Kooyman, a leading retail and hardware company in the Caribbean, partnered with Catalyst Curaçao, operated by Reshapers, to deliver an engaging and experiential team-building programme for multiple departments across the organisation.
Having previously collaborated on several successful events, Kooyman was looking for another meaningful experience that would strengthen communication, collaboration and team connection in a practical and memorable way.
With this in mind, Catalyst Curaçao facilitated Treasure Island — an immersive challenge in which participants had to work together to navigate obstacles, solve problems, and ultimately reach a central island to unlock a shared treasure.
The challenge was to create an experience that would:
Program Objectives
Activity: Treasure Island
Participants: Multiple Kooyman departments
Format: Outdoor experiential team challenge
Treasure Island was designed as a highly flexible experience that adapts to different environments and group needs.
The first delivery took place in a hotel ballroom, demonstrating the programme’s adaptability. However, subsequent sessions were moved outdoors, where open spaces, natural terrain and environmental features elevated the sense of exploration and immersion.
The session began with warm-up activities and icebreakers designed to build energy, connection and engagement before the main challenge commenced. We tasked participants with navigating a dangerous terrain filled with symbolic obstacles such as sharks, crocodiles and snakes. Using only wooden beams, ropes and small stepping stones, teams had to transport every participant safely across the course and reach the central island to unlock the treasure chest.
As the challenge progressed, teams quickly realised that individual effort alone would not lead to success. What began as competition gradually evolved into coordination and information sharing among groups.
A particularly powerful dynamic emerged when the first team cracked the pathway strategy, accelerating progress for everyone else.
Facilitators provided carefully timed hints throughout the experience, helping maintain momentum while preserving the satisfaction of breakthrough moments and self-discovery.
Throughout the activity, participants continuously applied communication, problem-solving, collaboration and strategic thinking skills in real time.
Treasure Island delivered a highly energising and emotionally engaging experience, creating strong learning moments throughout the session.
Participants experienced a clear emotional journey — from excitement and confidence at the start, through moments of frustration and uncertainty, to genuine celebration when teams finally reached the island and unlocked the treasure together.
Key outcomes included:
The experience also revealed natural leadership behaviours, with individuals stepping forward during difficult moments to guide teams, encourage participation and create momentum when progress stalled.
One of the most powerful insights came through the shift from competition to cooperation. Teams recognised that sharing knowledge and supporting one another was not a weakness — but a strategic advantage that benefited the wider group.
At the same time, many of the most meaningful collaborative moments came from small but significant actions: guiding a colleague across a beam, passing equipment hand-to-hand, or offering timely instruction that helped the entire group move forward.
Treasure Island demonstrated how immersive experiential learning can transform communication and collaboration from abstract concepts into lived experience.
By combining physical problem-solving, emotional engagement, and shared achievement, Reshapers Catalyst Curaçao helped Kooyman create a memorable team journey in which participants experienced firsthand that meaningful success can only be achieved together.
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