Foundations of Natural Intelligence
Time and space to rewild
A seven-day retreat in the remote hills of southern Scotland. Off-grid and offline, reconnect with nature through meditation, conversation, and contemplation.
Course Dates 2026
27th June – 4th July
25th July – 1st August
1st August – 8th August
Course Cost
£450 including food and accommodation
£400 (early bird until 31st March)
£350 (under 25s)
Location
Chisholme House,
Scottish Borders,
TD9 7PH
About 60 miles (100 km) south of Edinburgh
The Foundations of Natural Intelligence is a course for the curious, running since 2011. No dogma and no teaching, the retreat offers respite from our hectic lives and space to cultivate a healthier way of being and an enriched connectedness with nature.
Daily routine
- Meditation twice daily (guided and non-guided).
- Three conversation sessions in the yurt, exploring the theme of the day.
- Embracing stillness through contemplation and rest.
- Taking care through preparing meals, foraging, wood splitting, fire making, and porridge stirring.
“Away from the usual creature comforts and my everyday reality, with the collective openness and spirit of the group I reconnected to a part of me that had gone adrift.”
Meet your facilitators
Each retreat is guided by a diverse group of experienced facilitators who all share a love of (un)learning and the outdoors.
Peter Young
Green ash chair maker
Tim Roberts
Musician / Globetrotter
Hannah Dalgleish
Interdisciplinary researcher
Sakeena Adamjee
Teacher / Dancer
Revive your natural intelligence
FAQs
What is the accommodation like?
The accommodation is shared (usually between three people) in yurts which have been lovingly built and constructed by volunteers over several years. Each yurt has a stove in the centre, to keep warm at night. All linen is supplied, including towels. There are compost toilets as well as outdoor showers nearby which are heated by fire (so you don’t need to worry about cold showers!). After Storm Arwen in 2021, we lost a lot of trees including the kitchen area, since then we have constructed a fabulous new outdoor kitchen which provides extra shelter and warmth during the course.
What is the food like?
We offer a varied and nutritious diet which includes meat. We make as full use as possible of our pesticide-free garden for seasonal fruit and vegetables, which we top up with other ingredients as necessary. We strive to purchase products which are organic and local as much as possible. We are able to offer a vegetarian diet, and if you have any dietary requirements due to a medical condition (e.g. specific allergy, coeliac) we will do our best to accommodate you.
Do I need to be physically fit or have a lot of outdoor experience to take part?
We do everything we can to ensure that people of different abilities can participate, regardless of fitness level, age (or bushcrafting skills!). If you are unsure about your ability to participate – please let us know in your application form or ask via email (secretary@chisholme.org).
Getting here
If you are travelling by public transport, the easiest way is to travel by bus to Hawick (pronounced Hoik) and take a taxi to Chisholme House (or it may be possible for us to help you find a lift with someone else). The X95 bus travels to Hawick from Carlisle (~1.5 hours) or Edinburgh (~2 hours), their timetable is available here: https://www.bordersbuses.co.uk/services/BORD/X95
What is the Chisholme Institute?
The Foundations of Natural Intelligence has been running at the Chisholme Institute (http://chisholme.org) in the Scottish Borders since 2011. The institute is a registered Scottish charity established in 1979 to promote self-discovery and a conscious relationship with the wider world and to each other through unity, love, beauty, and truth. The courses and retreats at Chisholme integrate body, mind and spirit through study, meditation, work, and spiritual practice. The Chisholme Institute is dedicated to developing and facilitating an embodied understanding that all life is interdependent, as reflected by the ecological, cultural, and spiritual spheres.
How did the Foundations of Natural Intelligence come about?
The Foundations of Natural Intelligence was borne out of an inspiration to be closer to nature, and to see what new learning arises from being fully immersed in the outdoors and exposed to the elements. The retreat provides an alternative opportunity for participants find meaning and expression through guided and collective conversation, in contrast to other Chisholme courses which are typically text-based.
“Off-grid and open to the elements we very quickly stepped into a new rhythm of life; wood chopping and fire making, working together as one to warm and nourish ourselves. Under starry skies we reconnected to older technologies, marvelled at the generosity of nature, and in conversation touched depths of meaning of source of being and of self.
FNI participant, 2019
Away from the usual creature comforts and my everyday reality, with the collective openness and spirit of the group I reconnected to a part of me that had gone adrift. I re-engaged with a greater sense of what it is to be human, to be of this time and place. I found that there is a place for me and for each and everyone in the greater scheme of things. I left energised and inspired by what is possible when we come together and give space and time to what really matters.”
“I am so grateful for my experience at the FNI. When I ‘surrendered’ my phone and all electronics, normal creature comforts, and all the fixed ideas that I had, I was able to experience a new clarity of Self I had disassociated from. The programme was full yet spacious; the participants were unique yet cohesive; the facilities were comfortable yet harmonious with raw nature. The conversations were deep and confrontational to loosen rigid beliefs that I had held onto. On my awakening journey, this program has had an immeasurable impact for which I am humbled. The quality and beauty of the food was one of my favourite and most enjoyable aspects of the program. It was an incredible experience in connection to the earth and its abundance.
FNI participant, 2025
Thank you Chisholme for this unforgettable adventure which you facilitated. Thank you to all the generous people who made this possible and cared for me with such love and tenderness. I am forever changed and changing from this divine experience of Love in Action.”
“How should the spring bring forth
a garden on hard stone?
Become the soft soil, that you may grow flowers of many colors”
Rumi
chisholme-fni.org 