Mission & Vision
The Topa Institute — formerly The Ojai Foundation, formerly Human Dimensions West — is a nature sanctuary and ceremonial retreat center in Ojai, CA.
Placed in a perpetual trust in 1927 as part of the Happy Valley Foundation, this ridge-top was intentionally set aside for “educational and spiritual purposes.” Nearly a century later, we are honored to carry on the stewardship of this extraordinary parcel of land, and to be living into its gifts through our programs and practices.lished in 1927 as part of the Happy Valley Foundation, the land has been used for ceremony and exploration over many generations.
Topa’s programs engage deep listening, creativity and nature to invite participants outside their comfort zones and empower them with humanistic tools that have become scarce in our modern world
Building on the creative visions that have unfolded over generations in the Ojai Valley, the Topa Institute renews the historic commitment to community building through programs in Youth Education on the Dragon Ridge Land Sanctuary.
Our work brings people together on the land to learn and hone practices of deep listening and communication. Such practices also underlies our commitment to building creative communities, by inviting people to come together on the land to seek connection with others and draw inspiration from the natural world and from the history of the place itself. Because of the history of displacement, subjugation, and genocide of Indigenous people on this land, we have a particular obligation to reckon with legacies of violence, marginalization, and oppression through the work we do.