WELCOME TO THE ZESTI COLLECTIVE

SELF-DISCOVERYSHOULDN'T BEA LUXURY

WE BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN CULTURAL HERITAGE AND MENTAL WELLBEING THROUGH ACCESSIBLE WORKSHOPS IN CRAFT AND MOVEMENT

SLOW DOWN, BE NURTURED, FEEL ZESTI

Partner with us What we do

Stella Patsikas at the first Zesti Collective event

'ΖΕΣΤΗ" - A WARMTH THAT EMANATES, GROWS AND CHALLENGES YOU TO IMAGINE OTHERWISE

nurture ✦truth ✦connection ✦play ✦nurture ✦truth ✦connection ✦play ✦

A quiet crisis of disconnection

LONELINESS ISN'T JUST A FEELING; IT'S A SYSTEMIC FAILURE. BURNOUT AND CULTURAL DISCONNECTION ARE ERODING THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF MODERN SOCIETY.

1 in 4

workers report mental health problems linked to work stress

src / HSE

1 in 5

adults report low life satisfaction

src / ONS

4–5 hrs

spent online each day outside of work

src / Ofcom

THE ZESTI FRAMEWORK

IN A LANDSCAPE OF RISING BURNOUT AND CHRONIC LONELINESS, THE TOOLS FOR SELF-EXPRESSION SHOULDN'T BE A LUXURY. WE PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE, CULTURALLY ROOTED SPACES WHERE PEOPLE CAN RECONNECT WITH THEIR HANDS, THEIR BODIES, AND EACHOTHER. PREVENTATIVE SOCIAL PRESCRIBING, OFFERED AT LITTLE TO NO COST

Participants crafting together at a Zesti workshop

01 /

Heritage craft

ENDANGERED CRAFTS TAUGHT BY PRACTITIONERS WITH THE INCENTIVE TO KEEP THEM ALIVE — CLAY, CLOTH, THREAD, DYE. FROM WEST AFRICAN BLOCK PRINTING TO TRADITIONAL POTTERY, WE TEACH SKILLS THAT CARRY HISTORY AND GROUND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.

A dancer in ornate cultural costume performing at a Zesti movement workshop

02 /

HOLISTIC MOVEMENT

MOVEMENT LED BY PEOPLE FROM THE CULTURE IT COMES FROM. CULTURALLY SPECIFIC DANCE AND SOMATIC PRACTICES DESIGNED TO RELEASE STRESS AND BUILD COLLECTIVE RHYTHM.

What people leave with

01 RECENTRE

"THE CREATIVE OUTLET FELT INCREDIBLE! I FORGOT ABOUT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT MADE ME FEEL STRESSED AS SOON AS I TURNED THE PAGE" - Kyra

02 BUILD

"I LOVED SHARING THE EXPERIENCE WITH BOTH PEOPLE I KNEW AND PEOPLE I’D JUST MET" - 'CARNIVAL ON CANVAS' WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT

03 RECONNECT

"THERE WAS MEANING, VISION, HISTORY AND CULTURE BEHIND THIS SESSION WHICH MADE IT STAND OUT FROM OTHERS I'VE ATTENDED." - ANDELLE

04 GROW

"I ENJOYED THE PROCESS OF CREATING SOMETHING AND NOT CRITIQUING IT FOR IMPERFECTIONS." - 'CARNIVAL ON CANVAS' WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT

Stella as a child sitting beside her Greek grandmother, who is crocheting a doily

ME + MY YIAYIA

I grew up inbetween worlds

Greek but British, a dancer with a thirst for creating something bigger. I didn't fit into one single box no matter how I tried.

I thought I was failing because I couldn’t stick to one thing - then I realised I’d been gathering: the way my Yiayia gathered stones by the river, beans for the table and turned scraps of fabric into aprons, thread into doilies and old feta tins into plant pots.

It's this forgotten art of living at the pace of nature, building stories out of the people and things we have around us and doing so with no expectations that I hope to bring to a society so obsessed with productivity and efficiency, that we sometimes forget to be human.

Zesti means warmth in Greeka warmth that emanates, grows, and challenges you to imagine otherwise. that’s what I have to offer the world.

— Stella Patsikas, founder

FUEL THE WARMTH

WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING STRATEGIC PARTNERS FOR OUR 2027 EXPANSION PROGRAM.

LET'S BUILD A MORE ZESTI WORLD

LET'S RECLAIM SPACE FOR NURTURE, HERITAGE AND MOVEMENT TOGETHER!

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