Nourishment

You can expect colorful vibrant meals consisting of an abundance of seasonal local produce, whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts, and herbal teas.Food provided from our main kitchen will be plant-based, soy free & gluten free. Meals will be mainly vegetarian with vegan options available. Bone broth and eggs will be served daily during breakfasts. We encourage everyone to bring supplementary foods and snacks especially if you are used to an animal protein diet. 

***In spirit of simple living on the land, please remember to bring your own bowl, cutlery, cup, and any other food utensil you need. One use, disposable utensils will NOT be available at the gathering in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint. We have dish washing stations available throughout each session**

Our kitchen magician for the weekend is Casandra Kelly, who draws from years of experience with food preparation through their roles as personal chef, event caterer and restaurant manager. Casandra is best known for their inspired meals and contagious dance moves in the SWG kitchen.  They are supported by a team of talented chefs and food workers from across the country along with 50 volunteers and 160 community members (like you!) who all lend a hand to get out the meals each day! It takes a lot of energy and many hands to prepare two separate meals serving 750 of us. The Kitchen Crew will make and prepare over 15,000 meals during our time together. For that we have endless gratitude. 

The kitchen weavers maintain a fun, optimistic, and energetic environment: an infectious attitude transmuted into the food, to really nourish the soul. Between incredible food donations from vendors like Alexander Family Farm and sourcing local products from farms like Ocean Air Farm in nearby Crescent City- there is always an abundance of organic rainbow foods to choose from. We are lucky to get some of the finest ingredients and people nourishing our bodies and minds.  

Lindsey Byers- Sous Chef

Lindsey comes to the kitchen with 16 years of experience in cooking and organic farming. With a Masters of Science in Holistic Nutrition from National University of Natural Medicine, she places a high level of importance on creating food that highlights top quality seasonal ingredients and nutrients. She is a forager and food lover all around and is deeply creative. Lindsey has been with Spirit Weaves since 2015 working for Tami’s WildTree Kitchen and now works alongside Casandra as the morning Sous. She has explored many business endeavors which she showcases at the trade blanket including her latest: Banda of the Month Club- making one of a kind bandanas with artists across the globe. In addition to her creative outlets and preparing food; she loves her daughter Frances, her dog Brother and exploring the whole world over.

Kulture Parkin-Kitchen Manager

Kulture Parkin is the evening kitchen manager and onsite kitchen Seva coordinator at Spirit Weavers.  Her love for cooking and communication brought her into a space of wanting to support others. In her quest to feed the masses, Kulture began to be of service at women’s and conscious community gatherings. She now seeks opportunities where she can share her gift of thoughtful communication in a setting that is conducive to the learning of all. 

Kulture is also an artist, farmer, and culinary enthusiast. She enjoys making art and working with plants in her day to day. While actively living in community for the last 9 years, she has worked on developing her passion for transparent communication. Feeling empowered by her experiences she was enabled to share her skills in a different way. Check her out in the kitchen helping Chef Cassandra Kelly serve your daily dose of nourishment.

The Crew

The Spirit Weavers core Nourishment crew is composed of many skilled and talented chefs and organizers who were brought together for the love of food, nourishment, ancestral skills, gatherings, herbalism, and community. They commit year after year to orchestrate the food production for nearly 800 beings back to back for two weeks, for two meals a day. Knowledgeable about the demands of preparing multiple feasts, the ebbs & flows of kitchen dynamics, food production, working with Seva, understanding land and property logistics all prove to be extremely valuable in creating greater harmony and ease over the cascading weeks and years.

Many individuals have brought us to where we are today. For that it is important to mention the dedication of our predecessors including Tami Grooney with WildTree Kitchen (2015-2019) and Jackie Rose (2013-2014) for their leadership and ingenuity! 

An honorable mention to: Angela de la Agua (2013-2018) & Solar Return (2017-2019) for their contributions of raw dessert delights

We welcome you to enjoy our beautiful lunch food vendors Lydia’s and Mido’s Miso or you can head into town and visit the Pine Portal.  Pine Portal is our local organic market that has a plentiful variety of goods.  It’s a smaller co-op but we love their selections. We also have Evening Star Elixir Bar serving delightfully nourishing superfood herbal hot drinks in the morning. 

Mido’s Miso

Mido’s Miso, Southern Oregon’s first and only miso company, is here at Spirit Weavers Gathering to bring you nourishment! Midori Uehara, creator of Mido’s Miso, was born and raised in Japan where she learned cooking at an early age from her mother and grandmother. At 20 years old, she began making her own miso when she started traveling to the United States. During this time, she learned about and adopted a macrobiotics diet, which has been the foundation of her cooking ever since.  After working as a fast-paced teppanyaki chef at various restaurants over the years, Midori realized her true passion was cooking for more intimate groups with a focus on quality nutrition.

For the past 7 years, Midori has been a resident of Takilma in Cave Junction, where she has fallen in love with the surrounding nature and small community of this area. She dedicates her time to crafting Koji, a special Japanese culture, which is incorporated into her miso and fermented for up to several years.

Midori will be serving daily meals to the Spirit Weavers community, incorporating only the highest quality organic ingredients, many of which come from her own garden or local farms. All of Midori’s offerings include her homemade miso—a Japanese longevity food rich in probiotics and other health benefits, which aids in bringing balance and comfort back into the body after the stress of traveling or camping.

Lydia’s

Born in Paris, France, and hailing from the Sonoma, California Wine Country, Lydia Kindheart, founder of Lydia’s Kind Foods, and one of the original pioneers in the conscious food movement, has served over a million fans with her vitalizing, multi-award-winning, organic, gluten-free and utterly delicious plant-based cuisine.

Lydia has garnered a massive following for her Ayurvedic, nutritive and holistically wholesome products sold at health retailers across North America, and at West Coast conscious living and music festivals.

Having founded 5 San Francisco Bay Area vegan health restaurants, including one of the largest vegan eatery and community event centers in the United States, Lydia has dedicated her life to healing others through complementary nutrition, in addition to being a spokeswoman for positive environmental change, and an advocate for organic farmers and sustainable food manufacturing. Lydia is looking forward to serving her beautiful food again at Spirit Weavers.

Evening Star Elixir Bar

Lauren’s love for Elixirs evolved when she moved to the majestic mountains of Lake Tahoe in 2019. Living in the mountains during the Winter Seasons inspired her first menu for warm, delicious drinks to nourish the soul and spirit through long, dark nights. As the birds returned to sing their songs for the spring and summer seasons,  her speciality drinks transformed into organic juices and chilled elixirs. Creating a loving relationship with plant based Superfoods and herbs have been one of the biggest blessings along her healing journey.

Crafting Elixirs has served as a unique and beautiful form of art. Serving the Spirit Weavers community the past two years has been one of Lauren’s greatest honors. Evening Star Elixirs is named after Venus herself, shining brightly in the sky usually seen kissing Mars just before dawn or at dusk. All of the superfood Elixirs are hand crafted with fresh, organic ingredients!

Made with love.