• Heal Your Mind & Body at Dewa Spa

  • Study with World-Class Teachers

  • Practice in One of Our Unique Venues

  • Expand Your Awareness with Meditation

  • Go Hiking in the Catskill Mountains

  • Enjoy Delicious Nourishing Farm-to-Table Cuisine

  • Menla is a Project of Tibet House US,

    the Dalai Lama’s Cultural Center in NYC

Home   /   Guru Teacher

Erwin Karl

Erwin Karl is a farmer, mycologist and educator who has led walks and workshops for Catskill Fungi and Mid Hudson Mycological Association. He serves as site manager at the CycleX farm
in Andes, NY where he has been involved in building maintenance, construction and agriculture for more than a decade. His projects in mycology, permaculture, beekeeping, canning, fermentation and wildcrafting build upon pursuits cultivated while growing up in a family that grew produce and kept livestock. He shares his interests by co-hosting the Farm Hour on WIOX (91.3 FM), writing plays about the Catskills for Preserve Players, and volunteering at the Michael Kudish Natural History Preserve.

Events with Erwin Karl

Friends of Fungi: a Hiking, Foraging, & Mushroom Cultivation Retreat
June 2 - 4, 2023

From the largest living organism in the world to the creation of soil, fungi play an essential role for life on earth. They have been recycling and helping to heal the planet for centuries. Now we can partner with fungi to improve our lives through appreciating the food and medicines this extraordinary kingdom has to offer. Join John Michelotti this June for an all-levels mushroom cultivation and foraging weekend workshop at Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York. Participants will create/inoculate and take home: – Indoor Oyster mushroom grow kit – Outdoor Winecap Mushroom Starter – Chaga tincture…

Friends of Fungi: a Hiking, Foraging, & Mushroom Cultivation Retreat
September 8 - 10, 2023

From the largest living organism in the world to the creation of soil, fungi play an essential role for life on earth. They have been recycling and helping to heal the planet for centuries. Now we can partner with fungi to improve our lives through appreciating the food and medicines this extraordinary kingdom has to offer. Join John Michelotti this September for an all-levels mushroom cultivation and foraging weekend workshop at Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York. Participants will create/inoculate and take home: – Indoor Oyster mushroom grow kit – Outdoor Winecap Mushroom Starter – Chaga tincture…

“It’s such an amazing and spiritual location–I came back feeling rejuvenated and recharged… It was so very special knowing the place belongs to the Dalai Lama! I loved our room. My favorite things were that there was no TV in the room, the beds were so comfortable, and it was so quiet and relaxing there with the windows opened. The grounds were amazing…”

Magda

“This is a beautiful retreat center complete with spa nestled in the lush green countryside of the Catskills. Peace and tranquility are the first to greet you upon arriving at Menla. The staff is warm, professional, and helpful. I have had a couple of massages with hot rocks by a very competent and knowledgeable massage therapist. He is the BEST I have ever had, and I highly recommend going to DEWA Spa at Menla”

 

Diane Boehm

“Homerun. One of the best retreats I’ve ever attended. Was an incredible treat especially to have so much access to Krishna Das, and I will never forget the Robert Thurman’s hysterical and insightful words. Incredibly inspiring and powerful weekend!”

 

Susan W.

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375 Pantherkill Road, P.O. Box 70 Phoenicia, NY 12464
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