wellbeing retreats with a difference, making a difference
Triple Eight* Retreats is a partnership between Ezelle Theunissen
and Chi-wah Chan, who have been crafting bespoke retreats for
groups from 6 to 600 participants, worldwide, for the last decade.
What makes our retreats different is that our work is values-based:
our core values of Connection, Consciousness and Care are
expressed in why we do what we do. We are passionate about
bringing individuals, teams and organisations in alignment with
their own values.
earth care staff retreat
Until very recently, an unspoken myth in the world of activism has been that social justice has little to do with environmental justice and vice versa. Our mission is to awaken and strengthen a holistic appreciation of sustainability within organisations, and highlight the interconnectedness of healthy people, resources and the natural environment. By aligning individual and organisational values, we promote coherence between who we say we are, and the impact we're having in the world.
This is an all-staff retreat focusing on the organisation's values regarding the wellbeing of its people and its environmental impact. The scope of this impact (from internal day-to-day operations to long-term strategy including external partners) and intended outcomes of the retreat are customised through collaborative advance planning with a hub (a representative team of the whole organisation). Whole systems methodologies, such as Appreciative Inquiry, Open Space Technology, Café Conversations and Community Building, are used to facilitate the (re)defining of the organisation's values, aligning these with a broader “Earth Care” agenda, and arriving at tangible actionable outcomes. Locations and vendors are selected carefully to ensure alignment with these objectives and enhance the overall experience.
team revitalise & reconnect retreat
Team building with a difference!
Come and learn about embodied mindfulness, movement and making a difference through everything from our small day-to-day consumer choices to how we interact with our immediate and broader environment. Learn about your carbon footprint and how you can reduce it – and even offset your retreat's carbon emissions – through wholesome, fun and re-energising individual and group activities that will leave your team revitalised. This retreat has everything: edutainment, fun, relaxation and an overall feel-good outcome for the team and its members.
As an option, we can customise your experience in collaborative design and planning with a hub (representative sample of the whole team) in advance of the retreat to ensure the experience is as inclusive as possible.
individual conscious wellbeing retreat
We customise retreats for individuals – or groups of individuals, such as senior management teams or executive boards – to help you press the physical, mental and spiritual “reset” button. With over 25 years' experience in attending and co-hosting mindfulness retreats worldwide, we are ideally equipped to help you design the retreat that is tailor-made for you.
Every retreat includes yoga, mindfulness, body movement, silence,
creativity, treatments, nature excursions and wholesome, delicious,
plant-based meals. In addition, restorative creative activities such as
cooking, dance, writing, storytelling, socio-historical walks, community engagement, etc. can be incorporated.
Triple Eight*:
Revered as a symbol of prosperity, wholeness & infinity,
the numbers 3 and 8 hold special meaning for the founders,
representing the infinite flow of energy (chi), creativity, freedom, balance and harmony.
who we are
Chi-wah Chan
Chi-wah is an event management and logistics specialist with experience that spans over 2 decades in the International donor, NGO, Government and Corporate sectors. She is the Founder and Director of Executive Concierge, a company specialising in Event Management, international support services and logistics that she started in 2017.
Prior to this, she was the Executive Assistant at the Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA). She was also the Office Manager for the World for All Foundation, an organisation founded by Former Premier of the Western Cape and Ambassador to the USA, Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool. She worked at The Presidency where she managed the Office of the Special Advisor to President Kgalema Motlanthe and she managed the Office of the Parliamentary Counsellor to the President. Chi-wah was the Project Manager in the Spousal Office of the Western Cape Premier where she managed the office and all their projects. She also worked at the Head Office of Department of Social Development in their Communications and Events Department.
Chi-wah has a 3-year qualification in Business Management as well as qualifications in Event Management and Public Relations. Her experience, skills and extensive network have included managing and facilitating high level delegations, summits, international conferences; including arranging the First Global Feminist LBQ Womens* Conference for 500 participants from 111 countries which was held in Cape Town and a host of other events for local and international clients. Her client base includes esteemed organisations such as the Open Society Foundations Global, DBSA, SA Medical Research Council, The World for All Foundation, The Young African Leadership Initiative, US Chamber of Commerce, Albright Stonebridge Foundation, Centre for Environmental Rights, My Vote Counts, CoC Netherlands International and extends further to VIP’s from all corners of the world.
Chi-wah is South African born with Chinese heritage. She is married with 3 children and has lived in both Johannesburg and Cape Town. She loves visiting new places and trying different cuisines. Her passions are family, good friends, travelling, food and organising. Her greatest wish is for people to live in harmony with one another.
Email: chiwah@execconcierge.co.za
Website: www.execconcierge.co.za
Ezelle Theunissen
Ezelle Theunissen started her professional career as a community psychologist, working with educators and learners in 48 rural schools in remote parts of the Border Region, South Africa. Before that she worked as a holistic health practitioner, copy writer and editor, and counselling skills trainer. Today she practices as a coach, coach supervisor, facilitator and mentor to support individuals, teams and organisations in aligning their values, strengths and unique lived experiences towards making a meaningful difference wherever they are. She favours whole systems approaches such as participatory rural appraisal, narrative theory, community building and appreciative inquiry and is a regular contributor to an appreciative inquiry blog. Social and environmental justice is close to her heart and key to her calling.
In 2012 Ezelle, together with Karen Pratt and Luke Younge, masterminded a unique appreciative inquiry coaching method, and related training programme, which has been taught internationally. She continues to practise and develop this coaching methodology in her private practice. Over the last two decades, she has gained considerable experience working in varied environments – from rural, small town and peri-urban communities to global foundations. She feels equally motivated collaborating within private, nongovernment and public sectors and particularly enjoys working with other English-second-language speakers throughout the world.
Ezelle is committed to on-going voluntary community development projects and is a founding member of Rokpa Bardo, Western Cape – a nonprofit organisation creating awareness and providing support for the dying person (https://capetown.kagyu.org.za/bardo-group). Her particular portfolio advocates for sustainable funerary practices at local and regional levels.
She holds a Masters degree in psychology from the university currently known as Rhodes, a higher education diploma from the University of Cape Town, and certificates in coaching skills and coach supervision skills from Coaching Development (UK). She is a certified Appreciative Inquiry facilitator and facilitator trainer, and Mindfulness facilitator and facilitator trainer. Ezelle is a member of COMENSA (Coaches and Mentors of SA), and an accredited NQF level 6 assessor with the Education, Training and Development Authority and Services SETAs.
Ezelle is an unmarried, child-free, zero-waste vegan who gets excited about composting. She grew up in a diverse low-income area in Cape Town and still calls this city her home. When she's not listening and dancing to African music, she's gardening or cooking. To live simply and elegantly in harmony with nature is her greatest wish.