Schumacher International Summer School 2026

Over dit evenement

Practicing the commons: relationality in communities and bioregions

After our beautiful 2025 edition, we are returning for a 4-day residential learning journey exploring commons, regeneration, bioregionalism, place, care, governance and non-extractive futures.

The programme combines systems thinking, practical tools, embodied learning, dialogue practices and collective inquiry. Alongside conversations about ecological, cultural and social transition, participants will explore the relational and organisational skills needed to build resilient commons and communities in practice.

Throughout the programme, we will draw from approaches such as:

- commons-based organising and other localised collective practices
- regenerative leadership and facilitation
- consent-based decision making and participatory governance
- embodied and relational practices
- relational finance and transvestment
- Nonviolent Communication (NVC)
- Art of Hosting
- The Work That Reconnects

We strongly believe in experiential learning with head, heart and hands. This summer school is designed not only as a place to exchange ideas, but also as a living learning environment where we will actively practice new ways of relating,
organising and collaborating. There will also be an opportunity to bring in projects or challenges you are currently working on and co-create part of the programme with us.

Arc of the programme:
Day 1: Landing, Commons & Connection
Day 2: Facing Reality: Grief, Crisis & Solidarity
Day 3: Organising, Governance & Relational Finance
Day 4: What does it mean in your own context?

This course is for:
- land stewards and commoners whose hands are dirty and boots muddy
- artists and activists who imagine new possibilities
- educators and researchers asking questions
- bioregionalists and place-based changemakers
- community organisers and citizens of the world getting on with it
- regenerative entrepreneurs and progressive policy makers
- anyone seeking to explore how commons-based practices can nurture social and ecological renewal.

All tickets include:
- Three nights of accommodation
- All organic, seasonal meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
- Unlimited coffee, tea, fruit and snacks throughout the day
- Full access to the programme of workshops and embodied learning sessions
- Use of the grounds and indoor spaces at De Kleine Aarde
- Facilitation by an experienced and international team
- Connection with a diverse group of people committed to regeneration, the commons, and systems of care

We aim to make this course accessible while covering the real costs of good food, comfortable accommodation, and thoughtful facilitation. Our pricing structure reflects a balance between economic reality and our commitment to solidarity. We can offer a couple of scholarships. If that applies to you, please send us an e-mail (to schumacheractionlabs@protonmail.com) with:

- your motivation to join
- your reason to apply for a scholarship
- and the ways in which you could contribute to the course in an alternative form?

Who is organising this?

This Summer School is organised and hosted by Schumacher Action Labs, an international initiative that develops practical approaches to regenerative economics, the commons, bioregionalism and systems change through education, convening and collaborative action.

The organising and facilitating team consists of:

Natasha Hulst – Founder of Schumacher Action Labs Netherlands, Programme Director of the European Commons programme at the Schumacher Center for a New Economics, and Portfolio Weaver with Bioregional Weaving Labs. Her work focuses on the commons, bioregionalism, regenerative finance and community land stewardship.

Gertrude Flentge – Co-founder of Schumacher Action Labs, cultural practitioner and commons organiser. She leads the Lumbung Practice Temporary Master's programme at the Sandberg Instituut and continues to develop the Lumbung Interlocal and Lumbung Land School, building on the legacy of documenta fifteen, which she co-curated with the Indonesian collective ruangrupa. Before this, she spent fifteen years at the DOEN Foundation, supporting cultural initiatives in Africa and pioneering innovative approaches to funding for the commons and social change.

Jay Tompt – Former lead of the MA Regenerative Economics programme at Schumacher College, ecological economist and educator specialising in regenerative economics, bioregionalism and community-led economic transformation.

Claudia Angeli – Schumacher College alumna, Erasmus University lecturer and facilitator working at the intersection of the commons, regenerative education and participatory learning.

Anneke van Woerden – Facilitator and organisational coach with expertise in collaborative learning, nature connection, dialogue and transformative group processes.

Throughout the week, participants are joined by guest contributors, including:

David Bollier – International author, activist and one of the world's leading thinkers on the commons.
Cara Chrisler – Nonviolent Communication (NVC) trainer, facilitator and educator supporting relational practice, dialogue and community transformation.


For more info see: www.schumacheractionlabs.org