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Wild Awareness forest week – 1st to 4th of August 2023
21 June 2023 @ 15:00 - 25 June 2023 @ 16:00
A four-day retreat in the forest for yourself and in community.
During this retreat, you spend a week in a community in a magical place in the woods of the Ardennes. You live off grid, sleep in a tent or hammock and connect deeply with nature through meditation, rest, walking. You get extensively in touch with your own Wild Nature. There are moments together in group and also plenty of time for yourself in nature.
Being together as a community in nature gives you renewed confidence in yourself. In this way, you naturally become aware of who you are and how you can be a part of the forest. We support each other to embrace our own presence, be there for ourselves and grow with the forest in this Greater Presence.
Programme of each day
We start each day in silence with meditation and reflection. Then we have breakfast together. Each of the participants and facilitators take on a task in the camp each day, either in the morning or in the evening: gathering wood, fetching water, making fire, cooking, doing the dishes, etc. After the day’s tasks, we hold a sharing circle and then everyone takes their lunch and follows their own path in the afternoon: resting, writing, meditating by a stream, going on a day hike, collecting plants, woodworking, making a nature work of art,.. Sometimes we meditate on a question that came up in the sub-circle or give each other an assignment or exercise to get more deeply in touch with our own Wild Nature.
By late afternoon we return to camp, after which we enjoy cooking together and sharing our stories of the day by the campfire (as happened in the tribes). The evenings are mostly free, but there is always the opportunity to create a ritual together, dance or sing. The first days of the week you stay mostly in the close vicinity of the camp, with lots of rest, time for yourself and nature. The last 2 days you will help in Chamai’s community rewilding forest project on site or in the surrounding forests.
Day 1 – Grounds in the forest
15:00 Arrival at Chamai retreat centre
16.00 Departure to basecamp in the forest
16.30 Introductions and practical arrangements
18.30 Supper
19.30 Free evening
Day 1 to Day 3 – Connecting together in the forest
08.30 Silent meditation and yoga
09.15 Breakfast
10.00 Share circle
11.30 Day tasks
12.00 Making lunch and free afternoon
13.00 Free afternoon: hiking, nature connection exercises, time for yourself
17.00 Return to camp
18:30 Supper
20:00 Free evening around the campfire with songs, music,…
Day 4 – Rewilding day
08.30 Silent meditation and yoga
09.15 Breakfast
10.00 Making lunch
10:30 Briefing and theoretical input
11.00 Community work in the forest, lunch by the fire
15:00 Free
17:00 Dinner
19:00 Observation & part circle
20:00 Social gathering
Day 5 – Rewilding day & farewell
08.30 Silent meditation and yoga
09.15 Breakfast
10.30 Make lunch, pack
11.30 Briefing and theoretical input
12.00 Community work in the forest, lunch by the fire
14.30 Nature ritual
15:00 Final observation and part circle
16:00 Farewell
On the last day, we end around 3pm in the forest. We will then return to the retreat centre to collect our cars and say goodbye to each other.
Registration and prices
Social price: on demand via email, 490 euro (max. 2 persons)
Standard price: 590 euro
Supporter & business price (if you would like an invoice): 690 euro
Deadline to register is at the latest 10 days before the start of the retreat and subject to payment of registration. Later is not possible due to organisational reasons.
Are you registering at least 2 months before the retreat? Then you will get an early booking discount of 70 euro, if you transfer the full participation fee in one go (not valid for social prices).
Your registration is complete as soon as you have sent an email to chamaicentre@gmail.com and transferred the full registration fee to the following account: BE12 7340 4886 7292 – Sophie Vandenkerchove, mentioning your name + Wild Awareness forest week and date.
If you cancel your participation, a part of your enrollment fee will be withheld to cover the administrative costs of your cancellation. Two months in advance 25% of your contribution will be retained, one month in advance 50% and 2 weeks in advance: 75% of your contribution. If the retreat has to be cancelled due to external organisational reasons, your registration will be fully refunded.
Guides of this retreat
Sophie Vandenkerchove
Sophie is a lover of the Wild – within and without. Sophie grew up in the forests of the Belgian Ardennes, where she nurtured a strong connection to the land of her ancestors as a child. After roaming wild places in the cities, she moved back to her village with a dedication to offer her life to the well-being and healing of her ancestral land. Out of this, Chamai came into existence: a nature-based learning centre, where she offers residential workshops and experiential journeys in and with Nature and collaborates with others. In her own work, she interweaves the power of ceremony and presenceness with her soulful love for her place, nature and people. She is passionate about pilgrimages, solo time in nature, silent retreats and all those experiences that bring together a good balance of adventure, presence and gentleness. Feeling and bringing each other home, is her life’s longing and service.