I would like to run Coco Palm Weaving Workshops in less fortunate communities, living in areas where Coconut Palms grow. An in-depth course covering how to find material, prepping, cleaning and weaving various styles of baskets, hats and accessories would offer more sustainable forms of making a living where many indigenous communities have moved away from their traditional lifestyle of sustainable farming and fishing to selling cocktails or cheap imported trinkets. Many of their own eco-friendly, ancestral hand-crafted skills are being lost and forgotten, due to the world’s shifting priorities.

I would ideally like to work with women, incorporating natural medicine for women's health, sharing what was passed down to me in South America - tried and tested through my own experiences – from natural contraception to maintaining gynecological health. Running workshops with men is also a possibility.

Traditionally women had the role of working the land and growing the food, nourishing and caring for the family, while men fished or hunted, found wood for cooking and constructed. Workshops would be invaluable to both men and women, where weaving skills could be used for construction purposes and making household items to sell and for their own use.

There are several places I feel called to - back to Ecuador (to work with Earthquake survivors and in partnership with Purahoja), Guatemala, Turkey, Australia, Hawaii, Mexico, Haiti and the Caribbean.

Teaching communities to weave is a form of social responsibility and empowerment. In the future, perhaps woven packaging can replace plastic packaging, reforestation projects can be implemented. There is huge value in things made by hand and with sustainably sourced materials. The focus is environmental and a return to working with the earth and not against her.

This initiative is through Pachamama Handmade Crafts and in partnership with Wombsense.

www.pachamamacrafts.com