Filipinx Food as Medicine: NYC July 2026
Santa Cecilia Garden (18-36 Willoughby Ave, Ridgewood -- near Jefferson Street L)
Sliding Scale:
$ 25 - 100 per person
The true cost of this workshop, inclusive of materials, preparations, & facilitation, is $40.
We ask participants, especially those with privilege, to give what they can, in order to equitably compensate those organizing this space.
During this knowledge share we will explore the wisdom of Filipinx agricultural traditions as they translate into our diaspora in Turtle Island. Rice will be our guiding plant ancestor as we explore the politicized context that surrounds sacred seed traditions. As we examine the historical struggles experienced in the Philippines in relation to Rice, our hands-on activities of processing rice will serve as a venue for re-writing our collective relationship to this food.
Our time together will be very much hands-on. Our day will consist of 1) collective ritual/altar building, 2) pounding/winnowing rice seeds from the Philippines, and 3) crafting Filipino rice-based recipes (exact recipe TBD). While engaging communally through various activities, we will talk-story of the medicinal, culinary, & historical importance of the ancestral ingredients we are working with in addition to Rice.
Santa Cecilia Garden (18-36 Willoughby Ave, Ridgewood -- near Jefferson Street L)
Sliding Scale:
$ 25 - 100 per person
The true cost of this workshop, inclusive of materials, preparations, & facilitation, is $40.
We ask participants, especially those with privilege, to give what they can, in order to equitably compensate those organizing this space.
Join us for an experiential workshop focused on herbal based self-care practices within Hilot. Hilot is a Filipino healing art that uses massage, body manipulation, energy balancing, plant medicine, and spiritual rituals, to restore physical, mental, and spiritual harmony. This workshop will focus on Pagsasala (heating of leaves for warming the body), Suob (steam based herbal cleansing), and Pagpag (energetic field cleansing). Our practices will use a combination of ingredients sourced in the Philippines and local Asian stores.
At the end of our workshop, participants will feel more comfortable practicing simple, ancestrally relevant forms of spiritual hygiene & intention setting. The workshop will consist of experiential/hands on teaching followed by optional partnered practice where participants can fully experience the techniques demonstrated. Everyone will leave with a printed out resource sheet with offerings such as prayers, recipes, and deeper explanations of concepts shared during the workshop.
Santa Cecilia Garden (18-36 Willoughby Ave, Ridgewood -- near Jefferson Street L)
Sliding Scale:
$ 25 - 100 per person
The true cost of this workshop, inclusive of materials, preparations, & facilitation, is $40.
We ask participants, especially those with privilege, to give what they can, in order to equitably compensate those organizing this space.
During this workshop, we will have hands-on practice of Philippine food preservation traditions. As people of a tropical archipelago, we rely on salt, vinegar, and sugar as basic foundations for extending the life of our ancestral crops. We will focus on three common methods of preservation in the Philippines. 1) Buro– combining rice and salt to preserve mustard leaves and unripe mango, 2) Atsara - sweet vinegar Green Papaya pickles combined with spices, and 3) Medicinal Syrup - raw sugar and rum extraction of herbal medicines.
We will have a chance to taste a sampling of regionally sourced salts, vinegar, and sugar that are found in the Philippines to get a sense of the vast range of flavors available to us. We will also explore the medicinal benefits of each extraction type, including a discussion of what methods are best for extracting different properties of the foods and herbs we are preserving. Our workshop will end by sampling prepared versions of the recipes we’ve made.
Filipinx Food as Medicine workshops are open to all, with priority given to BIPOC participants. White participants are invited to part-take with the understanding that the space will be centered around the learning needs and historical legacies of BIPOC participants.
As part of it’s commitment to Disability Justice, all Filipinx Food as Medicine workshops have a MASKS REQUIRED policy. KN95 masks will be provided upon arrival.
Classes are limited to 15 participants.
These classes are for you if you want to:
Reclaim ancestral practices of traditional cooking and herbalism
Reorient to cycles of the earth through ritual, mindfulness, and awareness of the elements in our bodies (earth, air, water, and fire)
Take the fruits of your healing and share them with friends & family
Contextualize your own healing in larger processes of collective liberation
Cultural Protocol:
Each gathering will consist of intentional grounding where we will collectively contribute to a shared sacred space or altar. Suggestions for how to contribute to this will be sent to participants closer to the event date. We will open and close our circle by making offerings to nature spirits & ancestors as a gratitude for the gift of this medicine.
Instruction style combines formal and informal teaching. While there will be demonstrations of specific practices, the rest of our time encourages communal storytelling and reflections throughout the workshop