Ilaj Zaremba

Ilaj’s background is in grassroots organising, involving them in various strands of social movement work for nearly two decades. In more recent years, they have turned their attention to broader European movement building as part of the Ulex Project, where they design programmes, coordinate training teams and facilitate on a wide range of training courses. Ilaj is an experienced trainer with a broad range of skills, particularly in holding space for collective exploration of burnout, weathering repression, navigating trauma and cultivating solidarity in social movements. They are passionate about working with body awareness as a radical means of deconstructing internalised systems of oppression. They have been exploring the intersection between Transformative Somatics and political organising for a number of years. Ilaj encountered the Dharma 14 years ago, and cemented their commitment to practice after attending a training at the Ecodharma Centre a decade ago. Since then, they have worked with Ecodharma and Ulex, giving expression to the inseparability of personal and social change – introducing contemplative practices and new perspectives to activists, training engaged buddhists, and deepening their own practice. The radical dharma approach deeply supports them in their social commitment to liberation for all. They currently live close to the Ecodharma Centre in a quiet mountain village, where they are fully dedicated to the running of the Ulex Project and its programmes.