Welcome to Folkweaver!
Folkweaver weaves people together through writing, art-making, community-building & radical dreaming in our quest for co-liberation.
I write weekly essays on the connection, creative practice, community building, radical dreaming and collective freedom.
As an educator and mother, I particularly focus on the constructs of motherhood and childhood because society doesn’t (yet) prioritize either's thriving, and mothers and children’s thriving is necessary for collective liberation.
I often think of the time I went to pick my then seven-year old only to find her gleefully roller skating in a celestial velvet tutu dress while flying a dragon kite. It was such a snapshot of her living out her fullest expression: so clearly and unabashedly free.
How can we build a bridge from our current reality as mothers and children, to a world where we all have unbridled access that type of freedom?
Who Is This Space For?
This space is for:
Mothers and caregivers who long to reclaim their agency and explore their fullest, most unbridled selves while raising and educating liberated children.
Educators and advocates committed to fostering relational autonomy and co-liberation in their work with children and families.
Intersectional feminists and activists seeking actionable ways to challenge societal norms that stifle collective freedom and connection.
Anyone who dreams of a world where freedom and connection are not just ideals but lived realities for children and mothers alike.
If any of this resonates, welcome. You’re in the right place.
What do I want for Kids and Mothers?
As a writer, mother, and radical educator, I have an uncompromising belief in collectively raising free people. I want all our kids to be raised in a freedom deeply rooted in connection.
But I don’t just want all our kids to be free at the expense of a mother’s sovereignty: I want this type of unbridled relational autonomy for every mother out there too. I want mothers to also live in their fullest, weirdest, most unbridled expressions.
By relational freedom, I mean that I want children to:
have a deep understanding of their feelings and needs, and the feelings and needs of others
have agency over their bodies, minds, hearts and spirits
Respect the agency of others’ minds, bodies, hearts and spirits
Drive their own learning: decide what excites them, what motivates them, what they’re curious about, and what they want to put their time and energy into—with loving, caring adults supporting them in reaching their dreams along the way
understand that their freedom is interwoven with the freedom of every being around them, and to work toward co-liberation in anything they do
I want mothers to:
have a deep understanding of our feelings and needs, and understand the feelings and needs of others
have agency over our bodies, minds, hearts and spirits and respect the agency of others’ bodies, minds, hearts and spirits
Drive our own learning and work: decide what excites us, motivates us, what we’re curious about, and what we want to pour our time and energy into
Have folks in our lives who see us, advocate for us, and support our full becoming
know that our freedom is interwoven with the freedom of every being around us, and that it’s our responsibility to work toward liberation for all of us
This space is about that deep yearning for relational autonomy for mothers and children alike, the tensions and trade-offs that exist in our current society which make that challenging, and a space to reimagine a pathway toward that type of connected freedom for all of us.
I use personal narrative as my main vehicle to examine these meaty questions together, and write from a critical intersectional feminist, forever learning lens.
Why subscribe?
You might subscribe because you’re thinking, “hell yes all of this,” and want to make sure you have a voice that resonates landing weekly in your inbox.
You might subscribe because a piece caught your eye, or a friend told you to, or because you want to peruse the archives, or because you saw something you dig that I posted on Instagram.
But really, really, you subscribe because you want a world where kids and mothers alike get to live in unbridled freedom.
Why support this work?
Folkweaver is my creative autonomy manifested. As a 100% reader-supported publication, your subscriptions make this work my actual livelihood, for which I’m so grateful. Each paid subscription tangibly makes it possible for me to keep doing doing this work, so if you’re able, take a beat to support this work as a subscriber:
Sharing this publication with like-hearted folks is another genuinely helpful way you can support this space’s thriving. Liking and commenting also go a long way!
A bit about me:
I’m a writer, a mother, an educator based in the Ohlone land of San Francisco. I write primarily narrative non-fiction (here) and am published in Mutha and Motherly magazine.
When I’m not writing, I support clients exploring liberatory education and parenting as a consultant and coach. You can learn more about my work here.
In my past work, I’ve advised organizations like Fenway Strategies on social justice, helped scale non-profits like Girls Who Code and Teach for All in their early days, co-founded a cooperative forest preschool, trained as a doula, and built multiple countercultural parenting communities. I started my career as a Teach For America Corps member, teaching 5th grade in West Harlem.
Say hi!
If you subscribe, take a beat to say hello. Let’s get to know each other in comments and threads. and let’s keep this space a kind, quirky, pocket of the internet.
Thanks for being here
For real. I don’t take it lightly and am so glad you’re here!
Sara
