Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/367813
A student at Escuela Cien Amigos in Martillo, Nicaragua. photography by Jessica pages (barker); c ourtesy of t ab b arker ( g irl); c ourtesy of a nn f uller (school) Every night when he's Austin, Thomas "Tab" Barker sleeps in a teepee in the backyard of his home. It's a magical ritual for the founder of Project Schoolhouse, which builds elementary schools and clean water systems in rural Nicaraguan communities. "Sleeping in a teepee connects you to things you don't understand, and you don't understand why you feel connected to them, but it feels good," says Barker, 40, a native of Wyoming who moved to Austin 12 years ago on a musical whim. A gypsy soul with an economics degree from Carleton College, Barker studied in Argentina on a Fulbright grant, then taught elementary school English in Costa Rica and spent four years traveling the world, from Central and South America to Europe. During a three-month stay in Spain, he began playing saxophone with a flamenco guitarist and became friends with Javier Del Castillo of Austin. After leaving Europe, he returned to the US, where he embarked on travels here, including a stop in Austin to visit Del Castillo. Three days after arriving, he decided this was the city for him. He was particu- larly drawn to the innovative and diverse East Side. "There's something about East Austin that I found really attractive," Barker explains. "Everybody spoke Spanish, and it felt like another country, which is where I had been for THE MINIMALIST BY LIVING SIMPLY—LOOK WHERE HE SLEEPS—AND DEVOTING HIS LIFE TO OTHERS, TAB BARKER HAS BUILT SEVEN SCHOOLHOUSES AND THREE WATER SYSTEMS IN NICARAGUA, AND HE DOESN'T PLAN ON STOPPING SOON. BY KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT Every night he's in Austin, Tab Barker sleeps in a teepee in his backyard. CONTINUED ON PAGE 82 Barker and a professor outside a temporary school in Martillo, Nicaragua. 80 AUSTINWAY.COM PEOPLE Spirit of Generosity