Vadi is a bioregional herbalist and ethnobotanist badass currently inhabiting the liminal space between diaspora and homeland. They uprooted their life in Tucson, AZ to embark on an ancestral remembrance journey in Anatolia—exploring mixed Kurdish/Cypriot/Turkish roots, learning about cultural traditions, landscapes, histories, plant and people connections, and dancing in the medicine between worlds; past and present, inshallah, to form bridges in the years to come. Their core ethos is engaging food as medicine; something they have found brings people together around the table no matter where they end up in the world. Currently, they are in Southern California, awaiting their next exploration.

In this episode:

• How labels may alienate us from connections
• How desert life reveals more about ourselves
• Grieving loss of a familiar bioregion
• Ocotillo medicine and magik, reparenting, intuition, boundaries
• Engaging with the environment you’re in to feel rooted
• How eating bioregionally can help you adapt to place
• How stories of SWANA peoples’ thriving and joy is often overlooked
• (Note: When speaking of Boojum/cirio tree Vadi realized they mistakenly said South Africa, intending to say Baja Mexico)

Connect with Vadi: @noddingthistleandrosemilk, linktr.ee/noddingthistleandrosemilk

Tale of Two Roses PDF recipes

Also mentioned: swanaancestralhub.org, riverroseremembrance.com, yerbanomadica.com, diasporaco.com, navigillwellness.com

Host + Producer Lola Venado: lolavenado.com, @lolavenado

Podcast: xanticohouse.simplecast.com, @xantico.house

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