How long are retreats, and how much do they cost?
We are currently re-envisioning the Lagom Landing Program and won’t know the answer to this until early 2023.
Can I qualify for assistance paying the Retreat Fees?
We are grateful to the generous donors who make it possible for us to provide financial aid to those who need it. Please do not let financial concerns keep you from applying and benefitting from Lagom Landing’s program. Many participants receive some level of financial assistance based on their household income and personal situation. We are happy to work with you and your family to determine an appropriate level of assistance.
What does “Lagom” mean? Where does your name come from?
Seed money for this project came from a farm settled by Swedish immigrants, so we chose a uniquely Swedish adjective for our name.
Lagom (LAH-gome) describes the Swedish ideal of viewing things as “good enough,” or “just the right amount.”
It is a state of living that appreciates moderation and balance. In the face of a self-serving and consumption-driven culture, we strive to live lives of generosity, subsistence, and authentic experience. We maintain hope that through community and kinship we will always have “just the right amount.” Our program is designed to instill the spirit of Lagom in students, who leave more at peace with the bounty of life than when they came.
What does a typical student day look like?
(This is the answer for our Gap Year program, which is terminating in June 2022. However, we anticipate that our Retreats will look very similar!)
We do not begin our programming until 9 am each day and encourage that students use their morning hours to engage physically by taking a hike, bike, or ski. Breakfast is eaten independently before we gather each morning for “Morning Watch”, a time for personal and communal reflection which students and staff take turns leading. Three days a week are spent in the wood-shop/on a construction site (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Tuesdays and Thursdays students either work on the Lagom land, in the kitchen, or volunteering in the community with one of our many friends and partners. Students alternate cooking dinner, which we eat together Monday – Thursday. Over dinner, we ask the question, “What brought me life today? What took away life?” Answering these questions throughout the year helps us gain clarity about our life direction and how we best thrive. Evenings are generally students’ time to enjoy as they please on or off-site, with occasional field trips offered. While this is a “typical day”, our 9-month program includes much more than just the typical, learn more about the Lagom experience!
What do Lagom students do after their gap year?
After spending 9 months exploring their strengths and building their skills, students go on in many different directions with more confidence and focus in their next steps. Some apply to academic programs while at Lagom Landing, and have gone on to community colleges, SUNY Geneseo, and The University of Pennsylvania. Many students set a goal of living independently after Lagom Landing, and the program helps them learn to budget and save for the expenses of an apartment and keeping a car on the road. Graduates’ new-found ability to fix things around the house and cook their own meals is beneficial not only to themselves and their pocketbooks, but to family, friends, and their community. Students find it easier to step into the world of full-time work after nine months at Lagom Landing focusing on work ethic, time-management, and other soft-skills. Students prepare for success in these next challenges through their internships and self-directed study. Our alumni are always willing to talk to potential students and share more about their experience with Lagom Landing—let us know if you’d like to be in touch with one!
Who is the Program for?
Is this program only for men?
Lagom Landing is committed to actively fighting gender-based ideas about career roles, and contributing to the fact that more women are entering the skilled trades every day. We are happy to work with females interested in entering the trades or simply gaining life-skills through our program. Ours is also an LGBTQ+ welcoming community, and our program is designed to be a safe space for all individuals’ personal development. We believe that the gift of working with your hands is empowering for every person.
What if I am not used to “country living”?
It’s true, our small and rural program is not a great fit for everybody. If being 15 minutes from the nearest fast-food and 40 minutes from the nearest city (Rochester, NY) makes you nervous, you may have a hard time adjusting.
However, many of our students have come from urban and suburban backgrounds. We strive to build community with our neighbors and take advantage of many public events near and far throughout the year. If you are seeking more connection to what we call “the real”, nature and the labor of living, spending 9 months building community in a rural setting may be Lagom (just right) for you!
Is this program only for Christians?
No, our programming is appropriate for people of all backgrounds who are open to asking themselves spiritual questions. Although directors Rock and Laurel are Christian, our community is made up of people from diverse spiritual backgrounds. We believe that developing an individual sense of spirituality is a central piece of identity formation in young people, and have no requirements for students other than a willingness to learn from and participate at times in other traditions.
What are the academic pre-requisites?
We are proud to be running a program that is more interest in your personal motivation than your academic history. While many students come to Lagom Landing having completed high-school, we have also worked with students who had not.
Since our program has a lot of free time built in and flexibility for individualized experiences, these students were able to complete this academic achievement during their gap year. You will find that our application process is more geared towards understanding who you are and want to become, rather than what you scored on any test. This way we ensure that you are a good fit for our holistic approach to learning, which focuses on the mind, body, and spirit.