We are inviting partnerships to complete our Book, Recipes of HOPE in The Welcome Tent. Proceeds from book sales will support the creative dreams of our global community and launch our European open studio and peace garden at the foot of Mont Blanc.
Our work has been recognised by the European Academy of Design and awarded a design prize from Design Indaba.
Until the wars are over, And people can return in PEACE to the lands of their birth, This community will continue to WELCOME, Building bridges across borders, And friendships that will last a lifetime.
Our experience in Calais camp in 2015 opened our eyes and changed our lives. We witnessed injustice and oppression against communities displaced by conflict.
We became part of a huge grassroots volunteer effort distributing food, clothing and shelter, which still continues.
When our new friends arrived on UK soil to apply for asylum we formed a collective called Happiness All Around - to celebrate our shared humanity.
Food was our universal language, a connector and catalyst enabling us to learn from and about each other.
Sharing food inspired all forms of creative expression - stories and poetry, art and fashion, music and dancing.
My family was compelled to do more, so we quit our jobs and our home and lived in our van.
We travelled 16,000 miles with The Welcome Tent, an ex-army catering tent repurposed for Peace.
Working as a family was incredibly hard, but also magical.
Our journey took us from the UK to Greece. It was so hard and we wanted to give up many times. But as we witnessed systemic racism across Europe, we knew our problems were incomparable to what people we met were enduring every day.
People told us we were making a difference, to keep going. Because like us, they dreamed of a brighter future, together.
The Welcome Tent went up in twelve countries.
