The Threefold Colab

threefold.org/youth

Introduction

The Threefold Colab is a new initiative of the Threefold Educational Foundation and School in Chestnut Ridge, New York. Threefold Educational Foundation – a 140-acre community, campus, and farm only twenty miles from Manhattan – has been bringing the teachings of anthroposophy into practice since 1926, by hosting initiatives in education, spiritual scientific research, agriculture, and the arts. Twelve unique institutions, and several neighboring ones, find their home within the context of Threefold, all united in the pursuit of a modern path of initiation.

The Threefold Colab is an affiliate of the Youth Section of the School for Spiritual Science, and will serve as a key focal point for the work of the Youth Section in North America. The School of Spiritual Science was founded in 1923, to be a new impulse in human society, for the creation and development of spiritual research. The School has its headquarters at the Goetheanum in Switzerland, and is supported by the General Anthroposophical Society which comprises thirty-seven country societies, and 42,000 members. The School is composed of twelve sections, with the Youth Section serving the spiritual striving of the youth.

At this time, the Anthroposophical Movement is facing a major crisis of succession. Of the 42,000 members of the Anthroposophical Society globally, about 4% are under the age of 40. And of the 20,000 members of the School for Spiritual Science, there are 300 members under the age of 40. This crisis extends to the initiatives, where the Waldorf Schools have been experiencing a chronically low supply of new teachers for many years. Meanwhile, the average age among the hundreds of participants at Rudolf Steiner’s final address at Michaelmas of 1924 was thirty years old. Willem Zeylmans van Emmichoven was thirty years old when he was appointed by Rudolf Steiner to be the first General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in the Netherlands. Finally, the average age of the original Executive Council of the General Anthroposophical Society in 1923 was forty-six years old. New generations are not coming to the movement because what is being offered is not captivating to them.

The mission of the Colab is to renew anthroposophy into a meaningful, legible, and practical movement for today. Anthroposophy is a path of knowing, of sourcing spiritual wisdom. Often the path can be mistaken for the destination, but the origin and destination of most spiritual traditions is universal truth. Anthroposophy’s mission is to support the human soul through initiation. Initiation is a path of self-knowledge in which knowledge becomes wisdom through the birth of the true self, love. The process of initiation prepares the individual to give more, and more in freedom and service to justice.

“Justice is the human soul finding a place to return. Justice is the day after a long night.”

Orland Bishop

The greatest injustice, the ultimate conspiracy, that humanity faces today is materialism. Young individuals are often the most at risk, and on the frontlines, in this battle with materialistic forces seeking to dominate attention and meaning. The signs of struggle appear as social isolation, screen addiction, and mental health crises. But the Earth and the stars are conspiring for human beings to experience the realities prepared to become, through love. We become truly human when we choose to give our life energies to light and love rather than desire and mistrust. It is as simple as doing what one knows to be true, to develop the willingness to be ourselves.

The Colab creates a co-working space in which young adults are mentored and empowered to develop the seeds they bring to sow into the earth. Our vision for the work of the Youth Section is not to sequester young folks off to the side where they do superficial activities, but to be a welcoming party for the future of the Anthroposophical Movement. The Youth Section is not exclusively for those who are not yet ready to engage directly in the teachings of anthroposophy. The way anthroposophy is taught and represented, not anthroposophy itself, has to change to meet a new time. The Youth Section has this capacity: to create new thinking, art, and initiatives and host everyone in our creations.

The vision of the Threefold Colab is a continuity of creation founded in love. To do this we renew and transform the declining forms of society and culture so that the past can give to the future. When we truly engage in a transformation process, we don’t know what will come out on the other end. When a free act is not for outcome, ultimately, in creation, there is no protection for our expectations or the status quo.. Transformation goes beyond intention, and even beyond receptivity, into a third faculty of the human soul: creation. The processes of transformation are not one thing becoming another through conscious intention, conscious activity doesn’t necessarily mean knowing what one will do before one does it. Transformation involves a certain degree of improvisation because to truly step into creation is to enter the unknown. In Genesis, the darkness was created for a distinct purpose: To provide a schooling of consciousness for the light to move towards its highest form of expression.

The Threefold Colab Programs

Three distinct initiatives: the Residency Program, The Anthroposophy Course (all-ages), and a venue to host activities organized by local young adults.

Residency Program

Beginning September 2025, Threefold invites young adults to participate in a transformative residential experience in the Lower Hudson Valley of New York State. The Colab is essentially an opportunity to explore a holistic lifestyle in a spiritually oriented community. The program offers accompaniment, mentorship, networking, and friendship. Residents will work out of their own initiative on their individual project, contribute toward Youth Section team operations, and work on the hyperlocal level in on-the-ground service work.

Residents are accepted on a rolling basis, each with their own individual commitment period. The program is half-time, tuition free; housing is available for rent in private rooms with shared kitchen/bathroom.

The Colab stands on three interconnected pillars:

1. Study: Developing an inner capacity for meaning

2. Initiative: Creating projects that address contemporary challenges

3. Service: Grounding wisdom in practical community engagement

Study invites the development of understanding in pursuit of becoming a better steward of the earth’s potential. Much of the study sessions are conversations in which we create community with Rudolf Steiner, and other teachers, through their writings. At the core of the pedagogical approach is to incorporate the foundations of spiritual science and the needs of the individuals present. In addition to horizontal learning, the program hosts experienced practitioners as visiting faculty.

The study program serves the development of three archetypal faculties of the human soul. In the development of our faculty of thinking, we explore epistemology, in pursuit of living thinking as a spiritual activity. For the faculty of feeling, the arts are explored with hands-on projects in eurythmy, speech and drama, sculpture, painting, music, etc. Finally, for the will faculty of the human soul, we bring in both the practical fields and the exploration of self-knowledge through inner exercises. In practical activities, residents delve into agriculture, herbalism, education, Goethean science, etc. Self-knowledge through inner exercises refers to exercising in the gymnasium of the soul by strengthening our muscles of concentration, contemplation and meditation.

The heart of the Colab is initiative, which we engage through creating societal transformation by researching and developing spiritual, scientific and artistic initiatives and questions. The program supports the unique expression of each resident, as well as providing projects for the Colab team to accomplish together. Every project has a research or inner component as well as a social and outer aspect. First we identify where our personal gifts meet the world’s needs, provide mentorship, peer-to-peer collegial support, and community feedback through regular sharing opportunities with the wider community. Finally, our accomplishments are amplified across the Global Youth Section Network.

The free initiative can manifest in various ways: a touring theater act, a massive conference, land art projects involving masonry and carpentry, hosting intimate community conversations on polarizing topics, incubating social enterprises, etc.

Service grounds esoteric study in practical reality while developing capacities for collaboration, resourcefulness, and discipline. Through our work lives, residents participate on the operational level of community life, learning new skills, and developing new capacities. Service work connects the residents with the various institutions within Threefold Community and the neighboring Foundations, giving everyone a diversity of interaction and relationship.

Potential projects include: biodynamic farming, demolition(!), elder care at the Rudolf Steiner Fellowship Foundation, painting houses, landscaping, cleaning, entrepreneurship in artisan crafts (pottery, candlemaking, woodwork), etc.

Beginning Anthroposophy: The Threefold Intro Course

An all-ages, part-time course which meets on twelve Saturdays from October through March. We explore anthroposophy through conversations in community with esoteric texts, lectures, and hands-on artistic experience. The course gives participants a broad view of the various paths and initiatives streaming out of anthroposophy. Anyone, of any age, seeking a greater understanding of the threefold nature of the human being - body, soul and spirit - and how to put this wisdom into practice is welcome!

Activity & Event Space

Finally, the event and activity space for young adults living and working at Threefold and the Fellowship Foundations. Activities range from book study groups to music jam nights. Additionally, a place of hospitality for casual unannounced social time and visitors. Stop by, meet a new friend or bring an old friend, have a cup of tea, and be welcome.

Our Vision & Call to Action

The Threefold Colab is radically rethinking how society could reflect the nobility of the human soul. This is a beginning toward developing new forms of idealistic community that support human beings in realizing their humanity. We create a space for hospitality, engaged learning, meaningful work, biodynamic meals, seasonal festivals, exploring, creating, and transforming ourselves and our understanding together.

We believe that together, we can create the conditions for a new generation of spiritually awakened, practically skilled, and socially engaged young people to lead us forward. And to make the pathway to Anthroposophy financially accessible for all, we are currently seeking co-investment partnerships.

Please visit the website for more information: threefold.org/youth