On Hibernation…
|By Evie Muir |
Peaks of Colour is… going into hibernation for winter!
It’s been interesting to notice the discomfort in publicising this sort-of-news, and indeed the need to write something in the form of an explanation or justification in the first place. When in fact at the personal level, it feels easy to accept that this is what I – as a founder - need. I recognise this discomfort comes from over a decade of conditioning within the VAWG (Violence against Women and Girls) and wider charity sector – that we must sacrifice our wellbeing and put others’ needs ahead of our own. And if this requires us to burn out, then so be it.
But these are precisely the status quos that Peaks of Colour is actively trying to resist; a rewriting of the narrative that activist burnout is a given, that the traumas we too as organisers carry must be erased, and a challenging of the hierarchical structures of organising. Instead, I recognise that as an organiser, I’m mutually dependent upon the community I hope to hold space for and if I can’t look after myself, I can’t look after others either.
I’ve found that when organising is so multifaceted, putting this into practice is routinely challenging. The irony isn’t lost on me that, when trying to build a radical community with little to no resources, it’s so easy to find ourselves participating in the very capitalist structures we’re seeking to avoid. I am, for example, currently wearing multiple hats – founder, community organiser, workshop facilitator, fundraiser, volunteer coordinator, and so on. Hats which, in a larger, “more established” organisation would ethically, be worn by multiple heads. So, whilst currently in the position where I must navigate new and uncomfortable roles, being hypervigilant with care and rest is a must.
This means recognising that I can’t do all the above at once, and I certainly can’t do them all at once, well. Something has got to give. As the weather gets more unpredictable, as the days get shorter, and as footpaths become more treacherous, it makes sense for now to be the time that Peaks of Colour pause our walks for the time being.
In doing so, we realise that we’re simply practicing what we preach. By now you’ll know Peaks of Colour is founded on the belief that rest is an act of resistance; to capitalism, to white supremacy and to gendered violence. We’re trying to build this into our own practice and the way we organise; slow, intentional, nature-led. Experimenting with a seasonal approach to healing and justice therefore, also makes sense. It allows us energised periods of action, and mobilisation, then demands of us time for introspection, dreaming, nurturing, and... fundraising, bleurgh!
Pausing our walks for winter will allow us to focus more deeply on organisational and team development. I always describe the work we do as an experimental approach to decolonial and abolitionist praxis – figuring out which models currently feel right for where we are on this journey to liberation feels like an important step to sit with. This means that when we re-emerge from our seasonal slumber for springtime adventures and summer walkshops (watch this space!) we will be stronger, rested, and reinvigorated.
We’re already looking forward to a 2023 where days on end are spent taking up space, practicing collective care and resisting oppression in the Peak District with our community. As always, we will be sharing any updates as we go on our Facebook group, so do make sure you’ve joined if you haven’t already! See you there!
Evie x
