Autumn Praxis Residency (October to December 2025)

The Residency in More Detail

In this Praxis Residency, participants immersed themselves in a Praxis Ecology that reshaped them. By bringing mindfulness to how they related to themselves, each other, and the wider world—through sitting, cooking, eating, resting, laughing, playing, and interacting together—they opened to possibilities of transformation.

The nourishment of food was a core ingredient. The Awami Food Praxis system, developed by Valérie Duvauchelle from decades of learning in Zen temples, aimed at the magic balance between ethics, ecology, and finance to be fully coherent with the desire to change current culture.

During the Praxis Residency, participants took time to explore a question or work on a specific project which they shared with others. Like classic artists' residencies, the Praxis Residencies were made for contemplative activists to reflect on and craft their contribution to the world.

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

Who was it for?

The residency sought people who were:

• 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

Programme

• A 5-day Orientation Week (how to embody a Praxis design in conscious communities), during which residents:
  • met and connected with fellow residents
  • deepened the question or project they would explore
  • sat together with others in silence
  • practised the rhythms and principles of the Praxis Ecology
  • learned the Awami Praxis food system to cook for community
• A collective frame which supported the rest of the time together, including shared practices and shared meals
• A question for each resident to explore (individual purpose)
• A presentation of each resident's exploration

Daily Schedule

The schedule on weekdays was:

• 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)

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

There was a whole community sharing circle one evening a week where participants tended to the emotional heartbeat of their community, and one community meeting per week to tend to practicalities, reflect on what was working or not working, and grow as a collective organism.