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Collective Story Harvest

21/01/2026

Collective story harvesting makes it possible to listen to stories through specific perspectives ("headphones"), then offer these insights back to the storyteller as a gift, and also share them within a wider group of people.

It can be part of an evaluation process, where it supports the participation / empowerment of both storytellers and listeners.

The method was developed by Mary Alice Arthur, Monica Nissén, and Toke Paludan Møller in collaboration with other Art of Hosting practitioners.

Collective Story Harvesting of graduates of the Nareshwadi educational center, India 

What to prepare in advance:

  • Find suitable storytellers and prepare them beforehand.

  • Together, choose the domains ("headphones"), i.e., the perspectives through which listeners will listen to the stories.

How to proceed on site:

  • Introduce the whole process, offer roles, and let the groups agree on a way of recording; then welcome the storyteller(s) (15 min)

  • The storyteller tells / the listeners "harvest" (15 min)

  • Listeners clarify any specific points if needed, then agree together on the "gifts," i.e., feedback for the storyteller (10 min)

  • Listeners give the gifts / the storyteller "harvests" them (15 min)

  • The storyteller summarizes what they are taking away (5 min)

  • The listeners share what they are taking away (5 min)

  • If there were multiple tellings, you can bring all participants together and look for deeper understanding, key learnings, questions, recommendations, or next steps (30 min or more)

The whole process can be illustrated in simplified form like this:

Additional resources:

Examples of how the method has been used:

  • In the evaluation of transformative education by NaZemi, the method supported participants' self-awareness as well as impact assessment — more here.

  • At a conference on domestic violence organized by Charity České Budějovice, it helped diverse stakeholders tune in—through stories—to current challenges and then address them together.

  • At a gathering of hundreds of students from the Nareshwadi Learning Centre in India with school alumni, it made it possible to map their diverse career paths after 15 years and support students in finding their own.

  • In a public debate on migration in Prague, where stories were told by migrants and volunteers, it helped identify key values across the stories and gain hope that we can handle the current topic.

"Through storytelling, the method makes it possible to understand more deeply the experiences that individuals in the group have, and thus to learn—both as individuals and as a whole group."

— NaZemi, in the book How to Do Transformative Education?

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