Notes from our Learning Festival

“What becomes possible when we root in inner wisdom and step forward together—co-creating community through shared practice?”

This question brought 90 people together in early April for the inaugural Kufunda Learning Festival—a deeply intergenerational gathering of farmers, organisers, facilitators, teachers, healers, and learners.

The festival was born from a longing that surfaced during our 21st anniversary: a longing to keep the village hearth burning, to keep learning alive as a community of practice and presence.

And what a festival it was. A convergence of many rivers: biodynamic farming, Waldorf education, artistic and embodied learning, community healing, and time in nature. We began each morning with social eurythmy, moved into shared inquiry, and ended our mornings hosted by the land in solo sit spots—letting nature offer her own teachings. Afternoons opened into parallel learning streams, where each person chose their path.

Across our festival evaluations, one phrase appeared again and again: “hosting myself.”It surprised people. Moved them. Challenged them.

In a space of shared practices, “hosting oneself” became a gateway—into self-awareness, into new ways of walking with others. Many spoke of it as a practice they want to carry home.

Other themes pulsed through the reflections:

• Community healing and deep connection

• Courageous listening and presence

• A desire to honour what was received through concrete action back home

What we created together was not just a festival. It was a remembering of what it means to be human together. Of what is possible when we gather in a shared field of care, creativity, and becoming.