Stories
From a Diverse Mix from around the World
Stories - Investigating Identity, a diverse Mix from around the world.
Online Gathering
Facilitated by Jodie and Yeşim using Zoom.
Cristina
location Istanbul.
Born in Ecuador, South America lived in France, Chile and Palestine, was living in Istanbul with her Turkish husband at the time of the session.
She loves recreating Latin American gastronomy with Turkish local ingredients, and discovering old ways of cooking.
Food is like a link, a way to travel... you want to see your mothers face (and you can) by remembering a way of cooking,
you remember a moment or travel to somewhere through food. We don't need to share the same opinion with everyone, but I feel sad when people don't care what they eat, I think they have not realised the place of food in their life yet. Many have no time to cook, maybe their economic situation isn't good, but sadly we are lacking the rituals of making food together.. but even if we lack community we must cook for ourselves, we must try and make ourselves happy.
Chris
location South Africa.
Chris is a white South African living off grid together with their partner. Chris identifies as being trans, non-binary gender and is autistic.
"It is so telling to me, it is this thing in Circle where everyone's story becomes the one story, our individual experiences of food and what it means to prepare a meal, and within our communities.... as we share this story it is as if there are threads pulling us together.
Though logistically preparing this braai was challenging it felt important to do. There is something about preparing meal, though you guys are continents away I feel like I got to be with you.
Daisy
Location Scotland (at the time of our sessions)
Daisy-Mae has travelled the world working on eco restoration, rewilding and permaculture projects, she is a native of Yorkshire England and is now based in Scotland.
Food is such a powerful way to connect, it is common ground regardless of our different identities.
Food brings us together, I also felt a sense of loss because this is lost in British culture, I'm passionate about it, so I felt a sense of loss when I heard the richness of family and community food cultures which are not my experience of food culture in the UK, but I'm working to reestablish this connection to the the earth and between each other.
Huda, Starfire
may she rest in peace.
was located in Cairo, Egypt at the time of our session.
Starfire was born in Lebanon, lived in Sudan, The US and Turkey and latterly Cairo. She experienced the Way of the Circle through Native American people while in Santa Barbara.
I felt a deeper connection to food, the earth... this journey from the seed, this reverence as human beings that we have with food, not just for survival...
like Jodie said at the beginning, our relationship with food starts with our first instinct and connection to the breast of the mother... it is nurturance.
Potluck is a wonderful thing, we never know what will come to the table, people excel with what they prepare, they prepare with love and when the table is set to be shared by everyone people can't wait for the meal to start.
This Circle feels like a potluck.
There are lots of cultures where people eat alone, but eating together is a pathway for us, even in the times of Covid, community living is moving us closer to the deep desire to share our food, about nurturing and healing our bodies through the food we eat.
(Starfire laughs as she talks) I remember the kids... while they ate they would ask " aunty... what is for lunch tomorrow... it is so wonderful how the innocence of children invites us to the center, it is not that they are hungry or they care about the food, it is because eating means all the aunties are together and they love the connection.
Melisa
Location Istanbul.
Melissa is from Madagascar, which many people are unaware is part of the African continent. She has lived in Indonesia, France and Switzerland. She is now living in Istanbul.
Food brings people together.
Feeding our body
Feeding our soul
We are empowering together. I'm meeting 7 different women from all over the world and I'm very happy and glad to hear our voices and to be heard and for you to listen to how I express.
These are our dishes, but also our emotions and our memories, again it is empowering... it is just good!
Stephanie
location London, UK
Steph lives in London with her 3 children. She is of Jamaican immigrant descent and has always been a minority as a black woman in her neighbourhood in London, but was even more so during her years in the south coast of Turkey.
