Celebrating Our First Cohort
After nine months of online learning, the FoodHaus Fellows met again in Rheinau. For a week of celebration, closing, reflection, and looking forward.
This time, we met in the summer heat of August. The picturesque village of Rheinau lay calm under the heat, and the Rhine flowed unusually slowly. Water is scarce here, as it is almost anywhere this summer.
Coming together again
The FoodHaus Fellows, connected through the shared wish to change our food systems, arrived from all over the world to reunite and find a closing to the unique journey that was the Fellowship for Action. Everyone arrived with many stories to tell. They had all been working on their initiatives in their local contexts.
Now we had the time to bring these realities together again: to share what had been learned, what had been unlearned, and what was yet to be understood. In only two days, the group co-created their learning journey representing what was most important to them.
Serving the FoodHaus learning menu
On the menu were spicy and sweet dishes — from catfish pepper soup and Korean bibimbap to tiramisu. And along this journey, we learned what the Fellows had gone through: how they found a community of practice in this diverse group that held them through their small steps towards action. How they had to let go of expectations and be very honest with themselves. How this was not always easy and that there was a messy middle — so inherent to change work. How inner work practices helped them move through this process, and how small steps of action sometimes allowed them to move ahead towards bigger goals. Or holding on to the guiding questions rather than reaching for answers too quickly: testing, while staying open to how the system reacts.
New beginnings
We also found the time to eat and drink together, and to celebrate what this time and community had brought. During the last 9 months overwhelm and anxiety eased, making space for more connection and groundedness. The courage and openness for this journey left people feeling more connected to themselves, the systems they are working in, and their communities.
And while the first round of the Fellowship has come to an end, this is only the beginning. The Fellows leave with the tools they have gained, the connections they have built, and the hope they have found — ready to continue contributing to change their local food systems.