Current Events
SOIL MAGIC: the science and worship of dirt!
A soil science workshop with Scotty Karas, co-founder of Soul Gardens
January 14th 2023, 1-4pm
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Come learn about the magic of the earth under our feet. Delight in the mystical interconnected web of life which we are a part of. Learn practicalities of how to feed and nourish the soil that feeds us.
This workshop will include teachings on: ~Soil biology and chemistry ~Composting - kitchen compost, compost tea, humanure ~Biochar ~Growing nutrient-dense food If you are ready to learn more about the soil we walk upon every day, join us! This class is for gardeners of any scale, farmers, permaculturists and anyone interested in knowing more about the life in the soil. at Weaving Rainbows Native Art Gallery, 62 Wall St Asheville, NC Exchange: $33, no one turned away for lack of funds To RSVP ahead of time, please send your paypal payment to soulgardenslove@gmail.com or venmo @maayanchelsea |
The Gift of Maize: Tortilla Making Workshop at SunSong Community
January 12, 5-8pm
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Do you love tacos? Me too! Join me, Maayan Chelsea, in the kitchen at SunSong Community to learn how to make handmade tortillas with homegrown corn!!
Thursday January 12 5pm-8pm SunSong Community 30 Rocala Dr Barnardsville NC We will gather in circle to sit with the generous spirit of maize, the life-giving seed of this continent. We will meditate on the teachings that this plant has to offer us: generosity, resilience, collaboration and interdependence. We will discuss growing corn as a staple crop in your home garden and the many uses in the kitchen. We will learn about the process of nixtamalization (cooking corn in alkaline solution to prepare for making tortillas), hand grind the corn and press them into tortillas on the wood cook stove. Together we will enjoy a dinner of homemade tacos with beans, rice and homegrown salsa. $33 includes class, dinner, and packet of homegrown corn seeds 10% goes to Cherokee elder Aunt Amy Walker’s 4-acre ancestral seed garden |
Past Events
Song of the Soup : a mindful eating food blessing soup & song circle
December 7th 6pm
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Join us at Weaving Rainbows, the new and wonderful native art gallery & event space in downtown Asheville. This is a special project started by our beloved friends Lena Eastes and Ernesto Borges.
What: Song of the Soup with Maayan Chelsea ! Let us circle around an altar of corn, squash and beauty and learn and sing food blessing songs, share in a pot of nourishing vegetarian soup. This event is an invitation to slow down, eat mindfully, honor the gift of nourishment and be together in celebration for all that we receive from the Earth. When: December 7th 6pm Where: Weaving Rainbows Native Art Gallery 62 Wall St. Asheville NC Exchange: This event will include a handout of food blessing song lyrics (many written by Maayan Chelsea), nourishing soup, a facilitated mindful eating experience and an evening of togetherness. For this we are asking for $10-50 sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds. To reserve your spot, send your paypal payment to soulgardenslove@gmail.com. Blessings! |
Fruit Tree Planting Party at Big Ivy Community Center
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We are gearing up for a family fun event planting fruit and nut trees at the Big Ivy Community Center. The intention for this event and project is to bring folks together in community in what most resembles our "commons" to create abundance and resilience for ourselves and future generations. To learn, play, and celebrate together while being in service. The fruit from these trees can be shared by all of us, our children, the children of tomorrow, and of course the food bank which serves hundreds of local families in need every week.
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When: December 3rd 11-3
Where: Big Ivy Community Center, 540 Dillingham Rd. Barnardsville, NC Who: Adults and Children of all ages What: Planting fruit and nut trees, live music, singing, dancing, and shared meal Schedule: 11-1130: arrival and introduction. Compost mixing ritual 1130 - 12: Project overview, Fruit tree planting demonstration 12-2: Fruit tree planting with Live Music 2-230: Singing, Dancing, Tree blessings 230-3: Soup made by Maayan Chelsea To Bring:
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Corn Husk Doll Making Workshop with Cherokee elder Mary "Missy" Crowe
November 19th 2022 1pm-5pm
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We are delighted to invite you to SunSong Community for a Corn Husk Doll Making Workshop with Cherokee elder, indigenous rights activist & beauty maker Mary "Missy" Crowe.
When: November 19th 2022 1pm-5pm Where: SunSong Community Pole Barn What: Missy will lead us making beautiful corn husk dolls. She will share about the history and lore of these precious creations. Missy is a passionate activist and during our time together, she will share about her activism work with the Indigenous Environmental Network. Mary "Missy" Crowe is the Indigenous Just Transition Organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee from the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, North Carolina. She is a contemporary Cherokee Corn Husk Doll maker and a member of the QuallaArts and Crafts Co-op. Exchange: $20-100 sliding scale per person There is space for 12 participants. To reserve your spot, please send paypal payment to maayanchelsea@gmail.com OR venmo @maayanchelsea. We'll be outside. If it's cold, we'll circle around a fire. Please bring what you need to be comfortable to stay warm and for seating. Please bring a mug for tea. You're invited to bring snacks to share! May we learn to uplift indigenous peoples and their wisdom every day. |
Cherokee Food, Plants & Medicine with the Bigwitch Wisdom Initiative
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Join us for a full day event at SunSong Community in Barnardsville, North Carolina with a collective of Cherokee wisdom keepers from the Bigwitch Wisdom Initiative.
::When?:: April 30th, 2022, 10am-5pm ::Where?:: SunSong Community Pole Barn ::Why?:: This land we live on is Cherokee land. Their ancestors' bones are here in this ground. Let us gather to honor their stories, language, and the knowledge they carry about native plants, food traditions and regional natural medicine. Throughout the day we will be blessed to hear the teachings from Amy Walker, Mary Crowe and other Cherokee wisdom keepers. We will learn about and get to prepare some of their traditional foods, hear about their rich relationships with the local plants and animals from these mountains we all love so much. We will be learning about local indigenous herbs, medicine making, and traditional Cherokee herbalism. |
So many of us living in these mountains now are new here - having arrived either within the past year, 10 years or 500 years. The intention of this event is to orient us newcomers to the indigenous wisdom that still exists in this land - so we can learn to live in right relationship with the people, plants, and animals who have thrived here for countless generations.
This event is a benefit for the Bigwitch Wisdom Initiative and their efforts towards food sovereignty** projects. All money will go towards paying the teachers for this event, supporting Aunt Amy's 4-acre garden (buying seeds, organic fertilizer & irrigation supplies) and helping Tyson start the Cherokee food truck (feeding Cherokee people their traditional food!!).
**“Food sovereignty is the right of people to healthy and culturally-appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems” (nffc.net)
Despite years of cultural genocide from settlers in these mountains, the Cherokee people still have kept in tact their sacred relationships to food and medicine plants. Let us continue to uplift and learn from these sacred relationships. We give thanks for the wisdom of these mountains, for the resilience of the Cherokee people and for their generosity of sharing their knowledge with us.
Looking forward to this special day together. Bless your life.
This event is a benefit for the Bigwitch Wisdom Initiative and their efforts towards food sovereignty** projects. All money will go towards paying the teachers for this event, supporting Aunt Amy's 4-acre garden (buying seeds, organic fertilizer & irrigation supplies) and helping Tyson start the Cherokee food truck (feeding Cherokee people their traditional food!!).
**“Food sovereignty is the right of people to healthy and culturally-appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems” (nffc.net)
Despite years of cultural genocide from settlers in these mountains, the Cherokee people still have kept in tact their sacred relationships to food and medicine plants. Let us continue to uplift and learn from these sacred relationships. We give thanks for the wisdom of these mountains, for the resilience of the Cherokee people and for their generosity of sharing their knowledge with us.
Looking forward to this special day together. Bless your life.