Annual Report 2018 published:

We have published our 2018 annual report. Short summary: it was a good year of pilgrimage!

Read the full report: link

more (nice) pilgrims

More pilgrims came (1,433 compared to 1,187 in 2017), who still give us many enthusiastic responses.

The environment (staging points, B&Bs, host families) also liked to see them come: pilgrims turned out to be suitable people who often enter in a completely different way than the average tourist. Quieter, more open, muddier (sometimes). In for a good conversation (if they’re not too tired).

Coaches also knew where to find the Walk of Wisdom . For example, a group of managers from the municipality of Wijchen-Druten ran the Walk of Wisdom as a sporty and contemplative variant of a pile-driving session. Since May 2018, two coaches have been guiding pilgrims who want to walk the route as a tool in their personal development.

There was one discord: a campsite owner along the route has been bothered by groups of hikers who regularly use the toilet without paying and leave it dirty. According to her, they are often not pilgrims – recognizable by route booklet or pin – but we feel involved and will look for a solution together.

foreign country

In 2018 we put our first toes abroad! The big plan is a week-long Walk of Wisdom in every country of the world – and then connect those routes. In 2018, we conducted research in three countries and translated our website and route guide into English. In Flanders we gave a presentation and two American pilgrims tested the English-speaking guide and found it good. This marks the beginning of internationalisation.

floor

In 2018, our departure ceremonies were a welcome starting point for many pilgrims: in 14 departure ceremonies we waved goodbye to between 150 and 200 pilgrims. Each time there was a musician and a pilgrim who walked the route and told about his or her experience.

As an extra moment of reflection before leaving, we developed a new ritual: See the sun! A contemporary pilgrim’s lauds. A reflection just after sunrise every first Saturday. There aren’t many pilgrims yet, but we really enjoy doing it ourselves: the light is so beautiful…

The second series of ten silent walks ‘the Walk of Wisdom in a year round’ was popular with 20 to 25 participants at a time. A five-day walking week around your relationship to the planet in August was packed and warmly received (not only thanks to the hot summer). Finally, we had a nice return day for pilgrims in the pilgrim monastery in Velp (N-Br.).

Gelderland Landscape Prize

As a reward from ‘above’ or at least just from the province of Gelderland, we received the public award in the Gelderland Election for Landscape Quality. No less than 336 people took the trouble to go through the complicated voting procedure for us, so we won overwhelmingly. A wonderful compliment to our work!

Independent of subsidy

We ended the year with a positive result of €4,404,-. This allowed us to replenish our reserve to deal with setbacks and we are less dependent on financiers when purchasing materials from our starter packs in bulk. Thanks to the Gelderland Landscape Prize, we were also able to finance a number of investments in 2018.

The Walk of Wisdom did not receive any subsidy and ran on the income from starter kits, contributions from friends and in-depth days and sponsors of the route guide. Our biggest sponsor was notary office Ten Berge in Nijmegen, which waived more than half of its account.

As we said, 2018 was a good year for pilgrims.
Would you like to help us with maintenance and further development? Then support us once or annually via our friends campaign: link.

Thank you to all the volunteers, donors and sponsors who make the Walk of Wisdom possible!

Photo above: pilgrim, by Marja Hakkoer