Connecting and Participating in South African I-Groups

For many of us, sitting in a circle of men is the bedrock of our MKP experience, where we sit and speak our truth and are deeply heard by our brothers. Some of your South African brothers are now in their 8th year of regular I group membership and it can be both healing and fun.

After your PIT Cycle, or Intensive, you can continue as an independent group or look for an existing I-group to join. For those who don’t manage the full-on regular PIT and I group programme, there are opportunities for sitting in circle with men on a less structured basis from time to time.

At the moment there is a regular men’s Open Circle meeting once a month in Naledi, Soweto [contacts: Richard Mokgata 0825469489 and myself]. You don’t even have to have done the NWTA to be a part of this.

Also, for initiated men in Johannesburg, one of the ongoing I groups offers a “supermeet” about four times a year – which is a kind of once-off I group with opportunities to learn new skills as well as do your work without the commitment of a regular I group.

Contact the I-group Coordinators for more details of I-groups in your area.

Imagine a Circle of Men- Phil Hart

Imagine a circle where every one listens, not only to what you say, but to also  what’s behind that.   Everyone is in tune with your voice, your emotion, your energy—everyone  is intent on receiving everything you communicate. Where everyone listens to hear the very best in you, even when you can’t hear it in yourself.

Imagine a circle which  will remind hold you of your commitments so you can hold yourself accountable and keep you moving forward toward your dreams and goals.  Who reminds you of your commitments holds you accountable without judgment when you miss the mark.

Imagine a circle of men which is totally curious about your dreams and aspirations, about what it is that makes you tick, what you value, what you are most passionate about in you life – a circle that will help clarify  your goals and provide tools for action and learning that lead you to the life you want.

Imagine a circle of men who would absolutely tell you the whole truth about where you are strong, where you sell yourself short and where someone knows you can handle it and knows that’s what you want.

Imagine an experience where you finally break free of those limiting beliefs that sabotage and they are noticed for what they are and the powerful part of you is called forth with a new set of beliefs.

Imagine a circle where you can experience and develop a new leader within you.  A place that is safe to be who you really want to be.

If this calls to  you, join thousands of men who gather weekly around the world.

Are you ready for this kind of relationship?

PIT – Facilitation and Training

PIT Facilitation offers the chance to work with a small team (usually 4 to 6), helping New Brothers to reach the point of establishing their own I-group.  This is a wonderful learning experience and a way of refining the learnings from your own PIT.  Each PIT facilitation offers the chance to learn something new, and frequently offers you insights into things that are blocking your own life.

As a rookie faciliator you will be stretched – but you will not be expected to do anything more than you are capable of.  You should have completed your own PIT, and should be part of a regular I-group.  You would not have to have staffed on an NWTA.

A mid-level facilitator should preferably have staffed at least one NWTA and have completed the I-Group Leader Training (see trainings).

In order to lead a PIT facilitation team you should have completed the IGLT,  have facilitated several PIT cycles, and should preferably be on the Leader track.

The Primary I-Group Training (PIT) cycle is a ten week programme designed to equip you with enough tools to run your own ongoing integration group (I-group) for as long as you like.

Some of South African brothers are now in their 8th year of regular I group membership and it can be both healing and fun. The PIT cycle usually starts within 2-3 weeks of the completion of an NWTA weekend.  If you missed out on the PIT cycle after your weekend, you are welcome to join in any other PIT cycle. After your 8 - 10 week program you can continue as an independent group or look for an existing I-group to join.

For brothers who do not live near Cape Town or Johannesburg, or who would find it difficult to attend a 10-week training period, there is a ‘condensed’ version of the PIT training which may be run from time-to-time.  This Intensive PIT training is usually compressed into a single weekend.  Whilst this does not offer the man the same experience as the full cycle – it does provide him with the tools to join an established I-group.

Trainings

The mankind project offers a number of additional training courses and Workshops. Some of these trainings are requirements before taking on certain roles within the community.

Unfortunately, most of the trainings are required to be led by an international leader.  For this reason, they are difficult and expensive to arrange – and most often are presented around the time of an NWTA when we have international leaders visiting.  This is unfortunate as many men, having already committed time away from families to staff an NWTA are reluctant to invest additional time in training. Although it requires additional effort and commitment – grab the opportunity with both hands while you can – they are few and far between.

Trainings will be advertised on the Broadcast mailing list, so keep your eye’s peeled – particularly around an NWTA.

• BSDT – Basic Staff Development Training, details about the structure of the weekend from a staffing perspective.  The BSDT is a requirement for all men to complete before they staff their 5th NWTA.
• MDAT – Multi-Cultural and Diversity Training.
• LT1 – Leadership training 1.
• LT2 – Leadership training 2.
• [ IGLT – I-Group Leadership training – in the pipeline. ]

Many of the leaders involved in MKP have become more interested in personal development and training – and some offer their own training courses or workshops.  While these are not official MKP courses, many are very worthwhile.  Such trainings will not be communicated on the broadcast mailing list – but details may be sent via the other less formal lists (sa-brothers).

Connection To Feelings

Many men have been taught to value thinking and to distrust feelings. They have been desensitized, taught to endure pain without complaint, and told that it is an honor to sacrifice our bodies for society. As a result, many men suffer from isolation and are prone to addictions and to acting out their feelings in dysfunctional ways. Many are afraid of intimacy, both with men and with women. They hide behind masks that are brittle and in need of repair.

Many men are sad, lonely, frightened, angry, and ashamed, and don’t even know it. And with the loss of their feelings, they also lose what is most precious to them: Their ability to value their world and to hold life dear.

Other men know their feelings perhaps too well. They have learned to indulge in their feelings and use them to manipulate others, often the ones they love most. They lack the ability to stand in their own authenticity. Lost in their feelings, they too lose what is most precious to them: Their ability to be trusted and loved.

There is another way. On the New Warrior Training Adventure^TM men re-discover their feelings with their feet on the ground. They begin to learn to clarify what they’re feeling and to express those feelings directly and authentically. They begin to learn to balance the depth of the heart with the wisdom of the mind. If this kind of authenticity sounds attractive to you, the NWTA may be for you.

Regional councils (Cape Town and Johannesburg)

Each MKP community is led and governed by a volunteer council or committee.   The council sees itself as an energy source for the community and a place to get support for the activities you want to see more of.  Joining council can be a way for you to step into your leadership and bring more activities to MKP or bring MKP to more men.

While the council provides organisational leadership and overall coordination of MKP activities in the community, the deeper work we do stands on three legs: the leader body, the elder body and the lodgekeepers society.

These are men who are certified weekend leaders or on the path towards that.  Their role and rigorous preparation is essential for the physical and psychic safety of all men on the MKP weekends.  On your weekend there was at least one certified full leader, three certified co-leaders and one (or more) co-leader candidates.

Certification as a leader in MKP is a long and rigorous process including but not limited to formal advanced training, lots of hands-on deep experience and mentorship, and a rigorous international hot-seating process at which typically less than half the candidates are given the nod.

Most leader spend 5 to 15 years on the path to certified leadership in MKP. Along the way they are known as “Leaders in Training” (LITs) and these LITs play important leadership roles on the weekends and in the community. By all accounts, being an LIT is arduous and rewarding in service to both community and personal growth. Currently seven NWTA staffings are required to join the LIT team.

Elders in MKP are men who have claimed/declared their eldership (and are typically over 50).  The depth and guidance and accumulated wisdom of the elders is vital to the health and welfare of our community and our NWTA weekends.

“What is an elder in MKP”: A Declared Elder is simply a man who has declared in some public and ritual manner that he is, indeed, on the Elder Path.  Such a man has usually come to understand that there is most likely years behind than in front of him. He is coming into acceptance about his mortality.  He is beginning to own the wisdom and knowledge that come with years of experience in this lifetime.  He is beginning to accept that he really has nothing else to prove and that he can focus on being a human being rather than a human doing.  He is coming into a place of harvesting his life….of being willing to share what he has learned with others.  He is coming into a place of mentoring and Blessing of all who cross his path.

The LKS is a group of men drawn to the work of the sweat lodge that you experienced in the Sunday morning Purification and Renewal (P&R) Ceremony.  The LKS stands for the heart and soul of our work in MKP.  Any man may join the LKS.

There is an intention to hold regular community sweats several times a year, in addition to those linked to each NWTA.  The LKS is always looking for more men to step up onto the path of P&R leader.  This path includes mentorship, training through oral tradition, practical experience and a hot seating process prior to being blessed to lead NWTA P&R ceremonies.

Central to the work of this organisation is getting the word out about who we are and what we do, and enrolling new men who wish to join us. At present we see this operating at the following levels:

• Word of mouth – given the depth of our work this is our #1 way of spreading the news about MKP
• Websites
• Media
• “Recruitment” – this is the range of activities such as open I groups, information evenings that give prospective new brothers a taste of what our work is like
• Enrollment – this team are the ones who take a man from interest in the weekend through to commitment, payment and preparation for the NWTA itself

The Enrollment team is always in need of assistance in one of these areas.

Internationally, MKP operates in over 40 centres, one of which is called “Mankind Project South Africa”. The organisation is governed by a Project Council with representatives from each centre which meets once or twice a year in the USA.  The current international chairman is George Daranyi.

There is currently a restructuring process under consideration with the intention of decentralising operations further.  There are also annual international meetings of the LKS and the World Elder Group.

In South Africa, MKP is organised as a single MKP Centre under a legal non-profit entity called the Mankind Project of South Africa Trust.

Within the MKPSA Centre we have two active communities – Cape Town and Johannesburg – with the opportunity for initiated men to organise themselves as communities in both KZN and Eastern Cape.

There is a restructuring process currently almost complete with the intention of making the national body as lean and low-cost as possible, with almost all powers and responsibilities delegated to the CT and JHB communities.

The only people who get paid  for full time jobs in MKP are a few full time organisers in the US.   Everybody else does this work part time and all of us do it primarily as a giveaway.

Small fees are paid to weekend leaders and co-leaders, some community leaders (not including Joburg) get small stipends, and a nominal royalty goes to the MKP founders (Bill Kauth and Rich Tosi).

Our main source of income is fees from New Warrior Training Adventures.  Most of this money gets spent on the weekends themselves (including paying airfares for the leader team of five), and what is left over goes to pay organisation running costs and with some funds for community activities (e.g. startup costs for a Head, Heart and Soul training, or community days).

Funds are usually available to reimburse men for costs incurred in doing their MKP work (for example phone costs for the enrollment team, and materials costs for the NWTA and HHS events).

We have a single bank account managed by the national treasurer.  A major expense for MKPSA is fulfilling our obligation to send at least one representative to each of three annual international governing meetings of MKP.

Up to now MKPSA has managed to retain some surplus funds and invest them in developing the community including leader development.

The intention of the national Centre Director and Treasurer is to generate clear financial reports as well as forward-looking budgets for circulation to the entire community before the end of the current financial year.

Our values are simple yet powerful.

These are the things we offer as a world class men’s training and education organization.

There is something profoundly and subtly different about a man who strives for maturity in all aspects of his life. This kind of man has been called many things throughout history, we call him the New Warrior. Many aspects of the New Warrior will sound familiar.

What the ManKind Project offers is a time proven way of integrating aspects of the mature masculine into your everyday world in a powerful, responsible and self-aware way, as part of a community of like-minded men. We commit to integrating these values into our lives, and we support each other and provide tools to help each other succeed. We don’t just talk the talk, we work together to walk the walk.

• Accountability – We do what we say we will do, and don’t do what we say we will not do. We take responsibility for our actions, our thoughts and our feelings.
• Authenticity – We tell the truth about who we are. We strive to be our best selves.
• Compassion – We empathize, connecting to the suffering of others, and we act with love in the world.
• Generosity – We recognize that giving of ourselves from our abundance brings more for all. We take on missions of service in the world and work together to make a positive difference.
• Integrity – We live our values. We seek wholeness.
• Leadership – We step forward in our lives to offer compassionate leadership, seeking understanding and community rather than domination or oppression.
• Multicultural Awareness – We recognize that in our world it is imperative that we be able to live in harmony with people who are different than ourselves. We strive to understand ourselves and others and to celebrate our differences.
• Respect – We pay attention to the impacts of our actions on others and we treat others with honor.
• Initiation – Learning the value of challenge and the power of support.
• Men Helping Men – Breaking the competitive cycle, learning to resolve conflict, challenging old habits, finding acceptance.
• Connection To Feelings – Emotional literacy is recognized by psychologists as a key factor in successfully dealing with many of life’s most complex

Mature Masculinity defines itself apart from the old ways of being a man; the rugged go-it-alone cowboy, the dominating macho man, the overly rational cold calculating thinker, the little boy in a man’s body, the overly sensitive man who uses his emotions to manipulate those around him, the morally bankrupt soldier of fortune. We recognize these aspects of ourselves as men, we all carry some of these shadows.

We also realize that in order to truly succeed in our culture, these old ways are no longer effective or productive. We need a more integrated approach to our lives that does not abuse ourselves or others, and recognizes that we are a global culture with problems that will not be solved by the next block-buster cartoon hero or charismatic leader. We need men of strength, dedication and integrity, working together with women to solve the problems of our time. If you are ready to get to work, the New Warrior Training Adventure might be for you.

MKP SA origins

Evidence suggests that all life began in Africa, so whether you are reading this at your desk in Sioux City, Iowa or on your laptop at Heathrow Airport, you can trace your roots back to this beautiful continent (although some of you might have to go back about 150,000 years).  In fact, our Johannesburg training site is a short drive to the Cradle of Humankind where fossils of some of the earliest known life forms on Earth have been found.  Every human being on the planet shares an African heritage. We are one, diverse species spread out across the globe, with our roots in Africa.

The South African MKP community began in 1998 when a handful of men from South Africa were given some funding from US men to attend a training in England.  They came back and formed an Integration Group (I-Group) that met regularly and managed to put on similar trainings in 1999.  In 2000, another group of men journeyed to Sioux City to do their first training.  This group of pioneers ran South Africa’s first New Warrior Training Adventure (NWTA) in early September of 2001…

We have been repeatedly blessed by inspirational foreign experienced facilitators have visited South Africa to share their experience.  In our early, financially wobbly years, some of these men did these trainings with no cost to our community..

Some of our local men have built up enough training experience over time to enable us to run trainings without flying in overseas facilitators..

We also hit our quarter century mark in May with Johannesburg’s NWTA25.  25 fully booked NWTAs in a row and the pace isn’t slowing down!  If we continue at this pace we will have held 35 NWTAs before we are 10 years old.

Another highlight of the year was having Mankind Project founder Rich Tosi lead our 26^th and 27^th NWTA.  It was his first trip to our African community and he was welcomed with open arms. As one local man put it, for the initiates on those trainings it was “like having one of the three wise men lurking around your manger, Einstein helping you with your science homework or Bono playing your Bar Mitzvah.  Rich Tosi was involved when the 1000^th man in SA completed his training..

And that for me was the biggest highlight.  One should be careful of the measure used to judge success in any endeavour, especially for an organisation like ours.  One might ask: how many I Groups are meeting regularly.

One might ask how many experienced facilitators we have, how many people attend our community gatherings or how much money we have in the bank.  But by anyone’s metric or calculation, for a 1,000 men to have completed their training on African soil is an accomplishment worth celebrating.

Oxford anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggests that each person has on average 150 friends (real friends, not the people who poke you on Facebook).  I like to imagine the impact these 1,000 MKP men have had on the 150,000 people in their lives and the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people they will meet in their lifetime.

We come to the end of the first decade of the new millennium as a strong, sustainable, honest, and accountable organisation.  It has been an outstanding year for this community, and we are growing from strength to strength.