Join rooted

Rooted offers group weekends (15 participants) and all sorts of larger community events, such as our recurring Rooted filmclub and our annual Rooted Festival. Rooted also actively engages in story-telling to advocate for more meaningful and dignified integration in The Netherlands.

Rooted group weekends

When you join a Rooted weekend, you give yourself:

  • Multiple day stay at De Hoorneboeg in a forest, sleeping in a comfortable bedroom in a beautiful house that quickly feels like home.
  • Morning, afternoon and evening workshops and sessions to realign to your core values and strengthen your sense of physical, emotional, mental, social, temporal, spiritual, intergenerational and spatial rootedness.
  • Moments of sharing and connection with an open-minded community to listen and learn from one another.
  • Talks of inspiration from people with lived experience on their (ongoing) journeys to rootedness.
  • Natural movement practices, breathing techniques, and guided meditations to bring strength, focus, and calm.
  • Time in nature to observe and connect to your physical surroundings.
  • Time of silence, including at the fire, to unwind, grow a deeper awareness, and come home to yourself.
  • Exercises in liberating your voice to inhabit your space and a strengthened sense of self.
  • Space for expression and reflection, including in your mother tongue.
  • Nourishing meals inspired by the diverse cultural heritage of the weekend’s participants.
  • Concrete tools and techniques to take with you for further integration upon return home.

We currently offer Rooted group weekends at the below dates.

Coaching referrals

Rooted does not offer individual coaching trajectories but we can refer you to experts within our broad network of coaches and therapists, specialized in transcultural coaching. For more information you may reach out to us at home@wearerooted.org.

Below you can find our ‘wheel of rootedness’: an introductory exercise to get a sense of your current rootedness along the eight dimensions of the Rooted methodology. This may guide you in identifying the areas in your life that may need more attention to live your life more rooted.

Rooted community

By joining Rooted programming, you automatically join the Rooted community. You will have access to a quarterly newsletter filled with inspiration, a joint communication platform and regular community events.

Those who have come before you

The experiences of our previous participants capture the essence of our journey, each a powerful reflection of what Rooted can bring you. Here is a selection:

“I think that I, and many other migrants, idealize the idea of rootlessness. Through that, we deprive ourselves of those roots, because maybe we do not dare to aspire to the idea of belonging somewhere. It seems to have become an unrealistic ideal. Now I have come to realize: it is very human to belong somewhere. It is very healthy to explore that. And it is very beautiful if you can create that, no matter where you are. I think for me, it is part of growing to realize: I, too, may long for solid ground. At Rooted I am remembering that I am not the only one in that quest. That’s a liberating feeling.”

Kiza, Rooted participant

“Everything at Rooted makes you stop and be with yourself, really. This brought me two main feelings that I was searching for. The first one is being connected with myself. The second one is being connected with people who are searching the same things as me in life. And when you find this group, it is like you feel home. It is like a gift for myself. I can be home again.”

Adriana, Rooted participant

“I lived in many places and got a little bit from every place that I lived in. But I also do not really feel rooted in one culture, like I always felt like an outsider. People usually say, “I’m from that place” and that means they are rooted in that place. For me that’s not the case. The Rooted group weekend was eye-opening and gentle. Every exercise revealed something within me. We really walked the journey towards rootedness together.”

Idris, Rooted participant

Frequently asked questions about the group weekends

What are the costs?


We ask all participants to contribute on a donation basis. Through subsidies Rooted will cover the outstanding budget. You decide how much this investment in yourself is worth and what you are able to contribute. We count on everybody to pay what they can, so that we can offer Rooted to as many people as possible. Together, we pay it forward.

Who will be the other participants?


Based on the applications, we will form a group that is diverse but also has the capacity to form a community that can relate to one another. We take all applications into consideration. We trust that applicants know best if they are in need of rooting, regardless of their nationality or residence status. This means that former participants of Rooted include people who have fled their home country, people who have come to the Netherlands for work or love, people who were born in the Netherlands and have lived abroad for a longer period of time, people who were adopted or people whose (grand)parents are from different countries, etc. The desire and need for rooting is universal. We currently only accept applications from people above the age of 21.

What language will we speak?


The main language during the weekends will be English and a basic level will be required. At Rooted we do encourage the expression as your full self and thus in your native language. There will be time and space in the program to express yourself in your own language. There will be Dutch, English, French, Spanish and Arabic-speaking facilitators present.

Who will be facilitating the weekends?


The weekend will be facilitated by a group of people who have experience and expertise in coaching, psychology, soft skill building, voice liberation, wilderness and nature experiences amongst others things. Almost all Rooted facilitators are experts by experience.

What will we be doing?


We will be engaging with different dimensions of ‘rootedness’ through a range of methods, including workshops and storytelling. During the intake conversation we can provide you with more information.

What about food and housing?


You will sleep in a comfortable bedroom in a beautiful and peaceful location close to Hilversum, surrounded by nature. Vegetarian meals will be provided. We can accommodate your dietary preferences upon request.

Are you joining?


By choosing to participate in Rooted, we invite you to take ownership of growing your roots in the Netherlands and ultimately, in your self. In the below documents you can get a sense of the impact of a Rooted weekend on previous participants.