The Social Regeneration Podcast

The Great Unravelling and the Futures Council | 044

Why we as Change Agents need to continue composting and start organizing - and how we could do it This episode is for change agents, social entrepreneurs, and activists who feel that the old tools are no longer working and sense that something fundamentally different is needed. We explore why the transformation field is exhausted and fragmented, why burnout in crisis work is a collective trauma response rather than a personal failure, and what it might look like to slow down, follow seasonal rhythms, and let genuine transformation move through us before we try to push it out into the world. Simon and Christa, seasoned Changemakers, are building the Zukunftsrat, a Futures Council for change agents in the German-speaking space of this world, with a first pilot of around 80 people planned for autumn 2026. They are currently looking for collaborators and conducting interviews to shape what the field actually needs. If this conversation resonates, reaching out to them directly is the next step. 💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode ✨ The transformation field is fragmented and largely invisible to itself ✨ Effective change requires inner transformation first ✨ Burnout is a collective trauma response, not a personal failure ✨ Community and relational trust are the antidote to crisis-mode isolation 👋 ABOUT Christa Cocciole & Simon Mohn Simon Mohn, is co-founder of Reinventing Society, a think-and-do-tank for systemic change and positive futures. He works as a speaker and facilitator and develops regenerative projects. His latest one is The Future Council, which he discusses in the podcast. Christ Cocciole is a Transformation Doula and works somatically as a Systemic & Trauma Therapist at the intersection of collective resilience and regenerative futures. For decades, she has supported people through times of upheaval with embodied tools. Co-founder of regenerative projects such as the 40-person living collective Gut Stolzenhagen outside of Berlin 🔗 CONNECT & follow Christa Cocciole & Simon Mohn's work 👉 Zukunftsrat [https://canva.link/a7wac8wis1wrq5c] 👉 Simon on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-mohn-24180217b/] 👉 Christa's Website [https://christacocciole.com/] 👉 Christa on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/christa-cocciole-a8491b186/] **** 💌 CONNECT & engage with Pia Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/pia-hillebrecht/]to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗 If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” [https://3ab8637d.sibforms.com/serve/MUIFAPdHaL8Xq8IRCKLB44bboEbzR9FT8C6CVipGD7Ly1WiU8-ZeyQRu_35eRWgOGXjFJG601FXBrJ4yWKXkyF4R78aTZkgPTQmWTG9q7F-IikWkLdo5G0lvzb3gPz9ywcT9m9O4z51jh8ler3UAT2sIwGQxMibb42H1PAFXetmi13y7dD8lD0YbNTNyp6U3eg7BkonlYZq_j1Om] where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓 For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/work.with.impact/]account. 🧐💓 Take care of yourself and others! Pia 🤍 P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/@socialregeneration] to see our faces 👋 🙂 #FuturesCouncil #SocialRegeneration #ChangeAgents #CollectiveResilience #GreatUnravelling #SystemsChange #RegenerativeCulture #TraumaInformed #SeasonalLiving #CollectiveTransformation #ImpactWork #Zukunftsrat

Emotional Permaculture: Healing Through Conflict | 043

How a Colombian community turns pain into connection In this powerful episode, Luis Campos and Jenna Yates, co-founders and core members of the Colombian community El Juego, share with us what happens when you stop hiding your shadows and face them with others. We talk about how conflicts ranging from household chores to community finances became gateways for deeper self-awareness, and how emotional patterns rooted in childhood and family history keep showing up in our everyday relationships, whether at home or at work. What makes El Juego remarkable is that it was never planned: a group of travelers from very different cultural and economic backgrounds simply began exploring shared methods for processing their inner conflicts, and a community emerged organically from that process. Luis and Jenna introduce the concept of "emotional permaculture," the idea that the most difficult parts of ourselves can become the compost from which something genuinely regenerative grows. A core insight from the conversation is that healing is not a solo endeavor: we need other people to point out our blind spots, to hold space for the parts of us that we cannot yet see ourselves. Anyone navigating conflict at work, in relationships, or within themselves will find something concrete and grounding in this conversation. The main lesson is this: real connection and transformation happen not despite conflict but through it, when we have the agreements, the tools, and the community to go there together. 💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode ✨ Conflict is the entry point, not the obstacle ✨ Childhood patterns live inside workplace dynamics ✨ Healing requires witnesses, not just willpower ✨ Community emerges from shared process, not shared plans ✨ Emotions are messengers for unmet needs 👋 ABOUT Luis Campos (he/him) & Jenna Yates (she/her) Luis Campos and Jenna Yates are facilitators and core members of the El Juego community, based in Colombia. Luis is an Argentinian-born father, storyteller, and co-founder of El Juego, and someone who believes that to process our deepest pain, we must be able to laugh at ourselves. Jenna Yates brings together creativity, investigation, and strategic alliances, with a sharp aesthetic eye and curiosity that translates complexity and tension into insight and collaboration. El Juego is a diverse collective of over 30 individuals, investigating how to build cultures based on authenticity and responsibility, using conflict as a doorway to growth. Since 2016, El Juego has been living and working together, developing an approach that is interdisciplinary, non-prescriptive, and deeply rooted in personal and collective experimentation. With their methodology, called “playing”, they accompany individuals, groups, and organisations to live, work, dream, and relate with more freedom. 🔗 CONNECT & follow Luis & Jenna's work 👉 El Juego [https://www.eljuego.community] 👉 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/_el_juego_/] **** 💌 CONNECT & engage with Pia Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/pia-hillebrecht/]to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗 If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” [https://3ab8637d.sibforms.com/serve/MUIFAPdHaL8Xq8IRCKLB44bboEbzR9FT8C6CVipGD7Ly1WiU8-ZeyQRu_35eRWgOGXjFJG601FXBrJ4yWKXkyF4R78aTZkgPTQmWTG9q7F-IikWkLdo5G0lvzb3gPz9ywcT9m9O4z51jh8ler3UAT2sIwGQxMibb42H1PAFXetmi13y7dD8lD0YbNTNyp6U3eg7BkonlYZq_j1Om] where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓⚖ For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/work.with.impact/]account. 🧐💓 Take care of yourself and others! Pia 🤍 P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/@socialregeneration] to see our faces and the beautiful nature reserve! 🌴🦗👋 🙂 #socialregeneration #intentionalcommunity #innerwork #emotionalpermaculture #conflictastransformation #collectivehealing #communitybuilding #selfawareness #regenerativeculture #livingtogether #conflict #coaching #community #healing

Slow Down to Grow: A New Form of Coaching | 042

Johanna Hallbauer explains the ERDE Method to help address Eco-Anxiety and Finding Yourself This episode is for coaches, facilitators, social entrepreneurs, and anyone who has ever felt stuck, burned out, or like they are doing things that no longer align with their values. It is also for those working in the sustainability or regeneration space who sense that their own cup is running low. In this conversation, I sit down with Johanna Halbauer, a systemic coach, facilitator and researcher, to explore her ERDE framework, an approach to regenerative coaching that she developed from her own lived experience. ERDE is an acronym standing for Emancipation, Regeneration, Dialogue and Emergence (or Unfoldment), and together we unpack what each of these phases actually means in practice. And what sets this method apart from traditional coaching is that it does not just focus on goals and cognitive conversation. It invites the nervous system into the process, draws on body intelligence and nature as a co-participant, and supports people in letting go of patterns that drain rather than sustain them. Johanna shares how regenerative coaching creates space for difficult emotions like grief, anger, eco-anxiety and overwhelm, and how it guides people back into action from a more connected, authentic place rather than from a place of achievement pressure. We also talk about specific somatic tools like bilateral tapping and pendulation that anyone can use to regulate their nervous system in everyday life. The key insight we keep coming back to is that slowing down is not the opposite of progress. It is the condition for it. 💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode ✨ Regenerative coaching goes beyond goals: it includes the nervous system, the body and nature as active participants ✨ Feeling stuck often means acting out of alignment with your values, not a lack of effort ✨ Emancipation means letting go of old safety patterns that no longer serve you ✨ Nature is not just a backdrop for healing. It is a relationship partner and gives resonance ✨ Simple somatic tools like bilateral tapping can bring the nervous system back into balance within minutes 👋 ABOUT Johanna Hallbauer (she/her) Johanna Hallbauer is a researcher, coach, facilitator, and the founder of ERDE — a coaching approach that grew from her own journey of exploring how we can lead and live in tune with ourselves, others, and the planet. Since 2019, ERDE has been evolving as a learning process, weaving together regenerative leadership, systemic coaching, and trauma-informed methods. Today, Johanna supports individuals and teams to strengthen their inner grounding, foster resilience, and lead in service of social and planetary well-being. 🔗 CONNECT & follow Johanna Hallbauer's work 👉 ERDE [https://www.erde-coaching.de] 👉 LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanna-hallbauer/] 👉 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/johanna_hallbauer/] 💌 CONNECT & engage with Pia Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/pia-hillebrecht/]to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗 If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” [https://3ab8637d.sibforms.com/serve/MUIFAPdHaL8Xq8IRCKLB44bboEbzR9FT8C6CVipGD7Ly1WiU8-ZeyQRu_35eRWgOGXjFJG601FXBrJ4yWKXkyF4R78aTZkgPTQmWTG9q7F-IikWkLdo5G0lvzb3gPz9ywcT9m9O4z51jh8ler3UAT2sIwGQxMibb42H1PAFXetmi13y7dD8lD0YbNTNyp6U3eg7BkonlYZq_j1Om] where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓⚖ For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/work.with.impact/]account. 🧐💓 Take care of yourself and others! Pia 🤍 P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/@socialregeneration] to see our faces 👋☺ #regenerativecoaching #ERDE #somaticcoaching #ecoanxiety #innerwork #socialregeneration #authenticleadership #nervoussystem #regenerativeleadership #collectivehealing #systemiccoaching #slowdown #embodiment #ecopreneurs #transformationcoaching

Play to Grow: Using Permaculture Principles to make Facilitation, Education and Organisational Development regenerative | 041

The SolarPunk NOW Pioneers explain how Infinity Tools and the Context Craft Method can turn your Workshop into a Garden This episode features Agnes and Denny from SolarPunk NOW, a project at the intersection of permaculture, regenerative design, and hands-on facilitation tools. It is for facilitators, educators, coaches, team leaders, workshop designers, and anyone curious about regenerative approaches who want to bring more creativity, collaboration, and ecological thinking into their work and everyday life. We talk about the Infinity Tools, which are two reusable, sustainable facilitation tools they have developed and use in their own work: stone paper, a writeable and wipeable surface made from stone leftovers, and Beenius, beeswax and bamboo sticks that can be used to build almost anything. Agnes and Denny explain how they use both tools in the Play to Grow method, their workshop format that combines permaculture principles with hands-on play, and how they have seen participants go from confused to genuinely inspired, especially people who previously found permaculture literature overwhelming. The concept of Context Craft runs through the entire conversation: the idea that the philosophy, the tools, and the facilitation approach each have their role, but that the real creative work happens when practitioners adapt everything to their own specific environment. Agnes explains how she first worked with beeswax stick construction while running a social innovation co-working space in Egypt, where she and Denny eventually built furniture and even domes using the same structural logic. Agnes describes how the stone paper completely changes the energy in a room during workshops, because writing without the fear of making a permanent mistake unlocks a different kind of creative freedom. We also discuss how the Infinity Tools connect naturally to working with AI, for example, using colour-coded stone paper notes that an AI can read and sort. The episode is a genuine and warm invitation to anyone who wants to explore these tools, experiment with them in their own context, and contribute to a growing global community of regenerative practitioners. 💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode ✨ Stone paper: write, wipe, reuse. No waste, no fear, just flow ✨ Beenius (beeswax sticks + bamboo) turns any group into builders and inventors within minutes ✨ Play to Grow = permaculture as compass & Infinity Tools as medium & Context Craft as application ✨ Colour-coded stone paper notes are AI-readable. Analogue and digital can work together ✨ Purpose-driven work is the single best recommendation for a sustainable creative life 👋 ABOUT Agnes Friedrich & Denny Ehrlich (they) Agnes and Deny are Solarpunk NOW, and they are on a mission to move towards the regeneration of the planet. With new tools and systems for trainers, teachers, facilitators, and, honestly, anybody else. Not the boring stuff. Things that are fun and playful to experience. Like reusable paper made from limestone, which you can simply wipe off and use again. Like Beenius, a 3D construction kit made from bamboo sticks and special beeswax that brings ideas into reality. To create prototypes, models, and structures within your own context. Their vision is that in the future, people all over the world will be using these tools to inspire and collaborate with each other. For example, to create ecosystems and food forests together. That's why Agnes and Deny use these tools to develop playful experiences that help people build actual ecosystems with the help of permaculture principles. 🔗 CONNECT & follow Guest's Name work 👉 Solarpunk Now Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/solarpunknow_world/] 👉 Agnes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/agnes-friedrich/] 👉 Beenius on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/beenius.world/] 👉 Solarpunkt Now Website [https://solarpunknow.world/] **** 💌 CONNECT & engage with Pia Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/pia-hillebrecht/]to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗 If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” [https://3ab8637d.sibforms.com/serve/MUIFAPdHaL8Xq8IRCKLB44bboEbzR9FT8C6CVipGD7Ly1WiU8-ZeyQRu_35eRWgOGXjFJG601FXBrJ4yWKXkyF4R78aTZkgPTQmWTG9q7F-IikWkLdo5G0lvzb3gPz9ywcT9m9O4z51jh8ler3UAT2sIwGQxMibb42H1PAFXetmi13y7dD8lD0YbNTNyp6U3eg7BkonlYZq_j1Om] where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓⚖ For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/work.with.impact/]account. 🧐💓 Take care of yourself and others! Pia 🤍 P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/@socialregeneration] to see our faces 👋☺ #permaculture #regenerativedesign #infinitytools #playtogrow #facilitation #contextcraft #solarpunknow #workshopdesign #sustainabletools #stonepaper #circulareconomy #designthinking #regeneration #futureofwork #innovation #pioneers #organisationaldevelopment

Language, Trust, and the Power of Participation | 040

Ilja Maiber on why meeting people where they are is the most radical thing a change agent can do This episode is for anyone who has ever confused knowing something in theory with actually being able to do it, for impact-driven professionals who find sales and marketing uncomfortable, and for facilitators, leaders, and changemakers who want to understand when to involve others and when to decide alone. I sat down with Ilja Maiber, community weaver, process facilitator, and participatory design practitioner at the Institute for Participatory Design and he takes us through his life's journey that took some twists and turns until finding meaning and purpose in his current work. We explore how overthinking is often a form of avoidance, why feedback is a gift once you stop defending yourself against it, and how the language we use around concepts like sustainability can either connect or disconnect us from the very people we want to reach. We also talk about the GO! Hamburg project, which supports social entrepreneurs in Germany through events, community building on the Circle platform, and ecosystem development. The episode closes with Ilja's reflections on a two-month journey through Kenya and Uganda and how travelling changed his relationship with fear, possibility, and the kind of courage it takes to act before you fully believe in yourself. The biggest shared lesson from this conversation: stop accumulating knowledge and start collecting real experiences, because that is where transformation actually happens. 💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode ✨ Overthinking is often avoidance in disguise ✨ Feedback is a free gift to take or leave, not a verdict on who you are ✨ Participation creates ownership, ownership drives implementation ✨ Meet people in their language, not yours ✨ Act first, believe later: evidence creates confidence 👋 ABOUT Ilja Maiber Ilja is a facilitator, community weaver and lover of all the good things life has to offer - whether it's spending time with friends, discovering the world by traveling it, or getting lost in the stories of the people he meets close to and far from home. 🔗 CONNECT & follow Ilja Maiber's work 👉 LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilja-maiber/?originalSubdomain=de] 👉 Institute for Participatory Design [https://www.partizipativ-gestalten.de] 👉 GO!Hamburg [https://www.go-hamburg.info/] 💌 CONNECT & engage with Pia Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/pia-hillebrecht/]to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗 If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” [https://3ab8637d.sibforms.com/serve/MUIFAPdHaL8Xq8IRCKLB44bboEbzR9FT8C6CVipGD7Ly1WiU8-ZeyQRu_35eRWgOGXjFJG601FXBrJ4yWKXkyF4R78aTZkgPTQmWTG9q7F-IikWkLdo5G0lvzb3gPz9ywcT9m9O4z51jh8ler3UAT2sIwGQxMibb42H1PAFXetmi13y7dD8lD0YbNTNyp6U3eg7BkonlYZq_j1Om] where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓⚖ For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/work.with.impact/]account. 🧐💓 Share this Podcast with a least 1 Person! - Spread hope for a regenerative future! 🌻 Take care of yourself and others! Pia 🤍 P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/@socialregeneration] to see our faces 👋☺   #SystemsChange #CommunityWeaving #ParticipatoryDesign #SocialEntrepreneurship #ProcessFacilitation #ImpactDriven #SustainabilityLeadership #ChangeAgents #FeedbackCulture #CoCreation #RegenerativePractice #ImpactpreNeur #GoHamburg #CollaborationMatters #TransformationJourney