Emerging earth reimagine reality
13-15 November 2026 / Hang Dong, Chiang Mai
Immersed in nature, held in community, grounded in practice.
about
Emerging Earth Reimagine Reality is a three-day residency at Light Forest Home in Chiang Mai.
Learn the theory and practice of off-grid living through food forests & earth building, and connect more deeply to the earth.
Have fun away from screens and with the land, slowing down in the forest in the rhythm of natural time.
Organised by Light Forest World &
Wholistik Permaculture.
Why NOW
Climate change's impact is the here and now, the cost of food and energy is rising, and AI is accelerating the pace of life.
We need to adapt, in ways that develop resilience in ourselves and local communities. Off-grid living is not a retreat from the world but a way of being more connected to local systems and nature, a rooted reimagination of our idea of sovereign and self-sufficient living. This program evolved from past residencies we've hosted in Chiang Mai, more below.
Who this is for
You are drawn to any of: solarpunk · regeneration · biomimicry · deep ecology · food · futures & imagination · permaculture · seed saving · soil
You are in a liminal space between your 'old' life and one that is emerging in front of you.
You want to learn the theory and the basic practical skills of off-grid living: agroforestry, permaculture, earthen building.
You live in Chiang Mai and want to become a more conscious consumer, and meet others on a similiar journey.
You’re visiting Chiang Mai and want to pick up key skills to work with land, and spend a few days living immersed in nature with a mix of locals and fellow travellers.
You want to slow down away from screens, deepen your connection to nature, and eat whole foods.
What you'll leave with
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The confidence & skills to start or evolve your practise, whether you have land or live in a city.
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Deeper relationship to land, food, and greater clarity for your own future paths.
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New friends you can learn from, share resources with, and maybe build something with. This is what has happened at every programme so far.
What we will do
Our 3-day program immersed in nature, held in community, grounded in practice.
Food forestry and regenerative agriculture
build a composting station and vermicompost beds, plant bananas and seed into a new food forest, and learn earthen building.
ROOTED FUTURES
Participate in a Nature Wisdom Council ( Joanna Macy's Deep Ecology) and envision a Community Food Forest in Chiang Mai.
Slow Down
Daily organic food, qigong, fireside story & music circles at night, swim in Ob Khan National Park nearby.
Where you'll stay
This residency takes place at Dev’s home and land, which is also Light Forest HQ. It sits on the edge of Doi Pui national park in Hang Dong district, reachable by Grab and 20 to 30 minutes from Chiang Mai city.
We’ll camp together in the garden. You’ll be camping, but this isn’t a campsite: the house is open throughout, with full toilets, showers, kitchen, and living spaces.
Bring your own tent, or ask us about one of ours. If you have any health needs, tell us and we’ll find a way to accommodate you.
THAAN
Thaan founded Wholistik Permaculture Learning Center, which focuses on deep sustainability, empowering schools, individuals and businesses to go beyond surface level solutions and design systems that work in harmony with nature. Wholistik builds earth homes, rocket stoves, eco-bricks, food forests and the key infrastructure for an off-grid life, rooted in permaculture design. He has been hosting build residencies in Chiang Mai for 5+ years, with over a decade of experience across the United States, Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Dev Lewis
Dev is co-founder of Emerging Earth residency series by Light Forest World. He curated Food That Nourishes, the month-long Cosmo-Local programme in Chiang Mai in September, and is a visiting researcher at Chiang Mai University’s School of Public Policy, and convenes the digi-cnx cosmo-local Chiang Mai networks.
our journey
Emerging Earth is a workshop and residency series across Asia, cultivating the social soil for a new earth, rooted in local wisdom and imagination.
It grows from years of community building in Chiang Mai under digi-cnx and the cosmo-local network: dozens of events bringing people from tech and academia together with those drawn to spirituality and nature. Thaan is part of that network.
Emerging Earth Bali followed in August. Then Food That Nourishes, our month-long residency in September, which asked what being a conscious consumer actually means.
One answer was prosumerism & food forests: being a producer as well as a consumer. Most of us will never be farmers, but anyone can grow something, and doing so changes how you value food and the people who grow it.
This is where that goes into the ground.