Ecovillage Findhorn Spring Conference 2026 – Economics as if Life Matters

WE ARE THE DONUT  click to book the Interactive Session Easter Sunday,  2-5pm Universal Hall

Embodied Systems Exploration: Experiencing Doughnut Economics, a Regenerative Path Toward a Conscious and Compassionately Shared Planet

What does it mean to live a truly wealthy life?

In many ways, our daily lives are shaped by economic systems that tell us what has value and what does not. Money plays an important role in helping societies organise exchange, yet many forms of life-supporting wealth, such as time, care, community, belonging, and a thriving natural world, often remain invisible or undervalued.

This interactive session invites participants to explore these questions through an embodied experience of the Doughnut Economy framework developed by economist Kate Raworth. Rather than engaging with the model only as a framework, participants will take part in a large-scale participatory exploration that brings to life the relationships between human wellbeing, community needs, and the limits of our living planet.

Through spatial positioning, collective observation, and guided reflection, participants will explore how different aspects of life and access to essential needs: from housing and food to health, work, nature, and community, relate to one another within a shared system. As we map these relationships together, we will notice where tensions or imbalances arise and how pressures within our economic structures can shape everyday life.

This session also invites a compassionate look at the challenges many people face in navigating today’s economies, from pressures around productivity, anxiety, work, time, and security, to the difficulty of caring for people and the planet within systems that do not always support these values.

The exercise draws on systems thinking, participatory modelling, and embodied learning to create a shared space for reflection and discovery. By physically stepping into different elements of the system, participants can experience how shifts in one part of the system affect the wellbeing of the whole.

Together we will reflect on how economies might evolve to better support lives that are not only financially viable, but socially connected, ecologically grounded, and deeply life-supporting.

In this session participants will:

• Experience the Doughnut framework through a participatory systems exploration
• Reflect on what wealth means in everyday life
• Explore how social wellbeing and planetary health are interconnected
• Observe system dynamics and interdependencies in real time
• Reflect together on pathways toward more caring and life-serving economies

No prior knowledge is required. This session is open to anyone interested in sustainability, systems thinking, economics, or collective learning.

Format: Large-group experiential workshop (approx. 100 participants)
Duration: 2.5 hours, including debrief and Q&A
Facilitator: Dr Isabella Guerrini de Claire, Regenerative Economies Practitioner and Systemic Counsellor, With support from other experienced group facilitators
Conference completion: Appreciative Inquiry with Suzanne Quinney, a prominent practitioner and trainer - Appreciating People UK

Eventbrite Link to the session

BIOs:

Dr Isabella Guerrini de Claire is a multidisciplinary researcher and practitioner whose work bridges regenerative economies and human wellbeing. 

Her career spans across being a community builder, climate innovation startup strategist,  systemic counsellor who trained with Bert Hellinger, ecological landscape designer, organic food expert and plant based nutrition coach, journalist, writer, policy and business advisor. She works at the intersection of climate action, health, and economic regeneration.

She is Carbon Strategy Director at Park Ecovillage Trust in Findhorn and supports community initiatives that integrate climate responsibility with social wellbeing. From ethical investment facilitation, circular enterprise development, nature connection education, and regenerative food systems, with a particular focus on the relationships between human health and the wellbeing of land and ecosystems.

Isabella is a member of the global Doughnut Economics community and the WeAll (Wellbeing Alliance Network) from 2018 and an author on health, sustainability, and circular economy transformation. She is also a mindfulness practitioner in the Zen Buddhist tradition of Thích Nhất Hạnh and Advaita Vedanta student, bringing contemplative awareness and compassion into her work on systemic change.

With over 25 years of experience in circular and regenerative economy innovation, she has advised dozens of startups, ethical investors, public institutions, and organisations across Europe on redesigning economic systems for social and ecological resilience. Experience includes working with, and for Perugia and Bologna Universities and Bologna and Singapore Municipalities, Climate-KIC UK&I, (ECCI) University of Edinburgh, Glasgow School of Art, SEPA, Scottish Development International, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, NHS Scotland, Zero Waste Scotland and Skills Development Scotland.

Her work explores how regenerative approaches to food, land stewardship, and community economies can support both planetary health and human flourishing.

Suzanne Quinney is an appreciative inquiry practitioner, specialising in a strength based approach to change, engagement, quality improvement, and safety. She particularly enjoys helping people learn more about their thinking. She is an experienced facilitator and event organiser, practiced in the use of World Cafe and Open Space Technology. You can listen to a podcast with Robyn Stratton-Berkessel about some of her work here:  www.appreciatingpeople.co.uk/appreciative-inquiry-podcast/

She designs/delivers seminars and master classes, and was part of an award winning training combination for the Health Services Journal with the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network.

She is an author: 9 Appreciative Inquiry related training materials and articles and book chapters. The most recent is Reflections – Realising the Power of AI: An Appreciative Journal and Practical Resource Book. She contributed a chapter on Appreciative Inquiry to a new book on working with the homeless in USA & UK PIEs – psychologically-informed environments. 

For over 20 years, Suzanne has worked with a wide range of organisations- the NHS, Housing Associations, British Red Cross, and in community and environmental development. She was a conference organiser and workshop leader for the internationally renowned educational centre Ecovillage Findhorn Community. Her working life began in Africa and she has worked in the UK public sector for 25+ years. She is interested in the connections between AI and spirituality, and enjoys sci-fi, yoga and dogs!!