In our experience, taking people away from their work and into a “back to basics” environment, rather than a 4-star conference venue, helps to create real conversations, un-do perceptions, and build shared experiences.

Part of our vision for our clients was to have such a “back to basics” venue; a conference facility combined with an outdoor venue where we could develop people through our experiential approach. A venue where people could truly be themselves and lose the social masks that many of us wear in the workplace.

We found the perfect venue in the form of a large grass bank surrounding a soccer field at Chrysalis Academy in Tokai. Right on the edge of Tokai forest, the venue is surrounded by trees and offers a serene environment just outside Cape Town.

The Outdoor Leadership Course was built in 2004. It consists of a series of seven obstacles, built according to military standards. The obstacle course often forms an integral part of our leadership, personal development and team profiling workshops.

Each of the seven obstacles on the course provides powerful analogies for our personal and professional lives. As delegates work through their fears and uncertainty and work out a strategy to tackle the various obstacles, we bring them back to the workplace and/or their personal lives.

What’s holding them back? What emotions and thoughts did they experience as they decided whether and how to tackle each obstacle? How did the support from team members help?

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The obstacle course is also used by various groups as a traditional “assault course” for all-round fitness and endurance training.

By building our obstacle course at Chrysalis Academy (a social crime prevention and upliftment programme), we not only have a beautiful venue for our clients (including basic conference facilities) but we’re also able to give back to the community with Chrysalis students using the obstacle course as part of their life skills curriculum.