Emerging Earth Residency (October 2025)
A retreat and workshop for inner transformation, creative emergence, and systems co-design for Planetary Health in Chiang Mai / October 6-9 2025. Application now open.
I’m excited to invite changemakers from Chiang Mai and Southeast Asia for a 4-day retreat and workshop for inner transformation, creative emergence, and systems co-design for Planetary Health.
Planetary health is an emerging field of practice that operates at the nexus of health and ecology, examining health through the relationship between the self, the community, and the planet. Planetary health action focuses on systems change to regenerate communities and wider ecosystems around the world.
This residency is organized in Chiang Mai by Light Forest & cosmolocal Chiang Mai featuring guests of the podcast and movement collaborators to co-create this journey. We bring an approach that blends the heart and mind in creating connection with each other and place for a deeper understanding and point of action for challenges related to Climate and Health.
Find our more about the program and join the Emerging Earth residency hosted on the outskirts of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
Rolling Applications/ Deadline September 21
Read more below
Email devlewis@proton.me to enquire further
The methodology of this retreat combines spiritual attention to our bodies and minds (inner work) with facilitated dialogue on planetary challenges and co-creation (outer work). The inner and outer work are fundamentally connected, and we believe exploring both together can generate new insights and help translate wisdom into knowledge that is lacking in our action today.
We start by forming bonds and intention setting as a cohort and forming relationships with the land and natural life around us. We will then be guided to inner inquiry through the practises of Insight mediation and Qigong & Taichi. This will move to Nature Wisdom Council, a facilitated workshop process of embodied dialogue and discussion around climate and environmental policy making. On the final day we make space for emergent creation —translating insights into artefacts in the form of writing, art, music, or other outputs that capture the essence of what arises during the residency.
Through out the flow you will be guided by experienced teachers in these traditions and expert workshop facilitators and researchers with deep experience in areas such as health, policy, and technology.
Who should apply?
This residency is open to researchers, artists, healers, environmentalists, journalists, activists—anyone with a demonstrated curiosity in climate, health, spirituality, and policy, and an openness to bring both heart and mind into exploring planetary health.
This cohort will have a maximum of 10 spots. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until spots are filled.
If you cannot join all 4 days we can make some exceptions based on context, we encourage you to apply and share you context in the application.
For a sense of the vibe and community you can expect at the residency watch this.
Core Facilitators & Organisers
Dev Lewis
Dev Lewis is a researcher, podcaster, public speaker, workshop designer, community builder, and handpan player.
Through the Light Forest Podcast, I hold deep, reflective conversations at the intersection of planetary crises and system change. As co-founder of digi-cnx: network for digital commons, I host trans-disciplinary events and workshops in Chiang Mai. With cosmo-local Chiang Mai I am co-creating a community of change makers rooted in Chiang Mai exploring integrating indigenous wisdom & philosophy with global knowledge and technology. This work weaves together my interests in technology, geopolitics, Chinese culture, policy, spirituality, community, authentic living, and service.
Prior to this, I have a career in tech policy and China studies spanning over a decade, working with Digital Asia Hub, graduating from Yenching Academy at Peking University, and I am a recognised voice on questions around digital governance, ethics, and culture in Asia.
Today, from my base in Chiang Mai, I am learning to cultivate a more loving relationship with myself and the earth.
Geordan Shannon
Geordian is a medical doctor, founder, and global health specialist.
She brings a critical approach to understand and act on global challenges including social inequity, globalisation, health systems, and environmental crises.Her current work sits at the intersection of web3, planetary health, and public goods for health.
She is the co-founder and director at United Health Futures, co-founder of Unexia & Planet.health
Geordan has worked in remote rural areas of Indigenous Australia, post-Tsunami Sri Lanka, the Peruvian Amazon, and rural Kenya, as well as with global bodies such as the UN, national governments, and other IGOs.
Vivian Chen
Vivian Chen is a human rights activist who focuses on women’s, children’s, digital, and democratic rights. She was Taiwan’s youth representative to the United Nations Commission on Status of Women and the official delegate to APEC. Since 2015, Vivian has worked with shelters for refugees, child laborers, orphans, and marginalized communities.
Vivian is a co-founder of Cosmo-Local Chiang Mai and the founding organizer of da0, a civic tech community in Taiwan, and the founding Catalyst of Pagoda, a network for Asian changemakers, contributing actively to the open source and decentralized movement in Taiwan and across Asia.
Visiting Facilitators & Teachers
Ora-orn Poocharoen
Ora is currently the founding Director of the School of Public Policy at Chiang Mai University (2018-present). she is a former United Nation’s Committee of Experts for Public Administration (Jan 2018 – July 2021). Previously she was an Assistant Professor at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at National University Singapore from 2007-16 Ora is working closely on the area of climate and environment, leading a government task force on PM 2.5 in Chiang Mai She is an influential member of of the Asia Pacific Futures Network Steering Committee, one of the leading global Futures networks.
Residency protocols and expectation you should know before applying
The residency requires attention out of respect for the cohort and for you to truly experience the program. We are able to be flexible to allow partial attendance to join the workshop on day 3 & day 4.
During your attendance we ask that you plan to attend all sessions and avoid scheduling parallel calls or having other commitments that might distract you during the day.
By design, digital devices (phones, laptops) will not be needed for most of the program. You may keep your devices but we ask that you limit use to your own room and not in public spaces.
In the spirit of community, we will ask participants to contribute to the residency in practical roles to maintain the space, such as cooking, archiving, and organizing.
More details will be communicated before the residency.
Cost 🧧
Tier 1 – Steward THB 6,500 (~$200)
Covers accommodation and food for 4 nights.
Note: This tier does not include compensation for core facilitators.
Tier 2 – Forest Regenerator THB 13,000 ($400)
Includes the basic cost, plus modest contribution toward organisers and/or making scholarships possible for others. You also become a paid Light Forest member which will entail you to invites to future gatherings and discounts, as well as our eternal gratitude for supporting this endeavour.
Scholarships
If you need financial support, please indicate this in your application. We do not currently have funding secured, but we will do our best to make space for those who require assistance.
Our reciprocity model is open for donations on a sliding scale on completing the residency. Donations to the teachers are encouraged.
We are doing our best to keep this open to as many people as we can.
Where will this residency take place?
This residency will take place at Nomad Turtle in San Patong, Chiang Mai with meditation sessions taking place at a nearby Temple1.
About Light Forest
Light Forest is a movement to bring more Light into how we live and regenerate the planet.
light (lowercase L), means the clarity to see ourselves and the world without distortion, without projection. Light (upper case L) …is consciousness...unconditional Love…spirit…Dao…awareness…Being…our true nature.
Light Forest takes shape as a podcast featuring conversations with changemakers from around the world. Through philosophy, technology, spirituality, and history, we seek to uncover the roots of our global crises—the “dark forest”—and imagine pathways toward a more Light Forest world(s).
The Emerging Earth Residency will be the first Light Forest residency. It brings together guests from the podcast and friends of the movement as facilitators, grounding these conversations in embodied experience.
I invite you to explore the podcast including conversion with some of the facilitators and related topics:
The venue for the residency has now shifted from location originally shared due to some logistical constraints.