Systemic Cycles Guide Training
SC guide training program summary for MVI course website and Systemic Cycles website
What is Systemic Cycles?
Systemic Cycles is a didactic for learning systems thinking and systemic design; it is a practice to participate in creating bioregionally relevant, place-specific regenerative economies; and it is an inner resilience-building tool.
Systemic Cycles turns landscapes into learning environments and movement into a method of inquiry. It shifts learning from explaining systems to inhabiting systems.
At its core, Systemic Cycles is a transition: from sight-seeing to inside-seeing.
It is:
• embodied rather than abstract,
• science- and theory-based, yet lived and experiential,
• data-informed, but grounded in sensory perception and dialogue,
• explorative, physical, and place-based,
• designed for complexity, not simplification.
Systemic Cycles as a didactic
Systemic Cycles is a systems thinking and systemic design didactic, aligned with sustainability science, regenerative practice, bioregioning, and complexity didactics.
Participants learn by:
• moving through landscapes as real socio-ecological systems,
• sensing change in water, air, land use, biodiversity, and social dynamics,
• linking observations across scales of space and governance (green chemistry - raw materials - products and goods - buildings - communities, cities and their services - landscapes - bioregions - transnationalities),
• mapping, reflecting, and dialoguing about designing-out waste while designing-in opportunities (circularity) in the field,
• connecting with people, places, projects - curiously wondering, with an intention,
• experiencing uncertainty, emergence, and interdependence directly, embodied,
• physically deepening the connection with the inner self, the strenuous and rewarding way, through self-paced, moving, through wondering, sensing, asking informed questions
This makes Systemic Cycles a powerful complement — and often an alternative — to classroom-based learning in:
• systems thinking,
• systemic design,
• regenerative development,
• sustainability and resilience science.
From tourism to regenerative practice
Systemic Cycles is also a new form of tourism — one that moves beyond consumption. It is:
• regenerative tourism, not extractive tourism,
• relational, not transactional,
• contributive, not observational.
Instead of visiting places, participants enter relationships with:
• people (farmers, hosts, researchers, entrepreneurs, local actors),
• places (rivers, landscapes, infrastructures, cities, deltas),
• projects (ongoing initiatives, transitions, experiments).
At the same time, participants are invited to reflect on their own role within complex social-ecological systems — as consumers, professionals, citizens, designers, and decision-makers.
Systemic Cycles as a weaving activity
A defining feature of Systemic Cycles is weaving.
Each tour acts as a relational platform that connects:
• agriculture, food, and landscapes,
• tourism and hospitality,
• mobility and infrastructure,
• research, education, and design,
• local economies and emerging initiatives.
Systemic Cycles actively fosters, incubates, and curates:
• new relationships,
• cross-sectoral collaborations,
• place-specific economic opportunities.
Over time, repeated tours contribute to the emergence of more circular, resilient, and diversified economic clusters — rooted in place, yet connected across bioregions.
In this sense, Systemic Cycles is simultaneously:
• a regenerative tourism activity,
• a regional development catalyst,
• a systems learning format,
• a professional and personal training pathway.
Why becoming a Systemic Cycles Guide requires profound training
Guiding Systemic Cycles tours cannot be improvised.
A Systemic Cycles Guide combines multiple roles:
• technical guide (cycling, multimodal mobility, equipment, navigation),
• safety professional (risk assessment, first aid, terrain & weather decisions),
• didactic guide (complexity-aware learning design),
• facilitator (group processes, reflection, dialogue, emergence),
• systems interpreter (connecting observations to theory and data),
• weaver (linking people, places, projects, and opportunities).
This requires high-level, integrated training, merging:
• classic guiding competencies,
• sustainability and resilience science,
• systemic design theory and frameworks,
• regenerative practice,
• complexity didactics,
• place-specific knowledge and bioregional literacy.
What the Systemic Cycles Guide Training is for
The Systemic Cycles Guide Training exists to prepare people to guide this complexity responsibly, safely, and meaningfully.
It trains guides to:
• design and lead systemic learning journeys,
• translate theory into lived experience,
• hold uncertainty without collapsing into simplification,
• connect scales, sectors, and stories,
• support personal and collective reflection,
• catalyze regenerative pathways beyond the tour itself.
Graduates are equipped to guide Systemic Cycles:
• as regenerative tourism experiences,
• as regional and bioregional development journeys,
• as professional trainings,
• as systems thinking and systemic design didactics.
Why one becomes a Systemic Cycles Guide
People choose this path because they want to:
• work with real systems, not abstractions,
• guide learning that changes how people see and act,
• connect sustainability theory with lived experience,
• contribute to regenerative futures in tangible ways,
• build long-term relationships with places and communities,
• practice systems thinking with their whole body, not only their mind.
Becoming a Systemic Cycles Guide means stepping into a role that is:
educational, relational, regenerative, and deeply systemic.
It is not just a qualification.
It is a practice of engaging with the world differently.
Training Structure
A progressive pathway with clear prerequisites
The Systemic Cycles Guide Training is a multi-level certification pathway combining theory, field practice, embodied learning, and documented real-world application.
Progression through the levels is intentional and rigorous: each level introduces new responsibilities, technical requirements, and systemic depth.
Entry Prerequisites (Before Level I)
Before entering the first physical training, participants must complete:
• DRRS MOOC 1 – Systems & Regeneration Basics
Foundations of systems thinking, regeneration, resilience, and bioregioning.
• Personal Motivation Statement (video)
Clarifying intent, learning goals, and relationship to Systemic Cycles.
• Reflective Tour Report
A short reflection on a previous slow-mobility experience (cycling, hiking, paddling, etc.), using DRRS reflection prompts.
• Valid Outdoor First Aid certification (not older than 2 years)
These prerequisites ensure a shared conceptual language before entering the field.
Level I – Foundation Guide
Learning to co-guide systemic journeys
Focus
• Systems thinking fundamentals in real landscapes
• Slow mobility and group cycling basics
• Systems sensing, mapping, and reflection routines
• Co-guiding, facilitation basics, and group rhythm
• Safety awareness and situational responsibility
Training Format
• Virtual theory session
• 3-day in-person Systemic Cycles field training
• Virtual reflection session
• Documented co-guiding practice tours
Scope after Level I
• Co-guiding only
• Single-day, low-complexity tours
• No independent guiding yet
Level II – Experienced Guide
Independent guiding & higher complexity
Additional Prerequisites
• DRRS MOOC 2 – Advanced Systems & Regenerative Design
• Completion of Level I with documented practice
• Valid Outdoor First Aid certification (not older than 2 years)
Focus
• Advanced systems literacy and scale-linking design
• Independent guiding and decision-making
• Multimodal mobility (bike + public transport + urban systems)
• Deeper sensing, mapping, and facilitation
• Stakeholder interaction and early weaving
• Professional tour design and economics
Mandatory Technical Requirement
Technical Bike Guide Module (required at Level II), covering:
• Group riding safety
• Bike handling and roadside repair
• Route risk assessment and contingency planning
• Riding with diverse skill levels
(Alternatively, an equivalent recognized external bike-guide certification may be accepted.)
Training Format
• Virtual theory session
• 3-day in-person Level II field training
• Additional Technical Bike Guide Module (2 days or equivalent)
• Virtual reflection session
• Documented independently guided tours
Scope after Level II
• Independent guiding of mid-complexity tours
• Multi-day tours possible
Level III – Full / Expert Guide
Full autonomy & bioregional expeditions
Additional Prerequisites
• Level II certification with documented practice
• Valid Outdoor First Aid certification (not older than 2 years)
• Completed Technical Bike Guide qualification
Focus
• Multi-day, multi-modal, and bioregional expeditions
• Mountain, gravel, and complex terrain
• Advanced facilitation, leadership, and crisis handling
• Systemic synthesis and cross-scale sensemaking
• Active weaving of people, projects, and regenerative opportunities
• Designing tours as regenerative tourism and regional development tools
Mandatory Multimodal Requirement (additional)
Multimodal Module (Packrafting & Hiking), covering:
• river reading and packraft safety
• hiking navigation and terrain awareness
• integrating water, land, and public transport
• slow movement in complex habitats
Training Format
• Virtual theory session
• 5-day in-person multi-day field training
• 2-day multimodal (packrafting & hiking) module
• Virtual reflection session
• One fully self-designed and documented Level III tour
• Scope after Level III
• Full autonomy in guiding any Systemic Cycles tour
• Co-design of new itineraries and bioregional pathways
• Eligibility for trainer pathway (by invitation only)
Competence Framework (Across All Levels)
All levels develop increasing mastery across seven competence families:
• Systems Literacy
• Scale-Linking Design
• Slow Moving (technical & logistical competence)
• Systems Sensing & Mapping
• Reflection, Ritual & Internal Journey
• Guiding, Facilitation & Leadership
• Weaving (people, projects, economies)
Systemic Cycles Guide Trainings 2026
1. Systemic Cycles Guide Training – Level I
6–8 May 2026
Venice Lagoon bioregion, Italy
Foundation training introducing systemic guiding, slow mobility, sensing, mapping, reflection, and co-guiding practice in a highly layered lagoon landscape.
2. Systemic Cycles Guide Training – Level II
10–12 July 2026
Basel – Jura – Biel – Bern
Advanced training focusing on independent guiding, scale-linking design, multimodal mobility, and systemic interpretation across urban, rural, and mountainous transitions.
3. Systemic Cycles Guide Training – Level III
30 September – 3 October 2026
Piedmont to Liguria (Ostana – Cuneo – Finale)
Expert-level training for full autonomy: multi-day bioregional expedition, mountain-to-sea transitions, advanced facilitation, and regenerative weaving.
Contact us to apply: apply@monviso-institute.org