Where It All Began: Our First Family Impact Retreat at Paicines Ranch

In March 2026, more than 40 of us gathered at Paicines Ranch, a working regenerative ranch in California, for the very first OEG Family Impact Retreat. Grandparents, parents, teenagers and little ones came together to talk about what regenerative really means, for land, for families and for the way we lead. We learned a ton, and we laughed all weekend.

There is peace in the wild things

Kids bottle fed lambs. Teenagers pitched ideas, practiced systems thinking and became heroes to the younger kids. In the barn, every generation sat in circle and talked honestly about the future of democracy. In between, there was line dancing, birdwatching, art making, wish paper, board games, a talent show, wine tasting for the grown ups, pinball, and more than one sunset that stopped everyone mid sentence.

An ecosystem, not an arena

The biggest lesson of the weekend was that a regenerative community does not pick a side. It learns to hold both. Together, we held:

• Progress and patience

• Exhaustion and action

• Exploration and boundaries

• Schedules and openness

• Individual needs and community care

• Grief and joy

• Risk and comfort

• Competition and collaboration

• The individual and the collective

Three generations, one circle

Most of life sorts us by age. This weekend did the opposite. Grandparents learned from teenagers, teenagers looked out for the little ones, and parents got to watch their kids lead. That is the heart of OEG: young people and the adults who love them, learning side by side and building something together.

What comes next

What began at Paicines Ranch travels to the Adriatic this summer. Join us June 19 to July 2, 2027 in Jelsa, on the island of Hvar, Croatia, for the next OEG Family Impact Retreat. Explore Hvar 2027 or see more photos on our Paicines Ranch recap page.

Hugs and high fives,

Annie