Greetings from Ytterjarna as we transition into what feels like spring. The snow has melted and the sun is shinning. With the Yippies away on internships, the organizing team has been reviewing YIP11 and looking forwards to YIP12. We are excited to see the program take shape as we interview and accept the new people who will make the next YIP year what it is. Do you know anyone interested in applying for YIP12 2019-2020? Please direct them towards our website or contact info@yip.se if you would like a template email that introduces the coming year. Many Yippies find out about the program by meeting alumni like yourselves, so please continue to support us in connecting those interested with YIP. In this newsletter you will find: Internship updates – Written by Isabel Chender, Lincoln Hill ,Yona Kim Mien Stoffels, Meet the YIP11 Spring OT team – by Lennie Brunain, Livia Strubb, Nil Roda-Naccari Noguera- Sneak peek at the Roots to Routes Initiative Forum 2019 – the latest program with new speakers announced!
Internship Updates
Having check in calls with the Yippies these last two weeks I feel I have been transported across the globe to their various internship locations. The purpose of the internship is to gain inspiration and step into action, and I hear a lot of this in the Yippies’ stories. They will hopefully learn not only from the organizations and fields they are working with, but also from the rich cultures they are immersing themselves in. Here is an update from each group, just over two weeks into their journeys. I am looking forward to their presentations at the end of March to hear about their learnings, challenges, and reflections. Phillipines (co-authored by Isabel Chender Mien Stoffels) After a week of introduction and travel, a group of eight Yippies are settling in together in Bayawan where they will spend the next two weeks supporting local initiatives before heading to Cebu and then Iloilo to learn from Nicanor Perlas. Their internship focuses on farm to table agricultural initiatives as they work alongside Mission, Mission is the umbrella non-profit for both of these initiatives. They want to engage communities in a sustainable lifestyle, a lot in line with the philosophy of yip actually. Blandia, Karen and Roos are working on a Bambu project, harvesting the stories from the craftsmen with the aim of reconnecting the community and youth with the value and beauty of bamboo which is a natural resource here. They are working in/with a school for that and local government is also party involved.Isabella and Mien are working in Dawani, a place that aims to become a vegetarian restaurant and that wants to become a hub for creative people where the different Mission initiatives can be introduced to the community. We are developing a vegetarian/vegan menu and trying to host a dinner that would broaden the Mission network. Alma is working in Dawani with the local government and youth council on a coastal clean up event and at the same time raising awareness about zero waste.
Brasil – Sao Paulo and Amazon This year we have two groups of Yippies in Brasil! After a week of landing and being warmly hosted by YIP alumni, they all visited Casa de Trocas and then travelled to Santos to participate in a workshop with Myrian and the Dream Factory. Now one group is travelling across Sao Paulo to visit different social entrepreneurial initiatives related to community-led business and education. Their first location is Flavela de Paz and they will later visit Mariliha and others on their emerging journey. The other group is traveling to the Amazon rainforest to explore the connection between humans and nature by traveling by boat alongside a midwife serving life in indigenous communities. After carnival they will spend their last two weeks learning from a sustainable development reserve that focuses on community development through education and youth movements.
Nepal Written by Lincoln Hill The road was carved up the mountain with impossible switchbacks, taking us higher towards the monastery, its prayer flags fluttering in the breeze. We walked past homes with water buffalo tied to the front porch, and farmers clearing the terraced fields, preparing to plow. We arrived out of breath, the altitude and the smog getting the better of our lungs. Turning around, the Kathmandu Valley stretched out beneath us, and beyond, the Himalayas reached towards the sky with peak after snowy peak.
We are a group of four; Rachael, Naomi, Mo and Lincoln, and we are based in Nepal for our internship as part of the Youth Initiative Program. For the first few weeks, we have been based just outside Kathmandu at the Kevin Rohan Memorial Eco Foundation, and have been learning and working with several of the initiatives there. Rachael and Naomi have been assisting in the Waldorf inspired kindergarten at the foundation, where they learning about the universal truths of childhood and the challenges, frustrations and beautiful moments of connection that come when communicating without spoken language. Mo and Lincoln have been involved in the woodshop, where they built new tool storage and workspaces for a more productive enterprise. We have also been visiting a building site of a house for a family displaced by the earthquake. We chased around Kathmandu in the back of a Tata truck for old tires which were placed below the foundation and packed with sand, mitigating future risks of earthquake damage. After building up the foundation, we helped deliver the EcoCell blocks of compressed earth which were used as an alternative to the cement and brick construction that is so prevalent around Nepal. After the opportunities and work in the city, we have hit the road and headed west. We will spend a few days exploring around Pokhara, and then visit a newly established school in town, and learn from this young initiative that is just taking shape. Then we head off-grid to a stay and work on a permaculture Farm in the mountains around Gorkha. We look forward to sharing these adventures with everyone when we return. Egypt by Yona Kim It has been 3 weeks since we arrived in Egypt, after 20hours journey, including 2 flights and laid-over times. First image of Egypt was coldness, that I’ve never expected. SEKEM is far from airport about an hour by car, after long desert driving(it means not same as beautiful desert as an Aladdin. Just sand with few buildings), you can fine a sign of SEKEM, and 10 minutes more driving, finally, there is a gate of SEKEM farm. Inside of the gate, there were suddenly big trees and pretty buildings. The driver who drove us from airport to here, he said, “SEKEM is paradise!”, I understood that immediately right after entering. Our place is inside of school place, upper floor of nursery house. When we arrived here was holiday, so it was quite quiet, but peaceful, because of the praying sounds from mosque. 5 times a day, start from 5am until 7pm. Some guy praying and singing through mic, I’m sure that I will never get use to listen that sound until the end of internship. We started to work suddenly, without proper explanations about everything. Camilla is in nature-tex, Eunwoo is in school, I’m working with zero-waste and precious plastic project. The only one site that has regular time and task is school, Me and Camilla is going to the morning circle everyday without any idea of the day’s schedules until now. The day start at 8am, finish at 5pm. People come to work to different companies and departments in SEKEM farm, they gather infant of their work, standing round and share the schedule of the day. And holding hands(same way with findhorn), saying some principles and starting the day. Weekend is not weekend in here, one day-off is Friday, but lots of people work on Friday too. After Nana(she was our host of internship originally)has arrived here, we could know about SEKEM more clearly. Even though we have done the tour about here with few visitors and guests, that was focused on the company and institution in SEKEM. Nana’s explanation was more focused on history, back ground, purpose and principles, it was so helpful to understand more. On the other hand, this is the time of majority interns in SEKEM history. Most of them are German. OF course runners of SEKEM are too, I can hear German conversation easily, anywhere. One of keywords that you have to know, but you can’t find on website of SEKEM, is ‘German culture’. During 4 weeks in future, after helping zero waste / precious plastic projects little bit more, I will research about the art course that one of core program in SEKEM through interview and experience, focusing on the university. According to that, I wish I can find answer about my questions of SEKEM that connected with my purpose of internship, “How is the art becoming core program? and how do student open their eyes on other stream, not main stream of society? What are the process and method? Through art?”
Introducing our new team members for YIP11
We are so happy to introduce our new team members for YIP11. We asked them a series of questions to understand more about their lives and what they hope to contribute to YIP. Nil Roda-Naccari Noguera- 3 month full time OT
Where are you living?
Nil: I’m living in Sant Cugat del Vallès, very close to Barcelona, in a beautiful top floor overseeing the hills of Collserola, a place once called “the House of Being”, home for many in this network! I love with some friends and Andrea, my partner.
What do you care enough about to be orienting your life and work around at the moment? Or, phrased differently : What are some themes in your life and work?
Nil: Let me see.. Some recurrent themes in my life at the moment are money and relationships, personal leadership, non-hierarchical organizational development, experience design and experimenting with sport, diets and fasting. If I look into my bookshelf though, I see that the last year I’ve been mostly reading about new ways of working, persuasion, psychology, marketing, life hacking and lifestyle design…and the yip newsletter, off course! I care about practicing the art of joy and depth, but I often sidetrack for bits of the journey, you know.. To spice things up!
Why does it feel important to you to come to YIP as an OT team member now?
Nil: You know, I remember a conversation during my Yip year, it must have been with Kailea or Maíra.. provably while eating cake and drinking heavy-creamed coffee in the Kulturcentrum where I said that I wanted to be an OT to bring myself to the service of a YIP cohort. I gave myself 3 conditions to come back as an OT: I needed my personal journey with YIP to be closed for good before stepping in again – so I would put the process of the participants at the center and not mine; I needed and wanted to be and do in the commercial world for a bit to explore my professional self & to learn and develop beyond my own beliefs; and I wanted to come back with the ability to model what I wanted to offer – the skills for Yippies to make an honorable living while serving the purpose they felt appropriate serving. Now it feels I’ve started the journey myself, and even though I’m in full learning and development mode, it feels just right to step side by side with this wonderful group of carers.
Please share something special and/or weird about yourself
Nil: I like to fast 17h every day, I love cold showers, I can flip my eyelids around and I say merry Christmas to everyone, no matter the time of the year. I like to pick people’s nose and ears holes.. And I get in trouble for it.. Oh! And I’m super good at pretending I know things I don’t really know much about! Believe me..!
Lenie Brunain – 3 month volunteer
Where are you living?
Lenie: I was born and raised in Ghent, Belgium and I am currently still living there.
What do you care enough about to be orienting your life and work around at the moment? Or, phrased differently : What are some themes in your life and work?
Lenie: I am taking this year to give myself time to process YIP and plan out the next years. I have done some work in hospitality and an organic grocery shop, as well as helping out at a day care and with the organisation of the volunteers of the connect conference 2019 in Zeist, NL.
Why does it feel important to you to come to YIP as an OT team member now?
Lenie: I think there is a lot to learn from the team, seeing and experiencing all that goes into YIP/ helps YIP be the kind of progressive educational programme that it is. It is also a feeling of momentum that brings me to YIP now, as everything seemed to point me in that direction. And last but not least it’s Sweden, Järna, the fjord, the rocks,… that are calling me.
Please share something special and/or weird about yourself
Lenie: I love bikes. I own three of them: a vintage racing bike that I even brought with me to YIP, a city/trekking bike and a fixer upper that I am working on. I plan on visiting Cykelkultur as soon as I arrive, so that I can cycle my way around Järna again.
Livia Strubb – 3 month volunteer
Where are you living?
Livia: Currently I’m living in New Zealand, where I’m from, but very soon I’ll based in Europe again. I’m planning to work and study in Switzerland and Scotland respectively, so my next five years will probably see me not coming back to NZ for longer than a visit.
What do you care enough about to be orienting your life and work around at the moment? Or, phrased differently : What are some themes in your life and work?
Livia: What’s very important for me right now is being active and in the working field, which is how I’ve been orienting my life since finishing YIP last June and will continue after YIP11 too. My close relatives and especially my 93-year-old Grandma who live in Switzerland are also a big factor as to why I want to continue being there.
Why does it feel important to you to come to YIP as an OT team member now?
Livia: Coming back to YIP as an OT team member for me is a way of giving back and contributing to something that gave me so much. Also to be able to connect with a different YIP year feels hugely important to me so that I can start forming a broader YIP network.
Please share something special and/or weird about yourself
Livia: My home in New Zealand is where I lived until I was 18 years old, and actually also were I was born. In the summer holidays during my childhood, my mum, brother and I went camping on the other side of our land, far away from the house, and this was like going on holidays. Dad stayed at home working and feeding the animals, and would come to ‘visit’ us and bring us more water.
Sneak Peek at the Roots to Routes Initiative Forum Program
We are so excited to feel momentum bulding around Intiative Forum 2019. Here is a sneak peak of the new program which will be uploaded onto the Intiiative Forum Website soon. Early bird prices are until March 25. To buy your ticket now go to : initiativeforum.yip.se/tickets-if-2019/
Written by: Camilla Schutt and Karen Steinman Martini
Looking forward
At the end of next month, for the March Newsletter, you can look forward to: YIP12 Design update YIP 12 Contributors YIP12 draft curriculum Interviews with YIP12 contributors YIP12 Application Call
Until next time!
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