Get Involved
There are many different pathways into The Wellspring Project, from a fleeting moment to a lifelong commitment.
The Wellspring Project is a living ecosystem in which practices, people, opportunities and resources create things that become possible. Some things are always here; some return with the seasons; some gather momentum for a few weeks; others appear because someone has something to share.
The programmes, projects and collaborations change as the ecosystem changes, and there are many different ways to get involved.
The Rhythms of Wellspring
The Wellspring Project has a rolling programme of projects, workshops and collaborations that anyone can get involved in at any time.
Friday Market Lunch
- Every Friday
- 12 noon
Every week, our Wellspring Kitchen serves lunch at 12 noon. Lunch is available to pre-order and what’s available changes every week. This project is run by the children in our ecosystem.
Join our WhatsApp group to keep up to date with what’s available and to order.
Also available regularly – freshly baked bread, preserves, sauces and cordials.
Human Library
- Every Friday
- 9 – 10am
- Free to join
A group session in which we invite someone to share their story with us, a fascinating journey they’ve been on, an interesting career path, or simply their unique perspective on life. This is one of our most popular sessions, and booking is essential.
Coming Up – [Guests to be announced]
Get in touch to book your spot →Coffee & Craft
- Every Wednesday morning
- 9 – 11am
- Free to join
Come and make together.
An informal gathering for anyone who likes to make things with their hands. Bring your knitting, crochet, embroidery, mending, drawing or whatever you’re working on, and work alongside others. Come for the coffee and craft, stay for the conversation and community.
Coffee & cake available.
Making Room
- Tue, Wed & Thu
- 10am – 2pm
- R750/month
A regular time to work independently in the Wellspring studio. Bring something you’re already working on, or arrive without a plan and figure it out as you go.
The studio is set up for printmaking, drawing, painting, textiles, paper, collage and other forms of making. Shared tools and equipment are available. Bring your own consumables.
Lee, Kate or Mercia will be working in the studio and available to help when needed.
Booking in advance – get in touch →Pinch
- Every Monday
- 10am – 12pm
- R350/month
Pinch is a regular practice with clay, focussed on the most simple form – the pinch pot – and all the different pathways that open up from this basic form.
Cost includes access to the fully-equipped studio, a selection of glazes and firing of work made during Pinch sessions. Clay can be purchased from/through Wellspring.
Booking in advance – get in touch →The Heart of Wellspring
These aspects of the ecosystem are running constantly, and always available, they are the spine of the programme of offerings at The Wellspring Project.
Children at Wellspring | Spend a Childhood
Everyday participation is an ongoing way of being part of wellspring.
Children come regularly and grow up within the living ecology of theplace, building relationships, following their interests, joining what is happenng, making things, learning alongside others, taking responsibility, encountering difficulty, contributing to the life around them, and gradually becoming more capable participants in the world.
Wayfinding | Future Selves
A space for young people to be seen, heard and understood, explore who they are, what makes them tick, and the possibilities and pathways that might lie ahead. Through conversation, self-discovery and thoughtful exploration, Trish helps young people see themselves more clearly and begin to imagine what might be possible.
Misty Meadows Farmstay
The Misty Meadows Farmstay cottage sits within our living homestead, where several families share the rhythms of daily life alongside gardens, animals, workshops, children, forests and fields. Available to book directly through us, with the possibility of longer stays, residencies and other arrangements.
Currently Emerging at Wellspring
There are many projects that come and go, popping up with the seasons, in response to interest or simply emerging because someone has something interesting to offer.
These are mostly once-off or intermittent offerings - keep checking in for dates, times and details.
Forest & Ink
A walk through the forest, drawing, looking, feeling and translating what we encounter into monotype.
Dates to be announced
Eco-Printing & Flower Pounding
A series of workshops facilitated by Stefanie Rijnvis exploring the magical world of plant-based printing onto fabric.
Dates to be announced.
Zero-Waste Wardrobe
A series of weekend explorations
Five investigations into making clothing from zero-waste pattern blocks, using reclaimed fabric, resulting in a low-impact, high-sustainability capsule wardrobe.
Dates to be announced
Structured Inquiry Programme
The Structured Inquiry Programme is a defined offering within the Wellspring children's ecosystem.
It offers regular opportunities to take part in carefully planned hands-on projects and explorations. The projects have clear beginnings, boundaries and endpoints, and may involve making, building, problem-solving, experimentation, games, research, art, maths, science, language and other forms of inquiry.
Details to be announced
Workshops with Sharon McClelland
A series of specialist printmaking and bookbinding workshops, facilitated by Sharon McClelland. Techniques include viscosity monotype, reduction linocut, etching, collograph and paper embossing.
Dates to be announced
Down the Garden Path
Get involved in our community garden project – building, planting, sustaining.
PHASE 1 - Building the garden
Includes finding the best location, creating the beds, and how to build soil from scratch
PHASE 2 - How does your garden grow
Includes what to plant when, figuring out a rotation plan for different food crops, companion planting for pollinators, pest control and biodiversity
PHASE 3 - Grow to live
Includes harvesting and processing, in collaboration with Kitchen hub…
In development - tunnel-making workshops
Dates to be announced.
Forest Family Retreats
Retreats designed for families who would like to immerse themselves in nature, running in the school holidays. In collaboration with Siyabonga Ntsizwane and Dharmagiri Mountain Retreat.
Dates to be announced.