Physical Accessibility
Our pilgrimages have three different categories: leisurely, moderate, and challenging. For leisurely trips, we expect to walk under five miles a day. These are often our more urban trips where the walks involve strolling through city streets to a restaurant or museum. In this category are also trips where all of the activities are opt-in. While there may be opportunities for more physical exertion, there is also ample time to sit back and relax.
For our moderate and challenging trips, we expect our participants to be able to walk as the descriptions state in a variety of weather conditions. We include these hikes because we understand walking together in nature as an important part of the practice of pilgrimage. You should be confident in being able to walk on a variety of terrains carrying a day pack. Where possible, we attempt to create opportunities for people to adjust hikes as they need; for example, sometimes participants might choose not to participate in a particular walk, or they might choose to instead book a cab to the destination rather than walking. However, this is not always possible and is done at the expense of the participant.
Financial Accessibility
1. Why it costs what it does.
Our pilgrimages cost significantly more than our other Not Sorry programming because of the intimate size of our groups, our dedication to fair faculty wages for such an intensive professional experience, and the quality of food, housing and programming.
We intentionally keep these trips small. Part of what makes these pilgrimages a magical experience is that we become a strong community together. Keeping the group small means we can't benefit from economies of scale that larger tours might have.
We want this work to be sustainable, and that means paying our staff fairly. We work with experts in their field, from the tour guides who have lived in the area for decades to the faculty members who fly across the world to teach our classes.
We want our pilgrimages to offer quality in every way. We prioritize yummy food, cozy housing and quality programming for our pilgrims. Our tours and menus are often bespoke offerings that we work closely with the vendors to craft a highly individual experience for each participant on every trip.
2. What we’re doing to make it more accessible.
We are always trying to increase financial accessibility to our programs. We offer payment plans to spread the cost of the trip across months and offer scholarships when we can to alleviate some of the costs of the trip. In addition, we are happy to provide supporting documentation for people with access to professional development funding through their universities or places of work. We vary our trip lengths, locations, and times of year to try to make sure as many people can join us as possible. We completely understand that, even with these best attempts, these trips will not be financially accessible for everyone.
3. Other ways to join us.
If you are excited about the ethos of the pilgrimages, but are not able to get away at the moment, Not Sorry, our parent organization, offers online classes throughout the year that are built around the same model.
What Matters is a twenty-eight week course focusing on three modern classics that helps you build clarity and intention around your values.
We also offer a variety of shorter term classes about literature we love. Check out what is running now here.
These virtual programs are also excellent for people concerned about the physical accessibility of the pilgrimages.