The coming weeks are busy with a few events.
For bookings & RSVPs visit this link.
Flyers below, scroll to the right to view.
I was recently asked to fill-in on 3CR community radio station for my friend Marroushti of Salaam Radio Show (thank you Mirna for the opportunity) and thought it would be a great way to introduce some of the work I’ve been doing on Land, Biodiversity & the Colony and an important event I’m hosting on this topic, with a brilliant line-up of speakers next month.
This episode of Salaam Radio Show I prepared is dedicated to the Land, and the importance of ecological & land-based practices. During the show, I interview Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh from Bethlehem who is visiting us in Naarm next month to discuss the impacts of militarism on nature. I also commemorate Palestine’s Land Day, highlight the joint struggle of Indigenous communities in Palestine & Aboriginal Nations in so-called Australia, and plug some important events coming up at Beit e’Shai Teahouse on Land, Biodiversity & the Colony, and more.
You can listen to the recording of this episode below (produced in the studios of independent community radio station 3CR in Naarm/Melbourne):
Sonic musings curated for this show’s playlist are reflective, ambient, electronic, and sometimes classical; from some of my favourite artists including: Nicolas Jaar, Checkpoint 303, Kamilya Jubran, Khyam Allami, Oum, & Ruba Shamshoum, with releases from Al Gharib record label.
Below are links to events, readings & campaigns referenced in this episode. They are also published on the linktree in the bio of Beit e’Shai @beiteshai Instagram page.
Resource links:
I hope you find these knowledge shares I selected timely and informative.
To my Palestinian family, kin, community, and our supporters, LOVE each other HARDER.
Take care of each other and
LOVE
HARDER.
When I was home last, I spent some time with Dr Mazin Qumsiyeh
Professor, Founder, and (volunteer) Director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History in occupied Bethlehem.
Always generously teaching us about the land, the trees, the waters, the skies, the birds, the bees and our rich biodiversity that is devastatingly destroyed by the brutality of Israeli military occupation.
Ecocide upon genocide.
I look to our elders and plant kin to remind me to stay tender, to keep heart, and keep hope. Faith is strong.
Dr Mazin always signs off his letters with ‘Stay Human’.
To you I want to say;
Stay Human.
Stay Tender.
I posted this on my facebook & instagram in November 2023… I want to share it again here. At the time I was creating a pop-up shop for my tea business while grieving family, friends and a homeland… now, still grieving, still watching a live-streamed genocide of my people. And I’m angry. And my rage is sacred.
28.11.2023: Some thoughts over this morning’s cup of tea… I’ve had some people ask me, how do you find it in you to build a shop at this time… I said, it is because of my anger needing to be channeled. And my deep belief in the fact that we can and are going to create a better world.
On Anger:
Living in the diaspora means, we as Palestinian women, will often be shamed for our rage, people want us to be ‘tamed’.
Here’s the thing, our rage is sacred. Our anger is sacred.
Our culture and our ancestors honour ALL our emotions.
Rage is an active emotion.
It’s a life force. It’s a strong and necessary thrust forward in times of stagnation.
As I grow older, I know more that under my rage, there is love.
I know more how to tap into this endless well of love.
I channel my anger in ways that show how much I love.
How much I love my people. Rather than how much I hate my oppressors.
It’s hard.
It’s life long spiritual work.
But I know that when I hear my elders speak, they remind me to Love harder.
To love harder than hate.
To take care of each other.
Even in my rage, I love.
Even in my anger, I love.
And if my emotions make you uncomfortable around me, then that’s a good thing.
I welcome your discomfort.
I encourage you to sit in it.
For as long as it takes to find your courage.
In your discomfort you will find courage to grow. You will find growth. In your discomfort, you will find transformation.
These past 50 days or so, I have seen people’s true colours. Who’s fiercely resisting the injustices we are living, and who is upholding colonial structures of oppression under the guise of their ‘good intentions’.
The road to hell is paved in good intentions.
If my rage scares you.
It is alignment.
If you are enraged by the state of the world with me.
It is alignment.
— Rasha
Last month at Elvie’s Open Mic Night at Elvie’s Studio our Beit e’Shai tea ceremony reflected on how we move through Bitterness.
Serving bitter herbs to aid digestion.
How do we even begin digesting bitter thoughts and bitter feelings…
In between performances, I shared some words, on sacred rage, feeling bitter and tasting bitterness, on sitting in bitterness, and plant wisdom that holds us, that alchemises and transmutes.
By the end of the night I realised that Bitterness is best digested in community.
There is only so much we can process alone.
I also shared a reflection on Olives.
How they’re naturally bitter.
How the process of making them digestible involve crushing or slicing them a little, washing them for weeks, then placing them into jars with brine. It is only with time, the healer of all healers, that their internal bitterness extracts into the brine. Making them edible. palatable. digestible.
Bitterness sits still in the vessel. In the brine. With the olives, but outside of them. We honour this feeling of bitterness, we acknowledge its lessons and work with it just as our olives teach us to. We sit with it in our vessel, it sits around us, rather than inside us.
When people don’t make sense, plants do. I’m grateful to the olive trees for their sacred wisdom.
Join us for tea, spoken words and poems at Elvie’s Open Mic Night, tomorrow night Friday 23rd February.
I won’t be sharing words this time, will let tea speak for itself. Tea is our poetry here at Beit e’Shai.
I look forward to hearing your words and being in community with you again.
Thank you Ella for bringing together our community of poets and dreamers in another evening of reflection.
Images from Rasha Tayeh’s ‘On Food & Memory’ solo exhibition (2016).
At this link hosted by K(not) a major artistic project from Arts Gen, that discusses the impacts of ecological justice and climate colonisation on diasporic and first nations communities, I share a non-linear essay and an experimental soundscape of field recordings (best listened to on headphones). The work was commissioned and published in 2022.
The k(not) project reflects upon the way climate change will and has already created major public health impacts for our communities and provides a platform to undertake slowed-down and more expansive thinking in order to seek alternative strategies to our current crisis that incorporates food and land sovereignty alongside greater reflection upon the ongoing racialised violence that is inherent within climate colonisation itself.
To access the work visit this link. For a description, see below:
Rasha Tayeh, 2022
Land, 1000 words. In this non-linear essay, Rasha Tayeh shares an intimate reflection from her lived experience and draws on the parallels of settler-colonial projects, occupying Palestine and Aboriginal Nations in the continent now known as Australia. Her words are presented in vignettes, as thoughts brewing, while making a cup of tea, or walking along the Merri Creek.
Water, 3:42 mins, experimental soundscape of field recordings of making a cup of tea merged with ambient sounds of the Merri Creek on Wurundjeri Country.
Rasha Tayeh acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which she currently lives, works and creates, Narrm; the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and neighbouring Boonwurrung Peoples of the Kulin Nation.
With winter in full swing and COVID-19 induced anxieties in the air, there’s never been a better time to create a tea ritual. The benefits of various teas themselves, and the act of having a simple ritual, are both incredibly valuable at this time. Here’s why:
Benefits of tea
Our favourite teas for winter wellness
To support your body and mind during winter, find a tea that is perfectly soothing and warming. Here are some of our favourites at Beit e’Shai:
By integrating tea into your winter rituals, you can carve out a little time to yourself in the chaos of life. Teas you choose can also help ease coughs and colds, boost your immune system, or improve your mood. Whatever your preferred brew, make sure to enjoy it as a regular part of your daily routine to best take care of yourself!
Wow! What a year!
2019 has definitely been quite a big year of personal and professional opportunities – and lets be honest – quite a few big challenges. With everything this year has brought with it, I feel so very grateful for all of the lessons and for the support of the people around me. As this tea business turns 2 years old on the 16th December, I can’t help but feel like its birth has been both incredibly fulfilling and at times pretty exhausting. As small business owners, we don’t often speak of the challenges we face. But as you can imagine, behind this little House of Tea, there is only one staff member: me! I do all of the herbal blends by hand, all of the packaging, managing, supplying, ordering, selling, wholesaling, advertising, marketing, social media, bookkeeping, administration… and, well you get the picture, the list goes on and on.
I am proud of what I’ve achieved so far and I’m very thankful to you for supporting me and making this dream come true. Beit e’Shai wouldn’t be here without your continual support.
This year I have traded at various markets, hosted a beautiful fundraising Tea Salon to support Palestinian farmers, facilitated a number of workshops, tea ceremonies, had a few catering jobs including the heartwarming Black-Palestinian Solidarity Conference, took part on my first ever trade show at the Melbourne Tea Festival, had a PopUp Teahouse at the Immigration Museum for Khalil Gibran’s exhibition and expanded the Beit e’Shai Stockist family to ten clients. It’s been HUGE. And I am full of gratitude.
This month, I will be celebrating these achievements with a few of my talented friends by bringing you a PopUp Teahouse + Gallery at 369 Lygon St. East Brunswick. For one weekend only, we will gather to celebrate the end of 2019 and welcome 2020. There will be an Opening Night to celebrate our 2nd Birthday, at my friend Liam’s new PopUp and Studio Space on Friday 13th December, with drinks available by donation to support Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network. On Saturday 14th Dec. I will host a Full Moon Tea Ceremony, and throughout the weekend there will be a lineup of incredible local artists, designers and creatives offering you a conscious Christmas shopping experience. And most importantly, an opportunity to catch up and celebrate before the year ends! Read below for more details.
PopUp Teahouse + Gallery 13th-15th December 2019
Beit e’Shai turns two! Join us for a weekend of partying, tea ceremony, art, designer clothing and other treats as we gather to celebrate the end of year with our friends and family, while we support some of Melbourne’s vibrant local artists, artisans and small businesses.
Our PopUp Teahouse and Gallery will be open for trade on Saturday 14th Dec. and Sunday 15th Dec. from 11am – 4pm (both days). On display we will have artwork by Vanessa Aloia, organic herbal teas by Beit e’Shai and various treats from our friends R E M U S E, Jessica Gannaway, ChiandKo Jewellery and Recycled Design and more, giving you the perfect opportunity for conscious Christmas shopping. Join us on Friday 13th Dec. for the Opening Party 6pm – 10pm. For more information visit the Facebook page at this link.
In other news…
Cost $25. BIPOC free. Auslan interpreter available upon request, please email rasha@beiteshai.com
Spaces are limited, please pre-book this link: https://www.trybooking.com/BGUTE
or send an email to rasha@beiteshai.com to book/enquire.
In 2020 I will moving my private practice work to Oshun Yoga in Reservoir and will be available for these 1:1 consultations on Fridays only, with some early evening appointments for those who work 9-5.
Please be aware that if you are planning to shop online for Christmas gifts, be sure to place your orders no later than Monday 16th December 2019 to receive them in time for Christmas. Beit e’Shai uses Australia Post, so get your orders in early to avoid delays. To visit the Online Store, visit http://www.beiteshai.com
December Markets
Here are my market movements this month:
Happy Holidays
I will be taking a break from 22nd Dec. 2019 until 8th Jan 2020. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continual love and support. I feel humbled and grateful for the opportunities and blessings I receive that allow me to do what I love.
Someone once told me “there are years for sowing and planting, and years for harvesting” – and just as the natural cycles go, the seasons, the moon and sun cycles for example, this year has reminded me that life itself is an ongoing creative cycle. A cycle of birth, growth, full bloom, harvest, decay, death, rebirth, growth, full bloom, harvest, decay, death and so on. It has taught me to be patient. To be present. I have learnt to love every part of the year for its teachings. Every part of the cycle for its blessings. To love Winter and not long for Spring impatiently. Because after Winter, Spring will naturally come.
I have a feeling next year will bring along beautiful creative adventures, art projects, connected private practice work and a steady flow of herbal abundance, as the lessons and blessings continue from the plants I work with. These plants, my teachers.
I wish you all a happy and safe new year. I hope you celebrate your creative cycles, in whatever stage you may be, and that you are surrounded in love with friends, family and community with a constant flow of blessings.
I would absolutely love to see you at the PopUp Teahouse + Gallery at 369 Lygon St. in East Brunswick for a hug before I take myself on a camping trip along the East Coast to rest, hug trees and learn from the ocean and waters.
With love and gratitude, Rasha x
Rasha Tayeh 
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