Holding Space, Teaching Well - A Training for Space Holders & Facilitators in sex-positive Spaces

Holding Space, Teaching Well is an 8-day in-person training space for people who hold space and or facilitate in sex-positive spaces. Many of us have come into this role by accident, because we were asked to or because we tried to fill a gap and cater to a need within our community. Oftentimes times we quickly find ourselves in complex situations having to navigate the intricate waters of communication, consent, community building, and teaching while also having to work within capitalist systems, power structures, intersectionalities, conflict, and politics.

And of course, we do so as people who have our own biases, who have to grapple with their own trauma and neurodivergence, who lack knowledge in some places, and who also need to take care of our own well-being, our own boundaries, and resources. In short: it’s really fucking complicated.

There is no formal training for this kind of job or vocation. We at Karada House have spent the last four years fucking around and finding out more or less through trial and error. We have learned a lot but also wish to gain more knowledge, so we have curated this training for ourselves and other LGBTQIA+ space holders and facilitators. The space holders and facilitators of this training all come at this topic from a standpoint of having practical knowledge but also vast training in many other fields which they will draw from. Lots of different theoretical and practical access points will be offered to give a variety of ideas and tools to participants.

Holding Space, Teaching Well is a fully self-financed initiative from our side and we are offering it at a cost price (meaning we make no profit) so it is as accessible as possible.

If you wish to participate in this program (paid or via scholarship), you need to apply here. Applications will be approved on a rolling basis until all spaces are filled. Please be aware that the spaces are very limited.

Date & Time:  July 23-30th, 2024, all day

Format: Training (theory, exercises, group and individual work)

Audience:  LGBTQIA+

Language: English

Who is this training for:

– this training is specifically for people of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum

– people who hold permanent or temporary sex-positive spaces (i.e owners of such spaces, festival or event organizers, etc)

– people who teach/facilitate in sex-positive/kink space (i.e. rope, sex ed, kink & BDSM teachers)

Prerequisites: you have some practical experience in holding space and/or teaching, you must have been part of the Resilient Space Holding program (March 2024) or you need to have watched and completed the Resilient Space Holding Self-Learning Video before the start of this training.

What to Bring:  note-taking supplies, and anything you need to help keep your nervous system regulated (stim toys, blanket, fluffy socks..), any other items will be communicated shortly before the training starts

Solo or Partnered: space is limited but we allow two members of the same space/project to join together, solo space holders/facilitators are also welcome

Price: 650 Euros per person

Additional Information:

The price includes snacks, and tea/coffee/water plus the occasional cake break. In order to lower the costs for participants we also offer a limited number of accommodation spaces in our space. Accommodation is 10 Euros/night and per person. It includes a mattress, bed linens, duvet and pillow. A fully equipped kitchen, a beautiful garden, and a shower are available.

Additionally, if needed, you can email us and ask for payment in installments. We can offer up to 5 installments. The full price must be paid before the training begins.

We have also 2 full scholarships to give to applicants who have no/low income and work in precarious situations. The scholarship includes free accommodation. Unfortunately, we cannot cover your travel expenses.

Teachings:

Practicalities and Architectures of Creating & Holding Intentional Spaces (Facilitators: Sophia Rose, Beatrice Behn)

This session will bring together facilitators and space holders to increase their practical skills and confidence in working with groups and creating and holding intentional spaces.

We will do this by

– experimenting with different facilitation approaches,

-exploring boundaries of space and time when teaching and/or holding space

– giving and receiving feedback on communication styles

– discussing and practically exploring the different factors that contribute to and impact space-holding starting with initial contacts all the way to aftercare

– how architecture, using and moving in space, a space setup, tools, and additional offers shape your space-holding and teaching

– how to implement more accessibility for you and others

This deeper understanding will bring you into more connection with and awareness of the varying factors inside and outside of yourself when holding space and supporting a group.

Complaint Making as part of Setting Up Conflict-Positive Spaces for Community Building Praxis (Facilitator: Vishnu Vardhani)

is part of Vishnu’s auto-ethnographic research that aims to comprehend the ever-evolving community-building practices and their language. The genesis for this work is the idea of power relations and the dynamics that impact decision-making processes. Can we explore the limits of the language, both spoken and written, and how we grapple with that in our work as well as the imperative and agency for constructing intentional communities?
The workshop will be shaped with the following set of questions, and thoughts;

1. Can complaint-making be a recording device?
2. Can complaining be the agent of change inside of a community that works with
Feminist Values?
3. Feminism is a word, a lot of us use, answer to, try and define, but how do we do feminism?
4. Can we think with feminist futurism, by placing the emphasis on the vitality, cultures, ontologies, energy, and power of people within dynamic structures of a collective, with ease?
5. What can a complaint expose other than inequities and ill-treatment of people?
6. Can Complaint-making help us become effective decision-makers?
7. Can a complaint help community members to actively acknowledge biases?
8. Can a complaint render communities capable of addressing necessary conflicts, while being caring?
9. What makes a space conflict positive that also helps a community thrive?
10. Can the art of dissent become a predominant tool for governance?
11. When do we need to focus on becoming ungovernable vs when we do become a community with dynamic and effective self-governance tools?

The workshop will have methodologies informed by Vishnu’s Diasporic Indian Identity. During the training program Vishnu would like to share Feminist Governance Tools (FGT) focused on 3 of the many tiers of community building praxis. FGT is based on the values of equity, emphasizing creating psychologically safe environments while drawing on the use of consent, decision-making processes, setting up conflict-positive spaces, and complaint-making as diversity work will form the body of training.

Teaching, Presenting & Sharing Practices of Intimacy – The Problem of Education & Vulnerability (Facilitator: Barkas)

Large areas of intimacy and sexuality education for adults appear as a patchwork of myths or outdated-at-best beliefs about how we learn and acquire skills. Those skills are then shared or taught in ways that are informed by neurotypical, patriarchal, and heteronormative educational environments. Teaching topics from intimacy and sexuality demands not only a queering of the status quo but first and foremost a critical approach to seemingly given foundations. In this workshop, we use deconstruction as an authoritative way of breaking through a rigid, normalitarian pedagogy.

The following outline is a rough table of contents. The exact order and focusses will ultimately depend on the participants:
⁃ Modes of learning – models of skill acquisition
⁃ Modes of teaching – models of presentation
⁃ Teaching vs sharing – queering care
⁃ The roles of community
⁃ Consenting to triggers – Contents of intimacy education and its perception
⁃ The uses of performance.
⁃ Building fluid curricula – neurodivergence in education

Community Building and Harm Reduction (Facilitator: Addie Tahl)

This class is the by-product of years of kitchen table discussions about community/social dynamics, issues around power and influence, underlying weaknesses in how we perform consent and safety and responsibility, the inaccuracy of “community” as a concept, ways to introduce/support/care for (new) people entering spaces and practices, the tripping hazards unique to teaching on the road, et cetera.

It has coalesced into a series of soap box proclamations and small hills to die on, accompanied by proposals for reasonable, practical approaches and solutions. This combined lecture/discussion invites participants to explore a series of questions and suggestions around structuring spaces and practices to support healthier collectives, positive growth, and individual empowerment.

Schedule:

Day 1, July 23th, 2024

Practicalities and Architectures of Creating & Holding Intentional Spaces (Facilitator: Sophia Rose, Beatrice Behn)

Day 2, July 24th, 2024

Practicalities and Architectures of Creating & Holding Intentional Spaces (Facilitator: Sophia Rose, Beatrice Behn)

Day 3, July 25th, 2024

Complaint Making as part of Setting Up Conflict-Positive Spaces for Community Building Praxis (Facilitator: Vishnu Vardhani)

Day 4, July 26th, 2024

Complaint Making as part of Setting Up Conflict-Positive Spaces for Community Building Praxis (Facilitator: Vishnu Vardhani)

Day 5, July 27th, 2024

Integration Day, free time

Day 6, July 28th, 2024

Teaching, Presenting & Sharing Practices of Intimacy – The Problem of Education & Vulnerability (Facilitator: Barkas)

Day 7, July 29th, 2024

Teaching, Presenting & Sharing Practices of Intimacy – The Problem of Education & Vulnerability (Facilitator: Barkas)

Day 8, July 30th, 2024

Community Building and Harm Reduction (Facilitator: Addie Tahl)

Safety Concept & Regulation

Please consult our safety concept and regulations for this event here.

Accessibility Note

The workshop is held in spoken English. The space, KARA, is on the ground floor but has three steps to enter the house. A ramp for wheelchairs is available at all times. There is also a parking space available right in front of the door if needed. KARA has an accessible bathroom available. There are no thresholds in the entire house. The garden is only partially accessible at the moment. During the workshop, we will sit on the floor. Sitting in a chair can also be provided. Adaptations for physical needs will be shown and can also be provided upon request. If you participate in this workshop and need more assistance please message us at info@karada-house.de beforehand.

Who is this event for?

LGBTQIA+ describes the full spectrum of non-mainstream sexual orientation and/or gender identity, meaning: lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, non-binary, genderqueer/fluid, queer, intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender.