It all started with an existential puzzle back in 2019, as the COVID pandemic was insidiously unfolding. 

Could we as the many knowledge workers in the neoliberal academy (some surviving on fixed term contracts and limited project cycles), possibly think of creating empowering spaces within these institutions, spaces that supported experimental forms of teaching, writing, and disseminating our thinking and practice? In what ways could we hold space for and sustain ways that honoured who we were, and the diverse biographical experiences that we brought? What did it mean, and take, to step out of the confines of the academy, while still retaining the many joys – big and small – that motivated us to choose a life in academia? 

Ours was envisioned to support folk who chose to trip down whatever path they chose, whether staying in (academia), diversifying (their options), or fully stepping out…

This is our small hope of a transcontinental, vibrant supportive ecosystem and a community of praxis that we would like to call the Komorebi Collective. Allegorically, we´ve borrowed its namesake from the beautifully lyrical Japanese notion of Komorebi  木漏れ日 (ko-mo-ray-bee), referring to patches of light that filter through the canopies of trees, creating a dappled effect on the ground beneath.  We invite you to contemplate on its manifold metaphoric meanings. That dance between shadow and light, as slivers of hope that sustain despite adversity. As an an interplay between dreamworlds of latent potential and the manifest. As trajectories of pathfinding, transformation, and trailblazing. Or simply, as a symbol of respite and rejuvenation, as light finally seeps through and nourishes the undergrowth on which new creative life will eventually sprout. 

KOCHA was borne from a sense of shared camaraderie… that stories could be told, knowledge and skills shared, and peer-to-peer support could be called upon from wherever in the world. At the same time, we understand that contexts and perspectives are highly situated and institutionally specific. Besides, as formerly institutionalised academics and mid-career faculty ourselves, we well understand everyday struggles that prevail and emotionally chip into professional lifeworlds  – whether it concerns personal challenges for “writing up”, planning and organising daily life, or post-grant project management, to name a few. 

While we do not offer psychosocial therapy in the clinical sense, our coaching and co-learning training workshops, hands-on clinics, and discussion circles are informed by a number of methods that have been shaping our own work over the years – interactive theatre-based praxis integrating games and role-play, and a Freirean inspired critical pedagogy and facilitation ethos, among others. 

This space also serves as an open access digital resource (alongside a planned podcast), that strives to amplify voices and perspectives from all over the world. Humanizing Academia is a virtual space that values what it means to be both translocal and decentered, with members and contributors who are invited to participate from within and outside of corridors of the academy.