Fool for Gaia

What this broken World need now… (is love, sweet love)… is more fools who dare show their sensibility, feel deeply, listen to the Earth, and remember that wonder, play, tenderness, and imagination are pathways to authenticity and belonging. 

Fool for Gaia is a 9-day creative residency held at a deep ecology center in Slovenia, bringing together 16 youth workers and artists to explore clowning, eco-storytelling, deep ecology, and embodied practices as transformative tools for personal growth and youth work.
At the heart of the training is the clown, the Fool, not as a performer, but as a teacher of deep ecology and authentic connection with nature. Through embodied, nature-based practices and experiential work with horses, participants cultivate sensitivity, presence, and the art of listening to the more-than-human world.

The Fool guides us into grounded awareness, empathy, and imagination. From this place, authentic expression and creative confidence can emerge. These experiences will be gently translated into practical, creative tools for youth work, supporting young people in times of ecological crisis, fostering emotional resilience, and creating inclusive, meaningful learning spaces.

There will be play. There may be laughter. There may even be a procession of fools in the forest.  Not to perform, but to wake something in the eyes of those who witness it. Above all, this training is an invitation into a deeper relationship with yourself, with others, and with the living Earth.

METHODOLOGY
Our pedagogy blends non-formal, experiential learning with creative, participatory methods. 

Through clowning, eco-storytelling, deep, animal assisted learning and movement, you’ll explore embodied learning as a way to develop self-awareness, emotional presence, empathy, and authentic expression. The fool is used as a pedagogical tool that encourages vulnerability, playfulness, and the courage to experiment, supporting personal growth and creative confidence.

A central part of the methodology is learning in and with nature. Practices such as eco-storytelling, eco-somatic exercises, rituals, and encounters with natural elements and animals (horses) foster deep listening, non-verbal communication, and an embodied understanding of interdependence between humans and the living world.

These methods help participants develop powerful educational tools that speak to young people and support their growth with less traditional learning approaches.

The threads that weave our programme:

• “Fooling for Gaia” - clown&deep ecology
• Storytelling & Nature story making
• Eco-somatic 
• Holistic work with horses
• Ritual The way of the Council
• Deep listening
• Strategies to enrich your educational practice with creative, inclusive, and nature-connected methods that resonate with young people
• Opportunities to connect with a network of professionals dedicated to using arts for social change

WHO IS THIS TRAINING FOR

This training is for youth workers, educators, trainers, facilitators, and social practitioners who work with young people and wish to deepen their practice through creative, nature-connected, and experiential methods. 

The training also welcomes artists and creative practitioners (storytellers, clowns, performers, movement and visual artists) who wish to explore more relational, participatory, and socially engaged approaches.

Participants are expected to be 18+, able to communicate in English, and ready to take part fully in an intensive, collaborative, and supportive group learning process. No prior experience in clowning or performance is required. What matters is openness to learning through the body, play, nature, and reflection, and a genuine interest in discovering how art, sensitivity, and ecological awareness can enrich youth work and educational practice.
Participants can apply to this training if they have a legal residency in Italy, France, Germany and Slovenia.

Materials, activities, accommodation and food are 100% covered by the Erasmus+ grant.

ABOUT THE PROJECT TEAM

Špela Kaplja: A dreamer and a believer, storyteller, writer, voice for the rivers  and natural fool. 
Špela works at the meeting point of story, nature, and the human heart. She is a storyteller, writer, clown, environmental activist, and facilitator who believes that imagination, vulnerability, and play are essential tools for healing our relationship with ourselves, with others, and with the living Earth.
For more than a decade, she has been developing and leading nature-based, artistic, and experiential programs for young people, youth workers, and educators. Her work combines storytelling for nature, embodied practices, and deep ecology, offering spaces where sensitivity is welcomed, emotions are allowed, and authentic expression can emerge.

Neja Meta Rojc: A visionary, artist, geomancer, and guardian of living places.
Neja Meta Rojc is the founder and creative heart of Terra Anima, a visual artist, writer, geomancer, and facilitator devoted to restoring meaningful relationships between people, nature, and place. Her work grows from a deep sensitivity to landscapes, materials, and the invisible threads that connect all living beings.

As an artist, she works across disciplines – sculpture, painting, movement, and land-based art – often using natural and reclaimed materials. Through her artistic practice, Neja explores myth, embodiment, and the wisdom of the Earth, inviting others to listen beyond words and reconnect with the intelligence of the land. Her work with horses offers powerful learning experiences around presence, trust, gentleness, and authentic leadership.

Participants call available here: Fool for Gaia - link https://www.canva.com/design/DAHASEzWcGY/vbgNKonSW1tgfrvSu_HXBA/view?utm_content=DAHASEzWcGY&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h99f1d3c965