Feminist Hiking Healing Retreat

Our forever gratitude. To the soil that welcomed our steps. To the mountains that embraced our presence and sustained our joy and resilience. To the forest that grounded our essence in belonging and rootedness. To the territory and its communities for welcoming and embracing our collective presence. To the ancestral knowledge and wisdom of indigenous groups and movements across geographies have allowed us to unlearn and understand the fundamentality of not extracting but weaving together. To the retreat participants for coming with an open heart, for the love, and for sowing the seeds for collective healing. To the Hotel Martinelli team for making us feel at home and nurturing us with locally grown organic food. To Urgent Action Fund for resourcing and making this possible. To the earth as we acknowledge and embody the wisdom that when we do not feel strong, we can let the earth be strong for us. Because we are all interconnected because we belong. 

The Feminist Hiking Healing Retreat Booklet is a co-creation resulted from the insights and knowledge shared by the participants and facilitators of the retreat, which took place this September in Val di Gresta, Italy. We would like to extend a huge thank you to the Urgent Action Fund for their support through the Feminist Innovation Fund, without which this wonderful collective space could not have been created.  You can download the Booklet here: Feminist Hiking Healing Retreat Booklet

Feminist Hiking Healing Retreat 2023, It's a wrap!  The Feminist Hiking Collective invited young women and non-binary activists focused on the intersections between feminist, queer and environmental activism across Europe to submit an application to participate in our Feminist Hiking Healing Retreat (FHHR). The retreat will take place in Val di Gresta, Italy, which took place from 2 to 8 September 2023, thanks to the support of Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Rights Feminist Innovation Fund. 

The FHHR will consisted a residential hiking programme with hiking as an embodied practice of collective care and healing, and grounded in our belonging to nature. The activities part of the retreat will be based on feminist popular education and centre concepts and practices related to power and collective feminist leadership. 

The FHHR aimed to strengthening young activists’ resilience and strategies by facilitating feminist hiking. We believe that feminist hiking in collectiveness is a necessary embodied experience in these times of challenging civic space, individualism and forced disconnection from our bodies and territories. After the retreat we will share a booklet which will have tools, key takeaways and learnings from the retreat.  We asked participants to share their experiences at the FHHR with their collectives and communities. 

Location: Trentino Alto-Adige, Italy 

Dates: Saturday 2 to Friday 8 September 2023 (including travel days) 

Who can apply? Young women and non-binary activists (18 to 35 years old) interested in and/or focused on the intersection of feminist, queer and environmental activism across Europe. A basic level of English is required for participation, but interpretation support can be available in Italian, Spanish and French. Please read the FAQ section for more detailed information.  

When to apply? By 23:59 of 19 March. We aim to get back to all applicants by early April. All data of applicants not selected will be deleted after such communication. 

Please email hello@feministhikingcollective.org for any questions.