Basque
Immersion
Cultivating the roots of
cognitive sovereignty
and collective resilience.
June 8-14 | Basque Country
Basque Country is home to the most sophisticated cooperative economy on earth, which joins everything from manufacturing to finance, handcrafts to organic agriculture. The system has been thriving for many decades, since the time it was formed as response to the oppression under Franco’s fascist dictatorship.
The knowledge here isn't theoretical; it works, it’s been working for a very long time, and it’s never been more relevant for the world than it is today.
Come to learn, share, get your hands dirty, get inspired, and figure out whether this way of life is for you.
· Agriculture & Homesteading ·
· Models of Community Life ·
· Cooperative Economies ·
· Inner Work ·
Maximum10 participants
Please book a call with us to explore whether this experience is a good fit for you.
One week of
immersive experience
carefully crafted
to give you a head start
in building a better life,
thriving together outside the
technofeudalist dystopia looming ahead.
What We'll Explore
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Hands-on time with sustainable agriculture, food production, and homesteading systems adapted to both the Atlantic climate and local legislation. Not abstract theory, but practice. Soil, water, animals, seasons.
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How communal living projects actually work; governance, conflict, shared resources, legal structures. We'll visit functioning projects and talk honestly with the people running them about what succeeds and what fails.
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The Basque cooperative tradition as a living model. How worker-owned systems function at scale, how internal economies operate, and what's transferable to your own context — whether that's here or back home.
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The Basque Country is not a backdrop. Its language, food, history, and fierce sense of collective identity are inseparable from everything we're exploring. Expect long meals, local voices, and time spent understanding why this place produces what it produces.
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None of this lands if you're running on the same mental and emotional patterns that have been trained inside a highly competitive and individualistic society, such as the US, or a context saturated with the psychological warfare that gets passed off as news and entertainment on our social media feeds all around the world.
We weave reflective practice, guided nature immersion, expanded states of consciousness, and somatic work throughout the week; not as a separate "wellness" track, but as the foundation that makes everything else coherent.
A Progressive Journey in Four Stages
Stage I : Intake
A free introductory call to learn about your interests, answer questions, and ensure the group is balanced and coherent. This is a small, curated experience — not a conference.
Stage II: Preparation
A series of three group calls in the weeks before arrival. We'll share preparatory reading, orient you to the region, and begin building connection within the group.
Stage III: Experience
A week immersed in the rhythms of rural Basque life. We will discuss during the preparation process and adapt the program to the needs of the group, but as a general guide:
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Welcome
Land Walk
Settle
Group Dynamics
Inner Work
Reflection & Dialogue
Food & Stories around the Fire
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Inner Work
Hands On: Local, sustainable food production systems
Process & Share
Food & Stories around the Fire
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Inner Work
Cooperative Economies: visiting a working basque cooperative.
Reflection & Dialogue
Food & Stories around the Fire
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Inner Work
Building Off-Grid: Practicalities of shelter, water, energy, and food for local climate and legislation
Nature Immersion
Reflection & Dialogue
Food & Stories around the Fire
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Inner Work
Communal Living: Governance, conflict, shared resources, collective enterprise. Honest conversations with people who have decades of experience
Reflection & Dialogue
Food & Stories around the Fire
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Inner Work
Culture and Place: Deeper immersion in Basque history, language, identity. Exploring relationships between cultural resilience and cooperative tradition
Group Dynamics
Reflection & Dialogue
Food & Stories around the Fire
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Inner Work
Vision Boards
Next Steps
Settle & Close
We begin at 10am on Monday the 8th and end at 3pm on Sunday the 14th.
Stage IV: Integration
Three group call in the weeks following the experience, to process what you've learned, clarify next steps, and stay connected to the network.
Who This is For
People who are seriously considering relocating to rural Spain, or who want to take real, applicable knowledge back to wherever they live.
People who want to learn with their hands, not just their heads.
People who understand that building a different life requires building it with others, and that no matter how urgent current events might make things seem, there is deep value in taking the time to do things right.
Lodging & Setting
We gather at a private farmstead in the Basque Country.
Expect rustic comfort: camping and communal living around a traditional stone farmhouse, wholesome meals prepared with local ingredients, and a landscape that earns your attention.
Investment
A sliding scale from €1,500 - €2,500 which includes food, accommodation, all site visits, preparation calls, and integration support.
Work-Trade arrangements are available for skilled professionals.
Air transport is not included.
Meet the Guides
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Eric Haas
Born into an intentional community in the US, Eric grew up inside an experiment; witnessing firsthand both the power and the fragility of idealistic enterprise. Years of immersion in traditional communities across Latin America and Africa deepened his understanding of what holds collective life together and what pulls it apart. Fifteen years in Basque Country have rooted him in the culture of cooperative effort that forms the backbone of this project. He works as a therapist with a practice grounded in the conviction that real change always starts within.
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Chiara Vitali
Chiara brings years of direct engagement in communal projects and social endeavours across Spain, alongside a therapeutic practice with a comprehensive focus on body and mind. Her steady, attuned presence holds the reflective and somatic dimensions of the experience; creating the conditions for insight to land not just intellectually, but in the body, in relationship, and in the choices people make when they go home.
June 8–14 | Basque Country
FAQs
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Good. Ask us questions. Send an email, or set up a call to talk things over. This experience is designed for people at different stages, whether you're seriously planning a move, just beginning to explore, or looking to learn skills you can apply wherever you are.
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No. We start where you are. The week is designed to be genuinely useful whether you've never touched soil or you've been homesteading for years. What matters is willingness to learn, to get your hands dirty, and to engage honestly with the group.
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That depends on you. We've designed the experience, including the preparation and integration phases, to give you practical knowledge, real connections, and a clear sense of your own next steps. But we won't pretend that a week can do what only sustained effort can. This is a starting point, not a finish line.
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The retreat is conducted in English. Some site visits and local conversations may be in Spanish or Euskara, with translation provided. If you speak Spanish, all the better; it will deepen your experience of the culture and the people.
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It's exactly what this is for. You'll get an honest, ground-level picture of what life here actually looks like; the opportunities, the bureaucracy, the culture, the costs. You'll meet people who've made the move and people who decide not to. And you'll leave with a network that stays with you wherever you decide to settle next.
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This retreat is one node in a growing decentralised network of people and projects oriented toward collective self-reliance. After the experience, you remain part of that network, with access to the online community, the work/trade directory, and ongoing connection with others building similar things in their own contexts, wherever they are.
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No problem. Please ask to make sure, but we can easily accommodate most dietary restrictions, including allergies and intolerances.
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The week involves time outdoors and various forms of physical activity, including some hands-on physical work, but we adapt to the group. Let us know your situation and we'll make sure the experience works for you. We'll send a brief questionnaire before confirming your spot.
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Bilbao (BIO) is the nearest airport, well connected to most major European cities and with regular transatlantic routes. From there, public transport will get you to our home base; we'll send detailed directions and timing once we’ve confirmed registration.