Who’s organising?
Clare Palmer and Graham Timmins have many years’ experience of teamwork, playing leading roles at NVC camps, holding space, running workshops and planning community events. We think we have a good idea of ‘what works well’ in the context of NVC camps, and we share a vision of a lived community experience informed by a constant awareness of feelings and needs.
See Clare at https://nvc-uk.com/member/clare-palmer/ 
Read Graham at http://www.therightword.info   

Where’s it at?
The Clophill Centre ( www.clophillcentre.co.uk) is centrally placed between Luton airport, Milton Keynes and Bedford. It’s a 14 acre private site with fields, gardens, orchard, woodland, and lots of room to breathe. Indoor facilities include a meeting room, a breakfast/ tea room, and a cosy yurt; semi-outdoor spaces include a roundhouse with a firepit. You need to bring your own tent or camper van, and bedding. If you don't have a tent, we may have some to hire, please ask.

What’s special about this camp?

This weekend camp is for those with limited time, with the option of joining a residential NVC Foundation training. This training, led by CNVC certified trainer Clare Palmer, will give you all the basic tools and principles of NVC.

The weekend camp is the start of a 7 day camp, so some people will be staying on longer. From day 1, we will follow the principles below. Starting with an introductory weekend will offer the chance for those of us staying for the whole week to refresh and deepen our awareness of feelings and needs, which we think will be a bonus for the rest of the camp. However, other activities will also be provided for week-campers who do not want to join the introduction programme.

The whole week is carefully structured to promote connection, learning and growth for all of us. Underpinning that though, and perhaps not always visible on the surface, is our effort to hold an awareness of feelings and needs in our consciousness throughout our time together, as constantly and as deeply as we are able. We don’t want to just ‘do NVC’ in a workshop, we want to ‘live NVC’ in our daily interactions. That includes an intention to be fully present, to see and to think clearly, free from assumptions and pre-judgments and grounded in compassion. We believe that our needs are not separate from the needs of other people, of all other beings we share this life with, and of our precious Earth itself. We aim for an ability to more consistently choose needs-based actions which resonate with our higher or deeper selves.

Quality assurance
Lead trainers for the weekend are Clare Palmer, Magiari Diaz Diaz, and Graham Timmins.  Other trainers, both CNVC certified and candidate and independent, are in the pipeline. We are very interested in constructive feedback and will give opportunities for this after the camp.

Children
Children are welcome to join the camp, but for insurance and liability reasons, no children’s activities or supervised childcare are included as part of the camp framework. Informal arrangements may however be made between participants. Most workshops and groups will not be suitable or interesting for most children, but there are always exceptions so please contact us if you would like to talk about how it might work for you to bring your child/ren.

0-5 years old: 25% of adult prices
6-11 years old: 50% of adult prices
12-17 years old: 75% of adult prices

Will I like the food ?
Meals will be freshly prepared, healthy and vegetarian with vegan options; hot and cold drinks, fruit and snacks will be available throughout the day. We’ll have caterers but all camp participants will be asked to contribute to supporting our physical needs during the camp, whether by chopping vegetables, making coffee, washing up, or keeping showers and toilets clean. Working together in small teams to take responsibility for everybody’s basic human needs is a valuable part of the camp experience.
In order to favour self-awareness and the comfort of all, we ask you not to bring alcohol for consumption on site or to smoke where other people may be affected.

Who is this camp for?
All are welcome with or without previous experience of NVC / NbC.  We intend to offer a space where people of all backgrounds and life experiences are accepted, have a voice and take part.
We intend the camp to be a place where people can reflect on and explore their own feelings and needs, where some support may be available from other participants, facilitators, empathy groups and workshops. However, the camp is not a therapeutic space and this support is limited. We would like all who attend to be able to balance their own personal needs with those of the community. So the camp might not be suitable for you if you need more support than our resources can offer. In the unlikely case that a participant’s behaviour becomes harmful and disruptive to others beyond what we or the site owners feel able and willing to cope with, we may require them to leave the camp.