Enter the heart of our work — a Living Library.

Ethos, Hypothesis & Methodology

Ethos:

We consider the feminine way of research to be deeply exploratory.

We consider all spheres of female power, skill and participation.

Previously, typically associated feminine skills have been diminished, not understood or undervalued.

Indigenous women have remained guarded to male researchers and kept their knowledge and wisdom protected and secret.

To conduct research in a ‘feminine’ way is to not force, impose or expect anything. It is to build deeper and longer relationships with the people we are meeting.

We do so by first connecting with people and organizations who have built these relationships and live in the country and by the culture we are visiting.

We ask elders and medicine keepers what they would like to share with us, only once trust has been built.

We respect their customs and traditions. This means doing the spiritual work they ask of us to participate. This means not selling or sharing any of their stories without permission.

This House is a way for us to protect some of the wisdoms that have been asked to be shared but publicly on the internet. Here, you are taking part in protecting it.

Hypothesis:

1. There is a medicine woman and wisdom and cultural knowledge keeper in every village, town and country in the world.

2. There was a time when women were recognized more so as spiritual & community leaders.

3. There Is More To Our Story – from what we are taught and told in our current education and in the media.

4. We cannot look at the past or present without considering our bias and conditioned perspective. We are all part of a patriarchal society that informs this.

5. Feminism is not the first time we are recognizing the equality of people. Throughout time our roles in society have been layered and changing.

Methodology:

1. to do our own work of de-conditioning, to receive full insight without bias.

2. to gather all secondary research available, to then prepare to conduct our own.

3. to never impose our narrative, to not romanticise or force a perspective on women, elders and wisdom keepers we work with.

4. to arrive as if we know nothing, to listen deeply & look closely without superiority or judgement.

5. to invite all to take part in research within their own ancestry and experience – looking to how we relate to other people in a foreign space with awareness of our own societal and conditioned reality.

Importance of Looking To Our Past:

To understand where we have come from, to then forgive and heal our collective story and our part in it.

We are all a product of our ancestors. Learning about the past can help us understand the patterns we are living today, to then create new stories for the future.

Our past has never been ‘one way’ (male or female dominant). It is layered, and to look back is to understand different experiences and ways of organizing ourselves to then look to the future.

Questions we are asking:

Why has the female story-and-side of history long been side-lined, not deemed important in our school curriculum, history text books & mainstream media?

How does this affect our lives today?

How does this shape what we believe to be possible, if we are only taught about male dominance, war, hierarchy, and are made to believe this is the norm?

In many of our formative years, we are missing the rites of passages, and the simple conversation of what it is to be in a female body. What would happen if were initiated with these rituals today?

Feminism calls for equality today, but what about previously? Were men always the dominant sex before?

What is our female innate/ natural purpose?

Why have so many myths been distorted and changed over time?

Why has women’s power, voice, sexuality, freedom and choice been suppressed all over the world?

What is to be feared about a woman empowered?

What myths and stories are still told to us today, about women and their role – by the media, society and our elders? How does this influence us?

Change inspires change. Here we are celebrating many forms of creative solutions, earth-and-people honoring initiatives and activism led by indigenous leaders, youth and inspiring individuals and communities.

Deeper forms of change can take time to be worked with responsibly, effectively and reliably, and there are many ways to support, ignite, and tend to these solutions.

We are honoring the grassroots to the corporate, to the spiritual and the practical, to the big and to the small forms of change.

Art and creative solutions can be woven together with land, culture, community and ancestral awareness.

We do not need to always understand the ripple effect of our contributions, as long as they are aligned between Earth, Sky, Great Spirit and our Nature we trust in our gifts we can bring and share here.

Whole territories, places and cultures have opened up to us through the guidance of indigenous caretakers of the lands. Inspired by these experiences, we are sharing Travel Guides and Experiences through the perspectives of the people who know those lands best.

Retrace our footsteps in Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica and more as we invite our community to share their wisdom, guidance and secrets for how to visit their lands best.

Over time, and with experience, we have learnt the importance of preparing rightly to arrive to a new country, culture and people’s way of life. This process is undressing any biases, prejudices and conditioning that may block us from arriving and also receiving fully.

Below is offered just as an outline:

Wait for an invitation

Trust yourself & honor your boundaries

Release expectations & hone intentions.

Ask: What can I offer?

Remain present to an experience

Be your own researcher

Open your perspective

Look to the women or, those less obvious as guides

Ask permission

Bring an offering to show yourself

Seek balance in reciprocity

Listen deeply & hold space

Speak the names of the land keepers – acknowledge & pay respects

Continually take self-responsibility for your inner work, reflection & self care

Check your bias, and perception

Ask what is true

Giving back – what does it mean?

Allow space, time & inquiry for integration

How can we show up differently to be the change we wish to see?