Work that Reconnects Retreat in Gimel: August 2018

Over the past weekend from August 17th to 19th, the Eurasia Learning Institute hosted a Deep Ecology workshop in the Le Petit Bouche community in Gimel, Switzerland for about 20 people to reconnect with themselves, each other, and nature.

The workshop followed the form and practices of the Work that Reconnects. According to Joanna Macy, the root teacher of the Work that Reconnects, “The central purpose of the Work that Reconnects is to help people uncover and experience their innate connections with each other and with the systemic, self-healing powers of the web of life, so that they may be enlivened and motivated to play their part in creating a sustainable civilization.”⠀

The retreat was lead by ELI Partner and the Host of the Upstream Podcast, Della Duncan who has trained with Joanna Macy and has led Work that Reconnects retreats around the world. Della, who comes from the San Francisco Bay Area, was grateful to be invited and share in the collective experience.

The retreat was co-facilitated by Camille Van Klaveren and Marie-Fleur Baeriswyl, co-collaborators within the Eurasia Learning Institute. Participants came from many countries and backgrounds and were happy to camp among the flowers, apple trees, and bountiful garden for the retreat.

The group spent the time practicing gratitude, honoring their pain for the world, recognizing their deep connection with other living beings, and further developing their contribution to a more sustainable world. Each person came out with an project or intention to work on in the next year and a first step to take within the next week and many seeds were planted for follow-up initiatives and more similar Deep Ecology retreats in the future.