During this two part series, we will explore ancestral perspectives of nourishing our bodies in attunement with the Earth’s seasonal transitions. We will consider how as diasporic communities in NYC, we can engage with tropical ancestral plants for healing in symbiosis with plants and seasons of the Northeast bioregion. Guided by Philippine traditions of 4 ancestral plants – Ginger, Coconut, Hibiscus, and Sugarcane – we will harness the cross-cultural connections of these plants across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. We will also touch on the political/historical geographies that have birthed the exchange of these plants across continents and what it means for us to keep our traditions alive on lands we may not be Native to. These explorations will guide us into individual & collective strategies of activating traditional ecological knowledge to live in a clearer awareness of local land, seasons, climate change, and energetic transitions.

PART 1 will be VIRTUAL and focus on two topics: 1) geographies & folk traditions of the 4 guiding plants, and 2) deeper wisdom on seasonal energetics and plant meditations.
PART 2 will be IN PERSON and focus on cross-cultural uses of ancestral plants, hands-on herbal crafting, and activities to map the connections between our family migration stories.

Dates, Times, Locations:

Tues 10/20, 6-8:30pm, virtual on Zoom
Sat 10/24, 12-4pm, in person at an indoor location in Bushwick, Brooklyn (3rd floor, no elevator)

Please get to know our community-created COVID practices. Face masks and testing are required for in person classes. FSNYC can provide you with a KN95 mask and/or rapid test(s) upon request.

A Zoom link will be shared after registering. A recording of the first session will be made available to registrants for 6 months.

Community Engagement Practices:

Care for ourselves and each other. At the beginning of each class, we usually take a moment to step out of our busy lives and "ground" ourselves. This may look like stretching, breathing, or a similar activity.
Embrace difference and diversity. One way we do this is by sharing our gender pronouns when introducing ourselves. By doing this, we respect the breadth of gender and the way everyone identifies.
Lean into growth. It can hurt. Students are encouraged to engage with open hearts and minds. Transformation requires expanding our growing edge by sitting through discomforts that may arise in learning spaces.
Pass on the gift. Knowledge and expertise do very little if kept to yourself. Because our model is popular education, we expect everyone to continue sharing with their wider communities. We are all teachers and learners.

To reserve your ticket, click the “Register here!” button. See the Programs Tuition page on our website to guide your contribution.

Meet the Facilitator!

Kai Delgado-Pfeifer is a Filipinx American cultural organizer weaving community through ancestral farming, herbal healing, and folk arts. Kai is based between New York City, the Philippines, and Berlin. For nearly 10 years, Kai has been walking a path of reclaiming Philippine plant medicine (food & herbs), Hilot (Philippine body therapies & ancestral healing), and natural agriculture. Kai offers their learnings and practice through the following educational and healing programming:

Filipinx Food as Medicine – Seasonal virtual courses and in person workshops where we reclaim ancestral foodways, herbalism, and spiritual healing practices through a decolonial, anti-imperialist analysis of Philippine and Amerikan society.

Hilot – In person and virtual healing support that draws from a range of modalities such as: divination, spiritual baths, smoke protection, astrological readings, massage therapy, cupping, emotional release rituals, meditation, and guidance for dietary and herbal routines.

Transitioning to Winter with Diasporic Herbal Wisdom