Sharing Our Story: Agility and Sustainability at Agile Tour Luxembourg
This year’s Agile Tour Luxembourg was a meaningful milestone for us at Vishnu Artists, not just because we were founding sponsors, but because we had the chance to share something close to our hearts. Benedikt Irsch and Philipp Heitz led a session titled “Agility and Sustainability: A Shared Growth Journey,” where they explored the intersection between agile practices and ecological living.
The talk centred around Vaikuntha, our nature-based learning and retreat centre near the German-French border. What began as a personal passion project has evolved into a living ecosystem, one where agile values guide everything from permaculture farming to project coordination. At Vaikuntha, a large wooden Kanban board sits in the communal space, helping diverse teams with fluid roles that manage everything.
“Could agile ways of working help build a self-sufficient, sustainable community?” Benedikt asked.
“We’ve seen that it can. With tools like our Kanban inspired board and the principles of flow, visibility, and shared ownership, agility became the soil where growth both personal and collective could take root.”
But the session wasn’t just about systems—it was about mindsets. Philipp emphasized the power of leaving the office behind:
“When was the last time you had a truly new thought in a meeting room?” he asked.
“Nature creates the right conditions for deep learning. The science is clear: being outside boosts memory, focus, and creativity. That’s why we hold retreats at Vaikuntha—because change grows best in unfamiliar soil.”
We also invited participants to take part in an interactive exercise called “Your Agile Growth Tree.” In small groups, attendees reflected on the roots (values), trunk (structures), branches (practices), and fruits (outcomes) of their agile journeys. It was a powerful way to connect theory with personal experience and co-create a visual story of what agility looks like in the real world.
To bring that story full circle, we ended the session by gifting each participant a tree sapling. A simple but meaningful gesture, that serves as a living metaphor for continued growth as agile practitioners, reminding us that transformation, like nature, takes time, care, and the right environment to flourish.
With the help of Impact hero, each sapling would go on to make ecological and socio-economic positive Impact globally.
We’re proud to have brought this message and a few trees to Agile Tour Luxembourg. As a founding sponsor, we’re not just investing in an event. We’re investing in a community that values growth, sustainability, and the courage to try something different.
If you’d like to learn more about our work at Vaikuntha or join one of our upcoming leadership retreats in nature, visit vaikuntha.eu