Dmakeiukl Community Group Retreat Unites and Inspires

Melekeok, Palau – September 16, 2025
The Dmakeiukl Community Group gathered at the Palau Sunrise Landison Hotel on September 13–14, 2025, for a transformative retreat themed “Seeds of Change: Nurturing Our Roots, Growing Our Future.” This event brought together community leaders from Ngardmau, Ngeremlengui, Ngatpang, and Aimeliik, along with The Nature Conservancy as the facilitators and partner, to strengthen bonds, share wisdom, and chart a collaborative path forward.

Retreat Highlights:

• Deepening Connections: Participants moved beyond daily routines to share personal journeys, strengths, and motivations, building trust and sisterhood.
• Action Planning: The group developed a focused, collaborative plan for upcoming projects, ensuring clear priorities and next steps.
• Learning Exchange: A site visit to Ngaraard provided valuable insights from another community’s project, inspiring new ideas and practical wisdom.

The retreat was guided by shared agreements emphasizing presence, active listening, confidentiality, positive intent, and respect for individual comfort levels. These principles fostered a safe and empowering environment for open dialogue and growth.

Participants included:
Members of community from Ngardmau, Ngeremlengui, Ngatpang, and Aimeliik; facilitators from The Nature Conservancy total of 40 adults and 10 youth participated in this retreat.

One of the tangible outcomes of the retreat was the creation of a vision statement embodied in “Chedecholl” – woven mat that symbolizes the group’s shared vision and will guide their journey moving forward.

Vision Statement:
This Chedecholl is our woven promise, a testament to our shared vision. Each frond, inscribed with a name and a word of hope, began as a single story. Now, woven together, our individual threads create an unbreakable foundation.

This mat is the sacred ground of our fellowship—the soil for our ‘Seeds of Change,’ the anchor for ‘Nurturing Our Roots,’ and the blueprint for ‘Growing Our Future.’ It stands as a powerful symbol of our commitment as faithful stewards of God’s creation and as a lasting legacy of women united in purpose, faith, and love.

About the Dmakeiukl Community Group:
The Dmakeiukl Community Group is a group of dedicated members of community from Ngardmau, Ngeremlengui, Ngatpand and Aimeliik working together fostering community leadership, and advancing conservation and stewardship in their respective communities and across Palau.