Seeds of Change — find the mission you were made to grow.
A 4-day retreat on our farm for young change-makers (17–25) who want to understand the impact they can have on the world — and start acting on it.
Ask about the next retreatYou care about the planet. You just don’t know yet where you fit.
You’re between school and university — or taking a year to figure things out. You feel the weight of climate change, inequality, the state of the world. You want your life to mean something. But “save the planet” is too big to start on a Monday morning.
“The question isn’t whether you can make a difference. It’s which difference is yours to make.”
- You want to find your why before choosing a degree, a job or a path.
- You’re drawn to environmental and social causes, but don’t know where to start.
- You want to see what it actually takes to build something real — not just read about it.
- You want to meet communities on the ground and hear what they need.
- You’re curious how ideas get funded, and how change-makers find support.
- You want time away from screens to think, write and listen to yourself.
Five threads, woven through four days
Find your why
Coaching and journaling to uncover what moves you, what angers you, and what you can’t stop caring about.
Align with your values
Name the values you want to live by — and see where your choices already honour them, or don’t.
Listen before you act
Time with the Karen community of Muang Noi and local changemakers: real needs, culture gaps, and what “helping” really means.
Learn from a real journey
How Pai Seedlings Foundation grew from a family project to a team of ten — the doubts, mistakes, funding and partnerships in between.
Create from the heart
Choose the cause you want to defend, and leave with concrete first actions you can take in the next 90 days.
Hands in the soil
Every day includes real farm work — permaculture, agroforestry, cooking. Ideas land better when your hands are busy.
From inner compass to first steps
Each day moves from the inside out: who you are, what you’ve seen, who you’ve met, and what you’ll do next.
Arrive at Seedlings Farm, settle in and slow down.
- Welcome circle and farm walk — how a regenerative farm works
- Be LEAF herbal tea ritual to open the retreat
- Coaching session with Lyse — “Find your why”: the moments, people and injustices that shaped you
- Evening journaling: Where am I standing today?
- Morning on the farm: hands-on permaculture and agroforestry with our team
- Values alignment workshop — name your core values and test them against real decisions
- Farm-to-table lunch cooked together
- “From family project to a team of ten” — open conversation with Damien & Lyse: how the Foundation started, what nearly broke it, how we found funding, and how we built relationships with funders and partners
- Evening journaling: What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail — and what if I did?
- A day with the Karen community of Muang Noi — guided by a community member: daily life, traditional knowledge, a shared meal
- Listening exercise: what does this community need, in its own words?
- Meeting the Pai Green Market team — how local people are building a greener economy in the valley
- Reflection circle: culture gaps, good intentions, and the difference between helping and partnering
- Morning journaling and sharing
- Life-mission coaching session with Damien & Lyse — the cause you want to defend, and why you
- Action design: your first three steps for the next 90 days
- Speak your mission: practice presenting your idea to a mentor, a funder or a community
- Closing circle, final farm lunch, departure
Learn from people who are still building it
We won’t give you a polished success story. We’ll tell you what really happened — and help you find your own version of it.
Lyse
Co-founder, Pai Seedlings Foundation · Life & health coachChemist by training, ten years in the corporate world, then a leap into photography, coaching and regenerative farming. Lyse has spent the last decade holding space for people to find what really matters to them — and act on it.
Damien
President & co-founder, Pai Seedlings FoundationDamien leads the Foundation’s work with farmers in the Pai valley, its partnerships and its funding — and knows first-hand what it takes to turn a family project into a structure that lasts.
The Karen community of Muang Noi
Community hostsA mountain village whose traditional knowledge of land, forest and food is at the heart of what sustainability really means here.
Pai Green Market
Local change-makersThe team bringing local, organic producers and conscious consumers together in the Pai valley.
More than a good memory
Your mission statement
A first, honest draft of your why — in your own words.
A 90-day action plan
Three concrete steps toward the cause you chose.
Your retreat journal
Every exercise, reflection and insight from the four days.
A network
Other young change-makers, mentors and local partners who’ll remember you.
Good to know
Before you ask
I don’t have a cause yet. Is this for me?
Yes — that’s exactly who it’s for. You don’t need a project or a plan. You need curiosity and the willingness to look honestly at yourself.
Do I need farming experience?
No. Our team will show you everything. Bring clothes you don’t mind getting muddy.
I’m 17. Can I join?
Yes, with signed consent from a parent or guardian. We’ll send you the form when you register.
Will you help me start a project or get funding?
We’ll share honestly how the Foundation found its funding and partners, and help you think through your own first steps. We don’t fund participants’ projects or promise introductions to investors.
How is this different from a volunteering trip?
It’s not about doing work for a community for a week. It’s about learning to listen, understanding your own motivations, and choosing where your energy can do the most good over a lifetime.
Your mission starts with a question.
Get in touch to hear about the next Seeds of Change retreat, ask a question, or register your interest.
Contact us