A Decade of Wonder: Sharing wisdom

The more we learn, the more questions are unraveled and the more we’re curious to discover. As we’ve explored our relationship with Mind in the past Decade of Wonder, we’ve sought to give space to ideas, finding overlapping spheres of knowledge and pursuing the known and unknown. 

The past ten years unveiled several hidden treasures for us, particularly through the people who’ve walked The Fields and shared their perspectives and knowledge with us. 

Originally a think-tank connecting mind and nature, Scratch Talks were first introduced to The Fields during the second edition of Wonderfruit, in 2015, hearing perspective-shifting conversations led by entrepreneurs, innovators and thought leaders. 

Wonderers gathered in the shade of The Sharing Neighborhood, listening to stories about seeking adventure, reducing plastic pollution and more. In 2017, Pan Pan Narkprasert (otherwise known as the magnetic Pangina Heals, a celebrated Thai drag queen) covered issues of transgenderism, while author of ‘Zero Waste Home’, Bea Johnson, shared how a zero waste life can be stylish and healthy.

Over the past years, these talks have continued in platforms and pavilions throughout The Fields, both on our old site and on our current land. At Eco Pavilion, which later became Ethos Pavilion, both by Ab Rogers Design, dialogues expanded to popular issues of the time—like cannabis legalization in Thailand, Bitcoin and blockchain tech.  

How do we create a place where we can soften the walls of our mind? As we built more permanent and semi-permanent structures, learning to live long-term on our land, we designed them to hold conversations, performances, workshops and screenings.

Constructed in 2023, Unconditional Space also by Ab Rogers Design became a sanctuary for sharing wisdom, building upon the conceptual (and literal) foundations already set by Eco Pavilion and Ethos Pavilion. Within this sunken, sheltered amphitheater, topics of conversation dovetailed further outward, branching to the humanities, the arts, social sciences and concepts that bordered on the metaphysical. 

In 2022, Dr. William N. Wait, professional musician with a PhD in Psychology, talked on the past, present and future of psychedelics. In 2023, artist Grace Ndiritu and neurologist Dr. Ash Ranpura discussed ‘Bodies, Brains & Psychedelics’, drawing mycelium-like connections between performance art, film and the human brain. The same year, Wonder fam and London-based designer Ab Rogers invited Wonderers to reconsider how architecture triggers the mind. 

In 2024, Ab Rogers and environmental architectural designer Lillian Sum held a collaborative talk on how time shapes architecture, while Italian philosopher Federico Campagna held a two-part lecture examining what lies beyond the known world. This year, Unconditional Space evolves into an examination of the human experience through the prism of a kaleidoscope, presenting a multisensory collection of creative practices. 

Beyond dialogues and talks, practitioners offered Wonderers cultural knowledge through workshops and interactive learning forms. In the Ancestral Forest, traditional Thai medicine is passed on at the Medicinal Plant Village, reconnecting us with the forest’s living classroom. 

At Dhyana, Indigo World and all throughout Wonderness, ancient practices were given new life and disseminated across cultures, generations and backgrounds. We learned the processes for harvesting, fermenting and dyeing with indigo. We learned contemporary and long-standing methods for meditation, mindfulness and introspection. And each year, we return with curiosity and awe, ready to learn more.