Blog
Stories, ideas & discoveries.
Reflections from our community on connection, regenerative living and the things we learn along the way.
From the journal
We're Back — And We're Growing!
After a year of stepping back, recharging, and gathering new life experience, Totelly is back in action. We've already hosted two exchange fairs, and we're excited to share that…
Welcome to 2026: Community, Reflection, and Going Deeper
2026 is here. I still remember writing the first post of 2025. It feels both like yesterday and like a lifetime ago. Time has a funny way of doing that, rushing past us while…
Closing the Year Human, Opening the Next Together
Totelly Human wishes everyone happy holidays and a season filled with warmth and community. 🤍❄️ We’ll be back in the new year with exciting prospects: new collaborations, new…
Nature: Our Kin, Our Mirror
I have been contemplating this article for a while. I raised my hand during our “Pillar Talk” team meeting to be the speaker for our Nature Pillar—a role I take seriously, as my…
How community saved me from myself
I’ve always been a bit of a loner. Not dramatically so, but more like… just never quite found my people. I had friends, yes. Conversations, moments. But not that tight circle you…
In rhythm with the self
As I sit by the window having breakfast, I watch the trees sway gently against a clear blue sky. I begin my day by tending to the tasks I had postponed and remind myself not to…
Pause. Breathe. Grow. (Repeat.)
Psst… hear that? No? That’s alright. summer doesn’t always announce itself with trumpets and confetti. But here in Iceland, we’ve officially entered the third chapter of the…
Inside the Connection Regenerator Webinar: Where Sustainability Meets Humanity
Some days, building community and pursuing sustainability feels inspiring and energizing. Other days, it’s overwhelming, complicated, and downright exhausting. If you've ever…
Podcast: Connection Regenerator
Some days, the world feels like a lot . Climate change, uncertainty, that nagging feeling of “ should I be doing more?”, it’s exhausting. If you’ve ever felt that weight, you’re…
Podcast: Connection Regenerator Íslensk hljóðrit
Tanja: Velkomin í Totelly hlaðvarpið, ég er Tanja Wohlrab, forstjóri og meðstofnandi Totelly og gestgjafi ykkar fyrir þetta hlaðvarp. Totelly er félagslegt fyrirtæki sem…
Behind The Scenes #2
Hello, Totelly tribe! Strap in for your monthly dose of What’s Cooking at our favorite community hub. Spoiler: It’s equal parts inspiring, connective, and sprinkled with mild…
Endurnýjandi lífsstíll. Samræður milli kynslóða.
Halló og velkomin í hlaðvarpsþátt frá Mai Bine samtökunum, grasrótarsamtökum frá Iași sem kanna mögulegar aðgerðir og innblástur um fastheldnara samfélag frammi fyrir…
Behind The Scenes #1
So, here we are—two months into 2025, and Totelly has been moving at full speed. Honestly, it’s been a lot. Between creating content, bringing new collaborators on board, and…
Save the Food, for the Greater Good
Food waste. It’s the silent scandal in your fridge, the ghost of well-intentioned meal plans, the tragic fate of that sad-looking cucumber you swore you’d use in a salad (but…
Starting Fresh in 2025: Simple Ways Nature Can Transform Your Life
As we kick off 2025, there’s something refreshing about starting a new year. It’s a clean slate—a chance to make changes that really matter. And what better way to do that…
Totelly Facilitator Stories: Meet Pablo
Who are you? I am many facets of the human experience. One of my facets is a child of Nature, passionate about finding ways to live in harmony with our Mother Earth and with our…
Spare time that spares time/ Frítími sem sparar tíma
Image by Dana Tanasa Íslensk að neðan I was once asked, in a class at Schumacher College, by Ed Mayo, the founder of the New Economics Foundation, about the most…
Green spaces: Nurturing nature and ourselves / Græn rými: Að rækta náttúruna og okkur sjálf
Image by Dana Tanasa Íslensk að neðan From the bustling city streets to the peaceful countryside, green spaces have always been a sanctuary for me. Growing up in the city,…
Totelly Facilitator Stories: Introducing Maru
Who are you? My name is Margarita Hamatsu. First and foremost, I am a mother, wife, and friend. I currently work as an outdoor education teacher in a kindergarten, though I…
Nourish what nourishes you / Nærðu það sem nærir þig
Image by Dana Tanasa Íslensk að neðan We humans have a distinctive relationship with food, as throughout history we have cultivated an emotional and cultural bond with it,…
Regenerative Technology in 2024 and Beyond / Endurlífgandi tækni árið 2024 og til frambúðar
Art by Vitaliia Kalmutska Íslensk að neðan Intro Imagine sitting by a campfire on a clear night in Iceland’s east fjords. The fire crackles, the stars shine bright, and as…
A Different Kind of Merry Christmas
So, here you are, reading this. Maybe you’re wondering if we really need another piece about “getting into the holiday spirit.” I get it. The holiday season can feel like a…
How fashion became our nature - From consumer to user, to maker / Hvernig tískan varð náttúran okkar: Frá neytanda til notanda til framleiðanda
Image by Dana Tanasa Íslensk að neðan My nature Fashion often dictates rules, but our nature craves freedom and uniqueness, woven from natural origins. When I first…
Totelly Facilitator Stories — Introducing Geoffrey
Who are you? Hello 🙂 I’m Geoffrey, a 37-year-old Dutch native who swapped windmills for waterfalls and volcanos when I moved to Iceland in 2019. My love affair with this land…
The nature of homemaking / Eðli heimilishalds
Image by Dana Tanasa Íslensk hér að neðan As a child, I hated spending time in nature. I was a city girl and as ‘’indoorsy’’ as one could be. I spent time outside mostly…
Coexistence with all living beings/ Samlífi allra lifandi lífvera
Image by Dana Tanasa Íslensk hér að neðan Whenever I think about nature, the first images that come to mind are from my childhood, from the summers I spent with my…
Self-Care: Designing with Life / Sjálfrækt: Að hanna með hjálp Lífsins
Image by Dana Tanasa Íslensk hér að neðan How self-care became a decision to live life well. My life gets messy when I don’t take care of myself. My relationships crumble.…
Totelly Facilitator Stories — Introducing Diana
Who are you? I am Diana Bobocu. Originally from Romania, I planned to join a 5-month project in Brazil 8 years ago. However, life took an unexpected turn, and I ended up in…
Totelly Facilitator Stories — Introducing Dumitrita
Who are you? I am Dumitriţa Simion, a soul of 38 years, cradled in the heart of Romania, who found an inextricable bond with Iceland years ago. A seeker of profound connections,…
The Totelly Facilitator Series: Meet Tanja
Who are you? I aim to find balance in the everyday. Making the most of each moment, my own internal resources as well as those around me: my community and the natural world. My…
Meet Geoffrey: Our Totelly Human Tech Lead
Hey there, I’m Geoffrey, Totelly’s tech lead, and the guy who somehow makes sense of all our wild ideas. I jumped into this adventure in 2020 when Tanja, our CEO, casually asked…
Connection Regenerator: A New Totelly Project
We are thrilled to announce the launch of an exciting new project, the Connection Regenerator . Funded by Erasmus Plus for 14 months from January 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025, this…
Embracing New Beginnings and Reflections: Totel.ly´s Year-End Update
The end of a cycle implies new beginnings: a new cycle . A new journey is around the corner. Recall the hand gesture shared in the Offers and Request Exchanges (OARE) to signify…
Empathic inquiry — about more than our understanding
What did you learn about yourself from this? How did you feel, when you read that? What is important to you? These are inquiring — connective questions, that we can associate…
Business as a spiritual practice — Regenerative future
Shifiting from degenerative habits It seems evident that large portion of businesses in modern times have been focusing almost solely on material world — material results. Often…
Sustainable › Restorative › Regenerative
OUR IMPACT Totel.ly Is A Social Enterprise: A Mission-Based Organization Totel.ly is a social enterprise: a mission-based organisation. We have pledged 51% of our profit to…
Keeping Your Clothes In The Loop
By buying or selling pre-loved fashion on totel.ly you are already prolonging the life and value of a product. You are keeping it in the loop as it is re-loved , re-used and…
What Really Sustains our Existence?
We slip into the school of nature, assuming a beginner’s mind of the living world. If we hedge up close to the natural world, we rub shoulders with real resilience, regeneration…
Taking Cues from Nature: Cooperating for the World
totel.ly & UN Decade of Restoration To achieve the transformative impact we are aiming for, we recognise we cannot do it alone. We take our cue from nature, where ecosystems…
Movement Thursday: Choosing Circular over New
“Oh no! I’ve got a hole in my sock” said who? Yep, that was me. If you are anything like me, I will wear the hole for as long as I can before retiring a pair of socks. Circular…
Making Things Last: From Possessions to Planet
Innovations are scaling up to sever our addiction to all things ‘new.’ This post explores how we can step up in the name of preservation. The ‘sell more, sell faster’ principle…
Paradigm Shi(f)t: Keeping Our Poop as Humanure?
Our poop might not sparkle with the colours of the rainbow or smell of sweet roses but it is considered by some as a gift! “The legacy” as it has been hailed, is a rich nutrient;…
CHOOSE TO CHALLENGE: Pioneers of the Planetary Economy
Istoday’s disarray the disruption the planet has been hankering for? Has COVID-19 pulled the last threads of carpet from over the cracks and given permission to go ahead with a…
Champion Friday: Food Rescue Hero
The United Nations declared in 2015 that ⅓ of the world’s food suitable for human consumption goes to waste. The mind boggles. How is it that any designed system results in…
Try-Out Tuesday: Green Cleaning
In our Outermost House, the sun is stretching out, lengthening our days and swapping up the snow for the snowdrops. February just become March and whiffs of spring air. This time…
A Sustainable World Already Exists.
As the infants of this planet we are the absolute beginners, the apprentices on Earth, with Nature as our elder; our mentor! Biologist Janine Benyus explains Biomimicry and how…
Digging out the dirt: Climate Victory :)
Digging out the dirt and saving the soil in the name of Climate Victory :) Climate Victory Gardens pull on the participation of us individuals to get up and close to the nature…
Wisdom Wednesday: Tiny Little Things
We all know that feeling of waking up one day and you are the best version of you, and then the next day you question the meaning of life, caused, simply — by small actions.…
And So We Go ‘Circular!’
With a world changing at an unprecedented rate — we can’t stay still long enough to design by straight line! Our history of ‘make, take, dispose’ economics is at exhaustion…