Saturday 14 Oct, 1.30pm – more info and tickets here

Come join Fipe and Freya for an afternoon of Heart nourishment with Living Koko Cacao + Pasifika Dance + Yin Yoga + Meditation

To nourish the heart is to return to the body and our true self. We invite you to join us for a day of nourishment from the inside out. You hold the key to your journey, to releasing emotions that no longer serve you, and to your healing.

Combining Pacific Island plant medicine cacao with chant and movement we will open our heart centres and release what no longer serves us. A slow and healing Yin yoga sequence will nourish our Heart meridians and help us to turn ‘yinside’. We will connect through cacao, poetry, chant, mindful movement, and meditation. We will attune to a state of soul rejuvenation & elevation.

This Heart Nourishing Workshop is for those looking for a deeper connection with self and community. Let us all learn and practice how to walk, talk and dance gently and graciously in alignment with our planets seasons.

❤️ Fipe Preuss – Cacao Cultivator, Creative, Artist, Activist ❤️

Co-founder of Living Koko, a no-waste cacao/chocolate manufacturing space that supports rural economic opportunities in her homelands of Samoa. Fipe shares cultural knowledge and understanding of kincentric relationships through Traditional Pasifika movement and natural resources.

A Community Cultural Development Practitioner, Pasifika movement guide, Space Holder and Cacao Creative with intergenerational connections with our cacao offering.

❤️ Freya Bennett-Overstall – Mother, Teacher, Author, Creative, Chiropractor ❤️

Freya has been practising various forms of mindfulness and meditation for over 40 years. She started with a regular practice of yoga, dance, and tai chi as a child. She is a registered yoga teacher and a registered mindfulness & meditation teacher.

Author of “Wonder Full Women. Attune & Bloom. Eat, Move & Meditate with the Seasons.”, Chiropractor, a mother of 2 boys, a grateful gardener, and an eternal student.

Saturday 19 Aug, 10am – more info and tickets here

‘WAHINE TOA’ is a womxn’s** day retreat, reconnecting with self, and sisterhood supported by Pasifika and Maori indigenous knowledge and plant medicine.

After moving slowly through the winter months ‘WAHINE TOA’ brings us together to help clear out the stagnation of winter.

Nga wai purea (the sacred waters) the life source within all of us this retreat is created to replenish ourselves and re-ignited our inner fires in a safe and nurturing space.

Our traditional tongan kava ceremony will introduce our wahine sisters to the grounded elevation of our Pasifika Indigenous practises. “Kava Kuo Heka”: the Tongan plant medicine Kava and “Koko Samoa” Samoan cacao plant medicine will be a featured peace elixir for our wahine. Brought forward in ceremony with collective movement and chant. We bring forth the awareness of our movement of energies to help prepare our circle to deep connection to self with Aro-ha (love).

ARO (Attention too)

HA (the breath) with deep meditation.A full day event to ignite your inner strength.

(Together we will honour and respect the land, each other and ourselves with Tongan Kava & Ceremony Pasifika Movement, Breathwork and meditation, Delicious vegan food and Our favourite Koko (Cacao)

**womxn is a gender and non binary inclusive event activated to support and guide those that connect with feminine energy.

20.04.23 Little Food Festival combines education, exploration, creativity and fun to help kids re-imagine what the future could look like for them, their families and communities, and the planet.  An opportunity to plant seedlings, learn about bush food, get crafty and prepare nutritious meals. The festival is held yearly at Fed Square and produced by Foot Print events group.

Living Koko was invited to share about cacao (of course lol), so we created a show that acknowledged all the elements a farmer needs to be aware of to support the growth of their cacao.  Our team Alana Togiatomai, Audrey Moala and myself came together to share our love of our Pacific Island culture and the importance of knowing the gafa (geneology) of our foods.

We started with our acknowledgement of country sung in Samoan. An easy sing-a-long song performed on the uke and with a chorus of young people singing along.  This warmed us all up, including Alana and I on stage.  Lets just say Fed square stage feels bigger when you’re on it facing a huge audience.  ekkk!

We then questioned the kids and together found the natural elements that would support the growth of our cacao seed.  We recognised the importance of the stars and cosmos, the sun and her rays, the water provided by the rain and lastly the fanua, the land and her nutrients.  Adding a motion to each element together we created a Pasifika inspired dance that ended with the growth of our cacao tree.

The kids danced along showing us how they would represent the sun and the rain. Its was really special.

We feel these spaces are important especially as our young are growing up disconnected to the land that grows their food.  At Living Koko we believe the deeper your connection to how your food is grown the deeper your connection to how your food grows you. 🙂

The Little Food Festival is held every year and there is rumour it maybe a 3 day event next year – keep an eye out for it and spend some time with your kids reconnecting to yourself through good food practises.

Big thank you to @sandrodemaiofoundation @fed.square, @monash_education, @cityofmelbourne and @aiavitalityaus.