Listening for What Wants to Emerge: Reflections on our Imaginal Studios to Reimagine Food Value Chains

When we slow down enough to listen, something begins to move in ourselves and in our relationships. That simple idea sits at the heart of why we created Ostara — and across the northern summer we brought it to life through three Imaginal Studios focused on reimagining food value chains. Again and again, we were reminded of the beauty and bravery that emerge when people come together with open hearts, when we truly listen to one another, and dare to dream together. In these moments, a different future becomes possible.

We carried insights into each gathering from more than sixty conversations held earlier in the year. Those discussions revealed deep cracks in the global food system, and from them emerged four provocations to spark participants’ thinking: how imagination and narrative shape meaning, how value might be redefined once food is seen as relationship rather than commodity, how power and governance could be reimagined to share responsibility, and how finance itself might evolve to serve life.

Among the verdant nature of Bore Place, a regenerative farm in the UK, we explored what must be released for new systems to take root. Through dialogue and using the Berkana Two Loops framework, we surfaced what must be released and what can be carried forward. Food from the farm sustained and grounded our conversations, reminding us that nourishment is both literal and symbolic of the change we seek.

In Bali, the spirit of Tri Hita Karana — the three harmonies between people, nature and the divine — was woven through the week. We partnered with United in Diversity and hosted our gathering in a bamboo temple open to the breeze, where we practised somatic listening and social presencing to surface new insights.

Finally, in Brazil we ventured an hour away from the vast metropolis of São Paulo to a regenerative farm deep within the Atlantic Forest — and remembered that this whole coastline was once a continuous forest. In partnership with Olab, we deepened our dialogues through music, movement and clay to bring to life the cultural dimensions of food and the way it connects us to ancestry, soil and story. What emerged was a profound sense that food is not only what sustains life, but what gives it meaning. It informs but also is informed by culture.

Across these gatherings, participants highlighted the value of the Imaginal Studio approach to connect deeply, build trust, learn from others in the space and take a step back to engage collectively in deep systems thinking around core challenges and blind spots. At the same time, a shared understanding took hold: breakthroughs do not happen in a single workshop, however inspiring. They unfold through an ongoing imaginal process that nurtures creativity, trust and courage over time.

Common themes are now germinating: from place-based explorations of how finance can drive innovation and resilience, to platforms elevating producers’ voices, and social foodscapes rooted in culture. Some of these seeds are already being incubated through collaborations to shape markets and create demand pull for innovation. Underpinning all of these is a growing network of people committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible and reimagining a future where food value chains drive equitable, biodiverse and resilient landscapes.

We invite you to pause, reflect on your own role in the food system, and consider what seeds of the future you may be holding — what conversations you could nurture that might give rise to something new. The future we long for is already here in glimpses, waiting for us to listen, to dream, and to take the first next step.