Cultivating Regenerative Livelihoods
Making a living while making a difference.
Programme Overview
Type: e-Learning
Start Date: January 25, 2025
Study Time: 5-10 hours +/ week
Facilitation: With Facilitators
Level: Intermediate
Registrations close: February 1, 2025
Developed by:
It can be difficult to make ends meet, let alone find a job that enlivens us and allows us to meaningfully contribute to the ecological, political, and social challenges of our time.
When we think about our livelihood as our service to the wellbeing of ourselves, each other, and the planet, it opens us to dream and explore new possibilities. Pairing these with regenerative and cooperative economic theories and business models empowers us to actualize them and contribute more substantially to the more equitable, sustainable, and just world we envision.
Wherever you are on your livelihood journey, this course will help you pause to reflect, connect with what’s important to you, and go forth with tools and insights to help make your vocational dreams come to life.
Testimonials from 2023 course
What participants from the Spring 2023 course are saying:
"I like that you have an adult learning approach, and that you are flexible and sensitive to different needs. I really like how you start the sessions with centring and some of the poems you’ve shared. I like that there is no assessment and that we are encouraged to get when we need from the course- such a refreshing and counter cultural approach! I like the welcoming and safe environment you create. The recordings for the interviews are very helpful too. I also love meeting people from all over the world and hearing about how they are trying to make a difference in the world! I love the flipped classroom model too!! Thank you!!" N.D.F.
"I find consolation and comfort and new ideas in listening to other people’s struggles and triumphs and sharing my own. I had my own breakdown in my life and it is really interesting to meet people who have had similar experiences and are trying to live a new life. It is inspiring! I think I like the latest modules the best because they have introduced new models of economy that I didn’t know about and have some practical applications of them. I think the biggest learning is that I can slowly transition to a different system that is regenerative, one step at a time. I like all the practical learnings that we can apply to ourselves and our situations, starting from the beginning of the course." N.D.F.
"Amazing, fabulous, inspiring, abundant, generous and wise. Thank you both." M.C.
"Two absolutely wonderful women! I am inspired by your knowledge, modeling of what you are teaching, your genuine, rooted practice/way of living. Thank you." W.R.
Course Structure
The course takes place over 12 weeks with virtual meetings offered every other week. There are six modules in this course, each lasting two weeks and each containing module materials and one live virtual session. (note that virtual sessions are being offered at two different times to allow for engagement and participation from different time zones).
The first week of a module is for reading, listening, or watching the module materials. Participants have all two weeks of the module to post responses to the module prompts and reply to other participant’s reflections on the learning platform. The one live session per module happens during the module’s second week.
Themes of the course’s five modules:
- Welcome and Introductions - group agreements, learning goals
- (Re)Discovering Passions, Gifts, and Purpose
- Acupuncture Points for Systems Change
- Rethinking Economics, Work, and Money
- Regenerative and Cooperative Economic Models and Tools
This course is a virtual learning and practice course that uses both synchronous (live sessions via zoom) as well as asynchronous (learning platform) learning methods.
The live session utilizes the “flipped classroom” approach where participants are asked to teach back the insights from the pre-session materials. This pedagogical approach is inspired by the view that “teaching others” offers learners the highest rate of retention.
Live sessions will take place on Saturdays: February 1 and 15, March 1, 15 and 29 and April 12 (2025) at 9 AM PDT/ 5 PM UTC
Course Objectives
At the end of the course, each participant will have created and shared a portfolio and a reflection paper on what are the principles and elements of a regenerative livelihood and how they interact with the participant's community needs and offers.
Questions that will be addressed:
- What is right livelihood or regenerative livelihood?
- How do we create a regenerative livelihood for ourselves that is also regenerative for our communities and the world?
- How can we make a difference in the world while earning our living?
- What are the existing models of livelihood and what is emerging?
Facilitators
Della Duncan
is a Work that Reconnects Facilitator and Renegade Economist who supports individuals working to better align their values with their work as a Right Livelihood Coach, helps transition businesses beyond capitalism as a consultant, and hosts the Upstream Podcast, challenging mainstream economic thinking through documentaries and conversations including: Our Struggles are Your Struggles: Stories of Indigenous Resistance and Regeneration and A World without Profit: In Conversation with Jennifer Hinton.
Silvia Di Blasio
is an Argentinian born Design for Sustainability graduate and EDE facilitator with a lifelong passion and dedication to social justice, sustainability, and transformational change. With a degree in Psychopedagogie and Adult Education and a diploma in Career Counselling, Silvia has specialized on eLearning, curriculum design and facilitation for social change.
Silvia brings a long track record of working as an educator, curriculum designer, online specialist, career coach and facilitator in organizations that include, among others the Work That Reconnects Network, the Permaculture Women’s Guild and three NGOs supporting immigrants and refugees in Canada.
Fees and Scholarships
- The Cultivating Regenerative Livelihoods runs for 14 weeks (including an orientation period).
- You can add six extra monthly coaching calls/follow ups (optional)
- We suggest you dedicate a minimum of 5 hours a week, plan to be in the calls and fully engaged to receive maximum benefit from this course.
- You can choose to pay in full or in instalments.
- The course cost is £300. We provide a limited number of scholarships, please apply here if you are unable to pay for the full course. Scholarships are limited and are provided partial (50% and 75%). Applications will be accepted until January 7, 2025 and results will be communicated to applicants by January 15.
- For further information, please email: yan.teixeira@gaiaeducation.org
Graduates of our programmes have gone on to contribute to sustainability projects, build communities, become social entrepreneurs, partake in permaculture projects and bio-dynamic farming, support transition movements and much more.
Upon certification you will have the background and confidence to take an active role in Designing Regenerative Livelihoods for yourself and those in your circle and community. You will be able to use diverse tools and practices to identify ways to create livelihood that help heal and regenerate ecosystems and communities.
To receive a Certificate of Completion students need to engage and participate in all activities during the 12 weeks period of the programme Cultivating Regenerative Livelihoods. At the end of their participation students will have successfully completed the minimum required activities and will have access to an alumni platform with all the content of the course and access to some sharing and interaction tools with other participants.
