Building belonging by Rooted at De Hoorneboeg

We live in an increasingly diverse society, shaped by movement, layered identities and change. Yet, whether we have a migration background or not, many of us struggle to feel truly at home, connected and seen. Belonging is a universal human need. It allows us to be fully ourselves, to connect across differences and to build stronger, more cohesive communities.

De Hoorneboeg is proud of our collaboration with Rooted, hosting the Rooted group weekends and co-organizing the annual Rooted Festival. Rooted is a movement and thought leader on belonging, working towards a society in which everyone can feel at home without having to leave parts of themselves behind. Combining research, lived experience and community building, Rooted helps people strengthen their sense of rootedness: in themselves, in their communities and in the society around them. Together, we create spaces for connection, reflection and shared belonging, contributing to a collective home where everyone has room to root and grow.

Lees hier meer over Rooted

Rooted Group Weekends

The group weekends are at the heart of Rooted’s work. During this three-day experience you build a strong and lasting foundation for a more rooted life. When you join, this is what you can expect to give yourself:

> Three days at De Hoorneboeg, with time and space to slow down, reflect and reconnect.
> Guided workshops on identity, belonging and home, and on building a life across cultures, countries or communities.
> Practical exercises around your values, life story, family history and relationships.
> Conversations in small groups that invite honest reflection and mutual support.
> Time outdoors, connecting with nature and your surroundings in a new way.
> Personal stories from people who have navigated change and layered identities themselves.
> Creative practices with movement, voice and storytelling, to express what often remains unseen.
> Room to speak in the language that feels most natural to you, and to bring all parts of yourself into the room.
> Fresh, nourishing meals inspired by the backgrounds and stories of the participants.
> A diverse, open-minded group, where you discover that every journey is unique and yet many experiences are shared.
> The Rooted workbook, with tools and exercises to keep growing your rootedness long after the weekend.

Upcoming Rooted weekends:
> Friday 4 until Monday 7 December 2026
> Friday 26 until Monday 29 March 2027
> Friday 14 until Sunday 16 May 2027 (special edition for youth)
> Friday 6 until Monday 9 August 2027
> Thursday 2 until Sunday 5 December 2027

You can apply through the form on the Rooted website. Rooted will then invite you for an intake conversation, to explore together whether the weekend fits what you are looking for.

Join a weekend

FAQ & Details

Who are participating at the weekends?
Based on all applications, Rooted forms a group that is diverse, yet able to grow into a community where people can relate to one another. All applications are taken into consideration. Rooted trusts that you know best whether you are in need of rooting, regardless of your nationality or residence status. Former participants include people who have fled their home country, people who came to the Netherlands for work or love, people who were born in the Netherlands and lived abroad for a long period of time, people who were adopted, and people whose (grand)parents are from different countries. The desire and need for rooting is universal. Rooted currently only accepts applications from people aged 21 and over, with the exception of the youth weekend in May 2027.

What are the costs?
Participation is on a donation basis, and you contribute after the weekend. Rooted covers the remaining costs through fundraising. You decide what this investment in yourself is worth and what you are able to give. By paying what you can, you help make Rooted available to as many people as possible. Together, we pay it forward.

What language will we speak?
The main language is English, and a basic level is required. You are warmly encouraged to express yourself fully, including in your native language, and there is time and space for that in the program. Facilitators and staff speak Dutch, English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

Who facilitates the weekends?
Each weekend is guided by a team of four facilitators with expertise in coaching, psychology, soft skills and voice liberation, among other things. All of them are experts by experience.

What will we be doing?
You will explore the eight dimensions of rootedness through workshops, storytelling, creative practices and time in nature. The intake conversation is a good moment to learn more.

What about food and accommodation?
You stay in a comfortable bedroom at De Hoorneboeg, a peaceful estate near Hilversum surrounded by forest and nature. Vegetarian meals are provided, and dietary wishes can be accommodated upon request.

About Rooted

Rooted is a movement and a thought leader on belonging. In an age of displacement, they develop the language, spaces and practices needed to build a collective home. Combining research, lived experience and community building, Rooted supports people in rooting without having to leave parts of themselves behind. Feeling at home is a basic human need, and the foundation of a cohesive society.

Rooted works primarily with people who navigate multiple cultures, identities and communities. Their methodology helps people strengthen their sense of rootedness in themselves, in their communities and in society. After Rooted, participants no longer see themselves as temporary visitors, or as someone of whom only a part is welcome, but as full and authentic members of Dutch society.

Their experience has shown that the search for belonging extends beyond migration. In a rapidly changing and diverse society, people without a migration background are looking for connection and recognition too. Rooted believes that people with a migration experience, having often navigated different cultures and ideas of home, have valuable insights to offer in this search. By bringing these experiences together, Rooted strengthens individuals and communities alike, helping people participate authentically, connect across differences and contribute to a more cohesive society.

About founder Noor

Noor Cornelissen was born in the Netherlands. She lived across the world, mostly working with communities on issues related to migration and displacement. Whether it was in Libya, Palestine or the Democratic Republic of Congo, she often crossed paths with people who felt uprooted. After ten years of living abroad, she came home to the Netherlands and was faced with her own ‘uprootedness’. Noor holds the strong belief that everybody has the right to not only have a home, but to also feel at home. She saw that mainstream integration policy often reduces belonging to language and work, and leaves this deeper need untouched. In 2023 she founded Rooted, together with people who had walked their own paths towards rootedness, choosing to speak of rooting rather than integrating. Building on academic research, practical experience and in-depth conversations, she developed the Rooted methodology and its eight dimensions.

Rooting in eight dimensions
Rooted sees belonging as multi-dimensional. During the weekend, you strengthen your connection to yourself and to society across eight dimensions:
Physical: feeling at home in your own body
Emotional: connecting with and expressing what you truly feel
Mental: making choices based on your values
Social: building meaningful, reciprocal relationships
Spiritual: grounding in faith, meaning or being part of something greater
Intergenerational: honouring your heritage and shaping your legacy
Spatial: feeling connected to your environment and surroundings
Temporal: living consciously in the present while integrating past and future

“Feeling at home starts in your heart. From there the roots grow between the walls through to the pavement and then across the world. If the seed doesn’t grow in your heart, you are nowhere at home. Rooted lets that seed sprout to then take root again.”

Rodaan Al Galidi, award-winning author and poet, ambassador of Rooted

About the facilitators

Together with founder and facilitator Noor, Rooted programming is led by an interdisciplinary group of professionals that all walk their own path of rooting.

Sacha Post is a wilderness guide and philosopher who facilitates experiences that enable an embodied connection with with our land. He aims to inspire people to live deeply rooted in the physical space they find themselves.

Hester Dam is a singing teacher and voice liberation facilitator. After a career in classical singing, she decided to dedicate her time to letting other people sing too. She coaches people in finding and expressing their inner voice.

Charo Durán is a singer, singing teacher, voice liberation and breathwork coach. As a child of two worlds, Bolivia and The Netherlands, her mission is to create unity and a sense of belonging – in the world and in ourselves.

Sandra Nauta- van der Rijst is a systemic coach and NLP practitioner. Her aim is to inspire people to find and recognize their roots and make them their strength to build up on. With her Surinamese-Dutch roots, she knows this journey of discovery: “To know who you are, you may have to return to those roots to retrieve what you have forgotten.”

Learn more about the Rooted team here