Vision & Mission

Our mission is to be a powerful and innovative catalyst for the emergence of leaders and change agents who will take courageous action for a just, peaceful, and sustainable world.

Our Five Guiding principles

We ask all of our team to respect and keep Embercombe’s guiding principles in mind.

• The Children’s Fire. The Children’s Fire is part of the Earth teachings of the elders of ancient America. Over time the elders came to understand that all human-created institutions needed to reflect the balance and wisdom observed in nature. The Children’s Fire was a reminder of the first promise: No law, no action of any kind, shall be taken that will harm the children seven generations hence.
• The Twin Trail. We invite people to follow the ‘twin trail’ of inner healing and spiritual deepening and of outer action to change the world. By uncovering our true gifts, responsibilities and passions we are able to bring ourselves fully to the world, leading ourselves and others on a path of positive action.
• Connection. Connection to nature, community and ourselves underpins everything we do at Embercombe. By connecting to the very essence of what it means to be human, we will be more effective communicators and leaders for change.
• Sustainability. We strive to live and work sustainably. On the Embercombe site we grow much of our own biodynamic food, managing our waste using compost loos and supporting our electricity use with solar power. We still have a long way to go to become fully sustainable, but every year brings new ideas and progress.
• Community. We seek to build a community where we live and work in an authentic and courageous way with each other. Our community is not just formed of our volunteers and assistants, our staff team, our facilitators and our trustees, but also of those far beyond the Embercombe gates. We aim to engage others in dialogue, to welcome different perspectives and to learn from others and share our experiences with them. Embercombe is a bridge that we hope will connect those who are used to living and working in a way that is different to the norm, to those of other sectors such as the political, military and corporate. We seek to remember that underneath, we all have beating hearts that care.