Facilitator Development Program the Work that Reconnects 4th year, November 2026 – April 2027

Holding Space for what Emerges in times of Great Change

The 4th year of our 6 month In Person Facilitator Development Program 2026 /2027. I give the program together with Lian Kasper. It is wonderful to see this work growing in The Netherlands. We also have participants from other European countries like Germany, Belgium and Spain. You can express your interest for next year by mailing me at Inleven@greenmail.net

Recent interview (in Dutch) with Lian and me for Bodhi Bodhi in-memoriam Joanna Macy

This is a wonderful possibility in The Netherlands. We invite emerging facilitators for a 6-month Facilitator Development Program designed to deepen the knowledge and skills needed in offering the Work that Reconnects (WTR). In this training we share our experiences, gifts and insights as facilitators. We deepen your understanding of this work and help build your confidence so we can explore together how we want to bring this strengthening work of our times into your communities and workplaces.

Facilitators

Manon Danker and Lian Kasper have extensive backgrounds in working with human/nature relations. In their work and personal journeys grew the wish to find tools to work with the reconnection of humans with all life forms. And in doing so finding ways to face the loss and grief resulting from losing that connection. Finding this work on their respective paths has helped to manifest their hope and vision for a different world, you could say the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible (C. Eisenstein).

In 2015 Manon Danker (https://elemental-journey.com/) has been fortunate to do her Facilitator Training in person, as an 11 day Intensive, with Joanna Macy. They developed a beautiful friendship over the years. Since her training she gives workshops and immersive weekends regularly in the Netherlands. In 2018 Lian Kasper (https://www.kalapa.nu/) did her Facilitator Training in person with Chris Johnstone. She is deeply engaged in bringing this work to communities of higher education, both students and teachers. She facilitates a wide variation of programs.

The time has come to help emerging facilitators and join our paths. This offering is born out of people asking us if we can step up and set up a training to help others further on their journeys with this work. We do this with the permission and blessings of Joanna Macy, Chris Johnstone and the Work that Reconnects Network.

Prerequisites

A prerequisite for this program is that you have followed at least one, preferably two or more immersive 3-day WTR workshops with one of us recently, preferably between 2023 -2026 (or with another registered facilitator). We find it important that you have really experienced the impact of this work, and know what it means for you personally. It also gives you the chance to get to know this work better and to feel if the facilitator training is for you. It is important that you have had the chance to get to know your own grief around what is happening in the world. Although we will incorporate experiential exercises, the focus will be on becoming a facilitator and training yourself to pass the Work that Reconnects on in your own projects and communities. If you have not yet experienced the WTR or if you would like to refresh or deepen your understanding please sign up for one of the upcoming courses. If we need additional information, e.g. we haven’t met you before or you are relatively new to this work, we can ask you to have a short intake with one of us.

Another prerequisite is that you read the books Active Hope and Coming Back to Life. You will need them throughout the Facilitators Training.

Last but not least, we ask you to be able to attend all weekends. This is for the benefit of the group dynamics and your own process in becoming a facilitator.

Some aspects to be aware of:

It is important that you realize that in the facilitators training you are asked to practice with holding your own pain while holding space for others. As it were widening your experience to be with pain in groups. We will have strong and immersive moments and this asks of us to take good care of our heart, mind and body. You will also work with grounding, patience and being present for unfolding, this has a certain pace. We practice how to be with process, sacred space and ritual.

The weekends are intensive, this means that you need to be able to care for yourself so you can show up for all of us. At the same time there is space for all the woundedness that can come to the surface. The Work that Reconnects is a living journey in which we heal, learn and strengthen ourselves ongoingly.

It is important to realize that we are stepping into the program with different levels of experience. You start where you are. We learn from the gifts each of us brings.

Structure

Our planned format is three residential weekends over a period of 6 months. The weekends provide a mix of theory, practices, feedback and creativity. Practice and study groups will be organized in between. You will practice facilitation skills and co-creating with each other. You will have to take into account time for group work, study and tutorials, as well as preparation time, about 4 hours per week. The study groups will be largely self organized with feedback from Lian and Manon.

We practice in between in smaller groups, therefore a commitment to meet up every two or three weeks is necessary, that can also be online. All participants will get space to co-facilitate for the whole group during the 6 month period. This will be done with guidance of Manon and Lian so we hold the space with experience and safety.

Dates residential weekends

Weekend one: Starting the Journey 13 – 15 November 2026 (region Drenthe)

Weekend two: Deepening the Journey 19 – 21 February 2027 (region Utrecht)

Weekend three: Creating the Journey 16- 18 April 2027 (region Drenthe)

Weekends start 4pm Friday and end around 4.30 pm Sunday afternoon

Meals

All meals will be vegan, as much as possible locally grown and organic.

Group size

We have 16 places. This makes the group intimate enough to get to know each other well and large enough to have a nice group dynamic.

The Program

Note that some of the content can change depending on actualities and processes in our group.

Weekend 1:                          Starting the Journey

Topics include: Frameworks of The Work that Reconnects. The Spiral, The Great Turning. Getting to know yourself as a facilitator, what does it mean to be a facilitator? Group dynamics and how to hold a safe space. Open space for emerging themes. Setting up practice groups. Designing small sessions to practice with.

The first weekend we will go through a full spiral journey, so that we all have the connective experience of going through a deeply transformative process together.

Setup in-between: Selected tutorials for homework. Reading chapters from the core texts. Practice within your groups and supervision by Manon or Lian.

Weekend 2:                          Deepening the Journey

Topics include: Deep Ecology and Deep Time Work. Climate Justice. Sovereignty and Decolonization.  Care and Self Care. Creating Ritual. Joy and Creativity.  Group dynamics deepening. Open space for emerging themes and Q&A. Deepening workshop design.

Setup in-between: Selected tutorials for homework. Reading chapters from our core texts. Practice within your groups and supervision by Manon or Lian.

Weekend 3:                          Creating the Journey

Together you will present a Work that Reconnects Full Spiral. Topics Include: Full Spiral Journey given by the group. Feedback by Lian and Manon. How to navigate these times and Go Forth. Open space for emerging themes. Ending Ceremony. Thanks-giving and goodbyes.

All weekends will include being outdoors and connecting with the land and place where we are.

May you be inspired to join and we are delighted to welcome you to travel with us on this journey.

Exchange

The exchange for the 6-month program is on a sliding scale to accommodate people with different incomes. All vegan, biological meals and accommodation for the 3 in person weekends are included. Payment details will be shared once you are enrolled.

We have 4 options, options 2 and 3 can also be seen as solidarity rates, they make the lower income price possible.

Option 1. Regular 1 €1850,- (for modal income, guideline net income until € 3000,- per month)

Option 2. Regular 2 € 2250,- (for above modal income > € 3000,- net, p/m, and or comfortable savings)

Option 3. Business and organization € 2750,- (when you participate with help from your employer, which is possible in many cases)  

Option 4. Solidarity €1100,- (for minimum income and little savings, availability depends on incoming funds)

Btw is excluded and will be applied, there are a few places without btw.
Please be considerate of the investment you can make and whether you apply for support so this can be used to make this gathering accessible to a wider group of people. These spots depend on the availability of supporting payments.

We have seen that employers are willing to cover the expenses for this training, so please check. We encourage you to also look for support in your personal environment to make participation possible. 

If you have abundant resources and want to donate to the bursary fund you are welcome to do this. There are people who try to live in a different economic reality, like the gift economy and people who devote their lives to transition. We want this program to be open for all walks of life. 

May you be well – Embrace – For all Beings – With Gratitude