A convergence of creative ideas, stories, practices and resources from social change leaders and practitioners across the world
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“Going barefoot is the gentlest way of walking and can symbolise a way of living - being authentic, vulnerable, sensitive to our surroundings. It’s the feeling of enjoying warm sand beneath our toes, or carefully making our way over sharp rocks in the darkness. It’s a way of living that has the lightest impact, removing the barrier between us and nature.

Adele Coombs, “Barefoot Dreaming”
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We are launching a new initiative!

The Barefoot Guide
​Social Change
Writing School

Surfacing the stories
​and wisdom of leaders and practitioners
If you are working on positive social change in your community, in your country, in the world then you probably have a story to tell for others to learn from.  We can help.

Stories matter, wisdom learned from real experience on the ground matters, new ideas matter and what people want to say matters.  All of these are conveyed through words, and good writing takes these words to readers far and wide. It is a powerful medium of social change for sharing, learning and advocacy.

But the people who have the most valuable stories, insights and messages to share are often the least confident to write them down.  We are aiming to change this. Effective storytelling and writing can be learnt.
The Barefoot Guide Social Change Writing School is now offering a range of services to help social change organisations, leaders and practitioners to express themselves in new and powerful ways.
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The Services of the Social Change Writing School

A.  Support to Write your own Publications
Through collective writeshops and support, we can help your team, organisation or community of practice to write your own publications, including new Barefoot Guides. 

B. Effective Writing Courses 
We run online and face-to-face courses which teach effective writing of various kinds to social change leaders and practitioners.

C. Writeshop Design and Facilitation Courses
We will help you to learn how to design and facilitate writeshops for your own organisations - online and face-to-face courses..

D. Coaching for Writers
We offer one-to-one online coaching support, enabling you to get over your hurdles and shape your writing into something worth reading.

E. Publishing Advice and Support
We offer online editing and advice to enable you to take writing drafts to final publication.

F. Research and Development
We do continuous research and development of all the approaches and methodologies of the Barefoot Guide Writing School to strengthen writing and dialogue tools for collective learning, sharing and advocacy.
Go to the  The Writing School page for more details

​Write to us at: contact@barefootguide.org ​to ask about any of these services
Announcing  the new Barefoot Guide 6...

 Generative Leadership:
Releasing Life in a Turbulent World
Written by the Sixth Barefoot Guide Writer’s Collective

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Every single aspect of every corner of every human institution and network is in radical and dynamic change. Too many of the leaders we have are not only failing us but have become a danger to humanity. We share the anguish of how some people’s self-seeking ways and powers seem to be able to ride the waves of change while staying aloft on their privileges.

​But we feel less inclined simply to fight what we fear and much more inclined to see where the hidden flows of life are present and leading—so that we can spend our energy on crafting lives and roles that are worthy of what comes next.
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This book is the fruit of eighteen months of intense, lively collaboration by twenty-three people from seven countries on five continents! It is not about heroic leadership but, quite the opposite, about leadership that works generatively with life.

​We invite you to read, to share and to converse about a subject as important as any other facing humanity. 

Go to the Download Page

Just released: PowerTalk!
A Role-playing Board Game to   Download, Print & Play

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​An exciting game about understanding power and developing strategies to work with it to effect social change, or to get into the heads of those (e.g. arms-dealers) who want to preserve the status quo.

This can be played by anyone, from high schoolers, to social change activists, friends and family.  You choose from one of the many roles and then do what you can to support your allies, convince the sceptics, undermine or even convert your opponents to your worldview. Have fun... its your turn to change the world!

Developed out of the Barefoot Guide 4 Writeshop and the UN Association of Finland, this offers a real-life drama around an arms-dealing scenario, using the Gender Links power mapping tool for the game board. 

Further scenarios will be developed and offered.  Subscribe to Updates to be notified about these. 

​Download the game files here

or

Email us here for printed copies

​(includes a box - see pic below)
Community-Based Organisations: Free plus postage
​Local NGOs: 5 euros plus postage
International NGOs: 10 euros plus postage

New Barefoot Guides  under development​

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Barefoot Guide: ​
​The Story of Seed
… how seeds are the source of life and describing the sacred practices of family farmers and communities in protecting, multiplying and sharing seeds so that they are not monopolised by the few. Held by the Seed Knowledge Initiative with 18 practitioners, researchers and farmer leaders from Southern Africa.
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Barefoot Guide:
​Healthy food, healthy people, healthy world
Industrial farming not only harms the environment but produces cheap food that harms our health. This Guide gathers stories of people and communities who are restoring and renewing their understanding of nutritious food and how to provide it for themselves, their communities and their societies. 

Barefoot Guide 5: Mission Inclusion - now in Kiswahili and French

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Mwongozo wa Barefoot 5: "Kuingizwa kwa Ujumbe"

Sasa unaonekana kwa Kiswahili

Kama Mwongozo wa Barefoot waandishi, tulitaka kuangalia jinsi watu wamefanya na nini wanachofanya sasa kubadilisha mambo. Tunatarajia kwamba kwa kusikiliza hadithi za mabadiliko tunaweza kupata ufahamu wa kina wa maana ya kujumuisha katika mazoezi yetu. Tunatarajia kuwa, kwa kufanya kazi badala ya wale walioachwa tunaweza kuanza kushughulikia kutengwa sasa.
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​Watu wote wanaoshiriki hadithi zao katika kitabu hiki ni juu ya utume wa kusitishwa na kuunda jamii za umoja kweli. Tunakualika kujiunga na sisi katika kuchunguza jinsi mabadiliko inatokea na jinsi tunaweza kufanya tofauti. Milango ni wazi, kwa hiyo tafadhali ingia.

                                       ​Nenda kwenye ukurasa wa kupakua
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Guide Barefoot 5: "Mission Inclusion"

Maintenant disponible en français

​Comme auteurs du Guide Barefoot, nous avons souhaité jeter un coup d’oeil sur ce que les gens ont réalisé et ce qu’ils font maintenant pour changer les choses. Nous espérons qu’en en écoutant des histoires de changement, nous pourrons obtenir une meilleure compréhension sur la signification d’être inclusif dans notre pratique. Nous espérons que, en travaillant à côté de ceux qui sont exclus, nous pouvons maintenant nous occuper de l’exclusion.
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Toutes les personnes qui partagent leurs histoires dans ce livre se sont données comme mission de mettre fin à l’exclusion et créer des sociétés véritablement inclusives. Nous vous invitons à vous joindre à nous pour découvrir comment les changements se produisent et comment nous pouvons faire une différence. Les portes sont ouvertes, alors rejoignez-nous.
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                                        ​Aller à la page de  téléchargement
Download all
the Barefoot Guides here
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​Barefoot Guide 1
Working with
​Organisations ​
​and Social ​Change
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​Download all languages
​
Download English pdf
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Barefoot Guide 2
Learning Practices in
Organisations &
​Social Change
​
​​Download all languages
​
​Download English pdf
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​Barefoot Guide 3
Mobilizing Religious
Health ​Assets for
​Transformation 
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Download English pdf
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Barefoot Guide 4
Exploring the
​Real Work
​of Social ​Change
​ 
Download all languages
​
​Download English pdf
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​Barefoot Guide 5
​Mission Inclusion:
​Building a World Where ​All Belong
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Download all languages
​
Download English pdf

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​Barefoot Guide 6
Generative Leadership:
Releasing Life in a Turbulent World

Download English pdf
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Designing and  Facilitating Creative Conversations & Learning Activities

A practical guide for facilitators to design and facilitate a wide range of conversational and learning social processes.  Full of creative ideas and approaches.
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                                 Download
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​Course:
​​​How to Facilitate a Writeshop
Tapping into the power of stories for deep learning and social change... How to facilitate a writing workshops to help practitioners write up their stories and case studies.

Are you aiming to create change in this world through your work? Are you curious what role stories might play in creating this change? Or do you want to be able to support communities to share their stories so they can have a bigger impact? 

If so, then this course is for you! You will learn how to design and facilitate writeshops that support learning processes in teams and  organisations. We’ll use writing as a key approach to collectively surface stories and deepen and share practices, key experiences, lessons learned and implications for the future. 
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For more information email us​​

WHAT HAVE OTHERS SAID ABOUT THE bAREFOOT gUIDES...

The Barefoot Guides have been the key influences in my life and work… my constant companions in my community and organisational development work. 
Marie Corcoran-tindill, Trainer, Facilitator of community and group processes, Dublin 

The Barefoot initiative is itself an exciting expression of social change. 
Inez Hackenberg, Utrecht University 

As a trained action learning facilitator their guides have helped me work with grassroots communities in Myanmar and Thailand. 
Kevina Maddick, Program Manager at Right To Play, Bangkok 

The Barefoot Guide's transformative process… shows us the way to transcend borders, sectors, limits, to break the silos! 
Vincent Stevaux, ITECO, Bruxelles

Barefoot Guide has been creating phenomenal content for the critical process of experiential reflection at both individual and organizational levels. 
Jesse Chen, Changemakers, Washington 

…a wonderful contribution to open access knowledge, grounded on a great depth of experience and horizontal learning from across the world. 
Samantha Button, East Africa Program Head, Maliasili 

…the Barefoot Guide collection is having a great influence, especially the lives of field workers and communities. 
Muta Wakilu Tamasco, Ghana 

The Barefoot Guide Connection has a unique and truly transformational approach to collaboration, learning and facilitating social, transformational change across borders. 
Tobias Troll Director, EDGE Europe at EDGE Funders Alliance, Bruxelles 

This unusual and exceptional volume (and series) is hugely accessible yet deeply rooted in solid theory and extensive practice across a wide range of contexts and fields. Expect from it something truly unique in its combination of insight, reflection, experience and highly usable mixed text/visual presentation. It is not "dumbed down." I have seen it bite as deeply at high academic and professional level as at grassroots community leadership level, an astonishing achievement worth honouring. 
Professor Jim Cochrane Cape Town 

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