Mothers As Natural Leaders Course 2023
Dates:
16th - 17th September 2023
Facilitators:
Location:
Applewood Permaculture Centre, Herefordshire, UK
Mothers as Natural Leaders Course Description
The course guides women through a nourishing reflective process. We explore what leadership means to us as mothers; leadership of ourselves, our families, in our community and in the wider world.
It allows you the time and space to explore the tools more deeply and to further your understanding of your own leadership journey. You are welcome to stay on the Saturday evening to socialise around the fire.
We will look at how to maintain the balance of our responsibilities whilst being available as change makers on a small and large scale. We will also explore how nature connection and self care can nurture us in our roles as mothers and leaders.
We will be using the Mother Nature card deck. The card deck and guidebook are available to buy here. or you can buy them direct at the course.
To find out more about the Mother Nature project and to download a free sample of the Mother Nature guidebook see here
We harvest our gifts, reframe our challenges and design our life paths. The Mothers as Natural Leaders course is an opportunity to gather, learn and share.
We will be weaving in the principles of Mother Nature as shared in our guidebook and card deck, as well as incorporating the new deck. Looby was part of the team that wrote the guidebook. To get a free download sample of the guidebook visit here 
This weekend is a wonderful gift to ourselves as mothers. In the circle of women there is support and nourishment, time to hear our stories and value ourselves as mothers. We will be harvesting the collective wisdom of the group that arises when we are given the space to share our stories and value our gifts.
We will be using artwork, nature connection practices and guided visualisations for a deep embodied experience.
Gifting ourselves this time for nourishment and reflection allows to return to our families revitalised with new perspectives.
This course will help us to move through any limiting beliefs we have about ourselves and our gifts, giving us the opportunity to more fully own the stories of ourselves as natural leaders.
This course is valuable for mothers at any stage of their journey, and however old your children are, this includes those whose children have left home and anyone who may even be grandmothers now.
Time and quiet.Gentleness and strength. I’ve seen glimpses of myself that I have not seen for sometime. Thank you for holding such a circle that has taught me a lot
Clare
A wonderful weekend filled with joy, laughter, stories, growth, development, nourishment for my body and mind. Thank you ladies for sharing and listening
Suzanne
A moment to reconnect with self, nature, others and reflect about the current aspects of my journey as leader and acknowledged all the spaces I am already a leader and take ownership of it, what a relaxed and informal day yet a little deeply nourishing
Dear Mother Nature, I’ve had the most brilliant, funny, effective, relaxing, sparkling, empowering, appropriate, heartfelt, inspired, inspiring, powerful, loving, supportive, calming and reassuring training of my whole life. Just thanks forever.
Ester, midwife
Thanks so much for the Mother Nature event today, it was a real gift and exactly what I needed. It was lovely to step outside of my own little childcare-bubble and hear about someone else's wonderful project and journey (as well as finding some much-needed space to talk and think through my own mothering problems!). The cards and the book are gorgeous, nice work!
Mairead, mother
Logistics
Facilitators & Venue
Looby Macnamara is one of the Mother Nature team members. She has been part of the team developing the Mother Nature methodology and resources since 2017. She is an experienced permaculture teacher, author and designer. She is author of 4 books People and Permaculture, Cultural Emergence, Strands of Infinity and 7 Ways to Think Differently.
People and Permaculture is the first book to directly translate the principles and design methods of permaculture from land to people. Looby enjoys using creative teaching methods to create a fun and collaborative learning environment.
Emma has been part of the Mother Nature Project team since 2021. She has had a varied career working for organisations supporting and creating community projects working for positive social and environmental change in the UK, including the Permaculture Association, a Women’s Centre and delivering Children and Young People's activities for borough councils. Since 2011 she has been living and working at Earthworm Housing Co-op, Herefordshire UK helping to develop their housing and land to be more environmentally sustainable where she also began her exciting mothering journey. In 2018 she joined Looby Macnamara working for Applewood Permaculture Centre. In her spare time Emma volunteers widely in her village , is on a learning journey of Cultural Emergence and is nourished by gardening, cooking vegan food and nature connection practices. All these threads both manifest and feed Emma's continuing passion for creating community resilience to climate change and social inequality and bringing about positive social change
The Venue
The land and all of the beings here provide an ideal environment for connecting deeply with the more than human world. We will be blessed with spending days in the marquee in the orchard, and evenings around the campfire with stories, song and music accompanied by owl hoots. There is also a beautiful yurt to be in if it is colder. Nature is said to be the best teacher, and at Applewood we will be immersed in the more than human world, allowing for the learning to become a truly embodied experience.
For regular updates and photos see our facebook page