AWÄNÍMÄ
Earth-centered immersions to work with your hands and practice living in community
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
Session 1: January 13-February 3
Session 3: February 4-24
Session 3: February 25-March 15
An embodied experience of holistic living that feeds the mind, body, and soul.
This 3-week immersion invites you to see how living simply and tending to the land is a deeply nourishing experience. It allows us to step away from continuous consumption and embrace beauty in simplicity. Imagine the joy of being outdoors, harvesting food, cooking with friends, and engaging in meaningful conversations — this is what nourishes our souls and attunes us to the richness of the living world.
During the immersion, you'll have the opportunity to learn alongside practitioners in gardening, herbalism, natural building, and food. Most importantly, you’ll step into a container of loving community — a gathering place to practice a culture grounded in collective care.
Awänímä is rooted in permaculture philosophy and designed around its three core ethics
The word Awänímä is Kaqchickel, the language spoken in the land of these immersions. It translates into “heart,” “soul,” and “the spirit of the ancestors.” Our immersions seek to reunite the soul with the body, so we felt it was fitting to honor this beautiful word in this experience.
WEEK 1
People Care
We cohere as a group, sharing our unique gifts, exploring our inner worlds and finding a shared rhythm.
WEEK 2
Earth Care
We get into deeper relationship with the land, building the soil, gardens, compost systems and more.
WEEK 3
Fair Share
We collaborate with locals to support people and land in need.
What you’ll experience
Workshops and daily practices to cultivate inner and outer regeneration
Gardening
Hot composting
Worm composting
Garden bed & fruit tree care
Seeding & propagation
Biochar preparation
Harvesting
Chicken care
Medicine
Introduction to herbalism
Herbal preparations & natural remedies (teas, tinctures, salves, sprays and more)
Fire cider preparation
Food
Communal cooking
Gourmet meals, made with fresh vegetables & herbs from the land
Handmade, unprocessed foods (coconut milk, breads, pastas)
Flavor profiling & layering
Fermentations
Personal Inquiry
Ecosystem mapping
Permaculture principles
Possibility management
Nonviolent communication
Community
Weekly community circle
Music, poetry and art nights
Women’s & men’s circles
Local service days: trash pickups and pantry good delivery
Local Kaqchikel Culture
Weekly ceremonial tuj (sauna)
Fire circles
Stories about growing up in Tzununá, sharing local customs and worldview
Sweet words from the family
“I gained a new family of friends and creative souls, while learning how we can apply permaculture principles to farming as well as to lifestyle. I saw how likeminded individuals can come together and create a big positive impact while having the most fun. That’s what I love the most!”
— Alex
“It's incredible to find how deep your connection can grow with people you have never met in such a short amount of time. The whole experience is quite transformational.
I loved learning about the principles of permaculture and thinking about how these apply in the ecosystem of my every life. Getting hands on with composting, planting, harvesting, watering and chickens were great eye openers and a chance to connect with how our meals end up on our plate. The highlights for me though were spending time cooking in the kitchen and the growing together with the wonderful group of people attending the immersion.”
— Gina
Who is This For?
This immersion is for people who:
Recognize that healthy relationships — with people and with the Earth — are foundational for a good life
Feel drained by modern society’s lifestyle and want to explore ways of incorporating more Earth-centered, holistic ways of living into their daily lives
Want to use their energy for good and to be in service of something greater than themselves
Can see themselves living in community and dream of “eco-village life”
Want to steward land someday and get a taste of what it takes to build a homestead and retreat center
Want to cultivate a joyful, creative and connected relationship with food and cooking
Find richness in experiencing cross-cultural relationships and learning from others
Want to move their bodies, put their hands in the Earth, eat good food, and live healthy and free
People who went to overnight camp as a kid and want to do it again!
Next immersion: February 25 - March 15
Our Daily Rhythm
7:30am: Morning Movement: waterfall or mountain hike, yoga, qi gong, or cold plunging to get your energy going.
8:30am-9am: Breakfast
9:30-12:30pm: Learning & co-creation time. We get our hands dirty with plants, soil, and natural materials, and contribute to the development of the land and local community. We’ll share workshops and dive deeper into topics of permaculture, herbalism, and living according to nature’s rhythm.
12:30pm: Family Lunch
Afternoon: Daily tasks and free time for people to do personal work, explore towns around the lake, rest, hike, or be spontaneous! There will be optional 1:1 sessions with some amazing practitioner friends if you’d like to deepen and integrate into this way of living.
6pm: Family Dinner — a delicious feast prepared lovingly with all local ingredients
After-Dinner Activity
Accommodations & Exchanges
There are different types of accommodations designed for singles and couples, ranging from luxe options to more earthy experiences.
We want to include people with different work and financial situations, so the exchanges include both options for full payment and flexibility and partial work/trade.
The Land
The land where the immersion will be hosted is a 2.5 acre property near Lake Atitlán, stewarded by OBF cofounder Mackenzie Barth. It is nestled on a sunny mountainside of Tzununá, tucked in a valley that is bursting with life and filled with diverse trees, herbs, plants, insects, and birds. Lake Atitlán is a crater lake surrounded by volcanoes that offers potent medicine, inspiration, and cleansing for all visitors.
Three years of tending has transformed what was once an overgrown piece of land into a lush, tropical estate. The landscape features many stone terraces, thousands of native trees and planted fruit trees, natural ponds, a waterfall, food and herb gardens, a yoga deck, sauna, cold plunge, and beautiful naturally-built buildings. You can expect to feel the love and hard work that has gone into every space.
The intention of the project is to serve as a reminder to people of what we actually need to feel peaceful and content: fresh air, sunlight, natural beauty, local food made with love, good friends that feel like family, and creating with your hands. There is richness in simplicity.
Why are we doing this?
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We are building our tribe, our family, and the best way to do that is to live together and work together. We want to gather like-hearted people who have the intention of both learning and giving back. This is how we will find our people and weave our web into the future.
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We are creating this experience to help us all remember what it’s like to nurture relationships that give back to us and feed us on a deep level. We’ve found that online relationships just don’t cut it — we need to see, feel, and know people in the physical to feel fully nourished in relationship and in life.
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For us, the Earth is our teacher, our guide, our companion, and our inspiration for all that we do. We have experienced firsthand how rewarding it is to give back to the Earth, and the land always needs our love and attention. We are eager to be in community and creation with others who feel the same, and share space of humility, learning, and magic together, with the Earth as our primary guide.
Want to join us?
Fill out the survey and sign up for a discovery call with one of our team members.
Upcoming immersion:
February 25-March 15
Upcoming Art of Soulful Living retreats:
March 24-March 30
April 14-20
A WEEKLONG RETREAT
Radical Regeneration
April 14-20
Can’t make it for a whole 3 weeks? Join us for a week-long retreat, designed to help you learn the fundamentals of permaculture and explore your relationship with food, from seed to sprout to harvest to compost. We believe once you place yourself back into the food system and feel empowered to grow, harvest, and consume healthy food, you will have the awareness and enthusiasm to bring regeneration (and soul!) into all areas of your life.