Women* Health Justice
Women*, and women* of color in particular, face structural forms of discrimination within the health sector in Germany. Based on their own experiences, advocates for health justice and refugee rights address questions of health, care and healing by means of information, education, accompaniment and self-empowerment in refugee camps and beyond. During 2025 (and beyond) Spore partnered up with some of these organizations, namely Space2Grow, Women * in Exile, International Women* Space, that have done this work for many years, to create diverse spaces for encounter and peer-to-peer exchange between them and their networks. around women* health justice prevention and popular medicine, access to healthcare, the entanglements. As such this project aimed to strengthen the capacities of the caretakers as well as women* in camps, and to collaborate in the creation of tools that might support their important work.
During the year we jointly organized a series of peer-to-peer workshops together with the partner organisations. The workshops were conceptualized and held by their team members and allies from their networks, sharing their different practices, expertise and methodologies with the rest of the group and their networks.
The three guidelines that structured and accompanied the topics and workshop/encounter formats were:
Understanding the entanglements between climate change, migration and well-being
Knowledge production and sharing from within and for the community (languages etc) as well as making existing resources and information accessible for the communities
Create spaces of “socio-cultural” exchange of practices and activities for self-care (community care) and well-being
Workshop Series on Reproductive Justice
Speaking about Reproductive Justice means more than the right to have or not to have children. it is about political, social, racial and economic justice. It means for women* to have the power and resourcesto make informed decisions about their bodies, families and futures. It is also about having spaces where concerns are taken seriously, where experiences can be shared without taboos, and where women* can accompany each other in processes of joy and grief.
Workshops in 2025:
Menopause and its effects on our bodies, life and souls,
with Griselda Enciso
Reproductive Justice, our bodies, our choices, our rights,
with Doris Dede and Madeleine Mawamba
Experiencing infertility - causes, treatment and grief support,
with Lucy Nganga
How to access abortion care in Berlin
with Laïla Dhimane
A right to sexual health, pleasure and sensuality
with Other Nature/Violet
Reproductive Health Justice & Accessibility for adolescent girls and young women*
with Caroline Njeri Kungu and Laveria Wanja Mwai
Awareness and prevention of common cancers in women
with Ilknur Argibas and Nuren Gündüz
Healing through Movement
Connect to yourself, release tension with dance and movement, and find collective joy!
In the four workshops facilitated by Jacky Njoki & guests (Fariba Fazeli and Zeky) the participants in 2025 explored together how dance and movement can support women* to reconnect with themselves and their bodies, to release tensions and to find healing in self-expresssion. Together they created a space for well-being, resilience and the spirit of collective liberation.
"I believe in dance as medicine - a tol for reclaiming space and joy, grounding ourselves and expressing what wordsa cannot always hold."
Jacky Njoki
Healing Plants, popular medicine and storytelling
Medicinal plants and their use for self-healing
Do you use medicinal herbs in your everyday life? What tea do you make when you have stomach-ache or menstrual cramps? Are there any medicinal herbs that your grandmother used? Has your relationship with medicinal herbs changed over the course of your life?
This workshop invited participants to delve deeper into the meaning and effects of medicinal plants-where to find them, how to prepare them, and what healing properties they have. They learned about the history and tradition of various plants and exchanged ideas with other women* about medicinal herbs and your own recipes and knowledges.
Facilitated by Madeleine Mawamba.
Telling our stories with plants
Sharing stories about plants can give us strength by connecting us to ancestral knowledge, to our places of origin, and to our migratory journeys. Plants embody stories of extractivism and displacement, but also of resistance, adaption and healing. As they travel and find their way in new environments – much like many of us – they carry fragments of our homelands through their smells, colors and tastes. This workshop invited participants to explore how to tell our stories through and with plants, reflecting on our relationship with them and how they accompany us in the process of decolonizing our ways of living and knowing. It is a call to recognize and reclaim the value of our own knowledge and that of our ancestors, especially within contexts where such wisdom is often marginalized.
Facilitated by Verónica Troncoso, Haboon Jabril and Nuran Gündüz.
Ubuntu Cooking Islands
A collective cooking session about our wellbeing
How do you experience food, cooking and nourishing your body? Do you have recipes to share with others that give you strength or are good for the wellbeing of our community? Do you just want to spend a good time in a garden together with others and laugh and cook?
We came together to cook for and exchange about our wellbeing in Spore’s garden kitchen. We invited women* to join the day, to share their experiences, to learn from each other and to care for themselves and their bodies.
The workshop was facilitated by: International Women* Space, Women* in Exile, Space2Grow
Collective Tree Planting Action at Aloti Farms
What is our relationship to land? How is the work on the land changing in relation to the climate crisis? What access to land and healthy food do we have?
To tackle these questions together we started by experiencing the work on the land. Feeling the soil in our hands and digging for the trees so they carry the fruits of life.
We invited participants to plant fruit trees together and support the organic farm Aloti run by a tiny Black FLINTA team near Berlin. Aloti centers BIPoC, queer, migrant and disabled folks in their farming practice and political work, but is open to all who share their values.
The workshop was facilitated by Aloti Farms and is part of Women*Health Justice, a collaborative project, with International Women* Space, Women* in Exile, Space2Grow and Spore Initiative.
In Our Own Words
Storytelling for climate justice and migration justice
Roots & Routes
How do our stories carry us through change?
Migration, climate change, and wellbeing are deeply connected: in our bodies, our histories, and our futures. Through shared narratives, artistic methods, and cultural practices, we created space for dialogue, healing, and imagining futures of resilience, while exploring how climate change and migration shape our lives.
We used a mix of storytelling, collective writing, oral narratives, and artistic exercises. Together, we wove personal and cultural experiences into powerful reflections on climate justice, migration, and wellbeing.
Facilitated by Ann (SaviNoir) and Rose Wanjyku from IW*S/Resilient Voices.
On Pleasure and Sexuality
How do we put desire into words? How do we honor our pleasure, our boundaries, our fantasies, and the silences in between?
This peer-to peer writing and sharing circle was a space for women* to explore sexuality and pleasure through storytelling, poetry, and creative prompts. Together, we purged, played, and wove our experiences into a collective literary mosaic. People don’t need to be a “writer” to join us, just curious and open to expressing themselves. Anonymity is welcome, and all voices are valued. Selected pieces were later performed or published as part of ongoing feminist creative projects.
This workshop was for BIPOC FLINTA. Facilitated by Ann (SaviNoir) from IW*S/Resilient Voices.
Kwa Ndimi Zetu / In Our Own Tongues
Open Mic
This open mic evening, moderated by Ann Savoir brought together poet, storyteller, musician, and stringers of words in an open and caring space where everyone could grab the mic and share their reflections, writings and songs. Some of the stories we have gathered in the workshops before - exploring themes such as sexual health, pleasure, nature and belonging, climate and migration - were presented during this evening, alomgside the wonderful presentations of Ann Savoir, Matagumpay, AnTau Samper Salinas, Camille Luc, Gulê Bulgurcu and spontaneous contributions from the public by Jacky Njoki and Joyce Sabali.
A selection of tools, articles and informative material produced by our partners throughout the years:
IWS Radio. Listen to it here: https://iwspace.de/radio/
In our own words. Refugee women in Germany tell their stories