Landing Back in Ytterjärna
Dear friends of YIP,
Welcome to the recap of the first week of April and the month of March!
In this newsletter, we will take a look into the Yippies’ experiences and reflections on internships, the Initiative Forum, and what it feels like to be landing back in Ytterjärna.
The Yippies arrived on campus, along with the awakening of spring, on the 25th of March—landing into ever-changing skies of blue and grey, the stark colors of sunrise and sunset, touched by chilling and drizzly winds, and the vibrant emergence of the first blossoms and grass fields.
When Monday came, they immediately poured their energy into the week. Starting off with their internship presentations, it was beautiful for the community to witness what each Yippie had been up to, and what learnings they are carrying and bringing into this new semester.
Over the next three days, they went into an intensive preparation for the Initiative Forum of 2026. During this time, the Yippies collaborated and formed one big team with the Organizing Team of YIP, along with a team of YIP alumni. Throughout the five days of the event, we saw different Yippies shine in their strengths as they embodied their roles as hosts of the Initiative Forum.
What followed was a well-deserved long weekend of rest and leisure, as the Yippies begin to settle into their next course, Enabling Life: Holistic Thinking, with contributors Allan and Sue. We look forward to this next month as we settle back into our regular rhythms, move into the Self-Designed Curriculum, return to the garden with Aleksa, and see the Yippies kickstart their Personal Initiatives—which you can read about and look forward to in the next newsletter.
May the budding beauty of spring be alive in your life!
Warmth and sunshine,
Bella.
In this newsletter you will find:
- Landing Back and Reuniting with the YIP Community by Jelscha Ganter
- Internship Reflections:
° Muni Seva Ashram – Video by Harrison Tan
° Navdanya by Lilliahna Rogers, Maya Mortlock Baty, and Rosie Froome
° Bhaikaka Krishi Kendra Farm by Alva Hitsch, Gabriel Golding, Ida Paasan,
and Madison Shulkin
° Puvidam by Pho Leenhouwers
° Holy Green Agro Farm by Moira Bauwens
° Shikshanter by Riyo Harata - Initiative Forum Preparation by Maya Mortlock Baty
- Initiative Forum by Alva Hitsch
- New Spring Team Members!
- Alumni Project: Connection for Action by Matvey Melnikov
- Hello from the YIP Team – YIP 19 Applications
Photos and Writing by Bella Nicolas
LANDING BACK AND REUNITING WITH THE YIP COMMUNITY
Coming back from India and Nepal felt really strange. It felt as if a huge hand had taken me and placed me to Sweden from one second to the other. I jumped into another world where the things I was used to before no longer felt normal. All the faces and their behaviours felt so unfamiliar.
Then during the Initiative Forum, so many welcoming and friendly people came. Helping me to land and see the beauty of the wonderful Swedish landscape!
Drawing and Words by Jelscha Ganter
Muni Seva Ashram
(Gujarat, India)
At the Muni Seva Ashram, Bomin, Harrison, Maia, Milena and Sky immersed themselves into work and creative interaction with the young students of the ashram. They each held classes engaging the students with their different skills. Follow the link below to watch a video made by Harrison, as he shows us his experience during the internship.
Video by Harrison Tan
Navdanya Biodiversity Farm
(Uttarakhand, India)
Bhaikaka Krishi Kendra Farm
Biodynamic Agriculture
(Gujarat, India)
We all decided to experience the art of biodynamic farming, especially in India. We came with the questions such as what does biodynamics look like in India, and how do I learn from nature and invite the rhythms in my life? Throughout our stay we transformed some of them into answers and gained many new questions to take forward with us.
The farm has been such a rich place full of life, beauty and culture. We were held by some wonderful people and land. Sarvdaman, our host, is an incredible farmer who has such knowledge.
He took us on walks through the garden and stopped at times to teach us about it. We are so grateful for this opportunity and will cultivate this connection for the future.
To work with the rhythms of the moon, the planets and also really simply with the biological needs of the animals and ourselves has been such a rich learning. Our awareness of the food and the process and lifetime that lives beyond it has been extended.
We discovered the meaning that comes through working with our hands and with a purpose.
To be at a place where the culture and the way of living is so different from the familiar, has brought its own challenges, and we learned as a group and individually how to navigate this.
We all take a lot from our internship at Bhaikaka Krishi Kendra and cherish our time together on this land.
Written by Alva Hitsch, Gabriel Golding, Ida Paasen,
and Madison Shulkin
Puvidham
(Tamil Nadu, India)
Before coming to Puvidham I was curious about the philosophy of the school. What is it about the structure that builds resilient and curious young people? Would there be a catch to this?
My guiding question going in was: How can we cultivate curiosity and drive in young people that sustains into adulthood? And what can this philosophy teach me about my own learning journey as a human? This question allowed me to explore education systems and reflect on my own education growing up, and felt relevant for my life now as an adult.
During the internship, I was involved with helping edit and illustrate the school curriculum modules, which gave me a good insight into these ideas. I also interviewed and spoke with the parents and children about it. I also experimented with facilitating with these techniques.
Then I came up with another guiding question: What can traditional self sufficiency practices of Tamil Nadu be transformed into self sufficiency practices in New Zealand? How can I learn sustainable living from the Maori indigenous people in Aotearoa?
I started recording the life style practices here and researching the alternatives for my home country. I soon found that the best way to learn would be to learn from Maori themselves face-to-face. I also want to connect with Maori culture far more, so I plan to get involved with my local Marae, Te Āwhina.
My experience of Puvidham was life-changing. I was quite challenged on a personal level, but it was satisfying to feel the growth. I was also deeply moved and inspired by the people and their lifestyles. I will never forget the warm community we were welcomed into.
Below is a brain storm of some of the things I learnt that I want to take forward with me. You can see some of the answers to my guiding questions!
Writing and Creative Harvest by Pho Leenhouwers
Holy Green Agro Farm
(Gandaki Province, Nepal)
Together with Atlas, Freya and Kiki, I did an internship in Nepal, at the Holy Green Agro farm. The Holy Green Agro farm is a beautiful farm in a village near the mountains of Pokhara. We explored biodynamic farming, as well as the community in the village, and the Nepali culture; through cooking, witnessing the elections, dancing and conversations.
Together with the host Mahendra, we built our rhythms. Morning walks, cooking meals together, long reads and naps in the afternoon, getting to know the surroundings and closing the days with a harvest of one word. Thinking back on this internship, I would harvest the word ‘conversation’ to summarise my experience. Going into conversation with nature, with Nepali culture, with the host about our boundaries and findings.
Before coming to the internship, I had two guiding questions. The first question was about how to be present. This question was a more introspective and inward question. I suspected I would be challenged during tasks at the farm to stay present. I wanted to explore the task with curiosity rather than dreaming. I learned that it was mostly about the repetition of calling myself back into the now and looking at the situation in front of me with open eyes. I sat there, in these moments noticing a little tension sometimes, as if I tried to change the outer situation more to my liking, with just wishing. Invisible energy flowed towards this want for little change, that could be more entertaining or simply just distract me. I practiced opening myself up in that moment and letting it be. Exactly what it was, exactly how it was. This brought ease in my body and appreciation. It was my mind that wanted distraction from myself, so I incorporated my awareness into the situation and that helped.
The second question was about what it truly takes to grow food. Beforehand I linked this mostly to the earthly processes: the nutrients and nourishment it needs to develop. During the internship I learned about this but I also learned about an equally important aspect: care. The care and conversation that happens with the plant in the biodynamic farming practise is deeply beautiful. It is about knowing the plant, knowing its monthly and daily rhythms and most importantly listening to the plant. Observing what it needs and adjusting the care. The relationship built with the plants in biodynamic farming practices gave me a sense of exchanging life forces. I give care to the plant and it gives back to me in multiple ways: nourishment, teaching about the individuality, richness and intelligence of Mother Earth.
Written by Moira Bauwens
Shikshantar
“The People’s Institute for Re-thinking Education and Development”
(Udaipur, India)
My guiding question was: how can we cultivate social arts for grassroots movements to change the system?
I explored this through Farmversity – a grassroots “Farm University” in Jhadol, Rajasthan, born to restore dignity to farming and farmers. At Farmversity, we held a reflection workshop called “Inner reflections with colours” for local youth fellows, using drawing as a tool for self-inquiry. I also experienced a tribal homestay run by a Farmversity alumni- hiking with cows, cooking with the host family, and helping improve their Airbnb listing and feedback systems for an upcoming Japanese visitor group.
What deeply moved me was that Farmversity is not just a place of learning farming for young people in the village, but a grassroots initiative that is actively recreating both education and local economy – a space where learning and livelihood are intertwined and manually reinforcing.
The beauty within that simplicity still stays with me. After the trip, an Indian woman in Udaipur said, “I thought that was what life in Japan used to be like.” She was right – somewhere along the way, we called that change “development” and left behind something truly essential.
The trip was not about discomfort. It was a journey of remembering.
Illustration and Writing by Riyo Harata
Initiative Forum Preparation
After a long journey back from India, we arrived back safely in Ytterjarna. With a few days of resting, settling back into routines, rhythms, and connecting back to the Swedish land, we enthusiastically launched into preparing for the initiative forum. As part of our preparation we explored the theme of the forum through discussions, reflections, and personal insights which served to highlight the importance of the theme “Being Human in a Technological Age – Resisting Inaction, Resilience In Action.” Energised with the theme in mind, meetings were planned, tasks were divided up, work groups were formed, and working all together towards a common goal provided an air of anticipation and unity.
I found with every day that passed and the more tasks we did, my excitement for the forum grew. I especially looked forward to the opportunity to collaborate and meet various people in dialogue and explore the theme of the forum. Looking back, our time working together to host and prepare for the initiative forum within a short period of time, while intense, presented itself with many opportunities for further landing in the environment after India, and for such opportunities of collaboration.
One wonderful example of this collaboration was with the YIP Alumni who were sharing their wisdom from previous experiences, planning, structuring, and providing support to YIP18 in order to work smoothly within the time limit.
While at times in the preparation there were stresses, and complex tasks to juggle, we all managed to work together and created a supportive, collaborative and uplifting environment.
The experience of preparing and hosting the initiative forum has been a deeply rich and fruitful one for me. One thing in particular that has been an impactful experience was getting to deepen my relationships with my peers and to build and explore new connections, conversations, and collaborations with others both in and outside of YIP. I leave this forum filled with a sense of hope, warmth, and highly moved by the impact and sharing of care which takes place in this meeting of people. This is something I will carry with me into the future.
Written by Maya Mortlock Baty
Initiative Forum
On a windy and rainy day in Sweden, a bunch of people from different places in the world and different life experiences, came together and worked on a vision and mission.
Through lectures, music, art, food and the little gatherings in between, warmth has been created at the little campus. The collective will to build and create has been discovered in these conversations and meetings.
They celebrated and danced and laughed together. Love letters flew from one to the other, and words of appreciation were spread. The rooms have been filled with meaning and ideas, hope and reality. Friendships were built and ideologies were shared.
The theatre mirrored the group reflections and two violins touched one’s soul. Meals were shared and created smiles on each face. Truth and light have been discovered for each individual to take close with them and spread in the world.
With tired bodies and a heart full of love, hope, trust and ideas everyone made their way back to the place they belong to. And they left behind an inspired campus full of life and a bunch of proud and grateful Yippies.
In the past I participated at two initiative forums and it has been lovely to be in the position of hosting it and creating something for others. It was awesome to experience the responsibility that comes with it when you do something with meaning and life changing outcome.
The courage and organization it takes to be in such a position to step up and hold everything together has strengthened my confidence. To see the joy that others experience is incredibly wonderful and heartwarming.
The wisdom and knowledge that the Alumni with which we collaborated had brought, has been so helpful and encouraging to make it unforgettable and meaningful.
To see what happens when a bunch of people come together with the same vision of life has been so powerful. How much love, joy and collective care for the whole has been built. How easy it is to experience fun and community when the Twiiiins bring their gift on stage. I am impressed by what humans can create and transform. I wish it would have never ended because I enjoyed it sooo much.
Written by Alva Hitsch
New Spring Team Members!
The Organizing Team of YIP is happy to welcome Bella and Lia, both YIP17 alumnae, into the team for the last three months of YIP18. Below you can get to know a little about them and their intentions during their time as part of the team:
Bella Nicolas
I am an artist who specializes in illustration and painting. I love the early mornings, cats, philosophical conversations, and the small things in nature. My role as part of the team will mainly be focused on managing the Communication fields of YIP.
As a graduate from a Waldorf school in the Philippines, I have always been interested in holistic forms of education and human development. Spaces that involve active discourse and engage participants to think and observe things deeply and from multiple perspectives enliven me. That is why I am very eager to learn more about all the inner workings of what it takes to run a program like YIP, and to provide my support to the Organizing Team and Yippies.
– Bella Nicolas
Lia Chase
I grew up in Stroud in the UK, experiencing my alternative education and specialising in the arts and music. I landed at YIP last year with curiosity and eagerness to learn and be immersed in community living. Now arriving back I am grateful to have this opportunity to work with the organising team and deepen my understanding of YIP and this form of adult education. I’m excited to support and get to know the current yippies while moving into a very special part of the year together, as the spring returns and we enter the last few months of the program.
– Lia Chase
Lia’s role as part of the team will mainly be focused on the supervision of dinner preparations and the management of food orders and building care.
Alumni Update:
Connection for Action
My name is Matvey Melnikov. I say I am from the world because my background is long to explain. I believe in human potential and that love is the mega key to our evolution.
I attended YIP 17. YIP created my present self. Sometimes my ego says that YIP changed me the most out of all the Yippies.
YIP made me understand that physical spaces heal and that emerging youth interaction is healing young people. So I am now applying it myself and trying to change the world.
I am working on Connection for Action, a project that reunites young people in physical spaces. The idea is to create a tangible and accessible way for any kind of person, from various backgrounds, to meet other young people from completely different backgrounds around four pillars: Social, Art, Body, and Craft.
The future vision is an online ecosystem between organizations, projects, and private individuals that leads into physical action.
YIP made me understand my privileges and that I literally can change the world. The courses, the social interactions, and the physical spaces like the community meeting created and gave birth to my present project, Connection for Action.
Photos and Writing by Matvey Melnikov
Find out more about C4A
instagram: @connectionforaction
website: connectionforaction.de
Hello from the YIP Team
While YIP18 were on their internships, we on the YIP team returned early to Sweden to catch the last bit of snow and to design the curriculum for the following year (2026/27).
We began by reviewing the last six months of YIP18. What worked well? What could be improved? What did YIP18 have to say about their experience so far?
Then, leaving all of our reflections and what we know of YIP behind, we asked ourselves… What do we see as the major challenges facing young people and the world right now? What are young people seeking? How can we be of greatest service to young people on their path of becoming? How are we individually connected to the work?
Over many fikas (Swedish tea time), we conversed and listened, to one another and to what we sense is wanting to emerge.
To help visualise our thinking, the Hive (our main educational building) was filled with a circle of papers outlining each week of the year. What themes and topics feel most relevant? Who could we invite as Contributors to bring wisdom and inspiration? Which course makes sense at what point in the year? Is there a balance of thinking, feeling, and will in the flow of the curriculum? Where should we go on the Outpost? Etc… etc…
On the note of the International Outpost, YIP19 will also include a period of four months outside of our campus in Sweden to allow for non-European participants to attend the program. Early in the year, two team members travelled to China to scout out potential locations and to connect with those who would be our collaborators and hosts. We are currently researching VISAs, overland travel and various other logistics to see if China will be a possibility.
With each week filled with a course and a contributor, the design is complete. We are now in the process of puzzling, as we work around the schedule of various contributors to finalise the curriculum.
We are excited by what we have managed to land so far and look forward to sharing this with you all!
Apart from designing the curriculum, we were also busy reading applications for YIP19 and meeting people in interviews.
We are filled with wonder and excitement as the cohort for next year begins to form. What questions will they bring with them? How will they encounter one another? Will the curriculum meet what they are looking for? What future initiatives will be born through the unique constellation of people that will gather?
For those interested, applications are still open for YIP19! Don’t wait too long! Places are filling up. And for those who know of someone who might be interested, please point them in our direction.
Thank you for your continued support!
With love and respect,
The Organising Team
