Dear friends of YIP,
Welcome to YIP18’s January recap!
The first month of the year brought new beginnings in the daily rhythms of the Yippies. The period of bringing the YIP curriculum here to Navdanya Farm started, welcoming a new contributor each week with diverse topics.
We started by understanding what our role is as humans in an age that is ruled by technologies, followed by understanding human biographies and the impact of them on us. We then focused on project skills, applying it to each participant’s personal initiatives. We also had the chance to explore the Anthroposophy. We ended this chapter with a week on Storytelling, realising the power that it has to transform ourselves and many other challenges in the world.
During these five weeks, we were given the opportunity to attend a course organised by the Navdanya Staff – “Gandhi Lives: A Living Dialogue”. Exploring Gandhian principles – Swaraj, Swadeshi, Satyagraha, and Ahimsa – and applying them to ecology, social issues, and the economy.
Our time in Navdanya has slowly come to an end. It is the moment for Yippies to start on their new adventurous journeys to their internships.
Five groups will stay within India, and one will travel to the mountains of Nepal. The participants will immerse themselves in diverse ways of farming and working with the land, exploring different education systems by connecting with children, experiencing what it means to live in a fully sustainable way, and also actively participating in several artistic projects.
In the meantime, the team will go back to Sweden to prepare and design the curriculum for the next year.
I hope you all had a wonderful start to the year.
Talk to you soon,
Irene.
In this newsletter you will find:
· Being Human in a Technological Age Week: Written by Alva Maria Hitsch
· Biography work Week: Drawing and words by Ruby Botica
· Personal Initiative Week: Painting and words by Phoebe Leenhouwers
· Anthroposophy Week: Written by Sara Pagalday
· Storytelling Week: Written by Maia Holloway- Stephens
· Current YIP project: Written by Bomin Kim
· Christmas break from a Yippie: Written by Riyo Harata
· Alumni Update: Transappalachian Traveling Act
· Upcoming Event: Initiative Forum 2026
·YIP 19 Applications are open
BEING HUMAN IN A TECHNOLOGICAL AGE
The forgotten fire! Where is the fire in the world, The fire that gives us warmth and light and the ability to look through the dark? Where is the fire in the world, that gives us clarity and trust? Where is the fire? Where is the fire in the world, that makes us forget about the time? And where is the fire in myself, that lights my questions? Where is the fire in myself, that gives me the ability to create? Where is the fire, whose flames always strive upwards? Where is the fire? By Alva Maria Hitsch
BIOGRAPHY WORK
I met friends
They bloomed from first smiles and
Soft similarities
We met in small unions of seeking
And dredged from the depths
As time waved over us
Differences deepened our meeting
We delved into the dream
Of becoming whole together
I formed my friends as whole
Knew fragments and built
Homes for them inside me
Found the sound of their names in my own voice
Then I was asked to step back
From the homes I built
Step outside myself and
Within myself
And listen
I listened
I saw how time and people and struggle and life had
Touched my friends
Touched a part that was always there
The I in them
Which makes them whole
And separate from me
In this separation
The home I made for them in me
Was painted and reformed
By the voice that said I;
Echo of the child
Impact of relationship
Strength in struggle
Real Resilience
Stories touched me
The stories of my friends and
My own story
They weaved to form the world
I saw humans as wonderfully becoming
By Ruby Botica
PERSONAL INITIATIVE “SHAPING THE HOW”
This week we looked at multiple inner and outer archetypes to help us understand our Personal Initiatives. We did this through several different creative excersizes, one of which was Lego Serious play. This piece is my lego sculpture reimagined. It represents my inner friend, the field I am working with, a prototype of my initiative.
My question is: How can I use creativity to heal my self and serve the world?
Words by Phoebe Leenhouwers
ANTHROPOSOPHY WEEK
“The land away from homeland initiates us, gives us a destiny gift. I hold what I have and pick up something that is being given from the outside.”
We have been in India more than two months already, and here we are, holding to what we have and know from the past and picking up new things.
This week has not been an exception, replete of insights, of questions, of wonder. We started the week with the will to define anthroposophy, and we knew that it’s not something that someone can just answer.
We have been talking about lots of things that I had already heard about, and listening to lots of other things that came as new to me. New but known at the same time, somewhere within me, as I can feel them like truth in me.
This week has shown me anthroposophy in a different way. Or, in other words, it has opened the door for me to see anthroposophy as my own, in my life and experiences, through my eyes and not others. And still so many things that my mind can not fully grasp…
We discussed a lot about this knowing, about this trust. The knowledge is in our body, and I know that I know even when I don’t know.
We also talked about our metabolic limb system, where this knowledge lives, and about our thinking, where we try to understand it. But, “the light of the metabolic limb system cannot be grasped with the light of the head”.
Can I put the trust that I put in knowledge also in life?
A big part of me lives on this trust, the other one lives in this intellectual soul, and this last one gets stuck if I forget to come back to my body. This week has been a great reminder to do so. To be aware of the constant flow of going away and coming back, and then going away again. Allowing ourselves to be in that flow, remembering always to come back again. Lakshmi has talked so beautifully about this movement: “Always harmonious is death. Life is about constantly moving away from what we want and then coming back. And asking myself: how do I get to the place where I want to be?”.
Another big topic linked to this one has been selflessness and self-centredness. We are self-centred in our metabolic limb system. I care for my body, I care for my life forces and only then I can care for you. I am self-centred in my metabolic limb system so I can be selfless somewhere else. And how important it is not only to care for myself but also to understand myself. Because when I know who I am, then I am ready to know who you are.
Then I can be social without disturbing who I am. Only after (and while) being antisocial, rejecting something, defining myself. Then I can become you, and become me again, practice empathy consciously, without losing my self identity. It’s beautiful how this empathy always comes with interest. Interest in knowing who the one in front of us really is. “I want to understand you so I can serve you better”. The will to understand is love.
Written by Sara Pagalday
STORYTELLING WEEK
This last week Roi took us on a journey of laughter, exploration, questioning, play and depth. There were 12 stories that we Yippies randomly picked on the first day which we then, with pairs or trios, worked on for the week and then shared at the end with a ‘story telling feast’.
Roi showed us different ways to fall in love with the stories. The methods of crafting a story with learning the bones, creating story maps and drawing story boards. We were invited to dive deep into each scene, exploring the story’s landscape. What could we see there? What could we feel? What were the colours? The smells? The sounds happening? It was so interesting to go into these places and lands and see what other secrets the story wanted to share with us; new details and understandings that aren’t in the “bones”. This is a method to become familiar and an “insider” to the story. When telling the story it is important for the listeners to feel as though you were truly there. By doing this excercise you were there, in your imagination, and therefore can transport others there too. When working with the characters we also looked at how can we meet them as equal beings? How can we embody them and allow their voice to speak through us? We discussed the balance of discribing the images and presenting them to the audience but also leaving space for the audience to use their imaginations. Finding the homeopathic dose.
The group also looked at examples of when images are presented too strong. For instance, Walt Disney has forced many images of how all the princesses and villains look and thus have created stereotypes; taking away from our own imagination of who these characters might be. These have often come from a patriarchal point of view and can be very discriminative. Yet, storyteller’s can bring fluidity to these images for instance : instead of saying the “beautiful princess” you could say “there was a princess who had two suns in her eyes and smelled like the fresh cut grass in summer”. The difference these two descriptions create in the imagination is quite powerful.
We also spoke about the archetypal images and how these often have a deeper and multi layered meaning. Therefore it is best to uphold these characters as they are presented and the journey they take. Roi spoke of the soul language and how many Wondertales speak to us through this language, often working on us with the night consciousness. These tales can often be difficult for our intellectual minds to understand, yet they have many teachings and wisdom for our souls. Rudulf Steiner spoke of how Wonder tales come close to the very mystery of life, our souls can understand but our brains cannot.
I was really inspired by Roi’s understanding of stories and how they are living beings and we must stay in relation with them. We can work on them in the day, and they work on us during the night. We serve the story but the story exists in itself.
Story telling as social healing. The ability stories can have to address wounded places in both ourselves and society. The skill they have to “not poke the wound directly” but access it through the realm of images and symbolism. They can also create new meanings and give a moments relief from this world and reality and in giving this space, healing can happen; our nervous system can relax. Many of the characters can be reflected as parts of ourselves and thus we can relate to them on a deeper level. We also recognised as a group, how Stories can often transport us to the feeling of being a child again. How many of us were told bed time stories when we were young and therefore stories can often be associated with warmth, care, attention and love.
Historically stories have always been present and would have been told in similar spaces such as around fires and in community; safe and warm spaces. It feels almost like the joy of listening to a story is in humanities genetic DNA. Stories can also build resilience, they can take us to scary places but be told in a safe space, important for both children and adults. Roi also spoke of, when working with stories in areas of conflict, the importance of games and the social wisdom of the playground that is now being studied. How to create a space were people can connect and put aside the stories they have been told about who and what they should believe, but rather meet eachother as humans and laugh together. To bring light so they can go to the dark places together. When listening to stories and entering the imaginary realm it allows space for expansion and ability to find new possibilities that can then later turn to new actions.
It was so fun and fascinating to play within the realm of imagination and stories from all over the world for a week. Roi was an incredible guide bringing so much laughter and play in building a connection to the stories we had chosen and the gift of storytelling as a social art.
CURRENT YIP PROJECT
News Club with Bomin Kim
To enrich life at Navdanya and to deepen our understanding of Vandana Shiva’s lectures and philosophy, I started the “Vandana Shiva Book Club.” Here at Navdanya, where the seed bank is located, we have the incredible opportunity to attend her lectures and ask questions directly. Vandana Shiva has led the seed sovereignty movement, emphasizing indigenous seeds and biodiversity.
In her book ‘Staying Alive’, she discusses the value of women marginalized in modern agriculture, shadow labor, the independence of seeds, the importance of organic farming, earthworms, fertilizers and organic chemistry, and the problems of the Green Revolution. She also talks about what we should consider truly important in life.
We read Vandana Shiva’s Staying Alive one chapter at a time and met once a week. Each week, a different member took a turn as the facilitator, presenting the chapter in their own way. This usually included presentations, organized materials, and photos related to the chapter. Afterwards, we spent time discussing the chapter together and asking questions.
Reading may seem like a small act, but it is one that requires consistent attention. For me, reading encourages reflection on our lives, and gently expands our thinking and intellect, and strengthens my understanding of my reality and place in the world. When we read together, we can understand the book more deeply and from broader perspectives. It also creates a sense of shared responsibility, inspiring us to read carefully for one another. This is why I created and started this book club.
I would like to conclude by sharing a passage from the book:
“Maldevelopment is the violation of the integrity of organic, interconnected and interdependent systems, that sets in motion a process of exploitation, inequality, injustice and violence. It is blind to the fact that a recognition of nature’s harmony and action to maintain it are preconditions for distributive justice.”
– Vandana Shiva, Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development.
Written by Bomin Kim
CHRISTMAS BREAK FROM A YIPPIE
Solstice un Taiwan South India, Kerala. Coming back to “being”through my body.
During the Winter Solstice season – a special time both in Taiwan and in my home country of Japan – I visited Taiwan. I was welcomed with a warm winter solstice hot pot. Taiwanese food is different from Japanese food, but it somehow reminded me of Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli Film). Every bite felt like all my cells were cheering. I honestly thought, “Uh oh… I might turn into a pig like Chihiro’s parents!
In the first week of my winter break, I decided to go to Taiwan suddenly. It was intuition and curiosity. And also after my recent explorations in YIP and our outpost at Navdanya biodiversity farm, I was holding one question:
“How can we nurture social art for grassroots movements and system change?”
With that question, I spent about a week living and sharing daily life with people I truly respect – Social art practitioners.
What touched me most was how they grow their community: not rushing, but caring for it every day. I still carry the habit of trying to do things alone, so watching them felt like watching someone water the soil with love – quietly, consistently. It was deeply inspiring.
For me, social art is not about one artist “performing” something for others. It is a space we hold together for the people caring for what really matters. It is a place where we can co-see, co-sense, co-initiate, and co-prototype together.
And now, with AI evolving incredibly fast, I feel this question matters even more: How present can we be?
Can I stay open in this moment, without being pulled by results, by “looking good,” or by that inner voice that laughs, “Isn’t that too spiritual?”
This is exactly what I wanted to practice during this break.
At a Christmas concert, I tried scribing what I felt from the musicians across different genres – their presence, their sounds, and the “layers” in between. Something I don’t usually draw came out: many layers, like a landscape. Later, one musician said, “Layering sounds from different types of music was really hard,” and it felt like their words matched my lines. That made me so happy and so grateful for my friend who gave me a paper card to draw on.
In the second week, I traveled to Kerala in South India.
I stayed at a small Ayurveda hospital in the mountains, with delicious breakfast, doctor consultations, treatments, yoga, and small daily activities. Everything was held with quiet, real hospitality. My skin felt renewed, and on the final day, during Shirodhara, I felt my concentration come back around the space between my eyebrows.
I want to keep this feeling close, and keep cultivating it.
And one more happy update: our core members in Taiwan and Japan decided to take initiative on a social art project. I am genuinely excited to co-prototype it together!
Written by Riyo Harata
ALUMINI UPDATE
Transappalachian Traveling Act
Hi! My name is Farranika, and I was a participant in YIP15.
In the almost three years since my YIP experience, I have found that so much of my life has been deeply influenced by YIP. Soon after the year ended, I followed an interest in education to Brazil, where I worked with a truly incredible organization called Associação Comunitária Monte Azul with which YIP has worked closely for some years. I spent three months in Brazil, and soon after moved (with one of my Yippies!) to do an artist residency in upstate New York called Free Columbia, which I learned about through another Yippie living nearby. And from there we never left! Now there are four of us from YIP15 that live in this area in New York, and what a treat it is! There is a vibrant, talented and creative community of young people living close together, marked by the residency program and a strong cohort of the North American Youth Section (the Youth Section is a global movement of young people inspired by anthroposophy, focused on building community and taking initiative in the world). This area is home to the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School, The Nature Institute, Free Columbia, various youth conferences and numerous other creative and educational initiatives.
At present, myself and two other good friends, Gareth from North Carolina and Anders from New York are pioneering a project entitled the Transappalachian Traveling Act. It is an experiment in mobile performance art which we will be taking on the road for two weeks in July 2026, traversing the Eastern United States. We will start in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and culminate in the Hudson Valley, New York. In a time of increasing isolation, polarization, commodification and general cultural desolation, this project sprung from a shared belief in the vital importance, the life-giving, soul-enriching, heart-filling necessity, of free, radical cultural initiatives and creative expression. We must resist pervasive paradigms of materialism, we must build bridges of light between people and places, between the self and the other. We must make art for art’s sake. How? By guileless acts of public performance art.
We are acquiring a utility trailer, which we will build out into a stage on wheels between now and the summer. Then we will hit the road with any and all who have a story to tell, a song to sing, a play to perform or simply wish to be along for the ride! Fairlytales! Songs! Stories! Dance! Marionettes! Shadow puppets! Lights and sounds and…!
Come along, share those old poems you wrote in YIP, sing those songs and tell those stories, I know you’ve got ‘em! The invitation is extended to all who are inspired (and any who aren’t).
Contact us if you have interest, questions, concerns, ideas, or anything else 🙂
Email: [email protected]
Whatsapp: +1 (707) 708-9502
Written by Farranika Barnum
UPCOMING EVENT:
Initiative Forum April 2026
In the springtime of 2026, YIP18, together with a group of YIP alumni welcomes you to initiative forum on the theme of – Resisting Inaction, Resilience in Action: Cultivating Human Wisdom in an Artificial Age.
As technology and artificial intelligence increasingly enters into our lives, we see a crisis of the human will. Despite seeing the global challenges that are calling for our participation, we feel there is a tendency towards apathy and overwhelm. How can we resist this inaction, and grow in our resilience to respond to the challenges, both as an individual and as a collective? How can we consciously cultivate human wisdom in this increasingly artificial age and meet these changes with awareness?
If these questions are alive in you, we invite you to join us in exploring these themes together!
The forum will include lectures, interactive discussions, open spaces, workshops and cultural activities.
Please invite your friends and help us spread the word!
For more information visit: https://initiativeforum.yip.se/
We hope to see you there!