Certified Trainers at the Center for Nonviolent Communication

Fazal has been working in the international development sector for over ten years. He has a strong passion for Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and has promoted its principles to build peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka through his peacebuilding efforts. He was a member of the organizing team for the 2017 International Intensive Training (IIT) in Sri Lanka and has also participated in several international NVC training programs.   

Nessa Dertnig discovered NVC for the first time while on a permaculture course in 2011, and since then has studied with a variety of trainers in the United States and Europe. The practice of NVC has helped her create more connected and fulfilling relationships with many people in her life, and feel more balanced, aware, curious, and open. She is currently deepening her practice as a candidate for trainer certification.

Nessa lives and works on a small organic farm in southern Austria with her husband and two teenage children. She also teaches in a local secondary school and is eager to learn more about how to bring NVC into a public school setting and share NVC with students, parents, and teachers.

Being born and raised in Switzerland I always dreamt of another life in a warm country and so, in 2006, I left Switzerland. I did not imagine it would be a goodbye for good but I have not returned to live there since. After traveling the world for some months, I ended up in Costa Rica, the place not only where my son was born but where I was reborn.

I love to connect with nature and I am a big animal lover. Going on my daily beach walks with my dogs early in the morning is my meditation and it is where I can get grounded and connect with mother earth and myself. Costa Rica has a wonderfully special energy, which invites you to look deeper and reconnect with yourself and nature.

I was gifted with a son whose soul clearly came to this world to guide and transform me. It very soon was clear, I cannot parent this child the way I was parented. It would mean rebellion and constant conflict and a lot of power over and lack of autonomy and freedom of choice. This did not align with me at all and I decided to look for support.

Finding NVC was like finding the language to describe what I feel in my belly, what my intuition tells me, or in other words, I discovered my feelings and needs and started to understand them. It was such a relief for my mind, to finally be able to understand what my heart always knew and have a concept for what I always felt. 

Since I can remember I have this deep desire to be an active part of change in this world. I have been working with the local community for over a decade, first through a project where we held workshops about menstruation and handed out free menstruation cups to the participants. Now I am eager to bring NVC into our canton, which is the least developed and poorest of Costa Rica and an area often forgotten by the government.

I want to share NVC because I truly believe in its power and magnificence. My dream is to spread NVC in Latin America and make it accessible also to the ones with less resources. I am currently on the path to become a CNVC certified trainer. I am also active in creating NVC community within Costa Rica, especially where I am at home, offering NVC workshops for free or at an affordable price to low-income communities.

A Passionate NVC Practitioner and CNVC Certification Candidate 

Joshua Patroba is a dedicated Certification Candidate in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) from Kenya with a wealth of experience spanning over a decade. Since delving into the world of NVC in 2008, Joshua has honed his skills through close collaboration with esteemed trainers and facilitators. His journey has led him to create and lead transformative retreats, workshops, summer camps, and events that integrate NVC principles for life-changing experiences. 

A standout achievement in Joshua's NVC journey was his pivotal role in organizing the Nairobi IITs in the 2014, 2017, 2022, and 2023 ten-day retreat in Nairobi, organizer of the 2024 Nigerian IIT and 2025 Kenyan IIT. Joshua's passion for spreading NVC extends to the educational, corporate, family, and church settings, where he has effectively applied NVC principles. Joshua is now part of the team of NVC practitioners who are implementing NVC and Sociocracy for Social Change projects in Kenya and Uganda. Beyond his NVC endeavors, Joshua is an accomplished environmental expert, specializing in electronic waste recycling, environmental policy, and curriculum development. His diverse skill set also encompasses team-building, counseling, and business consultancy in change management and leadership, mediation, and litigation. As a mentor and community member of NVC Kenya and Founder of NVC African, Joshua is committed to nurturing NVC beginners and fostering a supportive environment for skill development. 

With a focus on intuition, empathic presence, and creating safe spaces for growth, Joshua's approach to NVC transcends conventional boundaries, emphasizing body language and non-verbal communication.