HEAD - HEART - HANDS
Our courses offer singular experiences which embrace the holistic principle « head, heart and hands », meaning than we learn connecting our hands, hearts as well as heads. This happens in the classroom, in the gardens and in the kitchen, it is part of everything we do. Our teachers are invited to share their passion in a way that interweaves with this balance in order to create a unique learning experience.
The following courses emerged from our discussions, passion, encounters and experiences. Anyone is welcome to make propositions for new courses. What we offer is to host in accordance with our values and philosophy.
Above all, the Schumacher Sprouts are an open learning community.
SOIL, SOUL, SOCIETY
Though the gateway to the course may differ, all teaching encompasses the three dimensions of the Trinity in an holistic way. Our teaching, inspired by Schumacher College (UK), places interdependence at the heart of ecology, economy and society – and indeed of the learning journey itself.
SOIL Being part of the web of life, we are related to and dependent on soil. Finding our place within the natural world is an integral part of many courses. This is why we are based at Froidefontaine Farm, a collaborative farm producing a diversity of qualitative food and crafts, while a balanced relationship with the soil and the living. Situated in the beautiful Condroz countryside, Froidefontaine Farm offers a unique opportunity to reconnect with nature on a profound level, while learning skills related to the land.
SOUL If the Soil is the outer landscape, Soul is our inner landscape. As within, so without. This is a vital part of all our programs, as we firmly believe that there will be no outer transformation without true inner wellbeing. If we wish to take car of our Planet, we have to start with ourselves. Slowing down and taking time to feel the interconnectedness with our ecosystem as a part of our learning experiences. This is why our courses integrate inner wisdom practices and the spiritual dimension of being.
SOCIETY Caring for the soil and soul is not an individual journey. This is why we include the gateway “Society” in our course offering. Being members of the Earth community, we are not separate entities, but a set of relationships that constantly co-create and re-create. These relationships to Nature and others stem from our inner values. We aim to offer our participants the necessary tools to consciously bring their values in alignment with their lives as interrelated economic, social and spiritual beings. An open invitation to ‘be’, rather than simply just learn about it.
Key elements
Community living and working within the residential setting of Froidefontaine Farm;
Acknowledging and developing the whole person – intellectual, emotional, ethical and practical;
Valuing transdisciplinary approaches and different ways of knowing (thinking, feeling, intuition and sensing);
Emphasis on embodiment and practical action in participants’ own lives;
Participants, teachers and practitioners from all over Europe and the world.
Engaging with participatory, experiencial and reflective inquiry learning methods. A learning experience must be alive
Education is a process of living and not a preparation for future living
(Dewey, 2014)
