🇩🇪 Erasmus+ Youth Exchange in Germany 🌱 Inner Work and Ecovillage Life for Change-Makers 🫂

Are you 18 to 30 and ready to dive deep into yourself, live in an ecovillage, and grow as a change-maker? "YouthINchange: Yes We (c)are" is an Erasmus+ youth exchange at the ZEGG ecovillage in Bad Belzig, Germany, inviting young people on a journey of inner work, sustainable living and authentic connection.

About the Youth Exchange

This is a special Youth Exchange for young people dedicated to becoming agents of positive change in the world, willing to co-create a life-affirming culture based on trust, authenticity and love. It is addressed to people who wish to immerse themselves in the life of an ecovillage, dive into inner work and personal transformation, and develop as positive change-makers, interested in sustainable ways of living, ecovillage lifestyles, personal development, nature connection and emotional work. The organisers are looking for young adults motivated to challenge themselves, dive deep into inner work, and fully engage in a transformative experience.

What You'll Do

🌿 Join the daily rhythm of the ZEGG community through morning activities such as gardening, Terra Preta work and supporting in the kitchen (about 4 hours each morning, for 10 of the 15 days).

🫂 Spend afternoons in facilitated spaces for personal growth, group dynamics and exploring sustainable ways of living.

💛 Engage in a journey of inner work, self-exploration and the cultivation of authentic and regenerative relationships, including themes of love, intimacy and sexuality, through emotional process work, communication skills, exploration of social conditioning and collective trauma, and practices to foster deeper, more genuine connections.

The Programme

🔮 Inner work: emotional process work and self-transformation, embracing vulnerability, and embodiment practices.

💞 Relationships, love and sexuality: exploring personal and group dynamics using the ZEGG Forum and other methodologies, learning to communicate your feelings, needs, desires and boundaries, and questioning conventional relationship patterns to safely explore alternatives.

🌍 Social awareness and collective dynamics: raising awareness about social conditioning, addressing collective trauma through group processes, and learning about ranks, power structures and political issues within groups.

🏡 Ecovillage lifestyle: learning about sustainable practices in community living, experiencing and working with group dynamics, and supporting the ZEGG community through garden, Terra Preta and kitchen experiences. The contents may be adapted during the exchange according to the group's needs.

Some of the Tools

🧰 The exchange draws on tools including ZEGG Forum, Possibility Management, Playfight, Deep Ecology, Deep Listening, Process Work, Wheel of Consent, Loop of Understanding, Feeling Compass, Nature Walk, Social Permaculture, Bodywork, and Power, Rank and Privilege, and more.

Who Is It For

🌱 People willing to engage in self-development and improve their relationship skills, interested in the ecovillage lifestyle, motivated to grow as change-makers in social and environmental transformation, and willing to engage in challenging personal and group processes on the edge of their comfort zone.

🏡 Also open in 🇩🇪 Germany: ESC Volunteering in 🇩🇪 Germany – GREENBEATS at an Eco-Village: Sustainability and Community → https://youthworkshub.org/19756

The Venue

🌳 ZEGG is one of the oldest ecovillages in Germany, founded in the nineties, where 110 people live in close partnership with the land. An intentional community and seminar centre, it sees itself as a research project exploring socially and ecologically sustainable ways of living, with a particular focus on human relationships, communication and the issues of love and sexuality, and ecological work guided by permaculture principles.

Food and Accommodation

🥗 The ZEGG kitchen team provides delicious, organic vegetarian and vegan food three times a day (note special diet needs in the application form).

⛺ Accommodation is simple but pleasant, in private tents or a common bedroom. If possible, bring your own tent, as there is not space for everyone in the common bedroom; bring your sleeping bag, while mattresses and sheets are provided, and pillows, blankets and towels can be rented for 8€ for the whole two weeks. ZEGG rules do not allow the use of drugs; alcohol is permitted only in the bar area and cigarettes only in smoking areas, and the organisers ask all participants to remain sober and fully present for the duration of the project.

What to Bring

🎒 A sleeping bag, a personal tent if camping, a head light, comfortable clothes, working clothes and shoes, rain and warm clothes, a water bottle, only biodegradable hygiene and toiletry products, a personal towel and a towel for the sauna, a notebook and pen, cash for the conscious contribution, musical instruments and games if you like, any personal items you may need (the nearest shop is a 20-minute walk away), and your European Health Insurance Card or international health insurance. Arranging health insurance for the project is the participant's responsibility.

Conscious Contribution

💶 Accommodation, food and travel costs are covered by the Erasmus+ Programme. As the work of the organisers and facilitators is barely included in this funding, participants are invited to make a voluntary conscious contribution at the end of the experience, in alignment with a gift-economy framework, on a suggested sliding scale between 50€ and 350€. You choose the amount at the end, freely and according to your situation, so bring some cash for this purpose.

Dissemination

📣 All participants are invited to contribute to sharing the experience and outcomes, developing their own creative ideas or choosing from suggested formats such as articles, posts, short videos, social media content, story series, carousel posts, podcast episodes and live workshops, with a dedicated dissemination group created during the project.

Travel Information

🚆 Travel costs are reimbursed according to the Erasmus+ distance bands for Green Travel: 56€ for 10 to 99 km, 285€ for 100 to 499 km, 417€ for 500 to 1,999 km, and 535€ for 2,000 to 2,999 km. Green Travel means trains, buses or car-pooling (no planes or taxis are reimbursed), travel must be economy class with original tickets provided, and reimbursement is made by bank transfer after the exchange (which may take up to four months). Up to 3 travel days before and after the activity are allowed (22 to 24 August on the way, 7 to 9 September on the way back), and cancellation insurance is recommended.

🚌 To reach ZEGG, travel to Berlin, then take the train to Bad Belzig; from the station take Bus 590 to the "ZEGG, Bad Belzig" stop, or walk 45 minutes. Check schedules via the Deutsche Bahn app.

🌱 Another Erasmus+ Youth Exchange in the same spirit: Erasmus+ Youth Exchange in 🇵🇹 Portugal – Agroforestry and Land Regeneration → https://youthworkshub.org/20947

Who Can Apply

🌍 Young people aged 18 to 30 with a good level of English, from the partner countries (Germany, Italy, Spain and France), who are committed to inner process work, transformation and stepping out of their comfort zone. The exchange works with sensitive, sometimes triggering topics in a nervous-system-sensitive space, and participants are encouraged to take responsibility for their own safety and well-being, with the facilitation team there to support them.

👤 For the remaining places, and to ensure a balanced gender composition, the organisers are specifically looking for Spanish and French cis men, which is why the deadline was postponed for applicants based in France and Spain.

Facilitation Team

🧑‍🏫 The programme is led by Ena Rivière Feder, an IIFACE-trained group facilitator, ZEGG Forum facilitator since 2018 and Somatic Experiencing therapist who has lived in the ZEGG community for eight years, and Davide Scotti, an IIFACE-trained group facilitator, philosophical practitioner and teacher, with likely a third facilitator accompanying the group. The exchange is a project of Yes to Sustainability, an international network organising youth exchanges and trainings in ecovillages and rural projects.

🌍 Heading to a youth exchange soon? Here is how to make the most of it before you go: https://youthworkshub.org/15107/

The Details

📍 Location: ZEGG ecovillage, Bad Belzig, Germany.

📅 Dates: 24 August to 7 September 2026 (arrival 24 August, departure 7 September).

Eligible Countries

🌍 The current open call is for participants based in 🇫🇷 France and 🇪🇸 Spain.

How to Apply

Read the infopack carefully before applying, then submit the online application form, being honest and showing your genuine motivation. For questions, contact the organisers by email.