August 2016: The creation of the first physical Embassy of Autistan in the material world has been planned in Kazakhstan.
The physical Embassy would consist of :
– a little house in the mountains, called “Mountain Residence of the Embassy” (which is kindly provided by the Pioneer Mountain Resort) ;
– and – if possible – an office in Almaty (which is still only a wish).
Here are some pictures from the “little house in the mountains”.
At this level, the altitude is 2090 meters.
At the bottom, in the background (not visible), there is the city center of Almaty, which is 25 km away by car. However, here we are just at the border of the official territory of the municipality of Almaty.
This metal construction is not really in harmony with nature, but it dates from the “Soviet era”, and it resists very well to extreme weather conditions without any need for maintenance.
It is much bigger than it looks in this picture, which is misleading because there seems to be a metal bench in front of the house, but it is something bigger than a bench.
The entrance door, at the left, gives a better idea of the dimensions.
There is a large living room, four bedrooms, and even a mini-sauna.
In the center of the photo is Timka, an autistic teenager who has made great progress during his stay here, thanks to the Autistan approach to autism.
This house has not been used (and has almost never been opened) for several years.
Here, we discover it during a trek to the top of the Pioneer peak with the kids of the Pioneer inclusive summer camp.
It was very difficult to enter the house because, in order to unlock the door, a special secret system had to be used, designed to withstand the extreme cold (and unwanted visitors).
Of course, it was interesting to explore the inside of this rather mysterious and almost abandoned construction, while we had no idea what was inside (we only had a very special kind of big key, and we had to figure out how to use it, which took almost half an hour).
It was mainly used by ski instructors in winter.
This house, which is far from “civilization”, and accessible only on foot or (with great difficulty) using an all-terrain vehicle, might be useful (after some refurbishment) as a “refuge” for adult autistic persons who have too many social difficulties and who are in the need of rest.
13 August 2016: Installation of the Flag of Autistan
With the help of the team at the Pioneer Mountain Resort, we managed to install the first large Autistan Flag.
This Flag, which is 1.40 m high and 2.26 m wide, is attached to the top of a 9 m metal pole, which was “inserted” into a groove in the metal walls of the house, which was the idea of the Founder of the Autistan Diplomatic Organization, after studying various options that were either not sustainable, or far too expensive.
This 9 m pole is also the result of a thought and a trick (by the same person): it is composed of 3 tubes of 3 m superimposed containing two other tubes slightly smaller and sufficiently offset (by 1,50 m) thanks to a wooden shovel handle located at the bottom, the whole being adjusted enough to be rigid.
Everything had to be well thought out in advance, as it is impossible to transport a 9 m mast in this vehicle (which already had a lot of trouble getting up there).
In the picture, you can see an electrical generator, used to drill a hole in the roof.
The idea of putting the flag so high was to keep it relatively out of reach, that is, to protect it. Indeed, here there is no one to look after it.
In the background rises the Pioneer peak, which is 3010 meters high.
We tried to install what could be an “Office of the Mountain Residence of the Embassy of Autistan in Kazakhstan”, but in reality, all that (this “office” and the installation of the Flag) had an essentially symbolic value, not a functional purpose.
Indeed, it was the first time that it was possible to have something “physical” and not virtual, i.e. things existing in material reality and not only on the Internet.
It was a small step, very rudimentary, but even the greatest journeys always start with one single footstep 🙂
And we (the Autistan Diplomatic Organization) are very grateful to the Pioneer Center (especially their Director and owner, Zhanat Karatay, a mother of autistic children) for their trust, their listening and their help.
In the background, on the right, you can see the Pioneer Mountain Resort, which is located at an altitude of 2000 meters, as well as the Pioneer domain, which is part of the Almaty National Park.
Here are some pictures of the “little house”, taken from the Pioneer center:
With a very powerful zoom:
With a powerful zoom:
With a moderate zoom:
Without zoom:
Zooming in on the large flag (over a kilometre away) from the Pioneer Mountain Resort.
In conclusion, the installation of this Flag and this “Mountain Residence of the Embassy” was the starting point of our Organization’s activities in “the material world”, and – like any beginning – it was difficult and quite limited.
Then, starting from February 2017, we managed (despite very few resources) to create a real, physical and permanent Embassy of Autistan in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), which is also the world headquarters of our Organization (the Autistan Diplomatic Organization).
This Embassy, very well located, is totally independent from any other entity, meaning that it is entirely managed by autistic people for autistic people, which is very rare (and very difficult).