Self-Care
Sunday
Workshops
In the fall of 2024, AAoC hosted a series of workshops about how to take care of our bodies, spirits, homes, communities, lands, waters, and air through safer cleaning, body, and food products.
"Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare."
In alignment with our Disability Justice values, and the word of the Lorde, we want to support the wellness of our communities. The world we live in (especially as QTBIPOC) is deeply impacted by the toxic products that corporations push into our homes, and that governments are often slow or unmotivated to prevent. In these workshops we learned about where we are facing exposure to toxic products, what alternatives exist, and how to dispose of those products if we have them in ways that protect the lands and waters from further harm. We want this work to be prevention, to be harm reduction, to allow us to ground into what our people have always known how to do and to face these realities with the strength of our connection and collective wisdom.
Workshop Series
Facilitators Meryl Haque and Mei
Tending to Our Homes:
Safer Cleaning Products
Sunday, October 6th | 12-3pm
Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands + Zoom
Concepts of cleanliness can be complicated by intergenerational and individual trauma, racism, and disability. In this workshop we unraveled some of this for ourselves, learned to identify harmful products and safer alternatives, created space for mutual aid, and discussed DIY cleaning kits. We also made a people and pet safe spiritual floor wash together!
Tending to Our Bodies:
Safer Body Care Products
Sunday, October 13th | 12-3pm
Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands + Zoom
What we put on our hair and skin can shift our body systems, including our endocrine, reproductive, and neurological systems, causing imbalance or disease. In this workshop we learned about toxic chemicals present in our products, including formaldehyde and PFAS, assessed the safety of our current products, and learned what safer options might be available and how the Toxic Free Cosmetics Act is working to ensure safer products in the future. We also made our own body products!
Facilitator Shelagh Brown
Facilitator Giselle Castaño
Tending to Our Nourishment:
Safer Foods and Spices
October 20th | 12-3pm
Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands + Zoom
Some of the ways we make our food tasty and spiced contain heavy metals that negatively impact our health and that of our loved ones. In this workshop we had the opportunity for folks to learn about ways that lead and other heavy metals have found their way into our foods, tested spices for toxic chemicals, and explored ways to connect to locally sourced foods and dream up alternatives! We also discussed ways that we can nourish our endocrine system, liver, and kidneys and shared some herbal supports!
Tending to the Water: Hazardous Waste in the Duwamish
October 24th | 6-7:30 pm
Zoom Only
We know that what harms our bodies often harms the lands and waters we inhabit, and vice versa. In this special session of our Policy Practice Spaces, we looked at the intersection of these impacts, investigating environmental justice as it is related to the Duwamish River and those who live along their shores. We talked about proper disposal of hazardous waste and the policies put into place that can support the health of our local river and community.
Safer Cleaning and Body Products Zines
We are so excited to have Monyee and Såhi create zines for our communities based on these workshops. They both attended the workshops and pulling together the wisdom of the facilitators and participants to create informative art that helps us move this work forward! They were sent to participants and we have them available to community in printed and digital form.
Funded By
These workshops are made possible in part by Public Health Seattle & King County Hazardous Waste Management Program Community Education and Awareness Mini Grants. For a sneak peek of our workshops, see their resources about cleaning products, cosmetics, cooking, and disposal.
Feather Fatale educating us about proper vape disposal.