A living learning village cultivating
new ways of being together
LIVING THE FUTURE TODAY
A living laboratory
for new ways of being together.
"Kufunda Village didn't just host our event — it inspired it."
The facilitation team — Maaianne, Jackie, and Sikhethiwe — were exceptional partners in co-creating an inclusive, participatory, and inspiring experience. Through music, Open Space, World Café, content harvesting, dance, and innovative social technologies, their approach was professional and authentic, inviting every participant to connect and contribute meaningfully.
— The Agroecology Fund · African Learning Exchange
Our Practices
born from lived experience
Our practices and processes grow from more than twenty years of living and learning in community, and accompanying communities in Zimbabwe and beyond as we and they live our way into the future we long for. Some have been with us from the beginning; others are emerging from what we are learning now
THE ART OF PARTICIPATORY LEADERSHIP
The Art of
Participatory Leadership
We have repeatedly seen that when groups slow down, listen deeply, and work in participatory ways, something begins to open. People start to hear each other differently. New possibilities emerge. The Art of Participatory Leadership helps to surface the collective intelligence that is already present in any group. Rooted in the Art of Hosting tradition, it has become one of the core practices we draw on at Kufunda.
Transformative Community Game
Go Deep
An award-winning, process-based multi-day game that brings groups together to explore the deeper dynamics that shape community life — including Power, Diversity, Vision, Creativity and more. Go Deep creates a safe, playful container for people to engage with difficult themes in generative, actionable ways. One of our most powerful and well-loved processes.
GO DEEP
THE OASIS
GAME
Community Mobilisation
The Oasis Game
An innovative community process that surfaces the dreams of a community and mobilises people around one shared dream that is made manifest in a short, concentrated period of action. The Oasis Game brings together community members, local authorities, and corporates, inviting everyone to step into shared ownership of a community transformation and create tangible miracles together.
An Enquiry Tool
The Flow Game
A powerful board game for deeper inquiry around questions that matter. Players explore a specific question, intention, or challenge — finding clarity through dialogue and shared reflection. The Flow Game creates an intimate, transformative space for individuals and teams who are ready to drop below the surface to mine the gold of their own wisdom.
THE FLOW
GAME
Women are Medicine
Women's Work
Women are Medicine
A women's empowerment journey that supports women to return to the grace, power, and pride in what it means to be a woman today. Our core assumption is that women are a gift to be embraced. Many women find that their sense of leadership, confidence and purpose continues to deepen long after the time together.
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YOUTH
YOUTH AGENCY
Coming into your own.
We regularly host a self-directed Youth Hub at Kufunda to develop leadership, and capacity among young people to implement practical projects based on their passions and community needs. Skills include carpentry, mechanics, welding, sewing, and more. We also host an international youth gathering Rooting and Rising every two years forfor young people to gather, learn across cultures and discover more of their path and possibility together.
An Emerging Practice
Community Art Facilitation
Community Art Facilitation combines artistic practice, psychosocial support and community development. Through drawing, painting, clay, movement and other creative processes, facilitators create spaces where children and adults can express themselves, build confidence, strengthen relationships and develop resilience.
We are embarking on a three year journey to build a Community Art Facilitator network with partner Angela Katschke,
Community ART FaCILITATION
Participation as a way of life
How we work with people and communities
We work from a fundamental belief: when people are genuinely engaged in shaping their own solutions, the outcomes are both better and more lasting.
Every engagement begins with appreciative listening and out of that the journey can unfold.
Relational at the core
We cultivate deep relationships — with ourselves, each other, and the land. Everything flows from here.
Grounded in Appreciation
We begin with what is already working — celebrating the richness of what exists as the foundation for what is possible.
Collective Wisdom
We create conditions for the intelligence of the whole group to emerge — not just the loudest voices.
Action
Our processes are designed to produce real, collective, actionable outcomes — not just good conversations.
Ways into Kufunda and our work
Come and experience
Kufunda from Within
Learn our practices
Take the learning into your own work
Let's Co-Create
Something for your context
We love co-creating gatherings, retreats, learning journeys and participatory processes. Bring us a question, a possibility or a challenge, and together we can explore what might serve your organisation or community.
We bring more than twenty years of living, learning and hosting in community to the work.
Work Directly with our Founder
Maaianne's story travels from Copenhagen, where she studied international business, to Zimbabwe, where she and Fidelis Maruza co-founded Kufunda more than two decades ago. Maaianne is a facilitator, and practitioner of participatory leadership, conscious dance, and deep community practice. Her work supports individuals and organisations to wake to who they are and what they can be. Maaianne offers her work directly to leaders who seek accompaniment, and support to deepen into their own wisdom and path.
What's coming up?
