The Children’s Fire – Embercombe’s founding principle

A pledge, a plea and a prayer for our future generations.

The story of the Children’s Fire is a teaching of the elders of ancient America, passed onto our Founder Mac Macartney by his indigenous mentors on a moonlit night in the winter of 1984 and is a central principle of all of Embercombe’s work in this world. The elders came to understand that human institutions needed to reflect the balance and wisdom they observed in nature. They made a pledge to the welfare of unborn children, both human and non-human:

No law, no decision, no action of any kind shall be taken that will harm the children of this generation and seven generations hence.

The Children’s fire is the heart-song of Embercombe. A song of love, to life.

The Children’s Fire is a commitment to the responsibility carried by each successive generation to safeguard the vitality and regenerative capacity of the earth. It is a mind-set, culture, philosophy and design principle. It can and must be observable within politics, religion, art, business, education, health services, economics and our daily lives. It is the foundation of all we do at Embercombe. It is a sustainable future.

We are set a challenge. The Children’s Fire invites us to walk in beauty, participate generously and appreciate the inner journey as much as the outer. It invites us to join the Twin Trail of inner work and outer action in the world.