Garden of Queerdom

2022/ongoing - Social initiative and collaboration

Garden of Queerdom (GOQ) is a community based care initiative that centers the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community & the earth. We organise community workshop and events such as; queer herbal balm making, queer foraging walks and community dinners.

Garden of Queerdom consists of me, the founder, and my partner Mandy van Pelt. With Garden of Queerdom we want to offer a different perspective on queer care and make room for new ways of coming together, outside of the queer night-life scene, where a lot of other (great) initiatives already take place.

Why queer?

Unfortunately, care is not divided equally in this world. The people who need it the most, are usually the ones who receive the littlest. And when care is given, in any form, it is most likely created from the same oppressive structures that harms the people who need it the most to begin with.

Queer people, among people of color, people with disabilities and many more, have been fighting for justice, equal rights and fair treatment for decades. Having the proper support, feeling safe, and having the tools to support ourselves and our communities is therefore life saving. Creating safer spaces, care-full spaces, where we are not questioned, with no need to prove our worth or settle for anything less than we deserve are so important. Queer people deserve to feel good.

I especially found that within our community, there is a big need for more queer centered views on care, finding ways to reconnect to the earth and to focus on community support over individualism. I've created Garden of Queerdom as a way to make space for that. For our community, my family and myself.