Program:
This program offers leadership coaching and development in the context of a 12-day expedition-based Leadership Journey organized and supported by Patagonia Frontiers.
Jempe Center’s objective is to provide a transformational journey of the heart and soul where the inner and outer worlds of each individual are explored, learning from and with a small group of committed travelers. The intent of the journey is to uncover a deeper knowing of the individual’s true self and to explore opportunities for greater impact and deeper fulfillment. The program is designed as a life-changing adventure, one where heartfelt conversation is shared while wandering beneath towering peaks, long naps are had in grassy meadows, and the making of friends-for-life is made possible.
This is a true wilderness experience with no access to email, internet or phone service during the journey. It is a way to unplug from the modern world, immerse fully in nature, and experience a true adventure.
Patagonia Frontiers provides all risk management oversight and logistical support for Jempe Center’s curriculum and faculty.
What students and teachers have to say:
For about a decade Virginia had periodically described in her journal her dream of living on a ranch and having her horse (which she then kept at a boarding barn miles away) in the back field. After returning from guiding a Leadership Journey to Patagonia, and having watched Virginia work her magic through her Coaching With Horses sessions, we put a stake in the ground: "It's time, lets do this!" - Virginia Rhoads and John McConnell
It was on this multi-day journey in the remote wilderness of Patagonia, Chile when I realized I could not continue on my current life-path. I resigned from my corporate job shortly afterward and began to study ecopsychology and to invest further in my own personal self-development. Since then my life path has taken a wildly different one than the one I was on and could imagine at that time. The ranch has a special place in my heart, so much so that I returned to work there. - Tania Escudero
Program Itinerary:
Participants trek and explore an untouched and largely unknown part of wild Patagonia following our signature route - The Gaucho Way. It follows traditional routes used by the Gauchos, Chilean cowboys who are friends and neighbors. On horseback, they herd cattle to market and return to their homesteads with flour, sugar, yerba mate and other sundries. The Gaucho Way denotes both their passage through the mountain landscape and their distinctive, gracious culture.
Day 1: Depart on overnight international flight from U.S.A. to SCL, Chile.
Day 2: Arrive Santiago. Domestic flight to Balmaceda Regional Airport (BBA). Private transfer to Puerto Bertrand. Overnight in Puerto Bertrand.
Day 3: Boat shuttle with full-day hike finishing at main ranch, 12 km. (7 mi.) Overnight at Patagonia Frontiers Guest House, Main Ranch.
Day 4: Day at Ranch. Group Sessions. Overnight at Patagonia Frontiers Guest House, Main Ranch.
Day 5: Day at Ranch. Group Sessions. Prep for trek. Overnight at Patagonia Frontiers Guest House, Main Ranch.
Day 6: Begin multi-day supported trek. 12 km. (7 mi.). Service project. Overnight tent camp at Don Moncho’s homestead.
Day 7: Trek to view the Northern Patagonia Icefield. 12-18 km. (7-11 mi.). Overnight tent camp at Glacier Camp.
Day 8: Continue trek. 12-18 km. (7-11 mi.). Overnight tent camp at Cacho Camp.
Day 9: Complete supported trek. 12-16 km. (7-10 mi.) Overnight at Patagonia Frontiers Guest House, Main Ranch.
Day 10: Day at Ranch. Integration. Orientation to horses and day ride. Celebratory dinner of traditional Patagonia Asado (BBQ). Overnight at Patagonia Frontiers Guest House, Main Ranch.
Day 11: Private transfer to Balmaceda Regional Airport. Domestic flight to Santiago. Begin international flight.
Day 12: Arrive final destination.
Gallery:
Patagonia Frontiers Philosophy:
“To contact the deeper truth of who we are, we must engage in some activity or practice that questions what we assume to be true about ourselves.” ~A.H. Almaas
We design and lead wilderness education and leadership programs. Our educational programs work with high schools, universities, camps and other organizations to provide logistics and risk management oversight for the institution's established program or through our own outdoor, leadership and science curriculum.
Our mission is to advance outdoor education and conserve wilderness classroom, serving as an ally for the surrounding parks and communities. We create learning environments that invite students to expand their view of what is possible, both as an individual and as a group. Our intent is for students to gain knowledge, courage, and techniques necessary for implementing beneficial change, and the enthusiasm to positively impact our world and be dreamers and doers in their own lives.
"When we know that the animals and plants are part of who we are, we can listen and respond. Ignoring the trees is like ignoring our lungs when they are congested and we can't breathe. Extinction of the songbirds means the end of our living music. When the planet herself calls to us in our dreams, if we are in touch with the truth of our mutual belonging, our hearts naturally stir with care. We remember that the web of life is our home." ~Tara Brach, excerpted from Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha