Fallow is an ongoing series of community care and well-being workshops led by Dre Ferdinand (Breathe Through Collective), Sam and Sumayyah (LION). In farming, a ‘fallow’ period is when the land is intentionally left unused for a time to regenerate and restore soil fertility. Similarly, this project recognises that Black and People of Colour landworkers and organisers need rest and healing. In the context of intensive physical labour, low wages and the emotional toll of organising for racial and land justice, Fallow creates spaces to nurture restorative practices on and with the land. 

For Dre, Fallow emerged from a desire to address personal and collective pain, and the need for healing through a deeper connection with the land, community and self. This work is central to LION’s mission of reparations. Beyond financial restitution, we understand reparations as repair (Chinweizu), where restoring our relationship to land emerges as an important way to repair the intergenerational trauma of colonialism, enslavement and dispossession of land. As BPOC living in London, these histories are part of what brought many of us here, where our separation from land continues. With Fallow, we want to create opportunities in and around the city to reconnect us with the land, food and ancestral practices that nourish us.

Our Fallow series began in the spring of 2024, with a nature connection workshop at Glengall Wharf Garden, and a walk in Epping Forest. Inviting participants to tune into the wisdom and healing power of nature, our sessions have included soil meditation, body butter making, herbal tea tasting and more. To find out about our upcoming Fallow workshops, join our mailing list! We will return to hosting Fallow sessions in the summer of 2025.