WHO WE ARE

The Ecotherapy Institute is a highly professional organization dedicated to taking groups of people into natural areas of great inspirational value, where we facilitate a variety of processes through which we reconnect deeply both with nature and with ourselves.

We offer workshops, retreats, trails and vision quests in South Africa. Some of these are by request and others are part of our regular program.

At the core of our work is the vision quest. The idea of the vision quest stems originally from a Native-American tradition in which people who would mark life transitions (such as puberty) by going out into the wilderness on their own to fast and ‘cry for a vision.’ This vision would help them to establish their life purpose.

During a modern vision quest you too may choose to mark some event or transition in your life. Alternatively, you may wish to seek inspiration. Whatever your ‘intent’, you will spend some time in nature on your own. On a Full Vision Quest, the solo period may be as much as four days and four nights and this time of solitude helps you to get deeply in touch with where you are in your life. Many choose to fast during this solo period and this helps them to deepen the process. Whatever you choose to do, we will prepare you well and help you to make sense of the experiences that you will have had whilst living in nature.

On the trails we will be hiking through pristine African wilderness, respectfully sharing the habitat of numerous wild animals. While this may sound terrifying to some, you can be assured that the idea is not to challenge ourselves physically, but rather to facilitate a process of leaving our ordinary lives behind, and of coming into an intimate relationship with the natural world around us. This extraordinary process also brings us home to ourselves and gives us a unique perspective on our everyday lives.

Throughout all of these activities, safety is of paramount importance. We are well trained professionals who know how to take good care of those with whom we work. On the trails we will also be accompanied by a Field Guide who is an expert on that particular terrain. With all that we do, you can rest assured that you will be very well cared for.

The workshops and Retreats that we run through the Institute are aimed at helping people to connect deeply with themselves and with Nature of which we are an integral part.