THE STILTS TEAM

The Stilts Team empowers communities through the transformative art of elevation: stilt walking.

There are more than 117.3 million people forcibly displaced around the world, which is more than any other time in modern history. In addition to lacking basic needs - safety, clean water, food, healthcare - displaced people lose their community, and contend with isolation, loneliness, and a sense of hopelessness. The Stilts Team aims to serve this community.

Developed by mental health professionals, arts therapists, and arts facilitators, our work enables access to transformative arts experiences across cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic divides.

By learning to walk above the ground, participants gain more than a new perspective on their environment - they build physical courage, emotional buoyancy, and imaginative possibility. Through this work, families connect naturally and deeply, community skepticism turns into shared joy, and new confidence ripples outward through peer teaching and local leadership. 

Built on strong early impact from our foundational work in Ritsona, Greece (2018) with our partner in perpetuity, Campfire Project, participants describe visible emotional elevation and true “buoyancy.” Our approach begins with community engagement - welcoming, multi-generational demonstration walks designed to build trust, then moving into structured, progressive skill development with supportive instruction. We then foster empowerment and sustainability through peer-to-peer teaching, integration with creative elements like music and movement, and training local instructors so the program continues long after we depart.

Your support helps us deliver these hopeful, evidence-informed experiences to communities facing resettlement and displacement challenges, restoring autonomy, rebuilding trust, and strengthening connection through play and physical mastery.