We’ve watched intentional communities form and dissolve for years — it’s rarely a lack of will. What’s usually missing is a structure for the everyday: who cooks, who decides, what happens on an ordinary Tuesday.

Praxis Ecology is a practical course for designing that structure — not as theory, but as a working design you build session by session: how you eat, how you move, how you organize space and time, how you stay present with each other. Five interwoven practices — Sitting in the Trouble, Activating the Body, Moving Together, Cooking Together, Connecting Together — form the ecology.

“Cooking or cleaning together isn’t a logist

ics problem to solve before the real work starts. It is the real work.”

Now we are ready to share 2 courses around the ecology of living together , the first one is about the general daily frame and starts this september and the second one will be ready next year , around conscious food system ( Tenzo design ).

I am Valerie Duvauchelle and I will be leading those courses directly inspired by my experience in zen monasteries and my passion for activating this wisdom into secular communities.

The Praxis ecology course runs 22 September to 1 December 2026: 6 sessions, each with short videos, self-paced design work, and a live session with Valérie. By the end, you’ll have designed your own Praxis Ecology, adapted to your real context — a retreat, a coliving experiment, or an ongoing community, a secular monastery.

Free intro webinar: 15 September — come meet Valérie live, no commitment required, or register for the course directly if you’re already sure. Price: €250, early-bird 30% off before 8th September. Scholarships available

I hope to see you there and see what you will design for the futur !

Valerie Duvauchelle

Please check our page : https://secondrenaissance.net/course/praxis-ecology

Since the residencies began in 2021, my intention—and gradually my role—has been to create a space for the practice of food: a praxis open to everyone. Although it finds its roots in Zen, it resonates deeply with what I understand of the metamodern posture.

In my early career I was a film producer. I moved to Japan, where I lived from 1999 to 2012, to create the French Short Film Office. In 2003 I encountered Zen, an encounter that transformed my professional life. In 2006 I closed the office and ended its promotional activities to learn and share a Zen way of cooking that I called furansu shōjin—French shōjin—or what I would later call the cuisine of benevolence.

Originally, shōjin is the name given to the Zen practice of food. The term can be understood as “the movement of one who advances with a pure heart without turning back.” It is far more than a culinary style; it is a way of experiencing the world through the lens of food.

From my very first retreat (sesshin), I was fascinated by the care devoted to food. I sensed that the reason for this care was precisely that food was not the real subject.

It took several years to unravel the dimensions of shōjin: the texts of Dōgen, the contemplations recited before meals, the meal sutras, the design of menus. Gradually I discovered the abyssal depth of this perspective. Shōjin ultimately goes beyond food itself, placing us within the movement of the world—past, present, and future.

I see shōjin as something like a fractal: a structure anyone can connect with without needing to digest it in its entirety. It adapts to who we are and to where we stand in our lives.

When I returned to France in 2012, I was struck by how much food had become, for many people, a source of suffering. For those sincerely trying to contribute to a better world, food often carries guilt, sometimes even shame. Or it is pushed into a kind of silent blind spot so that one can simply “eat in peace.”

This reaction is understandable. Faced with the immense suffering caused by our food systems, I too spent years calculating what I called my “suffering footprint,” much like a carbon footprint. It was difficult to accept that, in the current state of things, no individual effort can fully resolve the problem.

Food today is entangled in an almost insoluble web of harm—to soils, air, water, animals, and humans alike. Not participating in this machinery has effectively become impossible.

We would like to choose ingredients that no longer contribute to suffering. We hope to find some escape for our conscience. We want to make sure we are not on the wrong side of the story.

Yet since food has become industrialized life, we are all entangled in the suffering it produces.

Even ethical cheese production requires separating newborn animals from their mothers after 48 hours to avoid attachemnt. The males are killed or fattened for meat; their stomachs may be used for rennet in traditional cheesemaking. The mothers themselves are usually sent to slaughter after eight years, although they could live twenty.

Plants, poisoned for decades by industrial agriculture, are not less victims of this system. They simply cry more quietly.

And within this system, humans too are caught at every level of a food chain in which everyone consumes everyone else in order to survive.

Remaining fully aligned with one’s values around food—especially for those who aspire to be activists for peace—is therefore not as simple as it may seem.

Eating itself is no longer simple.

In Zen meals we recite the Five Contemplations before eating, and they speak precisely to this reality. If we take them seriously, we can no longer maintain the illusion that recycling carefully and eating vegan automatically absolves us.

Yet if we allow ourselves to be guided by the compassion that arises from our sadness in the face of the suffering inflicted upon the earth and animals, we may still recycle. We may still choose not to eat animals.

But the movement is different.

Instead of acting from guilt or shame, we act from compassionate humanity. Virtue may follow—but it is no longer the starting point.

And this changes everything.

When action arises from compassion rather than moral self-judgment, guilt and shame recede. In their place appears the joy of acting—for our own well-being and for that of all others.

Metamodernism might call this an oscillation. Buddhism might call it emptiness. Expressed through the Four Truths of its essence (a subject for another article)—it opens another way of inhabiting the world. A dynamic interstice where paradoxes can cohere beyond the limits of intellect and morality.

This is what shōjin expresses.

Like a small step to the side, the praxis of food allows us to anchor ourselves in the very heart of the suffering of our world, where we may also encounter the vibratory movement of its active joy—a movement that exceeds everything we think, judge, or try not to see.

©photo Jess Grinneiser.

*It is interesting to note that the “carbon footprint” and the “suffering footprint” are in fact the same trace. Yet the word “carbon” often prevents us from feeling emotionally concerned.

writes and lives shojin at . You can check her 2 books in her profil. The last one Shojin, la cuisine des temples shares how she implemented the Zen Praxis food at the Riverside hub in Bergerac. She also have an instagram account dedicated to shojin @cuisineshojin.

“The next Buddha may take the form of a Sangha — a community practicing understanding and loving-kindness.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

Last week marked the end of this year’s Autumn Praxis Residency. With a heartfelt farewell, we said goodbye to our little family as they went their separate ways to embark on new beginnings.

In an age of fragmentation, spaces like the Riverside Hub offer the rare opportunity to live in deep connection with others. Over the past two and a half months, we embraced the full spectrum of human experience with all of its joys, challenges and beauty. For myself, what stood out the most was the sense of connection, playfulness, and humour. I feel immensely lucky to have spent this time with such caring, inspiring, and kind-hearted people.

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As a team, we’d like to offer a huge thanks to all of the residents and practicum participants who joined us this year. All of the joys of these last few months came from your warm and generous participation, as well as the many lessons we’ve taken from this experience. We hope to see you all again soon.

Below are a series of cherished memories and reflections from the participants of this year’s Praxis Residency.

“I think the Praxis Hub is sort of like a little bubble of people who are willing to connect with others in a very deep way. This is a really beautiful place to do really beautiful things… I think I’m going to probably continue to heal and grow as a person on the trajectory that sort of began here and is going to continue going forward.” - Sean

“One moment that really shifted something for me was last week I held space for an ecstatic dance and I was feeling really good that day: I had made dinner for everyone and I felt joyful and connected and I found that the space that emerged with the people who were there dancing with me was just really touching and exciting and playful. And, just getting in touch with that again and the joy of connecting musically. Something kind of lingers within me because of that." - Gustaf

“Knowing that being met in community means you don’t have to do it all by yourself and you can be met with kindness and you can always pay that forward later... there’s something about having our own interpersonal struggles and then coming through it. I feel like a lot of times we have breakage within ourselves or a community and we end up alone or isolated when we’re struggling and I feel like it’s actually in community that we heal.“ - Natalia

“If you feel like in some way you are different or you don’t fit in and you see that the world is broken and you don’t want to fit in it and you want to change it, but you realize ‘I need more than me’... Then I would say this is for you. I would say this is both a place for thinkers and a place for doers.” - Natalia

“...not even every week but sometimes every day something shifts a little bit inside me… in the different ways I have been able to express different parts of myself here, spontaneously that I didn’t know I would get to express...”

“...the time here has been so so precious in the way that few things that I’ve done in my life have been...” - Cassandre

“...it’s not even surprising to me, but there’s a lot of caring people here. And a lot of love. And wanting to be better, wanting to serve the world... it’s just refreshing to be around people who are committed and do want to do something about changing the way we live.”

“...being here, you have a dozen other people that can do that [reflect meaningful, difficult things] with you. And you can be a support to them, which is also, you know, a great honour.” - Kyle

“What a wonderful mix of relaxation, friendship, music, madness, fun, food, and riverside frolicking. A beautiful place with beautiful people. Very enriching. And great food and Zen cooking tuition from Valerie! Many thanks, all. Hope to see many of you again.” - Sue

“I think I’ll be speaking to people about this time here very fondly and wanted to share with my friends who are not connected to these kinds of spaces just the potential of being in such a space. I would love to come back at some point in the future. Maybe that would be next year.” - Gustaf

“I’ve been really happy here actually. The kind of structure has just given me a bit of an anchor; the community around me so I feel connected to people… having those baselines met has been really supportive... for a grump monster like me, that’s really a plus.” - Jem

“It almost reminds me of being a teenager... it was kind of like a communal mess, but it was beautiful. And I really miss that. I feel like a lot of us now have apartments and we live alone and we have to coordinate time with friends. And so being in the hub is different in that there’s so many opportunities to just mingle with people... that feels more like I don’t know, I guess how people lived in the past.” - Natalia

“Life Itself has been truly transformational. I am not the same person I was coming in. It taught me not only to think more about others but to also ponder where the future is headed, and what authenticity looks like. The people who do this kind of thing are very inspirational and kind. Would recommend!” - Tien

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We had an incredible time during the first month of Autumn Praxis residency - the house was filled with joy, laughter and music. It was beautiful to see how quickly a group of strangers could transform into a connected, loving community.

The residents came from all walks of life, each bringing their own richness of perspective and experience to the container. It’s been a true joy to get to know these wonderful people, and to connect through play, music and dance.

The weekly rituals and daily practices brought a grounding rhythm to life at the Hub. I’m very grateful for the care and support Valerie gave to the collective care system, and for the all the delicious meals that came from it!

It was both touching and poignant to say farewell to the four wonderful residents who left after this first month, they will be deeply missed. Simultaneously, it’s been exciting to welcome some new faces into our little community.

A word from our Tenzo , Valerie

Orientation Week Reflections

Orientation week was an opportunity to set the tone — both in the dojo, through meditation, and in the kitchen. Throughout this time, we explored together the right balance between relaxation and concentration. When a community moves as one, it may seem simple, yet it requires a shared understanding and joyful onboarding for everyone to truly embark together.

Our days now unfold like a gentle ballet: the breakfast team quietly prepares the buffet, the cooks arrive in the kitchen, the prep team helps the chef set up for lunch, and then the dish crew steps in. It is a choreography we dance together, day after day.

What touched me most was how deeply everyone grasped the essence behind what might appear as a simple structure. Of course, it is about cooking and keeping the house in order — but above all, it is about remembering who we are when we commit ourselves to the community. It nourishes joy and creativity, inspires everyone involved, and filled me with tears of gratitude to see them truly feel it.

Earlier in July, eleven core participants and the three of us on the hosting team packed our bags and headed to the small town of Bergerac in South-West France to dedicate a month to art and creative wayfinding - the long-awaited Inner River residency. Some of us were from the US, a few from different places in Europe, and we even got someone to come from South Africa. The group counted amongst itself some timid explorers, a couple professional painters or writers, a few avid community dwellers, and others still shy in group sharing circles.

The quirky and majestic Life Itself Hub was our home, so we structured our weekdays after the time-tested frame of the Praxis Hub, adding to it a weekly Show & Tell to facilitate our artistic process. Each morning we gathered for meditation, then check-ins in pods, followed by breakfast and an hour of collective care for the garden, house, or food. Meals were cooked in the spirit of mindfulness and sustainability, and eaten together around the large dining table. This collective rhythm enabled us to focus on our own work and collaborations in different chunks of the day, while taking care of physical and emotional needs together.

As the weeks went on, our evening sessions took us on a journey of exploring ancestry, personal histories, our relationship to our art, and to the collective's uncertain future. Participants, with their wide array of interests and skills, also facilitated many workshops such as nature connection exercises, a rage session, systemic constellations, The Work that Reconnects, and an evening on understanding the Enneagram through a sacred lens.

On weekends we explored the historical and natural surroundings, canoeing between the castles of the Dordogne river, going to different museums and concerts in town, and checking out the market in the smaller village nearby. The ripeness of July was palpable at every corner - the town was bustling with tourists and offering an abundance of juicy plums and bright-pink crepe myrtles.

Our main priority was creating, with people working on things like finishing their first novel, collections of still lives or watercolours, abstract photography series, and even 3D model renditions of local doors and roofs! The funnest moments were when we made things together - from collective paintings to improvised plays, they all made us more intimate with our inner spontaneous flow and with each other.

The month culminated in a final show where we exhibited the projects we've been working on throughout the various nooks and crannies of the old house. We were unsure if the fliers we handed around at the market and the big "art Expo" sign hanging from the balcony would be enough to gather a good amount of visitors, but by the end of the evening over 40 people had come by! We were all enthused by being able to create moments of joy and awe for the local community and give back to the place and people that gave to us in the past month.

What could seem from the pictures and above descriptions as purely an idyllic summer camp for adults proved to be a challenging time in different ways for all of us. Between struggles with printing photos or acquiring instruments and supplies, physical sickness, twisted ankles and tending heartbreaks, as co-host Jenny loosely said, "we thought we'd be art-ing but instead we've been fully life-ing."

Besides the art-making, for all of us it was a month of sharing the joys and challenges of our gradual attunement to each other, while being with realities of the world that one cannot escape just because they're tucked into an old French house for the summer. As a hosting team working together for the first time in this configuration, we learned a lot about the importance of emotional processing when tensions arise, and about the serendipitous emergence that groups carry.

Much like the body of water that flows just steps away from the hub, reflecting ourselves back to us, our collective body served as an ever-changing mirror to our current shape, form, patterns. The month we spent together led to important realisations about our ancestry and artistic process & goals, and left us with a felt sense of the generative tension that often arises in community - that between personal expression & time for creation, and collective rhythms, care, and relationality.

Join us for an afternoon and evening of music, dance, and community, as part of the Second Renaissance Festival.

👉 RSVP here: https://luma.com/qv3pn15j (Free to attend)

More info

• Live music & visiting artists

• Performance art with Sylvie Barbier & friends

• Five Rhythms dance session

• Auberge Espagnole (Potluck) – bring a dish to share; or contribute for food provided

• Children welcome – play spaces available

✨ The Second Renaissance Festival explores the vision of a wiser, more mindful world, deeply inspired by the Plum Village tradition amongst others. This gathering is a chance to connect, celebrate, and experience art and mindfulness together.

Practicalities

• Cost: Free entry – donations for performers welcome.

• Where: Life Itself Farmhouse, 132 Chemin de Boismartin, Thenac, 24240

• RSVP here (one-click) so we have a sense of numbers: https://luma.com/qv3pn15j

🌿 Fête de la Seconde Renaissance

Sam 6 sept · 16h–21h · Thenac · Musique, danse, performance artistique, potluck, enfants bienvenus. Gratuit (dons bienvenus). ✨

👉 RSVP: https://luma.com/qv3pn15j

🌿 Fête de la Seconde Renaissance

Samedi 6 septembre · 16h–21h · Ferme Life Itself (103 Chemin de Boismartin, Thenac)

Rejoignez-nous pour un après-midi et une soirée de musique, de danse et de communauté, dans le cadre du Festival de la Seconde Renaissance.

https://festival.lifeitself.org/

. Entrée libre.

RSVP ici : https://luma.com/qv3pn15j

Plus d'informations

• Musique live & artistes invités

• Performance artistique avec Sylvie Barbier & amis

• Séance de danse des Cinq Rythmes

• Auberge Espagnole (Potluck) – apportez un plat à partager ; ou contribuez pour la nourriture fournie

• Enfants bienvenus – espaces de jeux disponibles

✨ Le Festival de la Seconde Renaissance explore la vision d'un monde plus sage et plus conscient, profondément inspiré par la tradition de Plum Village, parmi d'autres chemins de pratique. Ce rassemblement est une occasion de se connecter, de célébrer et de vivre l'art et la pleine conscience ensemble.

Aspects pratiques

• Entrée gratuite – les dons pour les artistes sont les bienvenus.

RSVP ici (un clic) pour que nous ayons une idée du nombre de participants : https://luma.com/qv3pn15j

What does it mean to live well, together? How can our ways of being transform the world? Join us for the third Autumn Praxis Residency at the Life Itself Bergerac Hub: a 2.5-month-long container for contemplative, relational, and embodied practice in community. You’ll live together with others who are asking questions like these in their lives and work, and experience the frame of collective rhythms and practices for conscious community living which has been developed at the Hub over the past 5 years. Stay for just an orientation week, 1 month, or the full length of the residency.

Key information

What: A 2.5-month residency for living together in a conscious community and working on your own projects, supported by a frame of collective rhythms and practices. The first week of each month will be an Orientation Week for forming our collective body and introducing the foundational practices and structures of the community. Stay for just an orientation week, 1 month, or the full length of the residency.

Where: Life Itself Hub, Bergerac, France (~1.5h by train or car from Bordeaux)

When: 6 October to 15 December 2025

Orientation Week dates:

• October: 6 - 11 October (Arrival from 3 October)

• November: 3 - 8 November (Arrival from 2 November)

• December: 1 - 7 December (Arrival from 30 November)

N.B. It is only possible to enter the residency at the beginning of one of the Orientation Weeks.

Cost: €1100 to €1300 per month, including a private room and all food & amenities (3 organic, plant-based meals per day). More details on cost below.

Application process: Application form, followed by a 20-minute call with a member of the team. Places will be filled on a rolling basis, so please apply as soon as possible. Registrations close on 30th August 2025.

Apply now

Opportunity: Life Itself Practicum

If you’re interested in joining the Autumn Praxis Residency, you may also be interested in applying for the Life Itself Practicum: an opportunity to live at the Hub, participate in the residency, contribute to ongoing work at Life Itself, and explore whether this kind of life and collaboration is right for you.

Room, board, and participation fee for the duration of the residency is covered in exchange for roughly 20 hours per week of work on Life Itself projects and initiatives.

If you apply for the Practicum, you do not need to apply separately for the Autumn Praxis Residency. For more information about the Practicum, please read the post below. For questions, contact: jobs@lifeitself.org.

Life Itself

Apply Now: 3-month Practicum at Life Itself Bergerac

We’re looking for people who may one day work with us – or in the broader field of inner-led change. To that end, we offer a three-month Practicum at our Life Itself Hub in southwest France. Participants receive full room and board and, in exchange, contribute approximately 20 hours per week to Life Itself’s ongoing projects and initiatives…

Read more

a year ago · Catherine Tran and Rufus Pollock

The Residency in More Detail…

In Praxis Residencies, we immerse ourselves in a Praxis Ecology that reshapes us. Bringing mindfulness to the ways in which we relate to ourselves, each other, and the wider world – we open to possibilities of transformation.

By sitting, cooking, eating, resting, laughing, playing, and interacting together—while still honouring our needs for private time and work—we begin to feel differently and become more capable of responding to both our own challenges and those of the world.

The nourishment of food – although often overlooked in theories of change for inner-led systems transformation – is a core ingredient of the Praxis Residency. The Awami Food Praxis system, developed by Valérie Duvauchelle from decades of learning in Zen temples, is a subtle activation of transformation from the inside out. This food system aims at the magic balance between ethics, ecology, and finance to be fully coherent with our desire to change our current culture.

During the Praxis Residency, you take the time to explore a question or work on a specific project which you will share with others. Like the classic artists’ residency, the Praxis Residencies are made for contemplative activists to reflect on and craft their contribution to the world. Being surrounded by people who share the same care for the world and open-mindedness will nourish and inspire you on the journey.

This year, to support greater grounding, depth, and growth as a community, all residents will join at the start of an Orientation Week, and stays of one full month or more are strongly encouraged.

Read more about the Praxis Residency ethos and design in Praxis Ecology: A theory of change for conscious communities, or watch the short video filmed at last year’s Autumn Praxis residency below.

Who is it for?

We’re looking for people who are…

• Actively exploring and practising inner-led systems change, e.g. working on related professional or own interest projects; engaged in regular contemplative or creative practices.*

• Seeking to translate visionary ideas into humble actions, e.g. interested in how the way we cook and clean together may be a transformative practice

• Willing to pitch in and actively co-create the residency, e.g. by proposing and facilitating sessions for the community; sharing ideas, inspirations, and reflections with each other; showing up with care for each other and the physical space

• Interested in learning systems and tools for community living, especially for food democracy and food security in conscious communities

*The project or inquiry you wish to explore during the residency will be considered in the registration process (it does not need to be big or grand).

Programme

• A 5-day Orientation Week (how to embody a Praxis design in conscious communities)

  • Meet and connect with your fellow residents

  • Deepen the question or project you will explore

  • Sit together with others in silence

  • Practise the rhythms and principles of the Praxis Ecology

  • Learn the Awami Praxis food system to cook for community

• A collective frame which supports the rest of our time together, including shared practices and shared meals

• A question to explore (individual purpose)

• A presentation of your exploration

  

Daily Schedule

The schedule on weekdays is:

• 7:30-8:30am: Morning practice (sitting meditation & movement practice)

• 8:30-9am: Breakfast buffet

• 9-10 am: Collective care (cooking, cleaning, gardening)

• 10am-1 pm: Personal time

• 1-2pm: Buffet lunch and dishes

• 2-6:30pm: Personal time

• 6:30-7:30pm: Table dinner and dishes

• 8-9pm: Evening sessions (e.g. connection activities, relational practices, collective inquiries etc., as offered by residents)

N.B. This schedule is indicative and may be adjusted.

On weekends, there is no schedule and residents self-organise meals. Residents often use this time to discover nearby places of interest such as Plum Village, the Zen Buddhist monastery, prehistoric caves, or local markets.

There is a whole community sharing circle one evening a week where we tend to the emotional heartbeat of our community, and one community meeting per week to tend to practicalities, reflect on what’s working or not working, and grow as a collective organism.

Cost

Accommodation in a private room and all food (organic and plant-based) is included. It is also necessary to take out a Praxis Association membership, if you do not currently have one (from €10 for 1 year).

Standard room: €1100/month

• Standard private room: €590

• Food & amenities: €360 (€12/day)

• Participation fee: €150 (contributes towards the time of the hosting and organising team)

Premium room (private bathroom): €1300/month

• Premium room with private bathroom*: €790

• Food & amenities: €360 (€12/day)

• Participation fee: €150 (contributes towards the time of the hosting and organising team)

*N.B. For one of the Premium rooms, the private bathroom is not directly ensuite, and for another, the private bathroom has a bath and sink only (no toilet).

Orientation week only (6 nights): €492

• Shared room (with one other person): €270/person

• Food & amenities: €72 (€12/day)

• Participation fee: €150 (contributes towards the time of the hosting and organising team)

N.B. If staying for only the Orientation Week, the only accommodation option is in a shared room.

2 weeks (December only)

• Standard room: €295

• Premium room: €395

• Food & amenities: €12/day

• Participation fee: €150

Contact

For any questions, please write to us at praxis@lifeitself.org. We’ll be delighted to chat.

FAQs

How long can I stay for? Can I leave partway through a month?

The standard residency period is 1 month. We strongly encourage this to allow us time to form, grow, and deepen as a community.

You are also very welcome to stay for more than one month. Please note that room and participation fees are paid on a monthly basis, including if you wish to leave partway through a month.

There are a few places available to come for an Orientation Week only, and as the residency ends in mid-December you can come for a 2-week period starting with the December Orientation Week.

There are 12 rooms available for Praxis residencies :

• 6 singles or couple + 6 potentially shared

The prices differ from residency to residency , please check with each organizer.

Total capacity of 15 people during Praxis residencies, 21 during intense Residencies.

Costs

• The price includes access to the large common areas and garden

• Stay: 1 week minimum ( during monthly residency only the first week is open) to 3 months

• Room sharing: people can share a room. During Praxis residencies we only accept sharing demands from people who bring the second person with them at registration.

• Sharing room for residents guests is 33% ( ⅓) more than base price divided by 2

• Couples who share a double bed add a contribution of 100 euros/month (and 40% (1 week ), 60% (2 weeks), 80 % (3 weeks) of month’s cost.

The Rooms

Main building : 7 rooms with one common bathroom

Room 1 - Presence ( premium)

Main house 2nd floor, balcony with garden view. Double bed (single or couple). Private bathroom with bathtub. Toilet separate.

Room 2 - Integrity ( premium)

Main house 1st floor, with private bathroom. Double bed (single or couple).

Room 3 - Lightness ( premium)

Main house 2nd floor. Double bed (single or couple). Common bathroom on 2nd floor.

Room 4 - Joy

Main house 1st floor, garden view. Double bed (single or couple). Common bathroom on 2nd floor.

Room 5 - Contemplation (standard)

Main house 1st floor. Two single beds - can be single occupancy or shared by two people. Shared bathroom on 1st floor, common shower on 2nd floor.

Room 6 - Authenticity (single)

Main house 2nd floor. Can be shared by two people. Shared bathroom on 2nd floor.

Possibility to make one double bed during Praxis residencies

Room 7 - Vulnerability (standard)

Main house 3rd floor. Two single beds can be shared by two people. Shared bathroom on 2nd floor

Room 8 - Enthusiasm ( standard)

Main house, 3rd floor attic space. Double bed (single or couple). Possibly to expand in attic space . Shared bathroom on 2nd floor.

Common bathroom for enthusiasm,authenticity, contemplation, joy and vulnerability rooms:

Saint Michel house : 4 rooms with two shared bathrooms.

Room 9 - Energy ( standard)

Saint Michel house, 1st floor, shared bathroom. 1 double bed + 1 single bed. Can be shared. Shared bathroom with room 10.

Room 10 - Essence ( standard)

Saint-Michel house, 1st floor. Two single beds can be shared by two people. Sharing bathroom with room 9 .

Shared bathroom between rooms 9 and 10:

Room 11 - Compassion ( premium )

A combination of 2 small rooms with own bathroom. Nice view on garden . The space is one private floor.

Saint Michel house. Single mattresses

Garden house - 1 room

Room 12 - Inspiration ( premium)

Garden house, 1st floor. Double bed (single or couple). Private bathroom on ground floor. Beautiful view on Dordogna .

King size bed

I am Valerie Duvauchelle, the designer of the AWAMI Praxis food design that we used at the Life itself Bregerac Hub and I am thrilled to share with you our food principles. This food system aims at the magic balance between ethics, ecology and finance to fully be coherent with our desire to change our current culture.

The food guardian is also called at the hub the Tenzo and is part of a stewardship which includes the house care. In the Zen tradition, the Tenzo embodies the role of the community food spirit and the space where meals are prepared. Its function is to create a nurturing kitchen environment, sharing a design to support and inspire cooks, and fostering togetherness among all participants and more.

Our culinary approach is guided by three foundational principles:

• Caring for all life: Mindfully considering the well-being of plants, animals, and humans within our food system.

• Honoring humans: Supporting local organic producers and celebrating their stories to create an authentic food experience.

• Sobering all energy: Minimizing waste and reflecting on our personal needs to protect our lives and the world, with a focus on finance, ethics, and ecology.

Throughout week days , we invite you to immerse yourself in a flexitarian sober experience that nourishes both body and soul. During the week we only cook plant-based culinary meals enabling you to explore new flavors and embrace a satisfying satiety with the aim to question our needs. During weekends we can appreciate cheese, fish or meat that we buy ONLY at the market from local producers . This approach allows us to reconnect with a sense of celebration while being aware of the cost for those sentient animals and deeply honoring their sacrifice.

We understand that individual dietary requirements may vary, based on specific physical or emotional needs, and that's perfectly fine. To help organize, we have an additional fridge exclusively designated for storing personal food, which may include dairy, fish, cheese, or meat. We insist that these items don’t come from any supermarket except biocoop, to avoid a maximum of suffering ; this is our only requirement. During the week, the collective fridge does not contain any sentient products, with the exception of butter, which we include in our breakfasts (sourced from grass-fed cows). Again, this should be honored as those cows give their veals to the meat industry for us to be able to eat this butter.

More generally, we are mindful even for plant based products of avoiding the purchase of industrial products that deplete aquifers by extracting excessive water, degrade land through monoculture practices such as palm oil production, and contribute to social injustice and chose to buy at our local market or biocoop to support as much as we can a regenerative system via organic producers. This needs to be fully accepted as a mindful way of consuming sentient beings when we do.

Our cooking time is based on a rolling system where everybody will have the opportunity to experience the privilege to nourish the community ( head chef) supported by the tenzo or others as a shared knowledge. When training residencies happen we can have a head chef that stays in this role for the duration of the residency.

Our hub menus are centered around three key elements: unseasoned cereals, a variety of beans (including tofu or soy proteins), and a refreshing raw salad. We can have dessert served with dinner, and cookies are offered during lunch every other day. We use a diverse range of grains, such as buckwheat, spelt, bulgur, and millet, along with ingredients like soy sauce, tamari, tofu, and seeds. Soy is incorporated in various forms. Desserts are thoughtfully prepared without white sugar, with a focus on promoting overall well-being. Breakfast is a self-serve experience, offering oatmeal, plant-based milk, coffee, teas, and ethically sourced cow's butter. Lunches are buffet-style, allowing you the freedom to choose to eat collectively, with one specific person or by yourself , and dinners are seated, creating a more intimate and shared atmosphere where we take the time to be grateful for our food. The cereal is typically unseasoned, and garlic or onions are not mixed in when raw. This approach directly related to the zen tradition which protects the “silent” taste, allows us to embrace a different sense of nourishment derived from the natural taste of ingredients rather than relying on heavy spices. This principle may vary among chefs to allow for freedom and variety in our meals.

During the week (monday to friday), we request drug and alcohol not be consumed in the hub.

More to come in Awami Design food system for Coco soon

( photo copyright Jess Griesnner)

Designed and written by valerie Duvauchelle

Supported by Liuba Tupikina and Marc Santolini

The Praxis ecology is dedicated to supporting conscious community living projects . From this foundation, various designs can emerge, allowing each community or group to create its own framework.

This approach is rooted in the simple act of living together as a theory of change in itself. However, additional developmental purposes can be integrated on top of it.

• Overview

• Conscious community ethos

• the principles

• Community of practices framework

• 5 minimum viable practices

• The collective practice of interbeing

• The collective practice food care

• The collective practice of house care

• The collective practice energetic body care

• The collective practice of relational care

appendix

Overview

Intentional communities have evolved significantly since the 1960s, when the hippie movement was most influential. Today, several new movements seek to create lifestyles that break away from traditional norms.

These modern movements share a common quest: to offer viable and sustainable alternatives to conventional lifestyles, often seen as unsustainable and alienating.

The other longstanding model is that of religious communities, which have persisted for hundreds of years. Their purpose seems different but they both aim for a different way of living on earth, as a human being.

These two models can be differentiated as follows:

• Intentional Communities: Groups of people living together based on shared, often secular values and goals, focusing on sustainability, self-sufficiency, or resource-sharing. .

• Religious Communities: Groups living together to practice a shared faith, following a lifestyle dictated by religious principles, often with hierarchical structures and strict rules.

Both models have their strengths and weaknesses, with potential for oppressive excesses either from hierarchical power or from a lack of structure. The research at the Riverside Hub seeks to find the right balance between individual freedom and structured collective engagement to create more resilient secular communities.

This is the emerging model of conscious communities , which can be seen as a hybrid between co-living intentional communities and monastic religious communities.

What is a Praxis ecology ?

As a concept distinct from Poiësis (producing something) or Théoria (contemplation), Praxis is fundamentally rooted in action.Buddhist scholar Stephen Batchelor also employs this term in his book Secular Buddhism, framing Buddhism as a praxis rather than a religion.

Directly inspired by Zen technology and the living organization of Zen temples, the praxis ecology is inherently connected to the transformative process—not by seeking it, but simply by living it. The practice itself is collective awakening, where the aim is not to achieve something new but to manifest what we already carry within, when living in the right container. The premise is that with the right structure and direction ( rather than goal) , a different sense of self naturally emerges. From this perspective, there is nothing to attain—only the full experience of body and mind in the ordinary rhythm of life.

The Praxis residencies developed at the Life Itself Riverside Hub have explored how to structure this process in a way that reawakens our sense of being human and the wisdom that arises with it. The general vision is how to go from a self development culture to a collective wisdom culture though simply by living together in a way that regenerates our deep joy.

Or simply : remember our common sense.

The art of this Praxis lies in striking the right balance between self-deconstruction and sovereignty, enabling individuals to transform collectively while preserving their personal agency.

This design is the result of four years of exploration, aimed at identifying the minimal conditions necessary to activate collective energy while maintaining private space, the minimum viable practices ( MVP).

A conscious community ethos

In the hub, we have people of different ages, many of whom are digital nomads living and working on their own. Some stay in co-living spaces, but without a structured collective framework. Maintaining a healthy life—let alone emotional well-being—requires significant effort in such conditions.

Scientific studies show that minimal social interaction makes it harder to experience joy. As Joanna Macy eloquently explains in her books and workshops, we are systemic beings, much like the living cells in our bodies. On a societal level, prolonged isolation prevents us from fully connecting to the “we” space, which is essential for both individual and collective adaptability.

This lack of connection ultimately reduces the ecosystem’s capacity to evolve, with joy and emotional safety being integral parts of this adaptive process—both within ourselves and in relation to the world around us. While community is not the only path to reconnecting with our natural ability to adapt (workshops, retreats, and other experiences can also play a role), living together in a conscious community allows for a deeper integration of new ways of being in the world.

How to collectively transform ? this is the question

We are all conditioned by a perception of reality that we know to be inaccurate—the belief in separation—yet we find ourselves unable to act on this knowledge. As a society, we may be collectively paralyzed, unable to respond to the urgent need for radical transformation that the world demands in order for us to adapt adequately.

Through intuition, collective sensing, or ancient wisdom, we know that within communities, we can experience a different sense of Self—one that allows us to live more resiliently. However, in today's society, spaces where we can be authentic and integrate the complexity of the world while living in a regenerative and enthusiastic way are rare.

In these uncertain times, perhaps we can remember our relational nature and act in harmony with the accelerating changes that are beyond our control. We can align with ancient wisdom that recognizes the power of community, as well as with scientific progress that has uncovered the profound systemic effects of community on the emotional and physiological well-being of individuals.

Along the way, we must be mindful that reconnecting with this memory may confront us with the reality of our separatist conditioning—dissonant with our desire for greater cooperation. This conditioning manifests as fearing others, harboring systematic mistrust, internalizing patriarchal dynamics, and more.

We must learn to bear witness to our paradoxes and resistance as an evolutionary process.

This is the experience we are exploring during mid term residencies at the Praxis residencies. The joy and the pain of being human together though daily life.

The ontological aspect of living in a physical space

We beleive the way individuals inhabit spaces constructs how the dynamic body of the collective will move . At the Riverside Hub, we are interested in assessing the impact of the environment on personal and collective well-being, exploring how the "incorporation" of a living space contributes to the sense of trust we aim to foster in spaces of collective metamorphosis.

This perspective rooted is closely linked to the way Buddhist monasteries have always been structured. A monastery functions as a living body, with monks as its cells. The way these cells move influences the entire organism, sustaining both its visible and invisible equilibrium.

The movement between activities distributed in various rooms and the motions prompted by different activities allow us to visualize the possibilities of interaction in a place that weaves a complex emotional architecture based on classical architecture.

As an example, here is the distribution of the inhabited space during the residencies based on different daily activities, categorized along four parameters: interiority, exteriority, individual, and collective, presented in two axes.

Drawing (mobility in space )

In this drawing we can see the distribution of various types of activities in different subspaces allows for a maximum of encounters. (Liu Bauer, Marc Santolini)

The Riverside Hub, a space for remembering what is to be human

Time gives rhythm to the shared space of our hub, and it is through this collective movement—oscillating between private and communal time—that we reconnect with a true sense of identity and begin to think differently. This space can be seen as one of deep adaptation, a metamorphic environment where we hybridize together, attuning ourselves to the world.

Praxis residencies provide a space where each individual awakens their essence within the community through collective practices. Here, we explore the fluidity of our being and recognize that identity is inherently shaped by the relationships that flow through us. We seek to understand how openness to others—embraced within a community rather than confined to the isolated structure of the family unit—continuously reshapes us. Everything we encounter redefines us in an ongoing process.

This is a space where the joy of collective action and responsiveness finds its place in a constant state of evolution. We cannot become who we are in isolation; we need contact and interaction. This is what the Praxis ecology framework provides.

Illustration of the concept of interbeing (Liu Bauer)

At the Riverside Hub each residency follows a Praxis ecology framework to meet the needs of the community while maximizing the connections that harness the productive energy of the collective body.

The principles

The Praxis ecology is rooted in a fundamental question: How do we shift from a culture of self-development to a culture of collective wisdom?

Collective engagement designs appear to be a key element of this transition.

But integrating sustainable care practices is not easy. Many of these ordinary activities—such as sitting, cooking, cleaning, or relating—are not recognized as essential to our lives or as vital to collective wisdom. We often view them as obligations, or worse, as moral duties, rather than as a way to truly be present in the world. In Praxis conscious community setting , we reintegrate the spiritual with the material.

Representation of people’s trajectories within the communal space, with group synchronization points highlighted spanning the spectrum of contemplative (inward) and discursive (outward) practices.

(Drawing by Liu Bauer)

Here are the basic principles behind the Praxis ecology :

• Long time:

If we want to break free from the dogma of linear time and create a different space for action, we must find a way to experience time differently.

Many transformative proposals are often conducted intensively and over a maximum of one week. Whether it's silent retreats, yoga, or Nonviolent Communication workshops, While highly efficient, these short periods of collective experience can reinforce the illusion that these practices are detached from our everyday lives and rely on a separate space. Furthermore, the impact of these experiences may not resonate deeply or produce transformative effects at the collective level in ordinary life. These moments serve as inspiring and energizing times of strong collective activation but could also perpetuate the illusion that we have found a solution without fully grasping the underlying complexity.

Moreover, it often fails to integrate the core activity of everyday life—food organization—which is usually left out of the conversation.

Staying together in a framework of collective practices, ranging from one to several months, allows for an arc that mirrors the theory U, with a peak at the beginning, a descent, tensions, and a resolution. This resolution typically arises from a profound realization of identity, enabling transformation. It is an experience of a different time, simultaneously accelerated and denser.

A Praxis residency can become a blue print for community living.

“There are different temporalities which are not measured by homogenous clock time ” Bayo Akomolafe.

• Engagement:

Generally speaking, engagement is the core element of Praxis ecology. It calls upon something that our cultural paradigm no longer values as much: a minimum level of discipline to follow a structure.

In the Praxis ecology , there is a shared structure with established rules—ones we do not individually negotiate, intentionally. However, with rules comes the challenge of reactivity, as they can sometimes be perceived as authoritarian.

The essential principle underlying the structure of this ecology is that cultivating both collective engagement and sovereignty is necessary to experience a new way of living together. We believe that collective sustainability is not possible without embracing the discomfort of changing habits—particularly the habit of freely choosing one's schedule or activities based on personal inclination.

At the same time, we acknowledge the deep attachment to personal freedom. Thus, it is essential to find the right balance between common rules and individual autonomy. This is why reflecting on structure is fundamental to group harmony: it must be fixed enough to generate positive transformation yet flexible enough to integrate and adapt to certain personal needs, however conditioned they may be.

The unexpected gift of commitment is that it allows us to move beyond our conditioned resistance to the collective, opening us to a way of relating to others that transcends individualism.

This engagement clarifies the mind through movement, fostering an organic sense of adaptation—a way of being with whatever arises. It also nurtures a natural capacity to hold space for and navigate reactivity when challenges emerge.

• Humility:

Knowing that our separatist conditioning forces us to confront our limitations and reactivity toward community, we must embrace these challenges as essential to our collective evolution. In other words, we need to acknowledge our reality, shaped by post-modernism, while allowing ourselves to dream of metamodernism.

During residencies, we don’t choose when to eat or when to clean. There is flexibility, but we agree to do things together at certain times. This structure may seem infantilizing, but it is a subtle strategy to deconstruct our habitual ways of interacting with the world ( let alone pragmatic reasons). By temporarily setting aside our personal will, we can experience the freedom of simply following the collective rhythm and focusing on one task at a time.

In doing so, we cultivate tolerance—for ourselves and others—when our aspirations don’t always align with reality. We recognize our reactivities as simply part of the process, approaching it with humility.

Mostly we develop a disposition to do things we trust without always understanding them , being agree or incline to do them, not knowing where it will leave us.

• Faith

In most religious traditions the relationship between master and disciple is fundamental as a maieutic technology ( birthing each other) to experience knowledge. At the Riverside Bergerac Hub there are no masters and no religion here, but we are aware that without this space, we risk falling into the illusion of our own convictions. The attachment to changing things for the better can, in fact, reproduce the same dualistic paradigm.

The experience here is about connecting to the liminal space that manifests and echoes the "we space," which can activate and inform our collective wisdom. To achieve this, we must believe that the relationship of complete trust to a master, as found in a religious community, can be replaced by the secular community container that activates this liminal space. This requires trust in the Praxis ecology itself as a form of deconstruction—realizing the possibility of a different kind of action that arises from conscious community, rather than from well-intended actions driven by urgency, measurement, and visibility.

It is the exploration of another belief: that by relaxing together in the trouble, we activate intuition, collective wisdom, and generate powerful, enthusiastic action that truly matters. The "master" emerges not as an individual authority, but as a collective wisdom drawn from the Praxis ecology and the rhythm of the community.

However eldership in the space is important . guardians are the wise authority that can activates an invisible vertebra that supports the group.

• Beingwithness

Everything is practice, and everything can be a refuge. Every practice becomes a space to release the pressure of the personal self, an opportunity to unplug from “our mission”—a breath of fresh air where we focus solely on what is before us in community. Free from the pressure to be better or more spiritual, and beyond mere efficiency, these daily practices allow us to explore our relationships with ourselves, others, and everything we encounter, fully present in the moment.

It’s about creating space for integrity in life and embodying interbeing within the right effort. We believe that, in this way, we can rediscover the unified common sense of the ‘good life’ cherished by philosophers—a life lived with the awareness that each moment is unique and informs us of what we need to align with the world around us.

Engagement, humility , faith and beingwithness within long time are the Praxis ecology foundations.

Praxis design

At the Riverside Hub, we aim to bring together social practices that blend the silent relational practice ( meditation , zazen) with the more psychological practices of relational dynamics. This concept aligns with the "ecology of practices" developed by Isabelle Stengers in her book Inventing an Ecology of Practices, and further expanded by John Vervaeke. In this framework, no practice is more important than another; each one contributes to the balance of the whole ecosystem, which in turn activates adaptive harmony.

In praxis ecology design , we use five material and immaterial axes in constant interaction. These include:

1. The collective care of interbeing (dynamic contemplative porosity through practices such as sitting or other contemplative activities)

2. The collective intention to body (yoga, Osho meditations, Qi Gong, etc.)

3. The collective care for movement ( rolling system)

4. The collective care for food (activating the "in-between" space and cooking) and the house (engaging in cleaning or gardening in a connected, mindful way)

5. The collective practice for relations (cultivating relational beingness)

Together, these form what we call the MVP: the minimum viable practices. These are the axes we believe are essential for helping groups shift from separation to communion.

Those MVPs are held by 3 roles : host ( relational guardian ) , steward ( house guardian) and tenzo ( food guardian) working together as a team . Team adapts which design suits best to their format within the Praxis ecology frame and ethics.

What Praxis design brings to community :

• The movement : Collective practices in community embodies our relational being through dynamic practices.

• The relaxation : The transformative aspect of these daily practices does not require more concentration but simply less distraction. It is the practice of “mindfulness without mind”. Through presence, we create the space to meet "what is". We relax into action while remaining alert

• Beyond morality :Collective practices such as cleaning or cooking are often seen as good action tasks, a service to the community. Of course, this state of mind is welcome, but it cannot be resilient because it is limited by moral reference. There is no limit to good deeds except to do more and more until one becomes a slave to one's own best intentions. This mindset could explain why burnout is common in communities.

Another way to perceive collective practices:

The primary reason for engaging in collective practices, in terms of ontological transformation, goes beyond their practical effectiveness in tasks like cooking and cleaning. These practices immerse us in interrelationships. For a certain period, everything we encounter is in motion—everything becomes alive, awakens, and the space itself takes shape, including ourselves.

Another crucial aspect of these pragmatic practices is that our relationships are woven through the roles each person takes on within the system for the day (rotating roles system). This is not a space for differentiation or challenge but rather for the dynamic rest of our personal identities.

By combining efficiency and mindfulness, we can reclaim the systemic power of collective movement in our daily lives.

The 5 MVP

This is a praxis of trans-individuation, a transcendental, pragmatic reality that moves beyond the individual to embrace a collective, evolving process of transformation.

• The practice of just sitting ( dynamic trans- self) :

Just sitting, just walking, or any practice that allows the space to be crossed by the world—cultivating openness to all that is external and integrating it into our body: hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling, and letting ourselves be transformed by it. To be in a state of porosity, fully engaging in our life as we receive it.

On a cushion or a chair or laying down, it is the commitment to openness, the curiosity to receive, and the opportunity to appreciate the hybridization—the constant co-emergence of the living within us. It is simply living in total openness, every moment of our life.

It is to wake up to our life at each moment

There are, of course, several methods (and non-methods) for sitting or walking, and the point is not to choose one that is superior to another, but to highlight the space that unfolds—one of relaxed presence, of an involuntary adjustment to the lived moment, in constant awakening and co-emergence.

There is no other goal than to live in this space of absorption, receptivity, and porosity, in the activity of contemplation itself. We do not add any injunctions; on the contrary, we free ourselves from them while engaging dynamically and enthusiastically. In this way, we experience, without realizing it, another space—the space of an inclusive self.

During the Praxis residencies, we cultivate the space of zazen, just sitting .

This practice of contemplation is both disarmingly simple and, at the same time, extremely complicated because, in our voluntaristic lives, we have lost the disposition to simply let ourselves be.

Carried along by our thoughts, it is often our head that drives our body—mentally and physically. In this performative paradigm, we’ve all been tempted by the perfection of a spiritual methodology or posture. We’ve all tried to be good students by imposing the same dictates on our bodies that we receive from our culture, the same "I must, I should." But after a while, the body always reminds us of the illusion of this arrogance: peace cannot be found in a contrite body.

So, the space we seek to cultivate here is one of freedom. We do not decide on the posture but seek to enter into cooperation, to emancipate ourselves in the corporality. We build a dialogue with our body and create, through a centered posture, the necessary space for involuntary grounding.

Sitting (or walking) involuntarily transforms our relationship to the world. The possible paradigm shift begins in this space.

Thus, without straining or forcing anything, we relax into attentive presence. We simply pay attention to the inner micromovements that readjust us, through the body itself, and allow the spine to rise naturally.

Thoughts come and go, noises, sounds, smells, tensions, and relaxations also flow and visit us, and we let them. The breath is simply welcomed, and in the same way, we let it find its own rhythm, without will.

We enter the state of "Being-witness," a continuous interior movement in continuity with that of exteriority—a deconstruction of self where there is no more personal body, no more interior or exterior. The limits disappear with the sounds and sensations, just as when we eat or work. We cultivate the space of this disposition to always be in movement, in constant deconstruction that rebuilds as we go along. The "I" is made with others, by others, in others, including non-sentient beings like cars and wind. Each person is different, each body is different, each day is different, and each echo of life is specific to the reality of the moment.

To explore more ,you can find here a zazen foot notes from Issho Fujita + and an actualized version of the disposition of “just sitting” by Dogen zenjisama (12th century) from Taigu Roshi.

• The practice of body care

Resting to ourselves and the world differently starts with a conscious presence to our own body and is a fundamental factor for Good life and Good mind.

Some of the body practices we have at the hub depending of residents

• Morning yoga

• Sunday morning dance

• 5 rhythms dance

• Ect…

• The collective movement of daily activities

Every day we meet for our collective tasks , from chef to dishes, to table dressing or gardening. To ensure the concept of euqality we have a daily rolling sytem from friday to friday and to protect rest no collective practices happened on week ends. Through caring about food and house we feel concerned for the dignity of our encounters and the beauty of the space.

• The practice of food and house care :

Food is not about food but about interbeing.

Cooking is not about cooking but about relationships.

We often have a tendency when we think about food , including in communities to think mostly of ingredients and recipes.. This is part of it but not all. Cooking in community means mostly to create a system of roles and functions in order to get the fluidity which leads to efficiency and different ways to relate to each other .

More importantly it is a place of practice and like contemplation it offers people to connect to themselves and others through spaciousness of dynamic presence

Besides the practice of cooking in itself, the choices made wishes to correlate the personal and the collective reality of our food in order to experience a way of cooking that nourishes our deepest needs ( not only physical) and the needs of all beings . It is linked to the question of satiety : Can we be satisfied with simple food that only takes what it needs from the earth, from animals and from others ?

In a situation as complex as ours today, the answer looks like a muddy pool.

The food practice at the Riverside Hub is a laboratory that attempts to take on all the issues surrounding our food today by affirming that sitting in the question is the first step towards adjusted action. It is also an affirmation that if we really want to rethink our world we can no longer be satisfied with clear-cut solutions. It is by listening to all the complexity of our food, our powerlessness, our anger, our sadness and our joy too that we can begin to unravel all the issues at stake, whether they are emotional, identity-related, ecological, political or economical .

At the Bergerac Life itself hub, food is a central element of what it means to be a conscious community.

Our food ecology is developed through the Awami Praxis food design, drawing inspiration from the Zen food system and shojin ryori (Zen temple cuisine)

It is based on 5 branches :

• Receiving : to shop mindfully

• Passing over (by transforming) : to cook

• Moving : to get Organized

• Celebrating: rituals and ceremonials

• Thinking: what is food ? how to think with our bodymind / social technology practices

The 5 branches are supported by the: AWAMI Praxis food principles

• Caring - for all beings and ecosystems that we share resources with

• Degrowing - energy, money and time to use only what is necessary

• Honoring - human dignity by supporting only regenerative food production systems.

These principles allow us to strike an optimal balance between the ethical, financial, and ecological facets of our food system. The menus we curate, inspired by the Zen temple tradition, establish a mindful ambiance for the group's sustenance.

• house care (cleaning, repair)

Taking care of the space we live in has a profound effect on the well-being of each member of the group. It elevates energy, dignity, a sense of belonging, and integrity. Each residency involves care and attention, which contributes to the overall well-being of the community.

Doing things together, for the benefit of the community, brings us to another perception of care: we take care of ourselves by collectively caring for the space. We reconnect with the power of beauty, which we respect as a part of ourselves. Taking care of a place, a household, a kitchen, is deeply spiritual in this sense. Everything comes alive in the relationships we allow ourselves to have with everything we encounter.

The collective care of a house is not only about cleaning; it is about dignity and relationships.

The practice of relational care : exploring new social technologies

Finding this collective movement within the desire for contact in an individualistic society—one that continually encourages us to assert our needs and identities—is extremely difficult. We are the product of a cultural conditioning based on the legitimacy of separation between beings. In community, we quickly confront our greatest fear: the fear of not surviving among others.

We must, therefore, reactivate our cellular memory of being communal, while bearing witness to who we are today: beings aspiring to what we sense as harmony, yet fearing the loss of our individuality. We must learn to dance with the dissonance between our ideals and the reality of a collective memory traumatized by oppression, adjusting our absolute reality to align with our relative reality. We simply have to learn to live with our dis-order.

Around the backbone of sitting and collective care, transformative relational practices are experienced during evening sessions.Rituals and ceremonies are also part of the Praxis structure.

Some of the social technologies we have experimented at the hub during our evening sessions ( some facilitated by host but mostly residents in order to share those technologies among our community) :

• Emergent dialogue

• Dialogos

• Diamond Inquiry

• Circling

• Authentic relating

• Deep listening circle

• Men and women circles

• Constellations

• Spontaneous blessing

• Moving debate

• Truth mandala

And rituals such as openingand closing ceremonies , equinox, samhain, death

Feed backs

Over the years , here are the testimonials we have received through our several praxis residencies :

• Truly meeting people

• Becoming part of the ecosystem

• Connecting to a space

• Feeling deep time

• Developing a different sense of self

• Learning to find peace in discomfort

• Addressing difficult conversations

• Experiencing the joy of togetherness

• Finding inspiration

• Concentrating better on work

APPENDIX

Definition of Praxis

Praxis (from Ancient Greek: πρᾶξις, romanized: praxis) is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, embodied, or realized. "Praxis" may also refer to the act of engaging, applying, exercising, realizing, or practicing ideas. This has been a recurrent topic in the field of philosophy, discussed in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, Francis Bacon, Immanuel Kant, Søren Kierkegaard, Ludwig von Mises, Karl Marx, Antonio Gramsci, Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Jean-Paul Sartre, Paulo Freire, Murray Rothbard, and many others. It has meaning in the political, educational, spiritual and medical realms.

Origins

In Ancient Greek the word praxis (πρᾶξις) referred to activity engaged in by free people. The philosopher Aristotle held that there were three basic activities of humans: theoria (thinking), poiesis (making), and praxis (doing). Corresponding to these activities were three types of knowledge: theoretical, the end goal being truth; poietical, the end goal being production; and practical, the end goal being action.^[1] Aristotle further divided the knowledge derived from praxis into ethics, economics, and politics. He also distinguished between eupraxia (εὐπραξία, "good praxis")^[2] and dyspraxia (δυσπραξία, "bad praxis, misfortune").^[3]

^{( more on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praxis_(process))}

Autumn 2024 Praxis Open Residency souvenir

A note from Catherine Tran, Head of Research at Life Itself and Host for our Autumn 2024 residency

In the Autumn which has just passed, we hosted a Praxis Open Residency at the Life Itself Bergerac Hub. Over the course of two and half months, from 1st October to 15th December 2024, the Hub came alive with the colourful and dynamic presence of more than 30 kind and creative souls. On average, we were about 10 residents at any one time, with people coming and going, some settling in for just a week and others for more than a month.

The intention was to explore conscious community living together. How might a gentle frame of collective practices and structures, both contemplative and pragmatic, nourish us and our work in the world? What might living mindfully together activate or change in the way we relate to ourselves, to others, and to the wider world?

Together with our foundational frame of morning meditation and movement practice, collective care, shared meals, and weekly sharing circle and weekly community meeting, we had Open Space sessions including: Circling; massage exchange; Authentic Relating; 5Rhythms dance; Tarot circle; film nights; games (improv theatre, cooperative board games and more); meditation group; blindfold dinner; and projects “show and tell”. We enjoyed trips to Plum Village, the nearby Zen Buddhist monastery, to an Open Mic night and an art exhibition opening in town, and to local markets. We had a special visit from Ria the Storyteller, a shamanic storyteller, teacher and traveller, who offered us a Shamanic Song and Storytelling Circle.

Read some reflections from two of the Autumn residents, who shared about what they appreciated about their time at the Hub, here:

The Praxis Hub Journey

A note from Valérie Duvauchelle, Praxis Ecology designer and Co-founder of the Life Itself Bergerac Hub.

Next event at the Hub: Life Itself Spring Gathering

The next opportunity to spend time at the Hub and experience its flavour of conscious co-living is the Life Itself Spring Gathering. You can come just for the weekend, Open Space Gathering, 27th-30th March, or stay on also for the week afterwards for a community co-living and co-working week.

Life Itself

Invitation to the Life Itself Spring Gathering, 27th March-6th April 2025

We’re excited to open up bookings for the Life Itself Spring Gathering 2025! Join us to connect and collaborate with others who are longing for a radically wiser world…

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2 years ago · 2 likes · Catherine Tran and Rufus Pollock

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At Praxis Hub in Bergerac, for the past three years, together with the different guests of our residencies, we have been refining an ecology of co-living. Thanks to the hundred or so people who have visited the Hub, and the various formats we’ve offered (residencies focused on a particular training, themed residencies, and open residencies), we have shaped a design capable of addressing the great question of co-existence, as we move towards a future we dream of being more community-oriented than individualistic.

Over these three years, I’ve been particularly interested in the concept of the container rather than the content . Since 2022 my focus has been f on developing a structural design that activate a new way of being with others and the world, while respecting the need for isolation embedded in our cultural DNA. This is the ecology of praxis, based on five core practices. With this design, we meditate, cook, and circle together while also integrating personal time.

Throughout these three years, we’ve received many testimonies. For some, attached to a specific notion of freedom, this structure is not suitable, but for others, this design generates more energy, joy, and a calmer perspective on the world.

Here are a few testimonies we’ve received:

• People leave more inspired and enthusiastic, and most want to return.

• No one can define exactly what it is they experience, but the word "home" comes up often.

• Some share a deep transformation, which they relate to a kind of self-liberation.

• Living together brings back the joy of childhood and a willingness to play more, be silly, and creative.

• Most residents have stated that this type of collective praxis design is exactly what they need to stay motivated in their work

• This DDS space gives them the opportunity to express their ideas and emotions, including those that are difficult to contain.

• People feel allowed to be vulnerable within the group.

• Most residents recognize the value of the "tenzo" practice, both in terms of balanced nutrition and kitchen or table-setting practices, and as an integral part of a systematic experience necessary for community resilience.

These testimonies inspire us to nurture and expand this experience by sharing it. In 2025, we will be developing a praxis design tool for those interested in conscious co-living, centered around the heart of any community: a food system that is both pragmatic and transformative.

Sharing a proposal that can respond to the challenges of the world through a different way of being, within community spaces, is at the heart of the theory of Praxis, whose foundation remains the contemplative activism. The key question is: how can we create spaces that enable each individual to transform their capacity for action, starting from a space of inner transformation embodied within the collective field?

Through our toold and residencies, we wish to support this very particular time in our history and explore how we can listen better o the future.

Pip — a designer from the UK, who is interested in the fields of mental health, design, mutual learning, and community living — joined the Autumn residency for 3 weeks, having also participated in other residencies at the Hub in the past.

She shared about some of the cosy and peaceful moments she appreciated, as well as the ways in which her time contributed to her inner growth and development:

I love the cosy nights around the fire where it's like… what comes to mind is the intergenerational connections that can happen in the hub, which I feel are really important. It reminds me of a podcast I was listening to that was talking about the role of aunties and, you know, like younger people just being able to sit behind the couch and listen to the wisdom of different generations. And I really feel like there's space for that here.

And also the river. I love the river, and it's been so sunny. Have just had walks every day… and I think it's such a nice balance of being able to be in a town, and be able to go for dinner if you want, for example, but then also to be in Nature.

[…]

[My time here] has almost given me the space to really think about what’s important. I think, you know, when you're in an environment all the time, you can't see yourself [so clearly]. So it's kind of given me space to really think about… also because it has coincided with me doing a course called Mortals around facing my mortality and what's really important. So it feels like the space here, and also doing that course, have allowed my priorities to change.

And I suppose the biggest change has gone from… When I came here, I was like, I know something's gonna change, but I don't really know what it is. And then now I've made a plan to leave London for a bit and go semi-nomadic and just travel between my family and friends to find a place where I can grow roots. So I suppose that was the thing I didn't expect that popped up: almost like, leaning back in and valuing living in relations. And I think because I can set those boundaries now, it's given me the space to be like, oh, I can do this. I can be around a lot of people and not get swept away and go further into burnout. Yeah. That feels like the biggest [way in which my time here has impacted my inner growth and development].

And also space to make a portfolio and really dive into that process of defining what I want to do and what I can give in service, how my skills can help — has been another theme as well.

Pip also shared what she finds unique and special about the Hub:

Another thing I love about this place is there's space for lots of different frames of viewing the world. And spirituality and faith being one of them, but not having that at the expense of critical thinking, is what I also really appreciate.

There also seems to be some sort of organic design principles in the space, I think, compared to other places I've been to where it feels either a bit more corporate and structured or the opposite. There's something which feels a little bit more balanced.

And I suppose the other thing I really appreciate as well was how in the kitchen, it's like a space to play, but in a way where you feel like you’ve got enough structure to be like, Oh, this is what I need to do. But there's not this pressure of like, Oh, I need to do it right. I really like that.

Olivia, a biomedical engineer from the U.S. who joined the residency for 1 week, and was new to conscious co-living and to many of the practices we explored together, shared about some of her favourite moments:

I really liked our 5Rhythms dance that we did on my first day right after going to the market. That was really cool just to move your body to the music, and it felt really freeing. It was still early on, so I was still a little anxious of like, how crazy could I be and not get judged? But everybody was dancing, and it felt like everybody was comfortable. So that was one of my favourite experiences.

Some of my other experiences that stood out to me… just, like, dinner conversations. We had a really powerful dinner conversation one night when I was here that left me in tears. And I think it's just learning about people's lives and people's conscious choices that they've made throughout their lives and why they have [made those choices]. There are a lot of powerful thinkers that are here, or at least while I've been here. And it's really interesting — they've made some powerful, maybe crazy to other people, choices during their lives. So it's interesting to understand the thought process behind going to Japan for 14 years, or, you know, backpacking places, or learning to ski in Canada when you're not from there. You know, it's like people just take risks here, and it's interesting to learn why they've taken those or how those moments have shaped them, those stories.

[…]

I would say, overall, it's like a family, a welcoming environment, but it's also a challenging environment. There are a lot of uncomfortable conversations and uncomfortable moments, whether that be an uncomfortable silence or uncomfortable because you're dancing and it's early in the morning or something like that. So it's definitely challenging, but everybody's very supportive. It's a welcoming environment, like I said, and I just really appreciated the atmosphere. It's a great place to grow, to get to know yourself, and to further your connections with yourself, your body and just other people and other ways of life.

N.B. the quotes were (minimally) edited for clarity.

SAFER Residency

September saw us welcome the Strategic Adaptation For Emergency Resilience (SAFER) residency lead by Liam Kavanagh and Rupert Read from The Climate Majority Project. Here are some words from Rupert Read, co-host of this residency:

In the first week, mainly facilitated by CMP and Life Itself co-founder Liam Kavanagh with the help of Jadzia Tedeschi, participants dove into the culture of the climate movement to date. This included reflecting on the qualities of spaces that don't scare people away if they are not 'green enough', 'progressive enough', don't speak in a certain way ... This kind of reflection for us was an inward-looking process, in which we could notice our own in-group tendencies and subculture – it is also an inquiry which has to lie at the heart of community living and resilience: most projects that involve community living break down due to unspoken misalignments between their members ... and local adaption will require us to learn how to share spaces and resources with each other, far more than we are currently used to.

Emeritus Prof. Rupert Read, Co-Director of the Climate Majority Project (www.climatemajorityproject.com )... Are you part of the climate majority? I bet you are! Come to the site and sign up…

In this residency there were enthusiastic discussions, joyful meals including the famous fritters of Mark, an imagination and resilience workshop faciltated by Charlotte Du Cann (Dark Mountain) who also conducted our equinox ritual.

Here is an extract from Charlotte Du Cann’s workshop:

And some photos from the Safer residency including market shopping, moon watching and a talk from the author of The Deluge with Stephen Markley!

I often wonder why, in most transition spaces—where there is typically a strong philosophy of commitment and care for food—the subject remains limited to managing food in the context of abundance, without addressing the need to prepare for future food shortages.

At the Praxis hub, during our residencies, we recognize the necessity to feel the suffering of the earth (ecospirituality) , we know the importance of thinking about the world through metamodernism. However, how to be with food scarcity has not yet been integrated fully into our social technology discussions.

I ask myself why it seems difficult to have a collective conversation about food when climate change is frequently discussed including adaptation. It's as though we are not equipped yet to talk collectively about something that may be one of the first consequences of climate change.

The reality is that the food crisis is no longer just a threat; it’s already happening.

The globalization of our food production system no longer allows territories to ensure food sovereignty. The war in Ukraine has revealed the system’s fragility.

Monocropping poses a constant risk of crop-destroying diseases, and its widespread adoption has contributed to the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, soil health, and water supplies.

We find ourselves in a continuous state of crisis management—between wars, diseases, and water shortages—and this is only accelerating. According to David Bailey, Director of the World Food Programme: "After Yemen, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and southern Sudan, Somalia is now facing famine in 2023." Food insecurity is also on the rise within Europe. In France , for example, 30% of the population now struggles to access healthy food and eat three meals a day. (1)

We know the solution to this crisis. It is primarily structural: regaining our food sovereignty by producing locally autonomous agriculture, mainly focused on plant production for humans (currently, ⅔ of agricultural land in France is used for industrial animal feed). This shift is underway, aided by public authorities and the Territorial Management Plan (PAT) in France, among other initiatives.

However, given the time required to transform a globalized agricultural system, we may not have enough time.

Moreover, our relationship with food must evolve if we aim to be realistic, as well as the amount of time we dedicate to it. Over the past 80 years in France, the time spent on food-related activities has decreased from 4 hours to 1 hour.

While changing agriculture may take decades, we can change our relationship with food at home and in our communities much sooner, helping us build emotional resilience to potential food shortages.

It is here that cooks and conscious community builders have a crucial role to play.

They still have time to develop food practices that deeply nourish both the body and the heart. There is still time to learn how to cultivate peace amid fear and reduce anxiety about scarcity.

We have enough time to develop social technologies that can withstand the panic of food insecurity, creating a space of emotional security in the face of food anxiety. In doing so, we can prototype a new food culture based on "just enough."

Additionally, we can shift the narrative and propose methodologies that not only help regulate our emotions but also rediscover the joy of living and creativity through the collective management of food.

These models cannot emerge from a single approach, such as mindfulness, anti-waste policies, fermentation techniques, or permaculture. Instead, they must arise from a holistic food praxis that cultivates responsiveness through peace. Peace, in this context, does not mean an ideal world without conflict but the ability to address chaos with emotional balance and act accordingly.

This represents a change in perspective—one that embraces food as an opportunity to reconnect with our humanity, to experience the nourishment of community (sangha), and to see new ways of thinking emerge from the peace of being together.

It also taps into our natural capacity to adapt to situations and respond appropriately.

There is a life force and wisdom coming from appropriate food system in community .

Engaging with food collectively is, first and foremost, about organizing, celebrating, and sharing. It is a way to reclaim our sense of belonging to the land, to our ancestors, future generations, fellow humans, non-human beings, and the earth itself. Reconnecting with this reality is essential for our emotional and mental well-being.

In the context of deteriorating mental health, particularly among young people, simple practices that foster connection—such as cooking and eating together—can transform fear of the future into something more joyful.

Awami Praxis food design, that valerie Duvauchelle has developped around 5 branches is dedicated to conscious community building to respond to the food crisis while reconnecting with joy of living together.

1. Receiving our food (mindful purchasing that considers the entire supply chain)

2. Transforming food (cooking in ways that help people feel satisfied with less)

3. Moving (creating dynamic spaces for people to engage with food)

4. Celebrating (reconnecting with deep time and our cosmic reality)

5. Thinking (exploring the complexity of our food system beyond polarization)

Through this Praxis, we can bring a new food narrative that empowers people, even amidst collapse. We can prevent the disease of fear, which could be more terrifying than food scarcity itself, and offer an alternative way to cope with food restrictions—one that avoids aggression, theft, or war.

Implementing Awami Food Praxis in conscious communities—one that nourishes us more with less—is a peace-building effort that cooks and community builders can contribute to for the benefit of humanity and all living beings.

Sources

1. CNA : Conseil national de l’alimentation. 2022 report (France)  

Here is a brief overview of the role:

• Location: at or near the Bergerac. As part of the offer we can provide you with accommodation and food at the Bergerac Praxis Hub.

• Part-time: Approx 2-3d a week on average with flexible working hours. This is a part-time role that would be compatible with online working. It is also possible that there are other areas at Life Itself you can contribute to to expand your role and working hours towards full-time. 

• Compensation: based on skills and experience and what roles you take on.  As guidance we imagine something like for 2-3d a week ~ €1200 / month (or €480 plus room and board provided).

• Language: fluent english and functional french are required.

• To apply: Read the full details here. Then send us an email to jobs@lifeitself.org with your CV and cover letter.

Now at the hub : SAFER residency

To come : join us, we are calling for 9 pioneers who want to experiment with Conscious Community (CoCo) living at the Praxis Hub for two and a half months this autumn during our Praxis Residency.

To read : an article by Carmen Zurl who share her journey with contemplatve activism.

Looking forward to hear from you .

“ thinking in other way, thinking otherwise “

Some years ago now I met a group of people disillusioned with the effectiveness of activism as a vehicle for bringing about global change in the field of social and environmental justice. Most of us had attended the October 19 London XR revolution to a varying degree and roles from drop-ins organizers, philosophers and arrestables alike. We gathered in the months to follow for some R&R at a retreat center in Norfolk to swap notes and question what more or else could be done to bring about noticeable change to the social and environmental crisis. Given the state of the environment (we recited the earth science statistics) and the state of the community among humans (we cited economic and social limits) we are bound to deal with the anguish of our own adaptation to living with the realization that ‘no matter what we do now greater human suffering cannot be averted’ which is directly connected to rapid loss of biodiversity leading to significant climate change effects and hence further degradation of already stressed social and economic systems. Many of us had come from a variety of Buddhist training bringing gifts from far away lands such as Japan, India, Thailand, Vietnam..

We decided to meet in the early 2020 at another retreat in Manchester but the pandemic locked us into our homes where we began to sit together every Sunday from 7-9 carrying on the conversation that over time began to formalize into a ‘practice’. We were a pretty global north-west bunch, mainly from the UK, EU and the US. Occasionally, a new person popped by to see us sit together. It was the time where people began to speak of the great change all around us greatly fuelled by the virus and the US elections. But the overall outlook around the planet became to collaborate remotely on a variety of innovative apps and sit put for months on no end. We held onto our wounded activist selves together during the entire year in peaceful protest against the world and all of our expectations. Nobody said what was going to happen next, why we were doing what we were doing every Sunday nor how and when these gatherings would come to an end. And so began this small river of practice, a wholly new experience of a wisdom council circle we called Contemplative Activism. Why? Ask Liam. I hate this name.

Contemplative(s)

I’m still quite unsure as to what we do or anyone else for that matter exactly that warrants the term ‘contemplative’. I would say we have started a weird discursive practice of sitting together with a question we use as a string to unpack big suitcases of stuff we brought to the meetup. I would like to call this practice real thinking with the whole body, feeling, listening, processing, breathing, watching the presence of ourselves and each other in the room. Each gathering, always held on Sunday afternoon, would start by a 40 min silent sitting of enthusiasts before opening up to the wider group which (started off being around 12-16 people then) dwindled down to a solid core of 7 Contemplative Activists. (Ha. What the hell is this nomenclature? This titling, labeling, being called something or someone as in a doctor, lawyer or an Indian chief. I’m allergic to this grammatical formation: contemplative activists - And yet I stay by.) Watching people wondering through the fog of their assumptions. Feeling uncomfortable. Watching humans being human. Being lost. Getting lost. Not coping with repetitions of things said and heard elsewhere, longing for radical disturbance of my habitual ways of thinking and processing the world to take over. I was mostly using these Sundays as an opportunity to feel my disillusionment with our ‘civilisation’, our conditioning, appreciating the rattling cages of the English language that bind us and the way in which people around me lose control over what they actually want to say. Just like me.

After the third gong, we take a spacious ‘sharing’ space that for the 7 of us lasts about an hour. Here anything can happen - events of the week past get mangled with provocative invitations to articulate a probing question most of us resonate with. Somewhere a theme emerges and we climb it like a raft in the sea of our entangled impressions of the shared field of enquiry allowing it to float us through to a question to contemplate. I have no idea how this practice actually came about or what it means to contemplate the question our way but I never managed to think any of our questions through with any degree of rigor that befits questions such as life, death, love, community, enlightenment, language, meaning, words. The experience of ‘contemplation’(whatever that may mean to others) is for me a curious well of magic connection through word stringing into a necklace of triggers, thoughts, feelings that come from all directions in our sessions. I love the experience of quietness in which I hear for the first time someone, sometimes even myself, speak, say something

We begin slowly to talk, to dissect, to examine with curiosity what notions carry with them that may be useful to carry on with employing for the good of the world, future, love, togetherness, death, life, change etc. After a while we began referring to these dialogues to be ‘contemplative’. To date I’m quite unsure what this means to others, but for me it is a form of thinking that involves the whole body.

We step back together, use words with care, lightly, with curiosity meeting their utterance with openness no matter which direction they come from. Between us a generous, kind, loving, support colors the evening. People smoke, drink, sit, lye about turning up in all sorts of states sometimes high, sometimes sad, ecstatic and we tell it all as is there and then and from the heart of things. We are definitely a badass Buddhist Sangha. We could be labeled very Zen. Very 21^st century rebel lot slightly ragged, super free and very, very welcoming. Hardly sweet or agreeable. I remember cut throat arguments on the importance of semiology, deconstruction, teleological reasoning, paradigm shifting, communism, crypto and technology that impassioned us with great disturbance that lingered over the entire week. I remember waking up in the night and sitting with stuff people had said, emailing them in the morning and holding this disturbance with immense interest and attachment to its brilliance. I remember being touched, being torn, being folded over by the wisdom and the lives of our tiny bad sangha.

I sit in this contemplative space – I truly hate the word contemplative because it conjures up practices of a variety of religious behaviors but have no better. Google gives a possible meaning as ‘expressing or involving prolonged thought’ so I persevere with it. Whatever ‘prolonged thought’ might actually look like! In Croatian I make a difference between raz-misliti i misliti. There are clear forms of of types of thinking in everyday language: one that beholds the subject without outcome as in the making of judgment or opinion (could be thought of as ‘prolonged’); and the other raz-misliti takes place in the middle of an action, project or endeavor as in one needs to razmisliti how to make a chair (unprolongued problem solving thinking) whereas ‘misliti’ involves deciding whether to go to the beach, razmisliti creates a business proposition or a legal decision. Very simple.

I hope that in this group we use ‘contemplative’ not to evoke a deeply uncomfortable tradition of spiritual workers exploiting the illiterate masses with their sweet tongued persuasive, often fearful tinkerings about metaphysics and the ways of bettering the world. However I wouldn’t know. I personally wish we could disentangle from this deeply uncomfortable past and tradition without rewriting the meaning of the verb ‘to think’ from Anglo-Saxon to an Indo-European meaning but somehow I do not see this to be possible in the context of our gathering. What I do on Sunday nights with my, now dear friends, has no spiritual meaning whatsoever for me. I come and engage in this awkward enquiring practice because it offers me a peek into the human soul of my fellow travelers. I love the experience of being given the permission of thinking in other ways, thinking otherwise, and not struggling with the time continuum for a couple of hours each week at the present moment, not needing what is to be otherwise. It helps me sit. It opens my eyes to the infinite opportunities of catching the glimpses of our oneness, similarity and difference. I feel the practice of these ill-named gatherings has given me insight to begin loving more humans over and over again, afresh with an open mind and one huge listening ear. And this is truly exhilarating.

Crédit photo : Mycelium

Key Info

💛 What: An opportunity to experience the joy and nourishment of living in community with a light frame of collective practices, while devoting time to your own (or shared) projects and explorations. 

🌳 Where: Life Itself Praxis Hub, Bergerac, France (near Bordeaux)

🤸 Who: Open to anyone interested in conscious community living, contemplative activism, regenerative food systems, inner development, ecological and cultural transformation, living the “more beautiful world our hearts know is possible”, dancing with complexity, and more… 

🍂 When: 1st October - 15th December. You can stay for 1 week up to the full 2.5 months. 

💌 Cost: From €350-850/month, depending on the room, + €10/day for food & amenities. 

There will also be a special Creative Writing residency taking place within the frame of the Autumn residency, 23rd October to 7th November — more detail below. 

There is also the possibility to organise a one day presentation of the Awami Praxis Food design system and in general the Praxis design that Valerie developed at the Bergerac Life itself upon request.( on donation) .

Apply Now

About the Autumn Praxis Residency

The Autumn Praxis Residency is an opportunity to experience and contribute to the spirit of the Hub – which is to explore the practices that support community, both on an individual and a collective level. The practices we engage in intend to cultivate a compassionate lifestyle, ecological balance, and a shift from individual isolation to supportive community. 

Instead of following a specific training program or content, this residency creates space to listen to what the collective wants to emerge. Together, we feel the rhythm of a community, observe how our collective body responds to what unfolds — light or shadow — and create our time together. 

During this long Autumn residency, we have the opportunity to digest our Summer experiences and inspirations into seeds of change to take with us into Winter and Spring. You might be concentrating on your daily work, writing a book, designing a passion project, experimenting with group workshops, or something else… Whatever it is, the residency offers a place in which we can support each other in our unfolding. 

To give you a sense of how this Autumn could be, here is a flavour of what last year’s Autumn residency was like …

• 🎶 Reading, singing, or playing board games together by the fire 

• 🎨 Self-organised activities such as: Systemic Constellations, Authentic Relating, Circling, Men’s/Women’s Circles, Improv Theatre Games, Ecstatic Dance, film nights…

• 🥗 Delicious local and organic meals 

• 🌊 Long walks along the river

• 🤓 Sharing mini-presentations on our projects and passions  

• ❤️ Joy and cosiness and deep connection

• And much more!

Schedule and Collective Frame

This residency focuses on conscious co-living, or living well together, according to a framework of practice developed here over the past three years. 

Schedule (indicative and may change with the needs of the participants):

7-8am: Sitting meditation

8-9am: Breakfast (some of us also do yoga) 

9-10am: Collective care (cooking, cleaning, or gardening)

10am-1pm: Own time

1-2pm: Self-service lunch and dishes

2-6:30pm: Own time

6:30-7:30 pm: Table dinner and dishes

8pm: Optional evening activity

There is also a community sharing circle one evening a week where we can engage in deeper check-ins. 

In addition, participants may offer their own sessions to other residents, usually on evenings or weekends. It’s a great opportunity to share practices you love with the group, or experiment with facilitating something, or try something new!

Weekends don't have any frame. During that time, residents self-organise meals. Residents often use this time to discover nearby places of interest such as Plum Village, prehistoric caves, or local markets.

Rooms

For more information on rooms and prices, please see this document.

For this residency, we are offering only non-shared rooms to preserve the privacy and comfort of each participant, with some exceptions if you are coming with a friend or partner.

Creative Writing Residency : 23rd October - 7th November

During the Autumn Praxis residency, we will have a special Creative Writing residency, hosted by John Newton. 

This short residency is an invitation to drop into the pace of Autumn and create space for emergent nourishment through creative practices. We will use the forms of evening dialogues, sharing circles around the fire, and collective reading & writing jams to explore presence and poetic truth in a spirit of playfulness. The day will be spacious, with regular opportunities for mindfulness practice and exploring imaginal meditation practices. There will also be select screenings of rare or forgotten films that support metamodernist insights. 

Application is via the same form as for the general Autumn Praxis Residency.

Apply Now

Hosts

Valérie Duvauchelle (Tenzo, guardian of the dynamic food system)

Valerie is the designer of the Life Itself Hub Praxis frame, inspired by Zen temples where she studied the role of the Tenzo for several years. Her passion is to bridge this Buddhist technology to a secular frame for conscious communities. She is currently working on two books related to Zen food practice and how to make sense of our food today. She is also the author of Le goût silencieux (The Silent Taste), published by Actes Sud in 2018. She onboards chefs at the Hub and shares the Praxis design to support organizations or community spaces. 

Catherine Tran (Autumn Residency Host)

Catherine is a researcher at Life Itself and has spent roughly half her time over the past few years living in intentional community at the Life Itself Hubs in Bergerac and Berlin. In her life and work, she grapples with the question of what it means to be an ecologically response-able being on Earth. Some of her current big inspirations are: Hospicing Modernity and the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures Collective, Tara Brach, and Systemic Constellations.

Bihter Kartheuser (Steward)

Bihter (MA, ICF, USABP) is a Mindfulness & Nervous System Coach and nomadic world citizen with a multidisciplinary background and a passion for exploring the complexities of being human. With over a decade of experience teaching yoga and mindfulness, her innate curiosity about the human body and psyche led her to specialize in trauma therapy. Drawn to the transformative power of the NeuroSystemics approach, Bihter completed a three-year training and is now engaged in clinical training with the NeuroSystemics. She envisions helping more people to cultivate nervous system resiliency, empowerment, and the agency for contributing to create  a healthier and happier society.

John Newton (Creative Writing Residency Host)

John is a facilitator, artistic researcher, dharma bum and resident bard. When not subsumed by worldly concerns, he pursues the imaginal through a variety of transdisciplinary approaches, including meditation practice, music, cinema, philosophy and cultural exegesis. Some of his music can be found here: https://chupwallah.bandcamp.com. His upcoming Substack, entitled Fever Dreaming, is a “cultural exegesis of contemporary psychedelia, new age spirituality, cinema, and philosophy”.

Join us this Autumn!