This collaboration brings together the sacred knowledge and culture of birth wisdom & ritual.
To restore The Old Ways of Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum traditions, to nourish the family, Mother and baby. Continuing to weave the red thread through the generations to come.
These days will take you on a journey, combining the wisdom and skills of elders in the birth world, inter generational and multicultural perspectives.
Being immersed in nature, nourished with nutritious foods, and supported by community care, collaboration and celebration as we reclaim the culture of Birth.
Da a Luz
is a movement, founded by Vanessa Brooks, that is transforming midwifery as we know it. Born from the need to recall birth wisdom and create a well rounded understanding of what it means to be a birth keeper. Forming and rooting across many countries, the reclamation of Midwifery education forms the next generation of autonomous practitioners that support families to birth how, where and with who they wish.
WellMama
is a multigenerational community of birth keepers and wisdom weavers around the world. Honouring and tending the Rites of Passage that leave a life long imprint, from Conception through Pregnancy, Postpartum and beyond. Wellmama’s mission is to Cultivate a Culture of Community Care and Celebration that centres well being and honours diverse traditions.
Bryn y Blodau
The land where this event will take place is a very special regenerative, inter-generational farm and sanctuary.
In practicing mutual reciprocity we tend to the land with honour and care, connecting with the herbs and beautiful offerings all around us.
Complete with a Stone Circle that is the perfect place for connecting to inner wisdom whilst gazing at the Moon and Stars.
6 Day Journey into the world of Midwifery
with Samara Hawthorn, Vanessa Brooks, Tariqua Rooted and Jady Mountjoy
Thursday, June 26th: Opening Ceremony
As we land & greet one another in circle, connecting to the land, each other and our intentions for the coming days.
Friday, June 27th: Preconception & Conception
The Wisdom of health & balance for conscious conception
with Tariqua and Jady
- Tending Roots
- Nurturing Seeds
- Nourishing the Cauldron of Creation
- Calling life down from the Stars
Saturday, June 28th: Pregnancy & Birth
The physiological journey of birth
with Vanessa, Jady and Samara
- Passionate Pregnancy Nurturing New Life Within Preparing for Birth
- Birthing Beauty - The basic needs of a woman in labour
- Birth Stories
- Birth Rituals
Sunday, June 29th: Fourth Trimester & Babymoon
Postpartum traditions & care with Tariqua, Jady and Samara
- Healing after Birth (compresses, nutrition, baths, steams, smudgesmokes)
- Massage
- Binding and wrapping
- Cocooning & Nurturing
- Breastfeeding
Monday, June 30th: Why Midwifery Wisdom Matters: Values, Ethics & Law
Navigating the realms of Midwifery in a modern age
with Vanessa
Tuesday, July 1st: Closing Ceremony
Gathering in circle to give thanks & share our perspectives of the wisdom shared & the journey ahead.
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Sessions
will be 10-1pm and and 2-5pm daily, with a light lunch included.
There will be an optional communal evening meal at 6pm, followed by community evening offerings in the yurt:
- Thursday and Friday: Shiatsu with Fiona
- Saturday: Sweat Lodge with Samara
- Sunday: Stories of Birth and Beyond with Emma
- Monday: Open Mic 🎤
Accommodation
- Camping on site is £10 a night on a South-facing, slightly sloping field. Please be aware that we are totally off-grid here with basic facilities - the land has compost toilets and a spring for collecting water. There will be a Central Fire & Community Cooking (optional evening meal £10 pp). If you would like to book this on site camping option (not included in the price for the school itself at checkout) - please email [email protected] to arrange this.
- If you would like to camp at a campsite with more facilities, check out Camping@Beca, which is 3 miles away.
- For those who prefer not to camp: there are AirBnB options nearby, and Lammas Ecovillage has some accommodation 25 minutes away.
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Meet our Teachers & Wisdom Keepers
Vanessa Brooks
Vanessa is the Director of Da a Luz, a project that will change the paradigm of Birth, Creator & builder of the first Holistic Midwifery School in Europe. Vanessa is a Midwife, she is ‘with Woman’. As a lay Midwife & a traditional midwife, she’s been witnessing Women bloom & babies born for the last 18 years.
She became a Birth Activist, travelling around the world with Midwifery Today, alongside Ina May, studying the root causes of the present birth culture and discovering that Midwives were being trained in a medical model which was not supportive at all to a healthy & supportive birth culture.
She believes in Women’s capacity to give birth in their own way at home & acts as an advocate, offering love while empowering Women to catch, observe and hug their babies independently from the system.
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Tariqua Rooted
For over 30 years, Tariqua has been on a journey of alignment & balance, deeply rooted in the ancient wisdom of her ancestors from Ethiopia, Africa.
As the co-founder of Ewaenede & founder of Tariqua Rooted, she combines indigenous practices with western academic knowledge to offer a holistic approach to healing, learning and personal growth.
Her work spans from traditional Midwifery & therapy to coaching, mentorship & community building - all with the aim of helping others reconnect with nature, reclaim their sovereignty & remember their innate sense of wholeness.
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Jady Mountjoy
Jady is a mother, birth doula and senior menstruality mentor at Red School which brings a wealth of teachings on Feminine Leadership accessed through the innate wisdom of the menstrual cycle.
She feels passionately that it is every womb bearers birthright to be initiated into this knowledge. When we are in touch with an embodied sense of our power, we are unlikely to be coerced into situations that don't align to who we are or what we need – childbirth being a great example! Jady is also trained in rebirthing breathwork, bodywork and opening into the world of soul midwifery. In all her work she responds to the individual's unique journey, respecting that everyone is challenged, gifted and shaped by life in different ways. In her local area of Somerset, England, she co facilitates pregnancy and postnatal groups, attends births and helps craft and hold rites of passage ceremonies. She offers inclusive and trauma informed mentorship for pregnancy and birth that includes the psychospiritual initiation alongside the physiological and practical.
Jady has had the privilege to teach at Da a Luz oasis in Spain, sharing Vanessa and the team's vision to shift the culture around birth. She is fully committed to contributing to this in whatever way she can.
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Samara Hawthorn
Samara is a grandmother, elder and traditional birth keeper who has spent close to three decades living in deep communion with the land.
As the founder of Wellmama CIC she has dedicated 25 years to supporting women, mothers and families through pregnancy, childbirth and early parenthood. Samara has personally guided hundreds of mothers & families through the journey of the childbearing year & beyond. She has curated, facilitated & presented several training programs for maternal health care providers around the world. Her work is rooted in ancestral wisdom, weaving together land tending, herbal lore, lay midwifery & rites of passage to support Women through the seasons of Womanhood.
Samara embraces cultural diversity & believes nurturing the wellbeing of Women through reciprocity & relationship with the remembrance of ancestral traditions, rites, rituals and ceremonies.