Filipinx Food as Medicine: Ancestral Medicine Virtual Immersion
4 Virtual Teachings from Sunday September 21 to Sunday October 12, 2024
9am-1pm (San Francisco Time) | 12pm-4pm (New York Time) | 5pm-9pm (London Time)
We are never alone, in our struggles, healing, and liberation. The supportive practices of connecting with the Land and the medicines within our lineages are always available to us. Join us as we collectively reclaim our right to heal ourselves.
Through hands on teachings on Filipinx food, common herbs, and rituals of earth reverence, we will explore our ancestral medicine in service of freeing our communities, the land, and future generations. These lessons are appropriate for both beginners and those with years of experience in holistic wellbeing, ancestral healing, and political organizing.
This course is structured through 4 Live, virtual gatherings and a variety of resources offered in a google classroom. Teachings are facilitated by Kai Delgado Pfeifer. More details of the course structure and contents can be found below.
These Virtual Gatherings are potent opportunities for storytelling, community connection, and collective healing. Deepened by exploration of outside of class, we will weave our personal healing journeys with a larger community rooted in shared healing intentions. Full participation in virtual gatherings and pre-recorded lessons are necessary to receive the deepest benefit from this space.
Filipinx Food as Medicine is a culturally specific learning community that is only open to BIPOC (including mixed race) participants. Uplifting the abundant ancestral connections and histories of solidarity between BIPOC lineages, we welcome this opportunity for cultural exchange and deepening of our shared liberation.
————-During live sessions————
Every Sunday 4 hr live session is guided according to each of the following areas to offer a holistic range of learning experiences.
Nurturing the 4 Elements in our Bodies: A mix of guided practice & presentation. Topics include meditation , Plant Energetics, Botany, body energetics systems, Reflecting on generational health, Cleansing practices
Crafting with Weekly Plant Guide: Working hands-on with a Filipinx Ancestral Plant through various types of Filipinx food and herbal medicine recipes.
Food Justice Political Education: A range of participant centered presentations and discussions to contextualize our journey in agrarian movements and relational awareness.
Art & Story Based Integration: A range of independent and collective artistic activities to integrate our knowledge and experiences.
Course Structure & Contents
Google Classroom Resources
Participants will have access to a range of resources to complement and deepen their journey if they so wish outside of the class. Includes lecture videos on Philippine history from Food Justice perspectives, PDF readings, recipe lists, and other learning resources.
Disclaimer: This course is neither a clinical herbalism workshop nor an ancestral lineage healing course. While those are important work to undertake, the framework of this course is not equipped to address specific physical ailments through plants or work intensively to heal the spirits of specific ancestors. In this course participants are encouraged to uplift their personal family stories and begin to shift challenging legacies through the gentle mediums of ancestral foods, common herbs, and safe ritual connection with the Earth. Those seeking thorough herbalism curriculum or work to directly address specific ancestors/ancestral lines are encouraged to seek out other practioners that can explicitly hold the depth and focus required of these explorations.
Gathering Protocols to Honor Self & Community
To honor the intimate nature shared amongst participants and facilitators, our live sessions will not be recorded. In addition, participants are required to attend at least 3 out of 4 sessions (1st session on 9/21 required) and remain present for the majority of gathering time. Last minute exceptions can of course be made for sickness or emergencies.
Each of our live, virtual gatherings will begin with short guided meditations where we are encouraged to open and maintain our own sacred space and/or altar. This altar/sacred space will be a grounding point for us to make food/medicine offerings to the land at the end of each gathering. Suggestions for how to create this from Filipinx traditions will be shared 1 week before the first gathering.
The rest of our shared time will be split between group discussions (based on Pre-recorded assignments), short presentations, and hands-on cooking workshop where participants share stories and reflections while collectively cooking. As a result, we invite you to be fully present to our exchanges and allow these lessons to live more fully in our hearts / memory.
Please register for our email list if you are unable to make this committment and would like to stay updated for future offerings.
Course Logistics
Live Gathering Dates: Our journey begins on Sunday September 21, 2025. We will meet every Sunday until Sunday October 12, 2025.
Video Conference: We will gather on Zoom and a recurring meeting link will be sent a few days before the first circle.
Pre-recorded Lessons: Will be offered on Google Classroom and will be uploaded Sunday after class concludes. Participants can anticipate spending around 1 hour each week on these guided offerings. These lessons are intended to be the starting point of our live class discussions.
Ingredient shopping lists: These will be sent out along with weekly self-paced google classroom offerings. Participants can anticipate spending 10-20 Dollars/Euros per class on food and herbal supplies.
For folks with children, elder, or other community responsibilities: The first half of each live class is meant for more personal space of healing and reflection for the person who has signed up for the class. However in the second half of classes with cook-along demos, you’re highly encouraged to bring your families, friends, comrades which enriches your space of colleective healing.
Class Size is limited to 30 participants.
Pricing / Sliding Scale
As part of its vision to support the healing and liberation of our communities, Filipinx Food as Medicine offers its classes on a sliding scale basis.
We ask registrants to make a suggested donation to the best of your ability. We will not require proof of income when registering and trust that our community will offer in a good way. Your investments in the teachings you receive are crucial in order to fairly compensate the organizers and other infrastructure required to make this space available to the community.
Please refer to this page to help you determine what is an equitable sliding scale donation for your particular situation.
Suggested Sliding Scale Donations
Solidarity Offering - This scale supports more than half of program cost.
$111 USD
Equity Offering - This scale reflects program cost / living wage compensation.
$222 USD
Benefactor Offering - This scale reflects full cost for your self & contribution on behalf of a fellow community member.
$333 USD