Hello... @SenorCoconut here again,

This week, we're looking into the ethics and ideologies of HSCO Vendor: Weave to Empower. (@trucklife-family on steemit)!

Building a community is about clear communication and the willingness to support one another. As Homesteaders Co-op (HSCO) grows, we must keep in mind that the complexity and diversity of its moving parts may also expand, so here we are helping this free market stay running smooth together.

We found it essential for the good of everyone, to highlight the vendors of the HSCO market place. Wouldn't be nice to know the individuals and families offering their goods and services a little more?

Every week vendors are featured on the web site. As a community, we thought that every week, we should feature these vendors here on the Steem blockchain (@HomesteadersCoop) to give everyone that much more exposure.

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It takes a village to raise a child, because when people help one-another, life is easier for everyone involved.

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Without further ado, here are a few question I've conjured up... let's meet the person behind Weave to Empower:

SenorCoconut: Looking through your shop at Homesteaders Co-op, you explain that the "Weave to Empower Women's Co Op" was created in order to help bring women together and find ways in which you can empower one another, support one another and learn from one another. Community is such an important thing to get back into today, could you tell us what your journey was like in creating such a powerful "Co-op"?

Weave to Empower: I have been involved in creating women’s circles for a few years now and I know the importance of providing this space for women to come together, so that we feel safe, supported and understood. Last year I separated from my partner and the father of my kids and I found myself in a situation where I needed support, both emotionally and financially. I also knew that I was not alone and that there were other women in my community that also needed this sort of support. So I decided to start the Weave To Empower Women’s Co Op, a space where we could meet, support one another and be creative. There is such a long history of women coming together in communities and sharing work loads and creating. I wanted to re create that. There really is something magical about sitting with your friends and talking, sharing stories, singing and creating. It is so healing. So the Co Op was created to help both me and other women who are going through similar life transitions. So in the end we are empowering ourselǘes and one another.

SenorCoconut: I would like to hear more about empowerment, especially when it comes to giving birth. Modern humans have been led to believe that having a child is extremely dangerous and therefore women need to be hospitalized. As a “birth activist” what would you like to tell the world on this subject?

Weave to Empower: This is a subject that I am very passionate about. I really believe that if we are to heal ourselves and the earth, we really need to heal birth first. The way that one enters the world, this shapes their idea of what the world is like. Birth is the most natural thing in the world and women have been doing it since the beginning of our time. If it was dangerous to birth outside of hospitals, then we would be extinct. A woman’s body knows what to do, when it comes to birthing their baby, there is an intimate dance that occurs between the mother, the baby and the hormones that both are creating. But in order for women to create these hormones, they need to feel safe and secure. You often hear about women wanting to nest and we assume that this is when a mother wants to prepare their home for when the baby is there. But nesting is about creating a space where women want to give birth. Like other animals, a woman's body knows what it needs and that is, to find a place that is quiet and secluded. The hormones a women needs to give birth are similar to those created during sex, so privacy is key. In a hospital there is no privacy, you are surrounded by strangers and bright lights and loud noise. All the things that trigger your body to produce fight or flight hormones, the exact opposite to birth hormones. This then slows down birth and as a result the hospital begins to intervene in the way of pitocin drip, which they say will kick start labour ( a word I do not like), but what they don’t tell you is that it also increases your baby’s heart rate and places them under stress, leading to more interventions. I am not saying that there is no need for hospitals, but they should not be used for birth unless of an emergency. Pregnancy is not an illness and birth should not be seen as a medical intervention. As it stands today obstetrics is the highest paid medical profession in the world.

There is so much more I could say. But I will finish with this, women become so empowered through birth and so many are missing out on that because they have been taught to distrust their bodies.

SenorCoconut: As we now know, "climate change" is real and affecting all kinds of people, perhaps nature lovers even more..! Without getting political, could you tell us your thoughts on pollution, carbon footprint and what you do to help reduce human impact?

Weave to Empower: You know I believe that the climate changes anyhow, it always has, but we are accelerating that process. Humankind has been very destructive and this dominant mindset has created so much imbalance in the world today. We each have a responsibility to look at our lives and find the ways in which we can lessen our footprint on the earth. We can all make a difference if we really wanted to, from using less plastic, using renewable energy, recycling, upcycling. Finding ways in which we can be more of service to the earth. Ask yourself what can I do today to give back to this wonderful planet. Plant a tree, make seed bombs and bomb empty space with seeds filled with flowers for the bees. Pick a day to visit your nearest forest, lake, beach, river and clean it up. Make music and create, make time to spread love out into the world. We are all creators and when we tap into that power, then we are sending out powerful healing vibrations in the world. We really owe it to ourselves and future generations to strengthen our connection with the earth.

I live off grid and have been for the last 9 years, I grow some of my own food, I buy organic food when I can afford it. I support local growers in my community, I drink spring water. I am a vegan, I use cloth nappies for my youngest. I recycle and upcycle a lot of me and my children’s clothing and I walk into town when I need to go. I use only natural cleaning products for my family and my home. These are the things that come to mind that I do to reduce my impact on the earth.

SenorCoconut: I love that you're a "Defender of All Things Wild", for me it invokes all sorts of creatures from the plant, fungi and animal kingdoms under your protection for their magical properties 😁. Will you tell us what it means to you please?

Weave to Empower: We need the wild, be it the wild that is within us and the wild that surrounds us. If we lose that, then we lose the ability to tap into our inner power. We have been told we need to be civilised, that we need to fit in, but when we do that we are handing over our power. We then become complacent and just let things happen around us, without asking any questions. Disconnecting ourselves from nature, from the wild. We are a part of nature not separate from it and I see that connection as the wildness within us all, that we should never try and tame. And yes I defend that, I defend the right of every plant and animal, every fungi to exist in the wild, just as I wish to live in the wild, being true to who I am. Nature provides us with everything we need in order to live, when we recognise that and find our place within it, the world really opens up to us. And we really need to protect that.

SenorCoconut: And now for a more personal question, I know a little about Southern Spain and the numerous families living alternative lifestyles, but I believe many in our audience have no idea what it is like. Would you mind walking us through what led you there and what freedom from the mainstream feels like?

Weave to Empower: Wow, you know my whole life has led me to where I am now. I have always felt very connected to nature, I have always found the beauty and wonder in simple things and I have carried that with me throughout my life and that has led me to where I am now. I have no desire to own lots of material things, that have polluted the earth in order to be made. I like living a minimalist lifestyle, as it really allows me to focus on what really matters the most to me in life. I did spend a certain part of my life in a place of darkness, but that darkness carried me into the light. When I became a mother I knew I wanted to raise my children without interference from any government body. I wanted my children to have the freedom to discover who they are and to have a very natural beginning in life, away from the pressure to vaccinate or send them to school. I don’t listen to the news, but I do however like to be aware of what is happening around the world, so I have my trusted sources I go to for the truth. I love to celebrate life, life in all of its many forms and in doing so embrace the diversity that surrounds us. I really believe that life is meant to be simple, now that does in no shape or form mean easy, but we have been led on this distorted dance where we are destroying our home and segregating ourselves from one another, for what? For What? Or should I say For Whom? We are stronger together and we are so powerful, how wonderful it would be if we all could see that.

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I want to thank you for taking precious time out of your day to answer these questions, but also because you have opened my mind to something I had never thought of, about the word NESTING. I knew what it was because my partner went through the motions, but I had never thought of it as you explained it here.

I wish everyone could wake up and realize that when we become civilized we hand over our power. Well said @trucklife-family! I have been diving deep into re-wilding these days and what you said really moved me.

Once again, thank you @Trucklife-family for letting us have a peak into your life. I know you will always find support when you need it, you're a very powerful human! Your answers were a true pleasure to read and I also dream of everyone seeing that we are in deed stronger together.

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For those of you who would like to look at this wonderful shop at HSCO here's a quick link: Weave to Empower!

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Thank you so much for reading and stay tuned for next week's featured vendor...

@SenorCoconut

PS: Special thanks to @Riverflows for the graphics on that first image at the top of the post 💚 and of course @Homesteaderscoop for being an awesome community!

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