Grow Gardens. Make Music.
Play Games. Share the Wealth.

The TEK8 Learning Lotus grows all 8 dimensions of human development through daily practice — rooted in gardens, games, music, and community.

EchoGaleForgeTideGroveVeilArchiveMint

Click a petal to explore

Coin Music Gather Craft Quest Rest Play Map Yield Close

The Crystal Cycle — a daily rhythm, a TTRPG session, a micro-rite of passage

What the Research Shows

TEK8 is built on decades of evidence from developmental psychology, education research, and community-driven outcomes.

ZERO

youth suicides in communities with all 6 cultural continuity factors

Chandler & Lalonde, 1998

147

studies confirm nature-based learning improves outcomes

Mann et al., 2022

90%

graduation rate at BroSis NYC — with 0% incarceration over 25 years

BroSis NYC, 25-year data

What is TEK8?

TEK8 = Traditional Ecological Knowledge, 8 Elements. A framework for holistic human development that maps eight dimensions of experience to eight dice, eight elements, and eight guilds.

Each dimension maps to a capital (what you build), a wellness dimension (how you grow), and an IB knowledge area (what you study). The attainment system — Roll/Maximum — means all petals are equal. A D4 roll of 3 (75%) matters as much as a D20 roll of 15 (75%).

No petal dominates. No die is "best." Growth is measured against the self, not others.

TEK8 Learning Lotus diagram — 8 colored petals arranged in a circle, each representing an elemental dimension (Ether, Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Chaos, Order, Coin) with corresponding dice icons (D12, D8, D4, D20, D6, D10, D100, D2)

The TEK8 Learning Lotus — 8 elements, 8 dice, 8 dimensions

8 Forms of Capital

Cultural, Natural, Material, Experiential, Spiritual, Social, Intellectual, Financial — based on Roland & Landua's regenerative economics.

8 Wellness Dimensions

Emotional, Physical, Occupational, Environmental, Spiritual, Social, Intellectual, Financial — based on SAMHSA/Swarbrick wellness model.

Bhagavad Gita 3.42

Senses → Mind → Intelligence → Wealth. The philosophical hierarchy that structures the entire system.

370+ Academic Citations

Each petal has a dedicated research study — garden-based education, Indigenous games, music pedagogies, cooperative economics, and more.

7ABCs insignia — a metallic sailboat with children's play blocks (A, B, C) at the base, surrounded by a blue energy ring representing the Pleiades star cluster. The mast and rigging form the number 7.

7ABCs: The Local-Global Studies Cooperative

Free the Children. Grow Gardens. Make Music. Share the Wealth.

The 7ABCs community on Skool is where the Crystal Cycle comes alive. Courses across all 8 petals, live Crystal Cycle sessions, CrySword SAGA game nights, and a community of educators, families, and learners growing together.

The sailboat navigates by the Pleiades — the Seven Sisters — the oldest navigational stars shared by every culture on Earth. The play blocks are the foundation: learning is play, and play is structural.