Active Hope in practice: Strengthening and empowering our community

We are taking part in the Regenerative Communities Fund (RCF), an initiative by ECOLISE launched in 2024, alongside with 49 other Pathfinder Communities from across Croatia, Finland, France, Portugal, and Spain.

Our main event, the Active Hope retreat in Finnish is now open for sign-ups! 
Read more below in the Finnish version of the page!

What is the Regenerative Communities Fund?

The RCF is the first fund specifically focused on supporting regenerative communities in Europe. 

The RCF helps community-led initiatives overcome barriers—like lack of funding, outreach, or technical support—especially in marginalised or underserved communities. Through an ecosystem of National Hubs, Demonstrators, and upcoming Pathfinder communities, RCF aims to build an inclusive movement for eco-social regeneration.

The fund is currently being piloted through Funding Fairer Futures (FFF), a project co-funded by the European Commission under the DEAR Programme.

Category: ECOLISE
Timeframe: -
Budget: 4000€
Pathfinder project
Current events & courses

Toivosta toimintaan retriitti

Toivosta toimintaan retriitti
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Halu tehdä jotain merkityksellistä on monella meistä jo olemassa. Se, mikä usein puuttuu, on selkeä suunta ja tapa toimia niin, ettei itse pala…
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Our project description

Climate and ecological crises, social uncertainty, and widespread exhaustion challenge people’s ability to work toward a better future – whether for themselves, their communities, or the environment. Many active people feel overwhelmed and isolated. Especially iin rural areas, support structures are limited and finding a like-minded community can be difficult.

We want to respond to the problem by creating dedicated spaces where people can pause, reconnect, and rebuild resilience. Our project addresses this by organising a long-weekend workshop in 2026 in Pälkäne, focused on Active Hope and designing sustainable change for people and the environment. The retreat aims to strengthen resilience, project design skills, and constructive communication abilities, supporting people who are already active or wish to become more active in regenerative and community-led initiatives.

The retreat combines three interconnected elements. First, participants are introduced to the Work That Reconnects (also called Active Hope), a globally used approach which helps process emotions related to ecological and social crises and reconnect with motivation for action. Second, the focus shifts to action through practical design and planning tools, drawing on permaculture design methods, while strengthtening the participant's communication skills.

Alongside this wider-reaching retreat, we plan to keep connecting with our local network Pälkäne and the surrounding rural area through open days and small events at our design hub Beyond Buckthorns, as well as host one local policy dialogue organised with community members and local decision-makers during the programme period.