About Zaia S. Hoffmann

I grew up amidst the huge corn fields of East Germany and was surrounded by monoculture in every possible way. It was a system that was uninspiring and incomprehensible to me, but one that allowed me to grow up relatively safe and content. I experienced the regime change from socialism to capitalism at a time when the world was just beginning to interest me. Full off amazement I stood in front of huge toy shelves in a West German supermarket and soon experienced how my surroundings had been conquered as a promising sales market.

For a while I followed a promising academic path and earned a master of biotechnology, a master of bioinformatics and a PhD in systems biology. However, the knowledge of science could not captivate me over time. My interest grew more and more towards skills that support connection and the world became more colourful and inspiring the longer and farther I wandered..

I discovered the African rhythms, especially those of Maracatu and Candomblé, which made me feel alive, strengthened and connected.

In Japanese culture, especially in chado – the way of tea, I found my sense of aesthetics, precision and connection to nature.

In the Dagara culture, taught by my teacher Sobonfu Somé from Burkina Faso, I found trust in a culture of togetherness and the power of grieving.

I thank the Lakota and other indigenous peoples from Turtle Island (North America) for the gratitude that has so often led me away from gloomy, dark inner spaces!

Numerous stays alone in nature have taught me how to deal with fear and made me feel free.

I owe the greatest security in my life to my Butoh teacher Imre Thormann, who taught me to stand on my feet and moving forward despite the uncertainty around me.

Free dancing and ritual work always encouraged me to trust in the unknown and to innocently follow my impulses.

In accompanying young girls* and adults at our rites of passage program WILDKATZEN, I experienced how easily people fall into a warm togetherness, as soon as we gather around the fire. Here I could taste what it could feel like to live in community close to nature and the elements.

​What I want to bring into the world is exactly this flavour of what it is like to live with all senses wide open, to face the unpredictability of life with creativity and diverse skills, to feel fully alive and as part of an ecosystem and a community. Together with my colleague Lien De Coster, we offer grief rituals, sitouts and rites of passage for teenagers and adults where those skills come together.

So many valuable gifts and so many valuable life stories I have gathered. They have all interwoven into a path so different from what I had imagined in my wildest dreams. In 2021 I followed by heart and moved to Sweden. I feel free and connected, alive and grateful for all the surprises along the way and all the wonderful people who support me.

Zaia

education

PhD (Dr. rer. nat) in Systemsbiology at Humboldt Universitet Berlin, Germany, August 2005 – July 2011

Master of Bioinformatics (M.Sc.) at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Berlin, Germany, October 2003 – June 2005

Diplome in Biotechnology (German M.Sc.) at the Ecole Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg (ESBS), France, October 2000 – September 2003

Vordiplom (Bachelor) in Biotechnology at the Technische Universitet Carolo-Wilhelmina, Braunschweig, Germany, October 1998 – September 2000

trainings

Naturverbundene Ritualarbeit, cooperation of Sobonfu Somé and the circlewise institute, Germany, 90 dagar, 2014-2016, creating and holding rituals supported by basic elements of nature

Wildniswege, Wildnisschule Wildeshausen, Germany, 30 dagar, 2013, the way of council, nature based rituals, deepening of the 8-shields method

Wildnispädagogik, Wildnisschule Hoher Fläming, Germany, 30 days, 2012, nature awareness, surivival, tracking, peacemaking, energetic model to organize and hold workshops in a sustainable, efficient, integrative way that inherently supports community building

contact
zaia at mailbox.org, +46 (0) 700417403