BORN OUT OF THE DREAM FOR A MORE CONNECTED WORLD

NATURE RETREATS ON THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAI‘I

Chrysalis is a transformative cocoon to actively explore your truest essence. A unique and potent realm where you can disengage from the noise of the world and re-engage with your brilliance. A place to be a kid again. Laugh loudly, express yourself, and play with abandon. A realm that values rest and simple pleasures.

Wellness retreat meets adult summer camp.

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Our Story

Chrysalis was born out of the dream for a more connected world. The team of dreamers, facilitators and activists have worked together for over a decade to create transformational experiences for children, adults and young people. They have founded and worked on projects including the Global Youth Peace Summits, Camp Indigo, The Institute for Emerging Visionaries, and Give and Grow Nature School.

Chrysalis is the newest iteration of this work. Rooted in joyful connection, this experience combigns deep inner work, connection, and a reverence for the natural world.

Their first offering, the Emergence Retreat, was held in May of 2023.

A joy activist. Devin Longfellow is moved by radical collaboration, youth/women’s empowerment, and facilitating heart-led events. She founded a nature school for children in Hawai’i to freely express themselves and develop a personal relationship with the natural world. Dedicated to freedom, creativity, and saying ‘yes’ to each moment, she celebrates the Chrysalis vision which gives adults permission to be kids again. In their joy and authentic expression.

For over 25 years, Vanessa Stone has served as a visionary, teacher, humanitarian leader, inspired speaker, group facilitator, and mentor. Founder of The Amala Foundation and One Village Project, Vanessa is devoted to co-create in service with community, and continue to mentor and inspire people from all over the world to put voice to vision, serve creation, study nature, realize authentic freedom and live for the soul.

Alohilani is the visionary founder and owner of ‘Aha’aina and Pō Naturals Hawaiʻi. Deeply rooted in her native Hawaiian heritage, Alohilani understands the intrinsic value of Aloha ʻĀina - the sacred love & duty to care for the land.
Through years of exploration and hands-on practice, Alohilani has developed a profound understanding of the therapeutic properties of herbs, their synergistic combinations, and their applications for various health concerns.

Nick LaHaise is a basket weaver, green wood worker, carpenter, chef, and teacher. He has studied various traditional arts, wilderness skills, deep nature connection mentoring, and rites of passage over the last decade. Nick currently organizes Buckeye Gathering, a weeklong ancestral skills gathering, teaches woodworking at a Wild River Waldorf School in Truckee, and guides Wilderness Fasts through the School of Lost Borders. He has been weaving baskets and teaching willow basketry for over 10 years, and is growing a small plot of basketry willow in Sierra Valley, where he lives with his family.

April has spent her professional career working at the intersection of humanitarian movements and environmental science. She directed, managed and executed the first at-scale deployment of Coastal Carbon Capture for Vesta and Hourglass Climate, and spends her weekends guiding backpacking trips through the Grand Canyon and mountain biking adventures in Sedona. She runs the operations at Chrysalis - if you get an email, it’s probably from her! April is passionate about community as a form of liberation, our natural world, and creating solutions for both to thrive.