Closing of YIP16
| Dear friends of YIP, |
| We hope this newsletter finds you well. At the beginning of this month, we were spoiled with good and warm weather. The gardens were filled with flowers, the trees with blossoms, and the fjord with swimming Yippies. The YIP garden behind Tallevana struggled with the dry, hard and dusty ground full of cracks. As soon as we left for the Outdoor Experience, rain came and gave us the opportunity to live together with, and embrace all the elements. Coming to the end of the month, the summery weather has returned to say the Yippies of YIP16 a final goodbye. This month started for the Yippies by presenting their Personal Initiatives to each other and the journey they have made through their project. After that, we went on an adventure on the Swedish lakes, where we cooked and lived together for one week in the great outdoors. The last two weeks of YIP16 were fully packed with celebrations, reflections, cleaning, making plans, writing in books and goodbyes. Now, all the Yippies have left the campus; some were ready to go into the wild world again, some a little more hesitant. Until we meet again… Written by Yander Fabri In this newsletter you will find: – Personal Initiative Presentation Week written by Jasmine Pan– Outdoor Experience written by Lies Vanderbauwhede– Yippie reflection written by Ada Brunfaut– Life After YIP written by Tsu-En Chiang and Li Künne– Thank you from the Organizing team– YIP-alumni gathering in Wales- YIP-Alumni Project: Institute [X], a school for young adults 30 years in the making written by Farranika and Iren Barnum (YIP15 alumna) |
Personal Initiative Presentation Week
For three days,
as the sunlight travelled from the honeypot side of the Hive to the opposite side,
We gathered
Where wisdom was shared,
Questions raised,
Discussion had.
One after another
Eighteen stories
Unfold
in the travelling sunlight.
Some crafted by hands,
Some written with care.
Some stories connect;
Some document the meandering path of the heart,
Still searching
Finding
Moving forward.
All
Were glimpses of souls
Previously hidden in shadows
Now stepped into the light
For all to witness
For all to hold
For all to celebrate
In a half-circle
of smiles, tears and
Awe.
written by Jasmine Pan
Outdoor Experience
-with Livia Strup and Adam Herring-
I am sitting here in the garden.
It’s Friday. June 28.
The morning sun is shining bright.
And I take a moment to look back on the outdoor experience.
I look back through my notes and find a poem I wrote down in the early morning on the last island we were camping on.
The soul of the world speaks through birds,
it speaks within you too,
and you too can live like the birds
I have not yet dared,
though I’ve seen it deep within my own
p o s s i b i l i t y ,
and I see it within you all;
when a dancer merges with their dance,
when a singer becomes their song,
it’s these holy moments that remind me of
l i f e ‘ s f u l l
possibility,
already present at the dawn chorus.
Dawn chorus, a poem by Fleix Leunig, a friend of my tentie Lewi
I am sitting here in the garden.
It’s Friday. June 28.
The birds are singing their song.
And I take a moment to take in this moment.
That reminds me of how I felt during the outdoor experience.
Emerged in nature.
Surrounded by good food and people.
On the water and the land.
Moving with the weather.
With Pippo by the hand.
Reminding me of l i f e ‘ s f u l l p o s s i b i l i t y.
When I am sitting here.
In the garden.
Written by Lies Vanderbauwhede
Yippie Reflection
English version below.
25 août 2023; Le soleil brille, c’est la fin de l’été, c’est le sourire acceuillant de Yander qui nous mène vers une maison dépourvue d’angles droits aux couleurs bleu et rose pastel. Elle se nomme « Tallevana », en Finnois ça veut dire « en stock, stocké »; c’est la qu’on va vivre 10 mois, 20 jeunes stockés comme des sardines en boite.
Depuis ma petite chambre que j’appris à partager avec Tsu-En, on peut apercevoir la mer derrière les arbres et une maison rouge dominant le paysage; cette maison a dut en voir des choses, pensais-je. Les murs de Tallevana renferme des milliers de secrets de tous les yippies passés par la, des conflits, des amitiés, des amours, des chagrins, milles et un contes que les murs pourraient nous chuchoter.
Au début tout était magique, le soleil et les fleurs accentuaient ce côté surréel de ce lieu paisible, des visages inconnus se souriaient timidement, peu à peu des dynamiques s’installent, on apprend à se connaitre, à vivre ensemble, à cuisiner ensemble, c’est intense et pas facile mais je suis émerveillée par la bienveillance et le soutien que je ressens dans cet espace.
Les cours étaient si riche et m’ont fait vibrer le coeur, je me sentais soudainement rempli par tant de beauté et de sens. Le contraste du vide d’avant est flagrant, ma depression s’est envolée laissant place à un monde ou la bienveillance règne et j’ai cette sensation si agréable d’être au bon endroit et à ma place.
Très vite viens l’automne et la période de « Inner Awareness » nous reconnecte avec notre corps et notre petit enfant interieur; tout est intense, l’hiver s’installe vite et les nuits se font longues accentuant l’intensité. Nous vivons dans nos chambre illuminés par les bougies fuyant l’obscurité et le froid glacial de dehors. Des belles amitiés emergent de cette hibernation. La neige tombe, couvrant la terre, on découvre des nouvelles couleurs celestes que le blanc contraste d’avantage.
C’es la que je commence à écrire beaucoup, bercée par l’ambiance de noël aux odeurs de Glögg et safran buns et aux nuits infinies.
J’écris mes pensées, je replonge dans mon passé, dans mon enfance, je pleure beaucoup, on pleure beaucoup mais tout est un processus qui a du sens, où on s’entraide et c’est si joli.
C’est la première fois que je me sens appartenir à un groupe, je me sens vue et entendue et ça c’est intensément merveilleux. On vit dans un rêve dont on veut pas parler de la fin.
Je comprend, je décortique des choses de moi, le puzzle de ma vie fait soudain sens, une introspection sprirituelle se met en place, j’écris toujours, tous les jours.
Noël arrive, certains rentrent chez eux comme moi, d’autres restent. On se retrouve une nouvelle année, c’est étrange au début de revenir, la période « global realities commence et le stage approche à grand pas, le stress monte en moi, je doute sur mon choix de partir en Inde, je me sens trop faible. Le paysage blanc dehors commence à me fatiguer mais je l’oublie vite quand on danse tous ensemble n’importe comment les vendredis soirs et puis on se soutient comme on peut, beaucoup de gratitude et de tendresse, des groupes se sont formés mais la bienveillance est omniprésente, on se veut du bien.
J’ai eu la chance que Vandana Shiva vienne une semaine avant que je parte. Je pourrais l’écouter pendant des heures, elle est tellement puissante et puis ça m’a redonné l’envie de découvrir son ONG. Une semaine plus tard me voila dans le bus vers Dehradun au nord de l’Inde, la ou se situe « Navdanya », l’ONG de Vandana Shiva (j’ai écrit un article sur mon stage à « Navdanya » dans la newsletter si vous êtes curieux).
Le stage en Inde a chamboulé ma vie, ça ma permis de comprendre que je pouvais trouver un équilibre interne pour me sentir bien dans l’inconfort, dans un endroit ou rien n’est familier. Je voudrais me sentir fière de moi mais ce n’est pas encore le cas, en tout cas je me sens plus forte qu’avant.
Au retour, on était tous remplis de petites histoires des quatres coins du monde, nos aventures étaient si différentes mais elles nous ont rapprochés et c’est sur ce retour qu’à commencé la lente fin de YIP.
20 juin 2024; Aujourd’hui c’est le jour de la cérémonie de clôture, l’air est tapissé d’une couche de bizarre, surréél (une sensation très propre à YIP) un bizarre tâché de tristesse et d’excitation. Hier j’apprenais les noms de tous ces visages avec qui j’ai vécu des moments inoubliables et aujourd’hui je sais que je les reverrais sûrement plus. J’ai hâte de m’envoler et d’intégrer cette nouvelle personne que je suis dans « le monde réél »; ça me fait peur et je me sens très perdue mais je ne regretterais jamais cette aventure si magique.
Merci à Annie et tous les OT et les yippies pour avoir rempli ma vie de tellement d’intensité bizarre et douceur si tendre.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
(Bad translation from my mother tongue, French)
August 25, 2023: The sun is shining, it’s the end of summer, and Yanders welcoming smile leads us to a house with no right angles, in pastel blue and pink. It’s called “Tallevana”, in Finnish it means “in stock”; this is where we’re going to live for 10 months, 20 young people stored up like sardines in a can.
From my little room, which I learned to share with Tsu-En, we can see the fjord behind the trees and a red house dominating the landscape; this house must have seen a lot, I thought. The walls of Tallevana hold thousands of secrets from all the Yippies who’ve passed through here: conflicts, friendships, loves, sorrows, and a thousand and one tales that the walls could whisper to us.
In the beginning, everything was magical; the sun and the flowers accentuated the surreal aspect of this peaceful place; unfamiliar faces smiled shyly at each other; little by little, dynamics were established; we learned to know each other, to live together, and to cook together. It was intense and not easy, but I was amazed by the caring and support I felt in this space.
The classes were so rich and heart-pounding that I suddenly felt filled with so much beauty and meaning. In stark contrast to the emptiness I felt before, my depression had vanished, giving way to a world where kindness reigns, and I have the pleasant sensation of being in the right place, where I belong.
Autumn soon arrives, and the period of “Inner Awareness” reconnects us with our bodies and our little inner child; everything is intense, winter quickly sets in, and the nights get longer, accentuating the intensity. We live in our candlelit rooms, escaping the darkness and freezing cold outside. Beautiful friendships emerge from this hibernation. As the snow falls, covering the earth, we discover new celestial colours that are further contrasted by the white.
That’s when I start writing a lot, lulled by the atmosphere of Christmas, the smell of Glögg and saffron buns, and endless nights.
I write my thoughts, I go back into my past, into my childhood, I cry a lot, we cry a lot, but it’s all a process that makes sense, where we help each other, and it’s so pretty.
It’s the first time I’ve felt part of a group; I feel seen and heard, and that’s intensely wonderful.
I understand, I unravel things about myself, the puzzle of my life suddenly makes sense, a spiritual introspection begins, and I’m still writing, every day.
Christmas arrives; some go home like me, others stay. We meet again for a new year; it’s strange at first to come back; the “global realities” period begins; and the internship is approaching fast. Stress mounts inside me; I doubt my choice to go to India; I feel too weak. The white landscape outside was beginning to tire me, but I soon forgot about it when we all danced together like jellyfish on Friday evenings, and we supported each other as best we could with a lot of gratitude and tenderness. Groups had formed, but benevolence was omnipresent; we all meant well to each other.
I was lucky enough to have Vandana Shiva come one week before I left. I could listen to her for hours; she’s so powerful, and it made me want to discover her work. A week later I was on the bus to Dehradun in northern India, where Vandana Shiva’s NGO “Navdanya” is based (I wrote an article about my internship at “Navdanya” in the newsletter if you’re curious).
The internship in India turned my life upside down and helped me understand that I could find an internal balance to feel good in a place where nothing is familiar. I’d like to feel proud of myself, but I don’t yet, although I do feel stronger than before.
On the way back, we were all full of little stories from the four corners of the world. Our adventures were so different, but they brought us closer together, and it was on this return that the slow end of YIP began.
June 20, 2024: Today is the day of the closing ceremony, and the air is lined with a layer of bizarre, surreal (a very YIP feeling) « weird » stained with sadness and excitement. Yesterday I was learning the names of all those faces with whom I’d shared unforgettable moments, and today I know I’ll probably never see them again. I can’t wait to take off and integrate this new person I am into “the real world”; it scares me and I feel very lost, but I’ll never regret this magical adventure.
Thanks to Annie and all the OT’s and Yippies for filling my life with such weird intensity and tender sweetness.
Written by Ada Brunfaut
Life After YIP
As YIP comes to an end, I’ve started thinking about my next steps. Before applying for YIP, I expected myself to be filled with ideas about the future and have clear goals after 10 months. However, when I started thinking about it, I felt like I was drifting in a big ocean, feeling lost and helpless. Having immersed myself in uncertainty and anxiety, one day I had a sudden newsletter article, I seized the opportunity to clarify my future plans and vision.
Through Jasmine, I learned about a summer camp in July organised by students from the DNS School in Denmark. They plan to travel by bus from Denmark to Morocco, living with a group of young people and conducting projects to get to know the place. This rare opportunity to travel across Europe by bus includes camping, hitchhiking, and staying with local host families while exploring the local culture in small groups. If I don’t manage to get a Moroccan visa, I will stay in Spain, carrying out my own project. It will be my first time travelling solo in Europe for two weeks without friends or guides.
After the road trip, I’ll leave Europe in August and head to Egypt to volunteer for one month at Hebet el Nile Waldorf School. Hebet el Nile was a place I wanted to serve during my YIP internship selection, eager to see how Waldorf education adapts in different cultural contexts. I have the opportunity to work with the teachers, preparing lessons and exchanging ideas about education.
In early September, I’ll say goodbye to Egypt and return to Taiwan to attend my good friend’s wedding as a bridesmaid for the first time. After returning to Taiwan, I plan to give myself time to process this year’s learnings and harvests, focusing on myself and the land I live on. My life at YIP has awakened my awareness of supporting local farmers, and I want to learn more about the local farmers and businesses around me.
Because of the AoH (Art of Hosting) course at YIP, I connected with Sara, who plans to organise an AoH workshop in Taiwan in November. I plan to be part of the organising team and bring AoH to the Waldorf community in Taiwan. I’m very excited and grateful for having a chance to return to Sweden in April as a volunteer for YIP17, and I can’t wait to see familiar friends and participate in YIP in a new role. In July, I will go to Australia to join the Wayfarers Choir, a choir I joined after high school and university graduation. We will tour Australia and New Zealand, giving workshops in schools and bringing music to different corners and communities as travellers.
This is my plan for the next year after leaving YIP. None of these journeys were planned before joining YIP. Over these ten months, besides creating opportunities and networks, I gained the courage to follow my inner voice, letting go of the expectations I carried from society and the pressure of fearing failure and rejection. I have decided to care for my inner voices and act on them.
Written by Tsu-En Chiang
An imaginative future scenario…
I rarely think about my future. But if I think about it, I could see myself in a big, dark green forest, with moss everywhere and wombling big seaweeds swirling around in the air. The most different herbs, in the most abstract forms and colours, creep on every surface. I pick some of the purple ones with yellow stripes. It has cylinders on the edge of her buds and smells like licorice. Finally, the last one. I return to my little witch house; it gleams in the morning sun. I throw the herb into my big cooking pot. I bent myself slowly down; the smoke just waited for me to gently lick my cheeks. I take my long, crusty wooden spoon and stir the brew. A self-fulfilled smile takes a hike over my lips. A hoarse laughter rings out into the abundance.
Alternatively, I believe I could make a really good pirate. On this timeline, the focus point lies on the shifting garments all around me. I stand on an old, big, wooden pirate ship, far and high up in the air. Three different shades of green fabric are wrapped tightly around my head. Five white skirts, only eaten by bits of yellow on the edges and varieties of length, are swimming around my legs. My mission is to gain all the toasters on this planet. Hold tight to your one as long as possible.
Aside from that is this being, which roams around through thick, hot, egg yolk-green jungles. The machete cut through the plants as they were sunflower-weaved into a large quilt. I pull out my kaleidoscope to check again which colours are more vibrant. There, this one red violet falls out of line. But hardcore. It almost hides from me. There, I caught it with my bare eye. Now it’s burned into my memories forever. This is neither red nor violent. This is a non-existent substance. This is dirty and rancid and still shows her swag by the side. This is a tickle under your second toe. This is a sound never heard by anyone. This is a new shade. A hatched new shade of green.
Written by Li Künne
Thank you from the Organising Team
Sometimes, at YIP we say that we are a strange education in the sense that we do not ‘teach’. We do not try to offer answers, or to dictate or shape the direction that each person will take. What we offer instead is a place for young people from all over the world to come, meet each other, meet inspiring doers and thinkers on the edge of today’s challenges and innovations and meet themselves; their questions, their strivings, their struggles.
Our task as organisers is to create a space within which these meetings can happen, and enrich the lives of those who choose YIP as a part of their journey into finding their place to be of service in an interconnected world. Just as a farmer cannot dictate how a carrot will grow, but rather can only do their best to ensure that the conditions of the environment are as suitable as possible for the carrot to become what the carrot is. So we too, are tasked with setting the context within which these young people might begin to become what they are.
This year, YIP16, we had the honour to witness a group of young people, each totally unique, as they grew, struggled, shone, and developed. We got to see glimpses of the gifts and questions they each held within them, and to ask ourselves what might support them. It is with a lot of gratitude and wonder in the capacity of human experience that we round off this year.
Thank you YIP16 for sharing this chapter with us, for challenging us, for teaching us and for all that you are, and are becoming.
We look forward to more glimpses and more meetings in the future, and wish you all joy and adventure on your way.
From the Organising Team.
YIP Alumni Gathering in Wales
Dear Network,
We are excited to invite you to this year’s YIP Network Gathering. Taking place at Llwynbedw, a plot of land in West Wales managed by a group of friends, among whom Matara from YIP14. Grow a Garden Festival will be a 9-day get together organised by and for Yippies in the beautiful Welsh nature. Blending practical projects contributing to the land, artistic endeavours of different kinds and open space for everyone to bring their own projects.
We can’t wait to see you there this summer!
Matara & Simon, YIP14
https://www.growagardenfestival.org
YIP Alumni Project: Institute [X], a school for young adults 30 years in the making
YIP is a social entrepreneurship program, and each year the alumni network expands and a lot of projects are worked on. We are curious to see what these projects are that YIP alumni are working on, so we decided to include each month an article written by alumni in which they can explain their work and experience.
This month, we hear from Farranika (YIP15) and Iren (YIP14) about: Institute [X], a school for young adults 30 years in the making
Institute [X] (working title) is a long-standing dream of our family that is finally taking form. It addresses the pressing need for a truly transformative educational experience for adults. Today, young people are expected to enter one-size-fits-all universities, and many leave conventional education feeling lost and unsure where their path lies. At Institute [X], the focus is not the “degree” but instead the path of the individual student and the development of their talents into capacities for work and life. We believe that this approach will support strong, creative individuals to help check society’s downward spiral and build a more beautiful and healthy future.
When our dad was travelling in Europe in his 20s, he met a group of Norwegian Waldorf students. He became part of a circle of friends who had just met, yet had known each other for a long time – an experience many of us have had at YIP. That group spoke about starting the school that they needed: a school for young adults where each person created their own curriculum, where creativity was at the centre rather than rote memorization, and where the classrooms were art studios, agricultural fields, and alchemical laboratories rather than desks.
As we grew up and finished high school, we both found ourselves in need of that school. After YIP, one of the best years of our lives, we both found ourselves in the so-called “YIP dip,” realising that after this transformative experience, there was no clear path forward. Coincidentally, our parents were also undergoing career changes, and it was obvious to us that the time to start “the school” had come.
The school, in our minds, is a mix between YIP, a Waldorf School for adults, and Hogwarts. Students have classes all together that focus on creativity, the evolution of consciousness, and inner development, but also design their own areas of study. Physical work is a large aspect, giving students grounding experience in farming, maintenance, and practical arts. We look to our predecessor, Black Mountain College, for inspiration for a highly grounded, balanced curriculum. (pictures included)
From our prospectus for investors – “Institute [X] nurtures creative and intellectual excellence within a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment, students discover their true gifts and learn how to use them to make their best contributions in life. Our curriculum is based on the observation that every student is a unique individual who must find their own path. Our goal is to help them discover that path and provide the essential skills for its navigation.”
Currently, we host a working group once a month which currently comprises about 15 people, ranging from local biodynamic experts to education enthusiasts to executive coaches for Silicon Valley CEOs, all focused on the future of education and the development of the individual. We are preparing documents for our brilliant real estate agent to share with his extensive network in our search for investors and properties.
Last month we visited a 1700 acre (~690 hectare) property on the California coast, a possible site for the school. We explored the massive pond, the decrepit houses and beautiful barns, the creek, the fields, and the old growth redwoods, imagining students swimming, working on the infrastructure, and farming. We have always imagined a French castle for our location, but for now, we’re looking closer to home, in Northern California. (But if anyone has one to donate, we’re still open to the castle.)
Our next steps are further conversations with the real estate agent, continued meetings with our working group, and investor outreach. We will host a short retreat this summer at the 1700 acre property for our working group and local interested students in August. If you are interested to know more or have a castle to bequeath to us, please contact [email protected] or [email protected], or find us in the YIP Cross Generations chat. We look forward to hearing from you!
Written by Farranika (YIP 15 alumna) and Iren Barnum (YIP 14 alumna)
newsletter composed by Yander Fabri and Naomi Richards