What is Eudaimonia - ‘the good life’ - in these times?
28th August - 3rd September 2025
Lefkada, Greece
As the structures of our man-made systems seem to unravel, this question has never been more urgent. Let’s slow down and answer it together, as wisely as we can and with our whole selves.
What is a good and flourishing life? How can we make our livings and meet our needs in ways that enhance life? Can we create the conditions for culture change and systems change? Conditions conducive to life?
In this course, we’ll explore ideas and practices from the ancients, as well as from thinkers and changemakers of this historical moment who are also grappling with this question. From Plato to Raworth, EF Schumacher to Bortoft, Max-Neef to Kimmmerer and Acomolafe - we’ll braid together insights and questions from a wide range of perspectives.
We’ll practise the way of convivial dialogue and embodied learning, practices that Schumacher College has been pioneering for decades. Only this time, these good conversations in good company will emerge through embedding ourselves in a small hilltop village on Lefkada in the Ionian Sea. We’ll become part of the village, staying with the people who live there. We’ll enlarge our circle of care and inquiry to include the local community and more than human life of this place.
This course is for:
Changemakers, Dreamers, Doers
Regenerative entrepreneurs and practitioners
Community organisers and initiative builders
Policymakers in business, NGOs and local governments
Educators and knowledge creators
Participants will gain:
Practise in phenomenology and other approaches to experiential and intersubjective ways of knowing
Knowledge of bioregionalism and regenerative economics
Insights into systems thinking, change and complexity
Experience in cooking and eating healthy, locally sourced Greek cuisine
Skill in asking good questions and critical thinking
A new perspective on what it means to live in community
a new sense of purpose
a reconnection with oneself and nature
an updated understanding of how to apply regenerative thinking to their practice
Each day will include activities that engage the whole person with morning body practices, herbal walks and swimming in the sea. We’ll cook together, eat together, laugh and learn together, going deep in this inquiry and coming away with new friends, and renewed capacities for what lies ahead.
Book This Course
Booking includes the course, accommodation and local transportation. We’re offering three pricing tiers:
Greece-based teachers, educators and practitioners - 800 GBP (please complete below form)
Professionals and lifelong learners - 1200 GBP
Those who can enable bursaries and more Schumacher-inspired learning - 1600 GBP
*If you are a Greece-based teacher, educator or practitioner please complete the following form and we will get back to you about securing your payment and place on the course:
Leading this Course
Emma Kidd
Emma co-led the Ecological Design Thinking program at Schumacher College, focusing on meta-design as a practice that fosters awareness of the interconnectedness between being, knowing, and doing. She is passionate about practices that cultivate attention and awareness, allowing for a deeper understanding of life—human and more-than-human.
Ilektra Kouloumpi
Ilektra Kouloumpi is a senior expert in post-growth economics, bringing over 15 years of hands-on experience in driving systems change and advancing sustainability transitions. With her unique blend of technical engineering, policy analysis, and innovative economic thinking, Ilektra has led transformative multi-actor projects across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia, working hand-in-hand with organizations like the European Commission, the United Nations, various Ministries of Environment, and over 100 cities worldwide.
Jay Tompt
Jay led the MA Regenerative Economics program at Schumacher College. He is a co-founder of several place-based regenerative economics initiatives. He is also an associate lecturer in economics at Plymouth University.
