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Spacious by design
This is not a rushed conference format. The gathering allows time for group sessions, conversation, walking, reflection and rest.
A retreat for reflection, relationship and renewal
The Hogsback Gathering
Immerse yourself in a transformative retreat experience in the enchanting natural landscape of Hogsback, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
About the Gathering
A gathering rooted in contact, presence and curiosity
The Hogsback Gathering offers a reflective and relational space for people who want to slow down, deepen practice and be in meaningful conversation with others. It is designed as both a retreat and a learning experience, where the natural environment becomes part of the work.
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Learning in relationship
Participants are invited into experiential and relational ways of learning, with attention to dialogue, awareness and what emerges in contact.
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Nature as container
The quiet atmosphere of Hogsback supports renewal, integration and a temporary step away from everyday pace.
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Creative expression
Using art to energise and integrate learning.
The ground
The ground
Hogsback, perched in the Amathole Mountains of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, offers a stunning natural setting for our gathering. Surrounded by indigenous forests, waterfalls, mountain peaks, and open skies, it carries a deep history shaped by Xhosa culture, European settlement, and artistic communities. Its unique ecology, mystical atmosphere, and layered stories provide fertile ground for exploration, reflection, and reconnection.
Learn more about Hogsback
Previous Gathering
A glimpse of the previous gathering
The Hogsback Gathering brought together practitioners, facilitators and learners for several days of dialogue, reflection and shared exploration. Participants engaged in experiential sessions, small group conversations, walks through the surrounding forests, and informal moments of connection that continued long after the formal sessions ended.
During the gathering we explored the five elements — earth, water, fire, air and space — allowing each element to shape the rhythm of the day and the themes of our work together. For the element of earth, participants engaged in an immersive experience with the Victory of the Word team — Athi-Patra Ruga and Sibusiso Mnyanda. The landscape became a living text for reflection and artistic inquiry, as we explored sites carrying histories of prophecy, dispossession, resistance, and cultural reclamation from the era of the Frontier Wars. Each day built on the last, drawing on immersion, creativity, storytelling and embodied practices that encouraged participants to slow down, sense more deeply, and connect with themselves and others.
Alongside this, we explored Gestalt principles and techniques through dialogue, reflection and experiential exercises. The gathering created a space where learning unfolded organically through encounter, curiosity and shared presence.