At the historic heartland of industrialization, one of the first paper mills in Britian is the source of a new story once again. Selgars is pioneering new ways to reconnect to nature, community and life at its fullest. The upcoming Enchanted festival will host a creative playground to experiment with what it means to be regenerative, to be fully alive. What better place to tell the story of transformation into an era of healing, meaning and thrivability?

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In my exchanges with its pioneering community, what stood out for me were a longing for meaningful and deeper ways of relating. It’s a space for honest and playful ways to reconnect with ourselves, the community around us or nature that gives us life.

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The colours of the evening sky, the sound of flowing water, the warmth of the community fire and the winds of creativity – embracing life’s beauty to the fullest was a shared dream of this inspiring group of regenerative placemakers and space holders. When talking with Anton, Debbie and Morgan, it felt like forgotten childhood memories and dreams have found a place again.

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Like probably many in my generation, I have an ambiguous relation to place. On the one hand, I enjoy the beauty and calmness of the countryside. But on the other hand, the creativity and openness of urban life are something I wouldn’t like to miss. In addition, I believe that my family’s experience with migration has left its mark on me.

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Since I can remember, I have been looking for my roots, longing to anchor myself in community and find my tribe. Probably many with a migration background will share some degree of intergenerational trauma. It is only recently that I feel I have found heart-based and diversity-celebrating communities that I can call home. Selgars intrigues me as a place that hosts such vibrant communities. 

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The industrial revolution has started in the United Kingdom. And with it, the modern ideologies that have shaped our globalized world economy: (neo)liberalism, colonialism, even communism with Marx, who also lived in London. 

My own family history was marked by the destructive effects of both neoliberalism and communism. Today, we pay a high price for the excessively mechanistic, reductionistic and industrial logic that has raped much of what is left of natural, social and our inner life. The promise of progress and enlightenment has turned into the dark reality of ecocide, modern slavery and hopelessness.

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How can we write a new chapter in the evolution of humankind? The regenerative communications workshop I will host at Enchanted will explore how to move beyond the story of separation that has alienated us from nature, from the feminine, from indigenous wisdom, from living life to the fullest. We will write stories of transformation that dream into being what had previously been thought as impossible – just like the industrial revolution. 

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Dare we listen to the wisdom of our hearts to make space for new potential? I’m convinced that Selgars is a wonderful place to start weaving a story that heals our personal and collective traumas from the past. We will harvest the wisdom of 3,8 billion years of nature’s way of communicating and dive into our web-weaving role as regenerative communicators. I’m excited to experience what will happen when such a creative, lively and diverse crowd comes together to write that story at Enchanted.