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Assalam Alaikum Casa Umar Family,
As we enter the new year, we do so with gratitude, reflecting on the relationships that have sustained Casa Umar and looking ahead to what is unfolding. The months ahead invite us into deeper connection, rooted in love, service, and shared presence.
2026 marks a meaningful shift for us: a year where we begin opening our doors more intentionally, welcoming people not only to support the work, but to walk alongside it.
| | A Retreat Rooted in Service | | |
Dates: April 1–10
Chiapas, Mexico
We’re excited to share that this April, Casa Umar will be opening its doors to host a Rumi’s Cave service-based retreat in Chiapas.
Rooted in service, presence, and community, this gathering brings Rumi’s Cave’s long-held approach to spiritual companionship into a living, community-based setting. Participants will spend time contributing to ongoing projects at Casa Umar, sharing in daily life, exploring the surrounding landscape, and taking part in moments of reflection woven gently throughout the days.
Rather than a conventional retreat, this is an invitation into service as devotion - showing up with care, humility, and openness, while experiencing the land, people, and rhythms of Chiapas in a grounded and meaningful way.
Full details, including what’s included, pricing, and next steps, are being shared directly by Rumi’s Cave. If this speaks to you, please complete their enquiry form to receive the full breakdown.
We’re grateful to be welcoming this collaboration and look forward to seeing what unfolds.
| | A Partnership Bound by Love | | |
Over the past year and a half, Casa Umar has been deeply supported by the Southern California Art & Wilderness Institute (AWI) - not only through resources, but through relationship.
AWI has brought to Chiapas the same values they cultivate in California: education rooted in nature, leadership through responsibility, and learning through experience. Through multiple visits, they’ve supported teacher training, community events, hikes, excursions, and the early development of our library - a project that continues to grow.
What we value most in this partnership is not scale, but sincerity. AWI’s presence here reflects the kind of relationship we hope to continue building at Casa Umar - one based not solely on fundraising, but on showing up with time, care, and commitment.
The video below highlights key moments from this partnership and the values that continue to guide it.
| | A Pathway Towards Presence | | |
As part of this growing relationship with AWI, we’ve recently completed the furnishing of a small on-site hostel, designed to host groups of up to six people. This space was created with care and simplicity, offering a place for visitors, volunteers, and retreat participants to stay close to the rhythm of daily life at Casa Umar.
The hostel will be managed in collaboration with AWI, and forms part of a longer-term vision to welcome people who wish to contribute through presence, service, and shared responsibility - whether that’s supporting educational programs, working with the land, or simply spending time with the community.
This is not about short-term volunteering or transactional exchange, but about building relationships that grow over time. If you’re interested in staying at Casa Umar in the future, or learning more about this pathway, we invite you to get in touch with AWI directly.
We’re grateful for the care that’s gone into creating this space, and we see it as another quiet step toward a more connected and open future.
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As we move into the year ahead, we hold a simple intention: to continue cultivating spaces where love leads to service, and service strengthens community.
Thank you for walking alongside us - through du’a, support, or sustained presence. We look forward not only to welcoming many of you to Chiapas this April, but also to the relationships and partnerships still to come, and to seeing this shared path unfold in the year ahead.
Until next time, hasta luego!
Ibrahim
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